1.
2016
could be a down year for South Florida's economy
The
article talks about the potentially negative outlook of South Florida’s economy
for 2016. Over the past few years, south Florida’s economy has been increasing
and providing more jobs and opportunities for its’ residents. Small businesses,
construction development and tourism seem to be the main blows that south Florida
will take this year. Although real estate won’t seem to stay stagnant, it seems
like that won’t be enough to push south Florida on the upward path like
previous years.
The
problem that is leading to the stagnant path for south Florida seems to be
coming from the strength of the U.S. dollar on the global scale. Many
foreigners that visit south Florida to purchase bulk loads of merchandise to
ship back to their relative countries can’t take advantage with the strength of
the dollar. Similarly, tourism is going to decline since visiting the south Florida
attractions and all its expenditures will have a higher cost than previous
years.
I
believe that small business owners and the departments of the cities in south
Florida will have the problem here. Tourists and foreign merchants won’t visit
or purchase as much in the area which overall affects the business owners and
cities and their likelihood to increase over previous years’ revenue.
2.
South
Florida housing market barrels toward unaffordability
This
story explained the recent housing market in South Florida. Unfortunately, for
first time home buyers, it seems like it will be tougher to buy real estate
since most of the market has increase by about 9% - 11% but wages in these
areas have only increased by about 4%. Although this is compared to South Florida’s
“historic standards”, it is still an unfortunate increase for real estate
making it less affordable.
I
believe the problem resides with the housing market and it continuous rise,
therefore making it harder for families to purchase better suited homes versus
something that’s the same as their current situation, for some it would be
their first real estate purchase and can be challenging.
I
believe that the buyers will have the problem here. Obviously, they’re trying
to buy into the market but can’t seem to find wiggle room to make their real
estate purchase more affordable. Instead, real estate owners and property
holders will keep purchasing and investing rather than families who are looking
for their new home.
3.
Miami-Dade’s
problem: too few large businesses
The
article focused on a problem Miami-Dade has with businesses. Over the last
decade, the county has seen a tremendous spike in small business development
but on the other hand, large business development has plummeted. The notion
that small businesses are the corner stone of America is the main reason for
the influx in the county, as well as the rise of entrepreneurs and
self-employed individuals. Large businesses are also crucial since they can
usually offer better benefits and higher wages.
The
problem in this article is the spike of small businesses. Of course it’s
important to have them in the county and investing in our local economy but the
more than open up, the broader the competition will be. Large businesses again
will help increase wages and benefits throughout the local economy and allowing
us to invest more money within it.
I
believe the county of Miami-Dade has the problem here. The small businesses
will stay afloat and large businesses will find new homes but the investments
and revenue generated by the larger businesses will produce a deeper blow to
the local economy than the parted revenue small businesses will create.
4.
Some
local homes stuck for years in foreclosure limbo
The
article explained the issue of foreclosed homes in the Orlando area and the
tendency for them to be stuck in the “foreclosure limbo.” It directed the
attention to a special case of a family that had gotten their home foreclosed in
2007 but through the judicial process in Florida and the backlogged properties
waiting to go through the same process, the family has been able to stay in
their home for nearly 5 years. This one case represents the issues with
foreclosed homes within judicial states throughout the nation.
I
think the problem here can be split between the economy and the states methods
of handling these foreclosures. Obviously, throughout the recession of 2007 and
2008, homes were being foreclosed left and right but there were still states
that dealt with the evictions and homeowners in a timely manner. According to
the article, nonjudicial states average around 6 months with a home repossession
but judicial states like Florida on the other hand average around 15 months.
The
problem here I think falls back to the states that will end up dealing with the
homeowners and courts that take 15 months on average to process there repossessions.
5.
Study:
U.S. falls behind in clean-energy investment
This
article is about America falling behind on clean-energy investment. Where at
one time America was a leading investor for this specific kind of energy
development, now many other nations have taken initiative to do the same and
have surpassed America. One of the nations that is noteworthy is China who had
a substantial growth within 5 years. It depicts the lack of investment America
has had in this renewable resource over other nations.
I
believe there isn’t much to this problem except for the lack of investment the
American government has had versus the rest of the nations that surpassed in
this new study. Some of these other nations just seem to have increased their
investment towards these new methods and directed a lot more attention in
providing the needed assets to improve their overall contribution to the
planet.
I
think America will have the overall problem here along with the renewable
resource investors since they haven’t been providing as much over the past few
years. These new methods can decrease our contribution to climate change occurring
but also create new jobs throughout the nation.
Hey Sergio,
ReplyDeleteI like how you used the area of South Florida to identify local opportunities. I'm from down south, and I believe there's a vast amount of untapped potential for entrepreneurs down there. I especially liked number two -- the housing market in South Florida is very turbulent, as affordable housing is either incredibly inadequate or non-existent, and the luxury housing market is too rich. There's opportunity there for investors that want to establish a market for housing at realistic rates. Great job, Sergio!
-Jared
Great articles. Although I do not live in South Florida, I can relate to your second article. I am a first time hopeful buyer, but the process has been excrutiating. The real estate market in my hometown has also increased and it is making it unaffordable to live in decent areas. I have been stuck in bidding wars with plenty of other hopeful buyers.
ReplyDeleteYour last article about America lacking in renewable energy investments is so true. As a country, I do not think we believe in it, which is causing us to fall behind many other countries. I think we really need to get on board as a whole ASAP, otherwise future generations will definitely feel the pain of our ignorance.
Heidi
Hey Sergio,
ReplyDeleteI found all of your articles from Miami and South Florida very interesting. Being from Orlando, I don’t hear much about what issues South Florida is facing and am happy to hear Orlando isn’t the only city facing these issues. Your article about the dollar strengthening is definitely an unmet need I can relate too. I have heard many tourists complaining about how high prices have been because of it and hope it wont have a long-term impact on the economy of Florida.