The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office teamed up with the Florida Gaming Control Commission and Attorney General James Uthmeier for what they called Operation Reel of Fortune. Deputies served search warrants at seven sites in Volusia County alone. By the end of those searches, investigators had taken about $97,000 in cash and 225 gambling machines, according to the sheriff’s office.

Across the broader region, officers hit 39 locations. In total, authorities reported seizing roughly $190,000 and 525 machines during the multi-county sweep.

Sheriff Mike Chitwood said the effort is part of a larger partnership with the Attorney General’s Office aimed at closing down video gambling businesses that skirt Florida law. “These are illegal, okay?” Chitwood said in a video post. “They take your money, they money launder it, and they send it overseas to be used against our country.”

Investigators say many of the seized devices were unregulated and, in some cases, intentionally programmed so players had no real shot at winning. According to law enforcement, customers often believe they are playing legitimate games with possible payouts, when the machines are instead designed to keep the money flowing in one direction.

FGCC wants to thank our partners Attorney General James Uthmeier, Sheriff Ivey, Sheriff Chitwood, Sheriff Waters, and Sheriff Staly for helping us close 39 illegal casinos, confiscate $190,000, and seize 525 illegal slot machines. Chair Julie Brown shared the results.#FGCC pic.twitter.com/XcC9ZwhurM

— Florida Gaming Control Commission (@FLGamingControl) February 27, 2026

“If it looks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, if it swims like a duck, it’s a duck,” Chitwood added during a news conference, pointing out that the machines clearly constitute illegal gambling. He added that some devices examined by investigators were set up to never pay out, calling the practice “theft” and “cheating.”

A push against illegal gambling and cash machines in Florida

The crackdown comes as state officials intensify pressure on illegal gambling operators. Attorney General Uthmeier recently backed tougher penalties for those running unlawful gaming businesses, pushing for stronger consequences to deter repeat offenders and organized networks.

The Florida Gaming Control Commission has also stepped up enforcement. In a separate action, the commission publicly destroyed 147 illegal slot machines that had been confiscated in prior investigations, sending what officials described as a clear message that unauthorized gaming devices will not be returned to circulation.

In Orange County, authorities earlier shut down an illegal gambling operation that was concealed behind a functioning garage door, showcasing how some operators attempt to hide their activities in plain sight.

Uthmeier said about 40 unlawful gambling operations were dismantled over several days in the latest coordinated effort, describing it as a meaningful disruption of organized networks operating across Central Florida.

Game over.

Illegal gambling houses are often connected to more serious offenses including drug and human trafficking, laundering, and other violent crimes.

In 2026, we will be cracking down on these illicit establishments and pushing stronger charges. https://t.co/EQTLf9R7wY

— James Uthmeier (@JamesUthmeierFL) February 27, 2026

Chitwood also took aim at landlords who knowingly lease space to these businesses. He urged lawmakers to clarify the legal landscape and take a firm stance.

“You got to make a decision,” Chitwood said. “Either you’re going to legalize it, tax it, and regulate it, or you’re going to shut it down and hold everybody accountable.”

The Volusia County locations targeted included businesses in Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach, DeLand, Orange City and Deltona. Authorities have not yet released details about arrests or potential charges, but officials said the investigations remain active and more enforcement actions could follow.

Featured image: Screenshot from Volusia Sheriff’s Office via X

The post Florida illegal gambling sweep seizes cash machines appeared first on Our Story Insight.

A challenge to a monstrously regressive Florida state law that makes it easier for books to be pulled from school libraries is making its way through a federal circuit court in Atlanta. The appeal was brought by a group of publishers, authors, and parents who say their First Amendment rights are being trampled by Florida’s House Bill 1069, which became law in 2023.

Pro-literary and pro-library groups like Authors Against Book Bans and Florida Freedom to Read Project are warning of major, nationwide impacts if the court rules in favor of Florida State.

