Florida Governor Signs Beefed Up Live Local Act

Legislation Takes Immediate Effect, Now Includes Condos, Some Neighborhood Protections

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that amends the state’s Live Local Act that passed last year with clarifications around density, height and zoning requirements. (Getty Images)

By Joshua S. Andino
CoStar News

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that amends the state’s Live Local Act, doubling down on the original law’s intent to clear red tape, spur new residential and mixed-use development and bring down housing costs.

The Live Local Act originally passed at the beginning of 2023, providing major funding and tax incentives for developers to build mixed-use and multifamily projects, overriding some local zoning regulations and banning rent control across the state outright.

But while the law was considered a major step toward addressing the state’s housing affordability crisis, local governments pushed back, implementing development moratoriums or dragging their feet on building approvals that under the new law were now strictly a matter of administrative routine without public hearings.

Disagreements over the law led the Florida legislature to double down, passing what’s being called a “glitch bill” by legislators to address the problems that arose from the original law. The new legislation, signed Thursday by DeSantis, clarifies uncertainties in the law that local municipalities had used to prevent development or extract concessions from developers.

The new changes to the Live Local Act were outlined in Bilzin Sumberg’s 5th annual development conference earlier in May. (Joshua S. Andino/CoStar News)

The clarifications prevent municipalities from restricting projects up to 150% of the currently allowed floor area ratio; provides height protections for single-family neighborhoods; removes parking requirements for transit-oriented developments while reducing parking requirements by 20% for developments within half-a-mile of a transit hub; and added tax exemptions for land and common areas included in developments, not just the residential units. The law now also extends to for-sale condo units, in addition to apartments.

The new law also prohibits Live Local Act projects within airport flight paths, noise zones, and those that exceed airport height restrictions.

The Live Local Act is “the most comprehensive change to Florida’s zoning laws in decades,” said Anthony De Yurre, a land use and zoning attorney with law firm Bilzin Sumberg, in a prepared statement. De Yurre, who helped craft much of the legislation, added that developers have been “waiting for these revisions and clarifications to tweak their projects or update” their plans. “The final bill enhances the probability of Live Local Act projects getting approved, financed and built,” De Yurre said.

For similar articles and additional Commercial Real Estate news, visit Costar and click here <—-

Stocks’ recent win streak

Last week stocks made their longest weekly gain since February with the Dow closing above 40,000, a fresh new record, and the S&P 500 hitting 5,300. Strong first quarter earnings and early signs that inflation is cooling have sent stocks higher. The short lived meme stock rally also contributed to increased trading volume from retail investors.

Analysts have been raising earnings forecasts for the current quarter at an unprecedented speed, as more and more believe a soft landing is in store. A number of factors will affect how markets perform through the rest of the year, including inflation, the Fed’s monetary policy, and the election. However, if the stars align and inflation cools faster than expected, it’s possible stocks could keep making all time highs, although not without ample volatility along the way.

When you build “luxury” new apartments in big numbers, the influx of supply puts downward pressure on rents at all price points — even in the lowest-priced Class C rentals.

“In Florida — which continues to make itself a supply magnet with strong demand + the boost from the new Live Local legislation — three markets (Fort Myers, Sarasota, Daytona Beach) are seeing Class C rent cuts around 10-12%. “

via

Via Jay Parsons • Rental Housing Economist (Apartments, SFR), Speaker and Author

Yes, when you build “luxury” new apartments in big numbers, the influx of supply puts downward pressure on rents at all price points — even in the lowest-priced Class C rentals. Here’s evidence of that happening right now:

There are 12 U.S. markets where Class C rents are falling at least 6% year-over-year. What is the common denominator? You guessed it: Supply. All 12 have supply expansion rates ABOVE the U.S. average.

In Florida — which continues to make itself a supply magnet with strong demand + the boost from the new Live Local legislation — three markets (Fort Myers, Sarasota, Daytona Beach) are seeing Class C rent cuts around 10-12%. Not shown on this Top 12 list, but there are three large Florida markets with high supply also seeing Class C rent cuts of 4-5%: Orlando, Jacksonville and Tampa.

