Houses are Piling up in Florida

The inventory of unsold houses is piling up in Florida. The Jersey Shore doesn't seem to be as speculative as Florida. However, when people with loans underwritten by national banks like Wachovia or Wells Fargo start to default in Florida, those banks are going to raise mortage rates all over the country, including here in Jersey.


"Lee County's housing market is slowing after years of robust growth — and the worst may be yet to come as homes already being built flood the market.

That's the word from experts who keep an eye on the numbers, and the numbers lately are raising concerns.

Every day, more than 400 houses go on the market, but only about a hundred are sold, according to real estate broker Denny Grimes, owner of Denny Grimes & Co. About 300 owners per day are reducing their sales prices.

While prices haven't fallen much, unsold houses are piling up and "the inventory will get worse before it gets better," said Grimes, who tracks the residential market for the annual The News-Press Market Watch real estate symposium to be held later this month."

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