When House Bill 1069 became law, it required books and other materials to be taken out of school libraries and classrooms if anyone files any objection claiming the material is pornographic, harms minors, or contains descriptions or depictions of sexual conduct. The onus is on schools and libraries to resist this censorious overreach, which takes time and resources, and many have chosen to preemptively remove books rather than face a legal or public challenge. This creates an environment where book banners are empowered to threaten schools, and make it easier than ever to remove books and other materials. It’s a tool that right wing book censors are reaching for repeatedly, with little that under-resourced students, parents, and districts can do to stop them.

The law was swiftly challenged in 2024, and the appeal is currently being decided on in the Eleventh Circuit U.S. District Court based in Atlanta, which oversees district courts in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. The legal challenge was brought by the Big Five publishers, Sourcebooks, The Authors Guild, a number of authors, and two parents. These plaintiffs argue that Florida’s law infringes on their First Amendment rights, doesn’t recognize the expertise of teachers and librarians, and allows for the unconstitutional prohibitions of books and other materials.

The state of Florida’s defense of the bill in response to this appeal is chilling. Their lawyers are arguing that since public school libraries and classrooms are government entities, they represent “government speech,” which is exempt from First Amendment protection. They also claim that public school libraries are a “government benefit” which the state is not required to provide.

I often think about the observation that if public libraries didn’t already exist, their invention would be condemned as a socialist plot.

Florida is proposing a dark future, where public libraries are an unnecessary entitlement and schools must be compelled—even more than they already are—to represent a state agenda. This dismal outlook is already finding nationwide traction. Florida’s case has been supported by 21 other states who send in amicus briefs: Arkansas, Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

To make matters worse, Florida’s legislature is now considering HB 1119, a bill that expands on HB 1069 to further enable book banners. The bill “requires schools to judge books by isolated passages rather than by the work as a whole,” empowering the censoring tactic of plucking language out of context to make it seem maximally salacious.

If you’re in Florida, contact your local representatives to ask them to oppose this bill. But for the ongoing legal challenge to HB 1069, we’ll all have to wait for a ruling. In the meantime, you can get connected with groups like the Florida Freedom to Read Project and Authors Against Book Bans who have lots of ways to get plugged in and champion the cause of reading and libraries.

The post » Florida is now claiming school libraries are “government speech.” appeared first on Our Story Insight.

Tech startup Homa says at least 10 homes have already closed end-to-end using its AI-powered system, with several more deals currently in escrow — a shift that could challenge a commission-driven industry already rattled by a recent landmark National Association of Realtors settlement.

Homa’s platform allows buyers to self-represent, cutting out the buyer’s agent commission — typically around 2.5% to 3% — and either pocket the savings or apply them toward closing costs.

Florida homebuyers are increasingly turning to AI platforms like Homa to buy homes without a buyer’s agent — and save thousands in commissions. Davide Angelini – stock.adobe.com

Those savings can be substantial.

DJ, a 32-year-old pharmacist, said he bought a $420,000 home in the Tampa Bay area using Homa and saved $10,500 on a buyer’s agent commission.

“Once I heard about this, I was like, let me just go down this route,” DJ, who didn’t want his last name published, told The Post.

“They pretty much walk you through the whole [thing] step by step, and you can end up saving at least 2.5% on your final purchase price.”

Vicki Lynn, a physical therapist assistant who relocated from California to Vero Beach, said she purchased a $313,000 home and saved about $8,000, which she applied directly toward closing costs.

DJ, a 32-year-old pharmacist, said he saved $10,500 after using AI to buy a $420,000 home in the Tampa Bay area. Provided

“I just dove right in,” she said. “The contract system was similar to TurboTax — filling in the blanks. Very straightforward.”

Homa was co-founded by Arman Javaherian, a former senior product director at Zillow.

He told The Post that he got the idea for an AI-powered web site that would cut out the middleman after years of watching buyers do most of the work — only to see agents collect five-figure commissions at the finish line.

“At Zillow, I saw firsthand a lot of inefficiencies in the process,” Javaherian said.

“Homebuyers are going on search sites, finding the homes themselves, doing all this legwork — and then these agents come in and make $10,000, $20,000, $30,000.”

