Anyone know the worst year in Florida real estate since at least President Ford’s days? Folks trying valiantly to sell your homes might howl Now! – and in a few more months of weak housing prices, they just may be correct.
But the answer is 1976. The second quarter of ’76, in fact, is when Florida home prices dropped a stunning 9.58 percent from one year earlier.
The last 30-plus years of Florida housing prices is largely a cyclical tale of single-to-double-to-single-digit annual appreciation. After slow gains in the 1970s, prices accelerated in 1978 and generally stayed strong until the 1980s when appreciation of 1 to 3 percent a year was common.
Thirteen of the 18 larger Florida cities on the federal list experienced price declines between the fourth quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007.
In Florida, it’s clear we’re not out of painful price adjustments yet. But consider the positive history of home prices in the state. Since 1980, all told, housing prices appreciated 391.76 percent in Florida. Only 12 states can brag of higher gains since then.
Robert Trigaux Times Business Editor
trigaux (at) sptimes (dot) com or (727)-893-8405
