I was talking to a guy in a bar one day a few years ago musing about all the very expensive homes in FLA and Fort Lauderdale in particular. He commented, and I take this as a possible reason - we were in a bar after all, that FLA is a "Homestead State". Essentially, the point is that if you declare bankruptcy in FLA they can take everything of value save your home. In essence then, if you are in the pink financially and want to shield yourself from possible future financial problems, buy a big house in FLA for $10-$20M and even if you take a bath you can sell your home later and not worry about starving.
As I said, I don't know how much that factors into everyone's thinking when purchasing a home, but perhaps it goes some ways to explain the homes we see as we headed South. One other comment, these are all custom homes, big or bigger we have not seen two alike.
To add a little context on price - we saw a small empty lot, about half the size of the houses pictured here for $1.3M. You can only guess what the rest of these properties are worth! Oh well - we get to float by and enjoy the same view for a fraction of the price.
FLA Dreaming!!
OMG... they must look out their windows saying things like... "Let them eat cake".
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