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Miami Herald
30-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
The financial gap between renting and owning has grown. In Miami, that's an issue
With high mortgage rates and stubborn home prices, many Miamians are questioning whether homeownership is still within reach. For many, it is not. In May, owning a single-family home cost an estimated $2,086 more per month than renting one in Miami-Dade County, according to data from Miami Realtors. In May 2018, seven years ago, that gap was just $138. For condos and town houses, today it costs $811 more a month to own than to rent, but even that has changed since 2018, when owning actually was cheaper, costing $233 less per month. Does that mean renting is a better financial deal than owning? Not really, real estate experts told the Herald Editorial Board. Buying is still a better decision. But because many people cannot achieve that piece of the American dream, they are also losing out on a major long-term benefit of homeownership — achieving and maintaining middle class status. That's also the focus of the Editorial Board's series The Shrinking Middle. 'Homeownership is the best way to accumulate wealth,' Miami Realtors Chief Economist Gay Cororaton said. Although owning a house may cost more monthly, homeowners build equity over time. With home values dramatically rising in the past years, the 15-year equity on a single-family home in Miami-Dade was more than $550,000 based on the median sales price in 2024, according to Miami Realtors. While your rent may change, mortgage costs are fixed as your home becomes more valuable — assuming it does. Of course, that doesn't take into account how the high price of property insurance has made homeownership costs more volatile even for longtime owners. Still, Cororaton said, 'If you can afford it, don't think that it's cheaper to rent.' That's if you can afford it. The cost gap between renting versus owning is an indicator that many people are left out of homeownership, forced to rent because they cannot afford to own, which, in turn, drives up demand and prices for rentals. That's bad not only for families' financial future, but also for Miami-Dade. Homeownership typically means more community and civic involvement. Areas with more homeowners tend to have less crime, said Eli Beracha, director of the Tibor and Sheila Hollo School of Real Estate at Florida International University. 'When you own a home, you simply care about a neighborhood,' Beracha told the Editorial Board. Based on a median single-family home sales price of $675,000, the monthly cost of a mortgage, plus taxes and insurance, is $5,656, according to Miami Realtors. The median rent for a house, as of May, was $3,600, which isn't necessarily affordable, either. Miami has become a hub for millionaires since the pandemic, but more than half the people in the county are living paycheck to paycheck, the Herald reported. A family of two adults and two kids needs about $90,000 per year to afford basic needs, according to United Way. Even if you make enough to afford the basics, homeownership might still be beyond your reach. Only 3% of single-family homes listed for sale at the end of May were what Miami Realtors consider 'affordable,' meaning they cost less than $400,000. In 2019, those homes represented 30% of listings. Is the option then to wait until prices go back to what they were pre-pandemic? Probably not. The Fed is expected to resume its interest rate cuts in the second half of the year, according to Cororaton, and home sales have dropped and prices have stabilized after a post-pandemic high. But Cororaton and Beracha don't believe prices will drop significantly. That probably means that many people will continue to be locked out of homeownership and subject to price fluctuations in rents that could eventually push them to leave South Florida, where the American dream of homeownership continues to elude a large share of our population.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
TNT endorsement: Here's our pick for Tacoma's City Council Pos. 5
This year, voters in parts of East and South Tacoma have a choice between two approaches to some of Tacoma's most pressing problems. This race, which is for City Council Pos. 5, is one of two primary races where an incumbent is challenged by someone with experience organizing in the community. The News Tribune Editorial Board is endorsing the incumbent, Joe Bushnell. He won this newspaper's endorsement during his first election, and he's earned it again this time. Bushnell, 35, combines an eye for reform and the insights gained from experience, making a strong case for his ability to be an effective council member. His familiarity with recent reforms to housing policy makes him well suited to oversee their rollout. Those include Home in Tacoma Phase 2, the city's multi-pronged approach to increasing affordable housing, and the recent votes over tenant's rights reforms. Bushnell lists his work on those two issues among the biggest accomplishments of his first term. He also has a well rounded perspective on how different problems in the city play off of each other. For example, he listed services that keep people out of homelessness, improved police recruitment and retention and investment in services that lift up youth and the community to prevent crime. Bushnell also touts his work on lowering response times to 911 calls through efforts to fill vacant law enforcement jobs. The board hopes that, if re-elected, Bushnell will combine his laudable long-term vision on crime reduction with attention to the impact of crime today. Bushnell is endorsed by mayor Victoria Woodards and five other sitting members of city council; County Executive Ryan Mello, U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland and a slate of local state lawmakers and state agency heads also endorse him. A product of Tacoma and Stadium High School, Bushnell served in the U.S. Marine Corps before transitioning to civilian life and a job with the Washington Hospitality Association. Zev Cook, the other candidate who participated in the endorsement process, talked about policy ideas that hew to the platform of the Tacoma and Pierce County Democratic Socialists of America. That group also endorses her. Those policies include raising the minimum wage in Tacoma, and creating a public social housing developer to help achieve her goal of building 25,000 affordable homes. Zev, who will turn 26 in September, is also a proponent of an excessive income tax on big businesses, which