Florida will continue to experience Hurricane Bush for some time

Two Florida tales from NPR (click to get full stories):

Morning Edition, September 19, 2007 · Florida Democrat Bill Nelson, who chairs a subcommittee overseeing U.N. activities, wants to know why Florida's Everglades National Park was taken off a U.N. list of World Heritage sites considered "in danger." Environmental groups say the decision reflects not progress, but politics. [Buuuuuusssshhh administration fuckup, of course]

Morning Edition, September 19, 2007 · The real estate market around Miami is one of many areas where housing prices have plummeted. Realtor John Paul Rosser sells plots of land to condo developers. But even he doesn't understand why some builders are still in the Miami market.

Average price drop: 27 percent

Via the Housing Bubble blog:

Feature story

Reprinted by permission
Nearly 450 Vulture Properties Sold In First Half of 2007
By Peter Zalweski
South Florida real estate sellers appear to be finally cutting their prices low enough for some discount buyers to begin to purchase properties, according to a July report from Condo Vultures™ LLC. Nearly 450 properties in the company's Vultures™ Database have been sold at an average discount of 27 percent, or $276,679, in the first half of the year.

Condo Vultures™ - Market Intelligence Report
Nearly 450 Vulture Properties Sold In First Half of 2007
South Florida real estate sellers appear to be finally cutting their prices low enough for some discount buyers to begin to purchase properties, according to a July report from Condo Vultures™ LLC. Nearly 450 properties in the Vultures™ Database have been sold at an average discount of 27 percent, or $276,679, in the first half of the year, according to the July 18 report.

Few South Florida cities are immune from the discount selling. Condo Vultures™ has tracked desperation sales in some of the tri-county region's most desirable areas, including Miami Beach, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, and Fort Lauderdale.

Closed sales aside, the Vultures™ Database is still monitoring 1,700 properties that have been slashed in price by an average of 24 percent, or $310,184. The typical property – condos, single-family homes, townhouses, lots, and docks east of Interstate 95 – in the database has been on the market for an average of 426 days, according to the report.

Condo Vultures™ LLC is a Bal Harbour-based consulting and analytical firm that monitors the South Florida real estate market. Sister company Condo Vultures™ Realty LLC is a licensed Florida real estate brokerage. Residential properties are added to the Vultures™ Database once their asking price has been reduced by $100,000 and/or 10 percent, or the property has lingered on market for at least 100 days. Condo Vultures™ tracks 29 markets in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

On a city-by-city basis, the most dramatic average price drops being tracked by the Vultures™ Database are in the working class cities of Hialeah (34 percent drop), Dania Beach (31 percent drop), and Oakland Park. (31 percent drop). That doesn’t mean the more affluent areas are insulated from the declining market. Sunny Isles Beach, Hollywood, and Aventura are all experiencing an average price drop of 21 percent. Key Biscayne, Miami Beach, Bay Harbor Islands, and South Miami are not much better off, having dropped by an average of 20 percent.