TAMPA BAY TIMES - Florida ranks second nationwide, after California, with the highest portion of "working households" spending at least half their income on their mortgage, according to a new survey. While a third of working households must pay half or more of their income to cover housing, only a quarter of the nation on average faces the same housing burden. That big difference spells a very weak recovery for Florida, as a larger portion of working Floridians will spend far less on goods and services other than housing. The housing crush is reinforced in this state by the recent Tampa Bay Times analysis that finds that most of the new jobs being created in Florida pay about 25 percent less than the jobs that were lost in this recession. "Despite the fact that we're seeing declining home prices across the country, housing isn't becoming more affordable," says Laura Williams, the study's author and a research associate at the Center, in this Wall Street Journal story.
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HOME PRICES CONTINUE TO FALL ALONG WITH CONSUMER CONFIDENCE
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) - The housing market started the new year with a thud. Home prices dropped for the fifth consecutive month in January, reaching their lowest point in many years. "Despite some positive economic signs, home prices continued to drop," said David Blitzer, spokesman for S&P. "Eight cities, Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Las Vegas, New York, Portland, Seattle and Tampa Bay hit new record lows." Potential homebuyers lack confidence in the market, according to Michael Feder, CEO of Radar Logic, an analytics company that produces daily spot prices for real estate. A big problem looming is a massive number of potential foreclosures. "People see that there are millions of homes underwater, and at elevated risk of foreclosure, and conclude that housing values are unlikely to appreciate in any meaningful way for many years."
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