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Articles &
News
Gainesville Sun, March 30. 2003
6:01AM,
Elizabeth Mulholland,
Gainesville
A number of people, including real estate agents,
seem puzzled why so many people are coming to Gainesville and building houses in
the $300,000 to $400,000 range and up.
We have wonderful weather, safety from hurricanes due to our inland site, an
educational and cultural area connected to a fine university, two general
hospitals (one is a teaching hospital) and a VA facility, not too much crime, a
low unemployment rate and plentiful housing with steadily rising real estate
values. Is that enough?
In addition, the state of Florida provides homestead protection after you have
lived in your house for one year. This means that you cannot lose your house for
non-payment of any kind of non-mortgage debt.
There are no estate taxes or inheritance taxes and, because of the rates, no
effective income tax on investments. Property taxes in Alachua County are very
reasonable when compared to similar properties in California, Connecticut, New
Jersey, Illinois and New York.
In uncertain financial times, people with any kind of money look around for the
best deal. If they have to move, so be it.
Gainesville is a magnet for those who want comfortable living in an area with
cultural amenities coupled with long term financial incentives. In 1996, Money
magazine said Gainesville was the best small town in which to live. It's no
different now.
Nearly
Half of the U.S. Moved In Last 5 Years of 20th Century
ASSOCIATED PRESS, The Wall Street Journal Online
www.wsj.com September 24, 2003
WASHINGTON -- America continues to be a country on the move. In the last five
years of the 20th century, close to half the population packed up and moved to
different homes.
Usually, the moving van didn't have to travel too far -- nearly one-quarter of
the country's 262.4 million people five years and older moved to a new address
in the same county, according to a Census Bureau report.
The South attracted the most transplants -- 1.8 million more than moved out of
the region -- while the West stayed about even, and the Northeast and Midwest
saw declines.
Nevada, the fastest-growing state during the 1990s, had the highest percentage
of movers -- 63% -- followed by Colorado and Arizona, both at 56%. About
one-quarter of Nevada's population moved in from another state in 1995 through
2000.
The study, culled from responses to the 2000 head count, didn't include an age
breakdown or a look at why people moved, only if they did and where they went.
But typically, the type of move depends on a person's age, said John Logan,
sociologist at the State University of New York at Albany. Long-distance moves
are most common among people from their late teens to early 30s, primarily for
college or a better job, he said.
"Long-distance moves have generally been about making a significant change in
your life and hoping to build a better future, and that has been especially the
case for young adults who are free to do that," he said.
People in their mid-30s through 50s with children tend to make more shorter
moves in search of a bigger home or quieter neighborhood, he noted, while those
in their 60s and older move to warm-weather climates or closer to family members
after retirement.
Overall, 45.9% of the 262.4 million U.S. residents age five and older in 2000
had moved in the previous five years, according to the Census Bureau. That
figure includes 7.5 million people who moved to America from abroad.
The five-year moving rate has hovered at about 46% since 1970.
Warm-weather destinations in the South and West that were unattractive decades
ago are now more livable because of technology and upgraded infrastructure
systems, said Robert Lang, a demographer at the Metropolitan Institute at
Virginia Tech in Alexandria, Va.
"Air conditioning and the interstate-highway system defeated the remoteness of
these places," Mr. Lang said.
Such states have also become popular retirement destinations, said the bureau's
Carol Faber, an author of the report.
Communities near military bases and college towns have the highest proportion of
movers, led by the Jacksonville, N.C., metropolitan area at 46%. That area
includes the Camp Lejeune Marine base. It was followed by Bryan-College Station,
Texas, which includes Texas A&M University, and Lawrence, Kan., home to the
University of Kansas.
Only 21% of Nevada residents were born there, the lowest percentage in the
country, followed by Florida and Arizona, popular destinations for retirees and
new immigrants.
States in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Deep South had the highest proportion of
people living in the state in which they were born, which includes people who
moved away and then returned.
Louisiana had the highest percentage of residents who are natives, with nearly
80%, followed by Pennsylvania and Michigan.
In Louisiana , many among the state's large Cajun population don't leave because
they live on land that has been owned by families for generations, and because
of strong family ties, said Jacques Henry, a University of Louisiana-Lafayette
sociologist. Copyright © 2002 Associated Press
By Joe Coombs, Sun
Business Writer
Existing home sales
jumped 10 percent in Florida last year and activity in the Gainesville region
surged toward the end of 2002, traditionally a rather slow time for housing
transactions in the area.
Statewide, 154,231 single-family, existing homes were sold last year, up sharply
from 140,364 homes in 2001, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.
The Gainesville metropolitan statistical area (MSA), or Alachua County, saw a
17-percent increase in yearly sales, and the region also recorded the
second-highest percentage increase for sales statewide during the fourth
quarter, or the period from October to December.
The county's real estate market generally heats up the most between March and
September each year, largely influenced by the schedule for local schools, Santa
Fe Community College and the University of Florida. Sales tend to cool down
toward the end of the year, but 613 existing homes were sold in 2002's fourth
quarter, an increase of 35 percent from 453 in 2001.
Low interest rates were probably the prime cause for the extra activity, said
Tony Miller, 2003 president of the Gainesville-Alachua County Association of
Realtors.
"There may have been some sense among buyers that rates will start to kick up
again in 2003," Miller said. "There may have been some urgency to buy toward the
end of the year. Also, the economic downturn really hasn't been as tough in
Gainesville as in other areas. We sure haven't seen it in the housing market."
For the fourth quarter in the Ocala MSA, or Marion County, 1,144 existing homes
were sold, a 1 percent decline from 1,153 homes in 2001. The Naples MSA recorded
964 home sales, a 37 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2001 and the
highest percentage increase in the state.
Prices also rose dramatically for existing homes in 2002. The average sale price
in Alachua County was $130,000, a 10 percent hike from $118,500 in 2001, and the
statewide average was $137,800, a 9 percent jump from $126,600 in 2001.
"You had a lot of people upgrading their homes last year," said John Gerdon,
president of ABC Mortgage & Investments Inc. in Gainesville. "Appraised values
are climbing greatly, particularly the closer you get to the university (in
Gainesville). Land prices are also going up."
Housing is seen as a major driver for the economy, based on the number of
secondary impacts it makes on business. Apart from helping the construction and
real estate industries, increased housing sales and building activity can also
boost business for plumbers, furniture stores, landscape and lawn companies and
other entities.
Nationally, previously-owned homes sold at an annual rate of 5.56 million last
year, easily breaking the record of 5.3 million set in 2001. And demand for new
homes is still strong around the country, according to a report issued Wednesday
by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Housing starts in January were at an annual rate of 1.85 million, a slight
increase from 1.84 million in December and a rise of 8 percent from 1.73 million
in January 2002, the commerce department reported. Annualized rates reflect how
many homes would sell or be built if the same number of sales or building starts
in a month continued for the rest of the year. Joe Coombs can be reached at
(352) 338-3102 or coombsj@gvillesun.com.
Gainesville Today Magazine
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