Vicki Lynn, who relocated from California to Vero Beach, said she used AI to purchase a $313,000 home and applied roughly $8,000 in savings toward closing costs. Provided

He said the NAR settlement from March, which forces buyers to sign contracts with agents before touring homes, was the catalyst.

“For the first time, buyers are seeing in black and white how much buyers’ agents get paid,” Javaherian said.

“A lot of them are taking a step back and looking for alternatives.”

Homa’s system combines home search, instant tour scheduling, AI-generated pricing analysis and automated contract creation — allowing buyers to submit offers within hours instead of days.

“We can get people into a home immediately and help them put an offer together the same day,” Javaherian said.

Start your day with all you need to know

Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.

Thanks for signing up!

“All powered by data. It’s 2025 — we don’t need to do this manually anymore.”

The company launched a free self-service version earlier this year, followed by a $1,995 paid tier — called Homa Pro — that assigns a licensed transaction broker to the deal and ensures the buyer receives the rebated commission.

Without that layer, Javaherian said, some listing agents try to pocket both sides of the commission when buyers show up without representation.

For some buyers, AI is quietly becoming a second set of eyes.

As buyer-agent commissions face new scrutiny after the NAR settlement, AI-powered self-representation is gaining traction among cost-conscious buyers. MclittleStock – stock.adobe.com

On Redfin, home shoppers type out what they actually want in plain language — a quiet street, room to grow, a short commute — and let the platform surface homes and neighborhoods they hadn’t thought to search.

Others lean on Zillow — using its automated price estimates to decide whether a listing feels fair or inflated before calling an agent.

In markets where speed matters, buyers encounter homes owned or priced by Opendoor, where algorithms set prices and timelines with little negotiation.

More research-driven buyers turn to Flyhomes, using its AI tools to ask questions they might be embarrassed to ask a human.

PROMISE AND PERIL

Despite AI’s potential benefits for homebuyers, not everyone is convinced.

Inside the brokerage world, some agents warn that platforms like Homa risk oversimplifying a business built on human judgment, negotiation psychology and local intelligence that doesn’t show up in public records.

Ivan Chorney, a Miami area broker with Compass, said AI-generated advice often amounts to little more than generic formulas already offered by Zillow and other portals — while missing the off-market context that can make or break a deal.

“Where real buyer representation becomes valuable is understanding people and context,” Chorney said.

“Motivation, pressure, ego, timing — those things don’t live in public records.”

Critics inside the real estate industry warn that AI-driven home buying oversimplifies negotiations that rely on human judgment and local knowledge. Monkey Business – stock.adobe.com

He added that local intelligence — such as undisclosed development plans or nearby construction — can dramatically change a property’s value and isn’t captured by AI models scanning listings.

“I don’t see a future where AI replaces experienced human advisors,” Chorney said.

“The best outcomes will come from professionals who use AI to enhance judgment, not from AI trying to replace it.”

For buyers who used Homa, that tradeoff was precisely the appeal.

Lynn said working with agents often meant delays, miscommunication, and pressure — especially after being asked to sign multiple exclusive contracts just to tour homes.

“I felt like I was dealing with too many people,” she said.

“Questions would get watered down as they went through the buyer’s agent and seller’s agent. It was frustrating.”

Once she cut ties and used Homa, she said she submitted an offer the very next night.

“I wanted control,” Lynn said. “And I got it.”

Javaherian insists Homa isn’t a fully autonomous AI free-for-all.

Some agents argue that AI can scan listings and prices but misses off-market details that can make or break a deal. Prostock-studio – stock.adobe.com

“All AI has hallucinations,” he acknowledged.

“That’s why with Homa Pro, we assign a human transaction broker to review offers and negotiations.”

He compared the model to autonomous driving systems, which still rely on human oversight.

“We’re aiming for 95% or 98% autonomy — not 100%,” he said. “This is the biggest purchase of someone’s life.”

So far, Homa operates only in Florida, but the company plans to expand into Texas and California next year. It is backed by venture firms Restive Ventures and Cambrian Ventures and is currently raising its next funding round.

