October 4, 2025 “Real Estate Matters” Video Podcast – Impact Fee Lawsuit

Real Estate Matters, for more than 11 years, the voice of real estate for Palm Coast and Flagler County. Sponsored by Veranda Bay, the new luxury Intracoastal Community in Flagler Beach.

Flagler Homebuilders files lawsuit against City of Palm Coast over excessive increase in Impact Fees. Meanwhile, home sales are up.

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Raw Show Notes

Our behind-the-scenes guide to the show’s flow, covering many topics we didn’t have time to get to on the show. This is raw and likely contains typos. Data reflects the date of the show’s recording.

Show Notes 10-4-2025

Recorded 10-2-2025

Welcome to Real Estate Matters, for over 11 years, the voice of real estate in Flagler County and Palm Coast, Florida.

I’m Toby Tobin, the publisher of GoToby.com, contributor to the Palm Coast Observer, and a Florida-licensed Realtor with The Landmark Group at Compass. Co-host, Annamaria Long, with the Flagler County Homebuilders Association, is in the studio with me today.

Thanks to Our Sponsors:

• Our Lead Sponsor is Veranda Bay – A private developing community of lots and luxury homes on the Intracoastal Waterway in Flagler Beach, featuring custom homes by Olsen Homes, AR Homes by Arthur Rutenberg, ICI Homes, and Hulbert Homes. Newly opened sections feature homes by Toll Brothers and Dream Finders. To learn more, visit VerandaBay.com.
• Flagler County Home Builders Association
• Hammock Community Church – On A1A in The Hammock – Small enough to know you but large enough to serve you. North of the toll bridge with the message sign out front. It’s not just for Hammockians. Like me, many people cross the bridge.

September almost Final

• 250 Homes sold via the Flagler MLS at $375.5K vs 221 homes at $362.4K last September DOM=62 this year
• $250K and lower = 11, 6 were cash, DOM 11
• $1M+ = 15, 10 were cash, DOM 98
• Homes listed – 1,291, down from 1,438 in July
• Homes Pending – 326 up from 294 in July
• Median Price of homes pending – $388,515K
• GINNdex is down from 4.9 in July to 3.9

Home sales up 13.1% from last year for the best month since June.

Median price up 3.6% from last September for the best performance since January.

Total sales up 14.7%. Best month since June 2024. Note: September is traditionally one of the six slowest months in the market.

Main Topic: How is the impact fee lawsuit by the HBA against the city going?

The HBA agrees with the concept of impact fees. The lawsuit challenges recent increases in fire, parks, and transportation fees that exceed statutory limits, claiming extraordinary circumstances where such circumstances do not exist.

The $5M American Dream

Living the American dream—owning a home, raising kids, retiring comfortably, and maybe throwing in a vacation or two—has never been cheap. Still, a new report from Investopedia presents a striking statistic: Over a lifetime, checking all the traditional boxes now incurs a $5 million price tag.

Investopedia calculated the estimated lifetime costs of eight milestones Americans most often associate with the dream: retirement, healthcare, homeownership, raising two children and sending them to college, weddings, cars, annual vacations, and pets.

In 2024, the median household income was $84,000, or only $2.8M over a lifetime.

Filler News:

• WalletHub ranked four Florida cities among the best cities to retire. Orlando #1, Miami #4, Tampa #5, and Fort Lauderdale #7
• Homeownership Costs Have Jumped 26% Over 5 Years as Hidden Expenses Rise. Typical monthly expenses for homeowners surged by more than a quarter in the five years through 2024, a comprehensive new report from the U.S. Census Bureau has revealed.
• The median monthly ownership costs for U.S. homeowners with a mortgage jumped to $2,035 last year, according to new American Community Survey data released by the bureau on Thursday.
• That was up nearly 7% from a year earlier in nominal dollars, and a 26% increase from 2019, when the typical monthly cost for mortgage holders was just $1,609.

Wrap up:

Video podcasts of Real Estate Matters are now available on GoToby.com. Click on Podcasts on the top navigation bar.

If you have a question or a suggestion for Real Estate Matters or GoToby.com, reach out to me.

(386) 931-7124 or email me at Toby@GoToby.com

I’m Toby Tobin and I approve this show.

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