Oakland Park holds workshop on keeping home prices affordable
MIAMI - City of Oakland Park commissioners want to help keep home prices within the reach of people in their community. While they see no urgent need for affordable housing, the commission held an open workshop to hear ideas that could help develop a strategy.
"We certainly want to see that Oakland Park is an affordable city for not only our citizens but also for those who are interested in living in our city," Mayor Aisha Gordon told CBS News Miami.
The build-up around the city is no secret. Along north Dixie Highway, there's a renovated park and billboard boasting blueprints for a multi-million dollar development. One sign of the times, though, feels unwritten to homeowner Mark Harris.
"I'm glad I'm locked in (with a mortgage) but I feel for people trying to get into our community," he said. "It's tough."
Harris bought his house for $350,000 in 2017. His neighbor recently sold for nearly twice that, he said.
In Broward County, the median home price jumped 7.9% in February compared the previous year, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. That increase is greater than what the association recorded in Miami-Dade or Palm Beach County.
While Mayor Gordon feels there is no dire current need for more easily attainable housing, the commission wonders about the future and wants to do as much as possible to keep it that way.
"It matters because it offers an opportunity for individuals to want to come and live in our city and work and play in our city," Gordon said.
Two weeks after seeing the city's first million-dollar home sale of the year, city leaders hosted their workshop for ideas Wednesday evening at 6 pm inside city hall.
Harris was glad to see it happen but wonders if the city can do much to slow the rising tide of home prices.