Whether AI remains a niche tool for real estate or becomes a mainstream alternative remains an open question — but with commissions under fresh scrutiny and buyers increasingly willing to go it alone, the pressure on traditional agents may be intensifying.

“Most people don’t even realize they’re allowed to buy a house without a buyer’s agent — until now,” Javaherian said.

The post Some Florida homebuyers using AI to get homes without agents, saving thousands appeared first on Our Story Insight.

Along with the sentencing, the court has also entered an order for forfeiture in the amount of $1,354,757.64, the proceeds of the criminal conduct, and restitution in the amount of $15,028,309.89 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

It was on December 2, 2024, when George Tucker Jr entered a guilty plea, with the update on the sentencing having been provided on December 19 by the United States Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida.

According to the update, court documents show that beginning in March 2021, and continuing through to February 2024, the man “engaged in a scheme to defraud the IRS.”

Lakeland man’s tax returns included ‘fabricated figures for gambling winnings and losses’

The press release states: “Tucker prepared or assisted in the preparation of 316 false and fraudulent tax returns for 196 taxpayers, including himself, for tax years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

“The tax returns contained falsified Schedules A, B, 1, and 3, as well as fraudulent Forms W-2G, which contained fabricated figures for gambling winnings and losses, and federal tax withholding amounts (based on the fake gambling winnings). The false tax returns requested substantial refunds from the IRS that the taxpayers were not legally entitled to receive.”

The total intended tax loss from the tax returns the man prepared amounted to $59,941,751, while it’s reported that the actual loss totaled $15,028,309.89, which the IRS paid out to taxpayers either as tax refunds or credits applied to prior debts.

The media release states the man “personally profited $1,354,757.64 in the form of payments from his taxpayer-clients or refunds he received directly from the IRS.” He is said to have used the money to enrich himself, including buying expensive jewelry.

“These defendants spent their days looking for ways to cheat. Those who deliberately exploit our tax system for personal gain will face serious consequences,” said Special Agent in Charge Ron Loecker of the IRS Criminal Investigation Florida Field Office. “These prosecutions reflect the dedication of our agents to protecting honest taxpayers and upholding justice for all Americans.”

Featured Image: Lakeland skyline via Butter142 on Wikimedia Commons, CC 4.0 license

The post Florida gambling fraud scheme ends in seven-year sentence appeared first on Our Story Insight.

As we’ve previously reported, Florida has had a series of cases involving illegal gambling. Most recently, a raid found 11 stores housing illegal gambling machines. Cape Coral police seized over $500K in another raid, while nearly 250 machines were seized in yet another raid. That’s just in August.

Hoenemeyer’s statement speaks out against illegal gambling, particularly targeting the ramifications that come with gambling. Outside of the taxation issue, he brings up that these gambling houses often “prey on people who are unaware” of what they’re actually doing.

As there’s no legal backing for these backroom casinos, any issues that arise around the act of gambling won’t be able to easily sorted. Hoenemeyer speculates that these backroom casinos would also be used for drug-related activity, as well as “violent criminal activity”.

A reason given for their persistence is that the Florida law enforcement doesn’t have the resources, meaning that they’re lagging behind. However, it’s comparable to a hydra, with Hoenemeyer stating that as soon as “one illegal gambling house is closed down, another pops up in a strip mall down the street.”

Florida has strict anti-gambling laws, with two counties allowed to operate slot machines, and a litany of various restrictions for other types of gambling.

What gambling is legal in Florida?

