Sprawl Costs You
Over-Supply Depresses Home Values
The law of supply and demand applies to housing.
When a manufacturer makes too many widgets, the price of widgets goes down and the manufacturer is stuck with too many widgets—he pays the price for his production mistakes. But when too much residential housing is built, not just the developer, but WE ALL suffer from lower property values and the inability to sell our homes. That’s why you need to demand that politicians make development approval decisions responsibly.
Despite much media coverage of recent home price increases, home prices remain significantly down compared to 2007 in every area of Florida—that includes your neighborhood.
Property value decline in sample areas of Florida:
| Location | 3/31/07 to 3/30/14 |
|---|---|
| Tampa | – 37% |
| Orlando | – 36% |
| Miami | – 32% |
| Jacksonville | – 30% |
Are vacant and unsold properties creating an eyesore in your area? Just as manufacturing too many widgets leads to excess inventories, too much housing leads to vacant and unsold housing as homeowners who are hopelessly underwater abandon them or remain stuck in place until property values increase.
For a while, building slowed down. But now the bulldozers are ramping up. Developers propose, and elected officials approve more unneeded residential development. What new residential development is being proposed in your area? Approving too much development puts your home value and quality of life at risk.
The law of supply and demand means that approving even more new housing will continue to depress residential values and push homeowners further under water. When did you buy your home? What is it worth today?
Check the map to see what your home value decline is since 2007. What will be the impact to taxpayers if another 100, 500 or 1000 houses are approved? Use the sprawl cost calculator to do the math to see what the taxpayer costs will be.