Other key markets nationally to highlight: Ultra-high-supplied big markets like Austin, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Atlanta and Raleigh/Durham are all seeing sizable Class C rent cuts of at least 6%. Small markets on the list include Myrtle Beach, Wilmington NC, Boise and Colorado Springs.

Bear in mind that apartment demand is NOT the issue in any of these markets. They’re all demand magnets. Sure, they’ve seen some moderation / normalization for in-migration and job growth, but they’re still ranking among the national leaders for net absorption.

Simply put: Supply is doing what it’s supposed to do when you add an awful lot of it. It’s a process academics call “filtering” — which happens when higher-income renters in Class B apartments move up into higher-priced new Class A units … and then Class B units see vacancy increase, so they cut rents to lure up Class C renters. And down the line it goes.

But filtering works best when we build a lot of apartments. We didn’t see this phenomenon play out as clearly in past cycles when supply was relatively limited — and (crucially) failed to keep pace with demand.

Less anyone still in doubt, here’s another factoid: Where are Class C rents growing most? You guessed it (I hope!) — in markets with little new supply. Class C rent growth topped 5% in 18 of the nation’s 150 largest metro areas, and nearly all of them have limited new apartment supply. That list includes markets like: Midland/Odessa TX, Knoxville TN, Grand Rapids MI, Dayton OH, Wichita KS, Buffalo NY, Louisville KY, Little Rock AR, and Albany NY.

Among larger markets, Cincinnati and Chicago both saw Class C rent growth near 4% — and both ranked below the U.S. average for new supply.

Most new construction tends to be Class A “luxury” because that’s what pencils out due to high cost of everything from land to labor to materials to impact fees to insurance to taxes, etc.

So critics will say: “We don’t need more luxury apartments!”

Yes, you do. Because when you build “luxury” apartments at scale, you will put downward pressure on rents at all price points.

#multifamily #affordability #housing #rentsActivate to view larger image,

Tampa Retail Real Estate Market Report

Article via Bounat.com – Click Here for complete story and others similar to it.

The commercial real estate brokers at Bounat work diligently to compile a comprehensive list of the top commercial real estate activity in the Florida region on a frequent basis.

Retail leasing fundamentals in Tampa remain solid despite headwinds caused by continued disruptions in the supply chain and lingering concerns post-pandemic. However, these factors are being counterbalanced with the fact that Florida is the fastest growing state in terms of population in the country, and many people are moving to Tampa specifically.

In general, retail demand in Tampa has been consistently strong over much of the past decade, driven by solid population gains, wage growth, and steady consumer spending. Current vacancy is 3.3%, which is up +0.2% compared to Q3 2023, and the vacancy rate for retail real estate in Tampa remained steady over the past year and is well below the national average, estimated at around 4.5%.

Rent growth has accelerated in recent quarters due to strengthening overall leasing fundamentals following the lifting of some pandemic safeguards. Average asking rents as of Q4 2023 are at $25.56/SF, which is up $0.35 from Q3 2023 when the asking rate was $25.21/SF, up over 2% during the past 3 months (quarter to quarter).

There is currently 563,141 SF of new retail space underway, and nearly 1 million SF has been delivered in the trailing 12-month period. While the pace of new development is falling short of previous years, an uptick in demand bodes well for future development.

Retail investment sales activity over the last year has totaled roughly $1.6 billion in total transaction volume, fueled by considerable investment volume in Q4 and Q2 2022. Q1 2022, from a little over a year ago, still holds records for transaction volume with nearly $600M in retail property sales. It was the second highest quarter of retail real estate sales in the area, illustrating just how feverish investor appetite has been over the last year.

Retail investors continue to target deals in secondary markets like Tampa and Orlando as they seek higher yields, which is becoming harder and harder to achieve. Increased competition for assets is forcing an acceleration in overall retail pricing with the average price per SF growing by 10% year over year and by nearly 15% in the last two years. CoStar’s forecast calls for pricing to continue to rise through 2023 before beginning to level out in early 2024.

