HOUSINGNEWS REPORT
LEAD ARTICLE
made a difference for the area’s real estate market, helping to attract more buyers back to the region, which was one of the epicenters of the foreclosure crisis between 2007 and 2013. Those policy changes include a 10 percent cap on property tax increases for non-owner occupied homes in Florida along with $800 million committed by the Florida legislature earlier this year to prevent runoff from Lake Okeechobee that was dirtying the water in the region’s 114 miles of canals, many flowing through neighborhoods. “Our delegation was able to lobby Congress and the state,” Tate said. “You can now see down in the canals, see down to the bottom, and that is really making everybody happy … the dolphin is back, the manatee is back.”
But President Trump’s stated policy on another water-related issuing impacting the Southwest Florida market — flood insurance — may be at odds with local real estate industry interests. As reported in the April 2017 issue of Housing News Report, the president’s 2018 budget proposal advocates a restructuring of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) “to ensure that the cost of Government services is not subsidized by taxpayers who do not directly benefit.” The removal of flood insurance subsidies through NFIP could result in skyrocketing flood insurance costs for many homeowners in the region. “Flood insurance is required in at least half of our city unless you pay in cash,” Tate said. “People really look at that. How high is the elevation, how much is
the insurance going to be. But it’s not been a negative for us.”
From Promises to Policy Tate acknowledged that President Trump hasn’t acted on any specific policy changes that would provide lift for the real estate market, but she argued that his campaign promises on taxes, healthcare and a balanced budget are providing a psychological lift for the marketplace — although that could be short-lived if he doesn’t take action on his promises. “People are waiting … we just want him to get on with what he said was going to do,” said Tate. “I think people are working, they are feeling better. I don’t think they are as depressed as they used to be.
TRUMP BUMP: PRE-MOVER INDEX
AVG OF YOY PCT CHANGE IN Q1 2017 PRE-MOVER INDEX*
“The people that are coming here are
17%
mostly from the states that he won. …. Ohio has gotten stronger; Pennsylvania has gotten stronger for us.”
13%
GLORIA TATE REALTOR CAPE CORAL, FLORIDA
CLINTON-WON COUNTIES
TRUMP-WON COUNTIES
Pre-Mover Index based on ratio of borrowers applying for a loan to buy a home in a given market to the total housing stock in that market.
5
JULY 2017 | ATTOM DATA SOLUTIONS
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