From the Florida Gaming website, here’s what’s legal in the Sunshine State:

• Pari-mutuel wagering on live and intertrack horse and jai-alai activities at licensed racetracks and jai-alai frontons
• Casino gambling, including slots and table games, on certain Indian tribal lands
• The Florida lottery games
• Poker and Dominoes played for money, but only in a licensed cardrooms
• Penny-ante games including poker, pinochle, bridge, rummy, canasta, hearts, dominoes, and mah-jongg may be played outside a cardroom only if the winnings of any player in a single game do not exceed $10 in value
• Slot machine gaming at one of the eight licensed pari-mutuel facilities located in Miami-Dade or Broward Counties
• Bingo, sweepstakes, and drawings for chance, if they comply with state law

It’s not the first time a warning has come out from Florida gambling outfits. The Florida Miccosukee tribe has recently had to come out and warn that illicit adverts using their branding are not to be followed, as online gambling is illegal in the state. ReadWrite also previously reported on the rise of illegal gambling in the US, with recent studies putting it at 74% of all gambling in the country goes towards illegal or offshore outfits.

Featured image: Hard Rock / Seminole Gaming

The post Seminole Gaming’s COO speaks out against rise in illegal gambling in Florida appeared first on Our Story Insight.

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She’s the editor/author of (DON’T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen.

View All posts by Kelly Jensen

Despite the legal precedent of “local control” in Florida’s statutes related to book bans in public schools, the State Board of Education has been threatening legal action against districts that don’t remove 55 books they deem inappropriate. It began with Florida’s Education Commissioner and Attorney General writing letters to leadership at Hillsborough County Public Schools. The Education Commissioner’s letter stated that the district had two books deemed “pornographic” in the collection that needed to be removed immediately. The two books are Call Me By Your Name and Jack of Hearts and Other Parts. The Attorney General’s letter added four more titles: Choke, Beautiful, What Girls Are Made Of, and Breathless, which he called “patently pornographic.”

The removal of those six books–done without formal review per both school policy and state policy–then led to the agreement by the Hillsborough County Schools superintendent to pull 49 more books without review, following a heated meeting with the state Board of Education. Among those books was a title that the district had already had a challenge to and that went through the formal review process. It had been retained for certain grade levels.

Targeting Hillsborough was intentional. Florida’s State Board of Education has taken on the role of statewide book censors, despite not having the legal mechanisms in place that states like Utah and South Carolina do. While Florida’s Department of Education requires that each school submit to them books removed from their libraries and why annually, those lists aren’t used to then demand removal of those books from additional schools (as in Utah).

The threats made toward Hillsborough were meant to make other districts not-so-silently remove titles before they, too, became state targets. The Commissioner of the Board has gone so far as to use Twitter to demand book removals and issue threats against state school districts.

The Florida State Board of Education is appointed by the governor. The new Commissioner, Anastasios Kamoutsas, was appointed in June by the governor.

Literary Activism

News you can use plus tips and tools for the fight against censorship and other bookish activism!

Now, just weeks after the gross overreach by the state into policies at the local school district level, eight additional Florida public school districts have capitulated. Each has agreed to remove any of the 55 titles on their shelves deemed to have “sexual content.” Removals will be done without formal review of the titles.

These eight districts represent only those on the record having agreed to the removals. It’s likely others have agreed or will remove the titles quietly so as not to catch the attention of the State Board of Education. The districts who have agreed to removals publicly include Hillsborough, Broward, Columbia, Escambia, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Palm Beach, Pinellas, and St. Johns. Each district joining in the effort to ban books without review is another district bowing to a state-level committee, rather than meeting the needs and interests of their own community. Each district joining in the effort to ban books is another district making clear they’re more interested in showing their loyalty to the state than their obligations to taxpayers.

Escambia County remains one of the most censorious districts in the nation, and it is currently defendant in two separate lawsuits over book bans.  

It comes as no surprise that the majority of books on the list of 55 are by or about queer people and/or people of color. The same books that have been in the crosshairs from the start of this wave of book censorship remain there. Here’s the full list of books being banned right now in Florida schools, despite the state not having the authority to demand their removal at the district level:

There may also soon be three more books on the list. State Commissioner Kamoutsas demanded via Twitter late last week that Hillsborough–and by extension, all Florida public schools–remove Trans Mission by Alex Bertie from shelves, as well as to prepare to remove Blankets by Craig Thompson and Identical by Ellen Hopkins.