The most significant single-property trade over the last year took place in Q2 2023 when the Brandon Town Center (303 – 675 Brandon Town Court) sold for $220M at a price of $296/SF with a vacancy rate of 0% at the time of sale. The Tampa shopping center was built in 1995.

If you would like to discuss the Commercial Real Estate Markets or discuss your asset and its future, let’s connect.

http://www.DP-CRE.com

A New Workforce Housing Development Is Headed to Bradenton

The Nest at Robin’s Apartments will see 182 residential units all priced as workforce housing.

by Kim Doleatto via SRQ Magazine – Click here for this complete article and similar stories

The Nest at Robin’s Apartments will bring 182 new residential units to Bradenton—but unlike other projects going up in the region, these will all be priced as workforce housing. The units will be on a vacant five-acre lot next to Robins Apartments, just south of U.S. 301 on First Street East and east of South Tamiami Trail. Even though groundbreaking is next month and the project will take roughly 18 months to complete, builder and developer One Stop Housing has already received more than 100 applications.

Soaring local rents have made national headlines in recent years and interest rates have increased, making affordable housing a hot topic. It’s gaining some traction with local and state governments, with legislation like the Live Local Act, which, among other points, allows for increases in density and height in exchange for the creation of affordable units. It was recently applied to a downtown Sarasota project that’s still in its early stages. 

What’s different about The Nest is that 100 percent of the units will be—and remain—priced for working people, spanning 60 percent to 80 percent of the area median income (AMI).

Units will range from 300 square feet for a studio, (34), to 550 square foot, one-bedroom units (74) and 750 square foot, two-bedroom, two-bathroom units (74). 

The studios will be priced at 60 percent of AMI, which amounts to a one-person household earning no more than $42,240 a year. The one and two-bedroom units will be priced at 80 percent of the AMI, which amounts to $64,320 a year for a household of two.

New retirement regulation

The U.S. Department of Labor released new regulations on Tuesday expanding the scope of fiduciaries in relation to retirement accounts. With the peak of the baby-boom generation in or approaching retirement, rollovers of money from 401(k)s to IRAs are on the rise. Savers move close to $1 trillion each year out of their 401(k) employer-sponsored plans into IRAs and the new regulatory environment will ensure that investments are always in a person’s best interest.

Photo by SD

As a fiduciary ourselves, the regulation is an extension of our business model across financial services. The ruling should better align financial outcomes, lower fees, and decrease lock up requirements – all of which we’re major advocates for. Putting investors first is the ethos of our business and we view the new regulation as a major step towards industry wide best practices.

article via Titan Funds

Refer friends to Smart Cash to earn 6.0%* gross yield for up to 12 months. They’ll earn 6.0%, too. See details.

Home sales drop

via Titan Funds

Home sales for previously owned homes dropped 4.3% in March, and sales were 3.7% lower year over year. Although inventory improved significantly during the month, less people are buying homes due to increasing mortgage rates. All-cash purchases account for 28% of home sales, as more buyers are avoiding loans all together. 

Today’s pool of prospective homebuyers has shrunk compared to previous generations – more debt and higher housing costs have made it difficult to afford a first home. In 2020, 2% interest rates drove a surge in home buying that dried up much of the supply in the housing market. While timing is uncertain, rates will eventually decline and gradually bring buyers back to the table while also supporting a stable supply.

Norway has all the cheddah.

written by William Coulman, David Crowther via sherwood news.com

Norway’s nest egg The value of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund rose 6.3% last quarter, adding a whopping $110 billion to the country’s stockpile despite technically falling just shy of its target benchmark return. What started as the Norwegian government’s rainy day fund — somewhere to put its excess oil revenues in the 1990s — has become the largest investor on the planet. Today, 71% of its investment portfolio is in equities: a total of $1.1 trillion spread across more than 8,800 companies in 65 countries. Mirroring a diversified market index due to its sheer size, the fund has slices of every major sector. Visualized above are ~4,900 of the fund’s equity investments: the smallest dots in the chart, the ones that you can barely see, represent $10 million stakes in individual companies. Keeping it public But, while its equities portfolio returned a respectable 9% in Q1, its fixed income and unlisted real estate investments saw losses, pulling down the overall return. Indeed, in the past 2 decades, the fund’s equity investments have grown some 21x in value — and its success in public stocks is one reason why the Norwegian government last week confirmed it wants nothing to do with private equity, even as other institutional investors increase their exposure to the asset class. In case managing this behemoth portfolio wasn’t enough, you can catch the fund’s chief hosting his podcast, where he interviews the likes of Elon Musk and Satya Nadella — two CEOs of companies that the fund owns a large slice of. Slippery slope: When you’re managing a pot of $1.6 trillion, even a tiny Excel error can result in a $92 million miscalculation.

