Aquanuts in Largo is going...going...gone...

[tvictory]

It's getting harder and harder for dive ops to run profitably in the Keys. Many of the venerable ones (Lady Cyana?) have already folded. Their profit margin is in the equipment rental only. Tanks & weights. Divemasters and crew cannot afford to live in high-end condos. The trailer parks have long been owned by speculators, and they're cashing out big-time now.

 

[RonFrank]

It all boils down to patience... soon there will be a hurricane or two through those areas and the buildings will get blasted to the sand. The people who are buying them don't care about money, the buildings environmental impact nor the imact of the population on the local ecosystems.. if they did those developments wouldn't exist. A look at the reefs is example of how much of an impact it's already made.. or the 5 years of persistant red tides on the FL west coast..

Patience....patience... patience... Folks in the Pensacola Bay area are starting to get the hint

Unfortunately after talking to my cousing in Ft. Pierce about the FL market, and the INCREASE of housing costs she had a couple thoughts.

First, there are many people who had homes destroyed that are in temporary housing (renting/whatever) until there homes are replaced or repairs are finished. This has resulted in an high demand for rental property, and has driving the cost of rent, and in turn housing up, not down.

Second, there are a number of people who were in mobile type homes, and their homes were destroyed. This type of housing was built cheaply long before the current building codes where in place. The owners are generally under insured (if insured at all), and the new building codes will NOT allow them to just replace their homes with what they had before, but rather require them to build the new homes up to code which are MUCH more expensive. This results in a cost that many of these folks can not afford, and so rather than rebuilding the trailor parks and mobile homes that get destroyed by hurricanes, the land is sold often to developers who can afford to put in mich more expensive housing.

The situation seems to be that while everyone would THINK that the Hurricanes would result in low housing prices, the facts seem to be that what they are doing is providing an opportunity for developers to purchase land from lower income individuals at a song, and increasing the demand for housing.

The old saying buy low, sell high applies here. The rich can afford to take advantage of the less fortunate, and are slowly purchasing any desirable land, and putting in gated communities.

 

[Bill51]

Interestingly some studies showed that the number of home and land buyers actually increased after last year’s hurricanes. Some of the national press coverage gave people the impression that Floridians were selling their houses cheap to get away from the weather (which they weren’t), and Florida real estate companies had tons of calls from out of state folks looking to cash in on possible bargains. While some potential buyers were turned off when they heard the news that no bargains were created, others figured that if last year’s weather didn’t slow the market maybe it was a good time to cash out some expensive homes in the NE or California and invest here. Buyers from the NE drove up prices in my subdivision by over 40% in the past year.

If Key Largo goes too upscale and doesn’t remain as diver friendly as it has been in the past, I wonder if it might create a market for liveaboards in the Keys. The reefs are too nice in the area to not keep attracting divers, but the accommodation pricing is bound to head up until at some point it might be cheaper to stay on a boat, get in much more diving, and leave the Keys condos to the non-divers.

 

[DennisS]

It's time to reread Carl Hiaasens "Tourist Season" and enjoy Florida summer. I'll give away the ending of the book, I-95 is packed with people leaving florida and moving back north. It's a funny book.

 

[Li'l38]

Sign me up as maintenance man, boat mechanic, webmaster, 6 pack captain, DM or something. When does the new tacky dive resort open?

........soon as I win the FL lotto!!!!!!!!

 

[CBulla]

Second, there are a number of people who were in mobile type homes, and their homes were destroyed. This type of housing was built cheaply long before the current building codes where in place. The owners are generally under insured (if insured at all), and the new building codes will NOT allow them to just replace their homes with what they had before, but rather require them to build the new homes up to code which are MUCH more expensive. This results in a cost that many of these folks can not afford, and so rather than rebuilding the trailor parks and mobile homes that get destroyed by hurricanes, the land is sold often to developers who can afford to put in mich more expensive housing.

Man could I publish some pictures that would show the contrary to the replacing of mobiles!

Another thing to note is the temp housing is holding primarily lower income people. You know, the folks who run the shops and deli's and so forth that folks who live in the area rely upon for food and basic services. Well, it turns out that not only are thier houses becoming increasingly unlivable because the damage is allowing them to become more deteriorated, BUT the cost of everything, including housing, has risen... however wages have not.

The situation seems to be that while everyone would THINK that the Hurricanes would result in low housing prices, the facts seem to be that what they are doing is providing an opportunity for developers to purchase land from lower income individuals at a song, and increasing the demand for housing.

The old saying buy low, sell high applies here. The rich can afford to take advantage of the less fortunate, and are slowly purchasing any desirable land, and putting in gated communities.

The overall market here has gone up 47% since last year at this time and I can tell ya from the angle of a home inspector that houses don't even last on the market here. In fact, home inspections are rarely considered! Folks are more worried about 'getting a house' than getting an inspection and 'possibly being rejected by the seller!' and thats straight from the brokers and realtors whom I've done business with.

I'm doing better business with lawn and landscaping than I am with home inspections!!

What I was implying with the hurricanes was that it would take 3 or 4 in the same area several years running to make a difference. All Charley did for us last year was advertise.

 

[ReefGuy]

We just bought a home. The one we ended up buying was the third that we put a bid in on, and all of the bids were for asking price. The first two, we were outbid by people willing to pay as much as 14% OVER the asking value.

 

[fairybasslet]

Althought I've known about this for a while, this thread prompted me to tell my 15 yo son about this. He did his open water dives at Kelly's in 2002. And last summer, we both got our AOW from Aquanuts. Hobo's was, of course, a MUST. When I told him about all this, he got so sad and mad at the same time. Why? he kept asking me. I told him "progress." That's stupid progress, he said. I couldn't agree more. There was a burger place by the water that we ate at a few years ago. I know that place has been gone for a while. I forget the name but their house burgers were awesome. We might just try to take a trip down for old time's sake.

 

[RonFrank]

If Key Largo goes too upscale and doesn’t remain as diver friendly as it has been in the past, I wonder if it might create a market for liveaboards in the Keys. The reefs are too nice in the area to not keep attracting divers, but the accommodation pricing is bound to head up until at some point it might be cheaper to stay on a boat, get in much more diving, and leave the Keys condos to the non-divers.

We stayed in one of the dreaded Condo's near Largo (Ocean Pointe). We got a one bedroom for $160 a night. While that is not cheap, it's hardly expensive. In Denver, you can pay that much for a room downtown easily.

Hotels can be had for under $100 a night in Largo, and the larger hotels are not going anywhere. I doubt the *Condoization* (howdayalikethatword?) of the Keys will stop the diving or tourists. It will just make things impossible to afford for those who want to live down there, and who knows where they will get a work force from for the lower paying jobs...

 

[aquaholic901]

I hate whats happening down there (all over FL really). My family has had a place on Marathon for about 6-7 years and I used to love going down there. Lately though it seems like it enjoy it a little less each time I go. The reefs are dying at a ridiculously fast rate; I've seen more damage in the past year to Sombrero Reef than I have the entire time I've been snorkeling/diving there (17+ years). There is broken and bleached coral everywhere. I just wish people would take a minute to think about what it is that makes the Keys and FL so attractive. It sure as h*** isn't high rises and cookie cutter neighborhoods. Once all of the good stuff is gone what else is there? Sadly I don't think we'll quit until every bit of FL is paved over including the Glades.