The Tampa Bay Rays demand $1 billion for their new stadium, two pairs of regional realtors’ groups merge, and starter homes lose their appeal. From the wild and wooly world of real estate, here are our Hits and Misses for the week of April 20-24.
Miss: Cough Up $1 Billion Or We Play Ball Elsewhere. When it comes to chutzpah, nothing beats the Tampa Bay Rays and their demand for $1 billion in public funds to help finance their proposed $2.3 billion new stadium. Even more galling, the team set a June 1 deadline for officials in Tampa and Hillsborough County to approve their request. And as an extra treat, this comes after the Rays returned to their longtime home at Tropicana Field following a multimillion-dollar repair job to fix the damage from Hurricane Milton. CEO Ken Babby warned, “Should this commitment ultimately not be achievable, we would have no choice but to evaluate alternatives.” Considering the obvious lack of cities willing to drop $1 billion on the Rays, perhaps the team needs to reconsider its tactics.
Hit: Merger Mania. This week saw two news stories involving the merger of regional realtor groups. A pair of Florida-based organizations, the Miami Association of Realtors and Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors (RWorld) along with their respective MLSs, have announced they are merging into a single association and MLS, effective May 11. That will result in a 93,000-member entity, making it the largest local realtor association in the world. Over in Texas, the San Antonio Board of Realtors (SABOR) and Four Rivers Association of Realtors, have announced a strategic merger agreement that will create a 14,500-member organization spanning 18 counties. If you’re a proponent of strength in numbers, these consolidations could create more vibrant and politically powerful organizations representing their industry’s professionals.
Hit: Pirro Backs Down. US Attorney Jeanine Pirro was forced to drop her investigation into the Federal Reserve and Chairman Jerome Powell when it became too obvious that Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) was willing to scuttle President Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as Powell’s successor. Tillis vowed to block Warsh’s confirmation as long as Pirro was trying to pursue a criminal probe of the cost overruns at the Fed’s headquarters, while Pirro vowed to push ahead despite the possibility that Trump’s nominee would be imperiled. Ultimately, Pirro’s vow had less substance. And considering the inept manner in which Pirro handled this bungle endeavor – which her office admitted was launched despite zero evidence of criminal activity by Powell or the central bank – perhaps it wouldn’t be such a bad idea if Pirro followed her one-time boss Pam Biondi out of the Justice Department’s exit door.
Hit and Miss: One and Done. One of the more interesting survey stories from this week was the latest BMO Real Financial Progress Index report that found 65% of buyers expected their first purchase to be their forever home. Meanwhile, 58% of non‑homeowners believed buying a starter home and upgrading later simply “makes no sense these days.” This is primarily because many buyers are purchasing their first home only after starting a family; two in five prospective homebuyers currently in the market have at least one child. The good news here is that there are still many prospective buyers eager to have their share of the American Dream. The bad news, though, is what the housing market is going to look like down the road if fewer people want to sell their homes and if there are still inadequate amounts of new construction to fill demand.
Hit: A Long Overdue Comeback. There was great news this week out of Kansas City as the long-shuttered Boone Theater is being readied for a reopening on May 1. KCTV reports the venue’s return follows an $8.7 million redevelopment effort. The property dates back to 1924, and most recently it served as a National Guard armory in the early 1970s before being shut down. The Boone is also designated to become the future home of the Black Movie Hall of Fame, and it will also feature music studios along with its theatrical screenings.
Hit: How Does Your Garden Grow? This week saw the publication of “Garden Yourself Happy,” a new book by Jonny Hincks, a British firefighter who generated a robust following on social media for his @GardenWithJonny pages where he mixes horticulture and humor. Gardens, of course, make a wonderful exterior focal point for any home and Hincks’ book provides user-friendly advice on maintaining a healthy garden throughout the year. I had the pleasure to review his book for The Epoch Times – you can read that review here, and I strongly recommend adding Hincks’ book to your springtime reading.
Phil Hall is editor of Weekly Real Estate News. He can be reached at [email protected].
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