Florida has long been feeling housing pains
— -- Long before the debate over a federal bailout of the nation's financial institutions took center stage, sagging property values and soaring mortgage payments triggered in part by adjustable interest rates and increasing taxes threatened to force thousands of Floridians into foreclosure.
According to RealtyTrac, Florida's 44,000 foreclosure filings in August trailed only California in the number of properties affected. California had 101,724 filings. Florida's foreclosure woes surpassed the rest of the Top 5 states: Arizona, 14,333; Michigan,13,605; and Nevada, 11,706.
Much like Southern California, Arizona and Nevada, Florida experienced a home-building boom earlier this decade, said David Denslow, professor and research economist at the University of Florida.
"There were lots and lots of people who were busily selling real estate. The homeownership rate here goes up from 66 to 72% between 2000 and 2006 — that's a huge change," Denslow said. "All of a sudden, the population growth slowed. The housing sales slowed. And the construction workers left. And so, we've been in a recession since roughly May of 2007."
Though the presidential campaigns of Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama have presented various ideas for handling the real estate crisis, residents don't agree on how much difference the next president can make.
"I wish we could have two presidents. I think it's too much for one person," said Belkis Young, 45, of Cape Coral, Fla. She said lenders call "all hours of the day" since she got behind on mortgages for her home and two rental properties. She's an undecided voter.
McCain has called for the creation of a U.S. Justice Department "mortgage abuse task force." It would "offer assistance to state attorney generals who are investigating abusive lending practices," said Mario Diaz, McCain's Southeast regional communication director.
McCain, who flew to Washington on Wednesday for a Senate vote on the bailout measure, has also proposed short-term steps, saying the Treasury Department should use an already-approved $1 trillion fund to buy up bad mortgages. "We are in the greatest financial crisis of our lifetimes," McCain told a business roundtable in Des Moines on Tuesday.
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