From Brad Pitt’s Make It Right program to a broad-based spirit of enterprise, Flagler Beach’s Frank Gromling has been tracking New Orleans’ rebirth every year by attending the city’s annual jazz festival.
Real Estate & Development
Florida Home Sales Rise in 1Q, Home Values Tumble Again
Florida home sales rose 13 percent in the 1st quarter, led by a glut of bank-owned homes on the market, but housing prices continued to fall, dampening hopes that property values have bottomed out.
Loan Modifications: How Banks Require Struggling Homeowners to Waive Rights
Mortgage loan modification scams: Regulators ban the practice, but banks are forcing homeowners struggling to save their home to sign away their right to sue.
County Property Values Fall Another 14%; Palm Coast: -12%; Tax Rates Heading Up
The declines, for the fourth year in a row, will define to what extent local governments must either raise taxes or cut services as they prepare next year’s budgets. Governments have little room to cut anymore, short of vitals services.
Property Tax Overhaul Passes House: Breaks For New Home Buyers, Business, Snowbirds
First-time home buyers would get a 50 percent property tax break on the value of their home. Voters would decide whether to cap property tax assessment increases for commercial properties at 5 percent.
Palm Coast’s Latest Invitation to Landowners: Come Build a Business Park With Us
Palm Coast’s business park partnership program would entail spending significant taxpayer resources to develop construction-ready sites in partnership with private property owners, as bait for future commercial activity.
New Home Sales Rebound From Record Low, But Sales Still 22% Lower Than Last Year
March new home sales post an 11 percent increase over February, but February had posted a record low, and March’s 300,000 sales volume is still 22 percent below sales in March 2010.
Growth-Management 2.0: Local Government Whims Sprawl Over State Oversight
Republicans have complained for years that growth management rules slow growth in the state. A glut of empty homes suggests otherwise. Local governments will be empowered to take advantage of far more lax growth rules.
Property Tax Reform: 50% Exemptions, Breaks for Investors, Losses for Local Governments
Supporters of the overhaul say it’ll fill up empty homes. Critics say it’ll also slash local government revenue and further shift the tax burden to current residents, exacerbating inequities.
Flagler Power: From Bunnell By-Pass to Weigh Station to A1A Seawall, FDOT Retreats
Three times in the past 12 months, Florida Department of Transportation projects in Flagler County have foundered on the well-organized shoals of local opposition across government boundaries and fiefdoms.