How does this list compare to the state-sanctioned banned book lists in Utah and South Carolina? Florida’s list includes 13 of the 18 titles banned in all schools in Utah. Florida’s list includes 12 of the 21 titles banned in all public schools in South Carolina.

Florida’s list does not include the third installment in Sarah J. Maas’s five-book “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series, A Court of Wings and Ruin, a reminder of how arbitrary and haphazard this list is.

Florida’s lawmakers failed to pass new legislation this year that would change the state’s working definition of obscenity. That failure helped tee off this round of censorship.

The Florida Freedom to Read Project asks public education and intellectual freedom advocates to continue showing up to school board meetings, continue asking questions about why districts are making these decisions, and to alert districts who haven’t agreed to blanket removals without review that they’re being watched by taxpayers.

The post Under Threat from State, Florida Public Schools Are Banning These 55+ Books Without Review appeared first on Our Story Insight.

Speaking in the press release, Carl Herold, Director of Gaming Enforcement for the Florida Gaming Control Commission, said:

“Illegal casinos are not part of regulated gaming in Florida. These operations exploit vulnerable individuals, create an uneven playing field for lawful businesses, and bring unwanted crime and disorder to the communities in which they operate.”

Florida police attempt another stab at stamping out illegal gambling

Five locations are detailed in the release, including two under Oz Place. Collectively, the bust retrieved 59 machines from both locations, with an additional $28,394 seized during the operation.

Three arcades were also hit: FL Skill Arcade, Ridge Road Place Arcade, and 777 Arcade. These three locations are where a bulk of the seizures took place, with 190 machines confiscated during the raids. There was also $41,230, $35,46,7, and $86,171 taken from the businesses, respectively, with 777 Arcade losing out the most. Overall, $162,868 was taken from these final locations.

Florida law states that unless licensed, businesses cannot operate slot machines. Despite this, illegal casinos are still a problem for the state. In June, another bust happened, with WESH 2 News reported that Mike Chitwood, Volusia County Sheriff, said the law was “toothless.” Most cases end up being, as with the above, misdemeanors and not overtly detrimental to business.

In July, a suspended Osceola County sheriff was found to be linked to illegal casinos. More recently, the Miccosukee tribe has been struggling to stave off illegal gambling adverts claiming to be tied to the tribe.

The post Nearly 250 slot machines seized in Florida illegal gambling busts appeared first on Our Story Insight.

Some of the region’s leading developers and city leaders make the argument that the trend is permanent and practical as New York City lost billions of dollars in income to the region.

“We as a company, as a family, want to be known for not only building beautiful buildings and shaping skylines, but really creating neighborhoods and creating neighborhoods that can provide housing for everybody,” Related Group CEO Jon Paul Perez told Fox News Digital. “We want Miami to be a world-class city, but we don’t want Miami to be a world-class city just for the wealthy.”

“In a lot of ways across the world, there’s already recognition for the South Florida market as a whole pre-pandemic, but [it] certainly took a completely different turn,” Integra Investments founder and Home Builders of South Florida President Nelson Stabile also told Digital.

Both Perez and Nelson weren’t surprised by a recent report from New York’s Citizens Budget Commission, which found New York City witnessed an outflow of tens of thousands of high-earning residents from 2017 through 2022, who took close to $14 billion in income with them to Florida – with more than $9.2 billion going to Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

“People realize that they love living down here. It’s a pro-business environment, low taxes, and they can move their companies here and not sort of feel like they’re missing out,” Perez said. “Miami’s become sort of like this New York of the South, where we have finance, we have tech, we have hospitality, we have big cruise industries. So we’ve become a much more diversified economy over the last five years.”

“In a lot of ways across the world, there’s already recognition for the South Florida market as a whole pre-pandemic, but [it] certainly took a completely different turn,” Integra Investments founder and Home Builders of South Florida President Nelson Stabile also told Digital. Getty Images

“A change for the greater has made, I think, the city a much more diverse, intellectual city,” the CEO continued. “And we feel strongly that that will continue because I think it’s sort of been discovered now. And when things get discovered, they just continue to expand it and do better.”