resembles what's commonly called a wealth tax. The editorial board was split on the merits of her ambitious policy proposals, but agreed that there wasn't a realistic way forward for many of them in Tacoma's current fiscal and political landscape. What's more, her lack of experience in government stands out during an election year when four council seats and the choice of a new mayor will be on the ballot. Cook describes herself as a community organizer who has worked as a shelter manager and case worker for people experiencing homelessness. She's no doubt familiar with the struggles many Tacoma residents face and her clear commitment to finding solutions is praiseworthy. She has the endorsement of several unions, and two other city council candidates in other races. Those are Silong Chhun, who is also challenging an incumbent in district 4, and Latasha Palmer who is running for Pos. 6, an at-Large seat on city council. Brandon Vollmer is also running, but did not participate in the endorsement interview process. The News Tribune Editorial Board is: Laura Hautala, opinion editor; Stephanie Pedersen, TNT president and editor; Jim Walton, community representative; Justin Evans, community representative; Bart Hayes, community representative. Solve the daily Crossword
Miami Herald
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Miami commissioners gave themselves an extra year in office. It's time to do this next
Miami voters don't always get enough of a voice in how their own city is being run. Take the vote on elections last month, for example. City commissioners decided to move the election date from 2025 to 2026 — and extend their terms on the board by a year — in the name of moving elections to even-numbered years to increase voter participation — a seemingly good idea for which the Herald Editorial Board has advocated. The problem is the commission didn't ask for permission from the voters, many of whom were understandably outraged at the idea that elected officials could just decide to stay in their jobs for an extra year — and get another year of salary, courtesy of taxpayers. The power grab, as many characterized the decision, not surprisingly, spawned national headlines. One would-be 2025 candidate, whose plans were upended by the change, has already filed suit. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who benefits from the change, quickly signed the measure into law. But there's some better news for voters. Earlier this week, commissioners passed a proposal, 3-2, to allow voters to decide in November whether to impose a lifetime term limit on the city's elected officials — two four-year terms as mayor and two four-year terms as commissioner. There is a loophole in the proposal that should be noted, and it's one that could allow some legacy politicians a chance to run again. The wording of the proposal specifically excludes 'any time served as a result of having been elected to fill a vacancy.' That means Commissioner Joe Carollo, a highly controversial figure, could run for mayor again. He has already served two terms as mayor and multiple stints as city commissioner, dating back to 1979. But because he won his first term as mayor in a special election (to fill the vacancy created by the death of Mayor Stephen Clark in 1996), he would, under this new proposal, still be eligible to run for mayor one more time. Also potentially affected by the loophole: Xavier Suarez, another former mayor. Xavier Suarez — whose son is Miami mayor now — served three terms in the 1980s. But only one of those was a four-year term, opening the door to another run for him as well under the proposed term limits. Those are important caveats for voters to understand, since they are the ones who will be deciding the term-limit question in a special election this November. That the decision rests in the hands of voters is a very good thing. Term limits are a good idea that voters should approve, but there's another proposal for a change in the way Miami is governed that we think is more important: expanding the number of seats on the city commission. The Editorial Board has advocated for this for several years, including as part of our Miami Dysfunction series of editorials. The idea that Miami, a city of almost 450,000 people, has only five commissioners to represent its residents defies common sense. We believe Miami's City Commission must grow from five districts to seven or nine to put in on par with other cities of similar or even smaller populations. Tampa, for example, with a population of about 400,000, has seven city council members, four elected in districts and three at-large. The change is also needed because the current structure — five commissioners, each elected in a single district — isn't working. Anyone who has seen the temper tantrums and in-fighting on the dais — embarrassing displays by our leaders — knows that the frequent 3-2 votes on the commission mean one person can hold enormous power. Diluting the power with a bigger board would help. And if districts are smaller, Miami residents might get more responsive representation out of the deal, too. A local citizens' group, called Stronger Miami, has been gathering signatures on a petition in an attempt to get the question on the ballot in November. But it shouldn't take a petition drive for Miami commissioners to start taking this idea seriously. If they can vote themselves an extra year in office, surely they can entertain the idea of expanding the commission so it better represents the people. Click here to send the letter.
Wall Street Journal
06-07-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
WSJ Opinion: Trump Gets his 'Big, Beautiful Bill'
From the award-winning opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal, the Journal Editorial Report sees columnists and members of the Journal Editorial Board debate the major economic, political and cultural issues of the day. From the policy debates to the political fights, each week get critical perspective and the analysis you need on developments from Washington.
Wall Street Journal
06-07-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
WSJ Opinion: New York City Gears up for a Long, Hot Socialist Summer
From the award-winning opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal, the Journal Editorial Report sees columnists and members of the Journal Editorial Board debate the major economic, political and cultural issues of the day. From the policy debates to the political fights, each week get critical perspective and the analysis you need on developments from Washington.
