South Florida by the numbers: 2020 presidential election and real estate

“South Florida by the numbers” is a web feature that catalogs the most notable, quirky and surprising real estate statistics.

You may know that Election Day is Nov. 3. (With all kidding aside, however, will we know who is the winner by the next time this column is published?) Some pundits are predicting a close and heavily contested election, with the added complications of the Covid-19 pandemic, an unprecedented number of mailed-in ballots, and partisan state-level lawsuits already underway. Readers of The Real Deal may be mostly concerned with the candidates’ respective positions on real estate and business issues, and what impact the eventual winner will have on their industry. Here are five recent articles that highlight some of those positions, and the support the candidates are receiving from local real estate players. Whatever the position, we encourage all readers to safely exercise their voting rights and privileges this and every year.

100: Number of questions local governments were required to answer about measures taken to combat discriminatory housing practices in their communities under the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule. President Trump repealed the Obama-era rule in July 2020; former Vice President Biden has said he would reinstate it. [TheRealDeal]

$1.5 million: Amount of Palm Beach County property taxes owed by companies linked to President Trump in 2020, including his Mar-a-Lago Club; two houses and a vacant parcel on Woodbridge Road to the north of Mar-a-Lago; an oceanfront mansion with a vacant parcel north of the club’s beach facilities; part of the Trump International Golf Club; and Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter. These properties total a market value of $80.8 million. [TheRealDeal]

More than 8,700: Number of Opportunity Zones in the United States, which offer capital gains tax breaks to developers who invest in them. While Trump claims the program has helped low-income communities, Biden has indicated that he would reform the program by requiring developers to make public disclosures of their investments and the impact they have on local residents in terms of housing affordability, poverty and job creation. [TheRealDeal]

$2,800: Amount donated to the Biden campaign by Miami condo developer Jorge Pérez. Pérez has been open about his long friendship with Trump, his disagreement with the President’s policies, and his passing on Trump’s offer to serve as HUD secretary. [TheRealDeal]

$775 billion: Amount Biden has proposed for a “caring economy” to benefit children and the elderly, financed by taxes on real estate investors with incomes of $400,000 and above. The plan would prevent investors from deducting real estate losses from their taxable income, and calls for universal preschool for three- and four-year-olds, the elimination of the waiting list for Medicaid home and community services, and a child care tax credit of up to $8,000 for low-income and middle-class families. Biden claims it would also add 3 million jobs in the care and education sectors, including 150,000 community health workers for underserved communities. [TheRealDeal]

This column is produced by the Master Brokers Forum, a network of South Florida’s elite real estate professionals where membership is by invitation only, based on outstanding production, as well as ethical and professional behavior.