“I feel like it’s a natural decision to at least have a presence here in some ways,” Stabile pointed out, noting the “impressive” report numbers are backed by companies like Citadel, Starwood Capital, Apple, Kaseya and Related Ross establishing a “Class-A” presence.

“When you see a major player in the investment world making the decision to move all of their employees and establish their home base here in Miami, in South Florida… it’s exciting,” Stabile said. “The firm comes, then once they’re here, their investments in the area in other projects just continue to grow exponentially.”

The Citizen Budget Commission’s report listed the top reasons that those leaving New York City were driven by: the pandemic, immigration policy, affordability concerns, quality of life issues and work opportunities.

Perez, whose father burst onto the South Florida real estate scene in 1979 and has sold more than $50 billion worth of properties with Related Group, and Stabile – who has called the area home for 32 years and represents the local NAHB chapter – put an emphasis on general well-being as the primary rationale for moving south.

But, there is some worry that steadily rising demand and low supply could price residents out of the hottest markets, like New York City has experienced for decades.

“Six years ago, if you were to have a conversation about rental rates, the whole market was somewhere between $45, $50, maybe $60 a foot. Today, in those same prime markets, Coral Gables is hovering around $100 a foot. And in Brickell, you’re seeing office leases being signed somewhere between $125 to $150 a foot. That’s almost triple the price points that we saw in the past,” Stabile explained.

Traders work on the floor at the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, New York, USA, 19 May 2025. JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

“The only way to balance that scale is to provide more product in the market,” Stabile expanded. “Our market just wasn’t prepared and producing enough new households through new construction projects to be able to make sure that rents would keep at the same levels. So inevitably, there’s more competition for the inventory that exists, and then pricing can be pushed up, and it did. So that is a concern.”

“With these high-earners now, comparing the price of housing here in South Florida to where they’re coming from, I think we’re still underpriced,” Perez argued. “I think what you’re going to see over time is that there really shouldn’t be a discount for South Florida compared to New York, Los Angeles, London, because we are now a major city.”

“One of our key things that we focus on as a company is to provide more workforce housing and affordable housing for really the working class, the middle class, because what we don’t want to happen in the city is that we become a city just for the rich,” Perez said.

Indeed, developers and city planners are actively working together to tear down red tape and speed up residential and commercial building projects to meet permanent migration demand.

Specialist James Denaro works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. AP

“If you bring in more density in vertical developments around public transportation nodes, if you will, you increase the probability of the residents of those areas in utilizing the available infrastructure for public transportation instead of congesting the roads further and further,” Stabile said.

There’s also Florida’s Live Local Act, which was designed to promote affordable housing by offering developers tax, regulatory, land use and funding incentives.

“It was taking a very long period of time from the moment a property owner or an investor would acquire property to when they could effectively start building,” according to Stabile. “The local level jurisdictions need to expedite the process in this sort of way and fashion, so that there is a very clear path for the developer to be able to build… It’s [now] gone through two rounds of amendments, and it’s getting better and better every single time in a way that the kinks are being worked out.”

“The biggest red tape for us, and any developer down here, to be able to meet the supply is getting through the approval and the permitting process,” Perez agreed. “And it’s a thing that we see with the local officials, the head of the building department, the city managers… It can take projects from the time you buy a piece of land till you get a permit, you can be two and a half, three years.”

“We’re very bullish,” Stabile concluded, “and strongly believe in the fact that Florida will continue to be very well-poised to benefit from all of this migration. I do think that from our end, what we can do is, especially being local and understanding the… pain points of the growth and potential… is continue to work together with our governmental bodies to make sure that we’re providing… the infrastructure that’s gonna be needed to absorb all of this positive migration.”

“New York is never not going to be New York. Miami will always be its own version of the Wall Street of the South,” Perez said. “They want to come down and see what’s going on. They all realize the change that’s happened here and how important of a city South Florida has become.”

The post NYC paying the price as the wealthy, financial institutions flock to South Florida appeared first on Our Story Insight.