The sobering message from the Fed: Interest rate cuts aren’t coming soon

A string of discouraging inflation reports since the start of the year keeps pushing the timeline back

By Rachel Siegel

April 16, 2024 at 2:19 p.m. EDT

Federal Reserve officials signaled a more sober tone this week, emphasizing that they’re in no rush to cut interest rate cuts this year.

On Tuesday, Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell laid out his case for why borrowing costs could stay higher for longer than the central bank expected just a few weeks ago. Since the start of the year, Powell and his colleagues had said they were looking for more assurance that inflation was ticking steadily down. Instead, they’ve gotten the opposite.

“The recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence, and instead indicate it’s likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence,” Powell said Tuesday at a panel discussion on the U.S. and Canadian economies.

Plus, the rest of the economy has stayed remarkably resilient after interest rates climbed to the highest rate in decades. The job market continues to grow at a surprising clip. And that means the Fed can stay focused on zapping inflation, without worrying that its fight is eroding business’ willingness or ability to hire, or people’s ability to find stable jobs. Put together, the data on inflation and jobs mean it is “appropriate to allow restrictive policy further time to work,” Powell said.

The message was echoed earlier in the morning by Powell’s No. 2. In a speech, Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said that if upcoming data suggests inflation is “more persistent” than he expects, it would make sense to keep rates higher for longer.

Powell and Jefferson did not get specific on the timing of upcoming cuts or exactly how many there will be. Last month, when central bankers sketched out their expectations for the path ahead, they penciled in three cuts before the end of the year.

But Fed watchers and the financial markets are now questioning not just when cuts will happen, but also if the Fed will be able to eke out even one or two cuts. The outlook shifted considerably last week after March inflation data came in hotter than expected, cementing fears that a new trend had taken hold.

Now that Fed officials have gotten three months of disappointing news, economists assume they’ll need as much encouraging news — at the very least — to put them back on track to cut rates. That means even the most optimistic scenarios don’t include a cut before late summer.

“There’s absolutely, in my mind, no urgency to adjust the policy rate,” San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said last week. “Policy is in a good place right now, and I need to be fully confident that inflation is on track to come down to 2 percent — which is our definition of price stability — before we would consider a rate cut.”

For the complete article and similar stories, CLICK HERE <—–

Credit card delinquencies

via Titan Invest (visit here)

U.S. credit card delinquency rates were the highest on record in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. 3.5% of card balances were at least 30 days late as of the end of December. The number of people making minimum payments also rose, pointing to distress among cardholders. While 25% of active accounts have a balance of over $2,000 for the first time, one third of users pay their balance in full every month, exhibiting contrasting behaviors from likely different brackets of earners.

Issuers have responded to the rise in delinquencies by lowering the credit limit on new accounts. The problem is a direct result of the higher cost of living for Americans, as the last few inflation prints illustrated stickier than expected inflation. The Fed is unwavering in its goal to lower inflation, and their hope is that higher rates will eventually slow spending and reduce inflationary pressures. A higher for longer environment will help regulate the economy and the credit card delinquencies are an unfortunate symptom of the Fed’s remedy for inflation.

I could see this information permeating into tenants lives and thus into ownerships lives as tenants may begin to struggle with payments, rent increases, higher utility costs or additional fees.

If you would like to discuss the markets, or need some guidance for just about anything related to income producing properties including Property Management Rockstar Companies, Electricians, Insurance Providers, Landscaping, or just a plain old valuation and analysis for selling your asset(s), then you’ve found the right guy, so let’s connect!

Click the logo below for our information