Beginning in the 1920s, Florida was a magnet for people looking for an ideal place to call home. For example, senior citizens and retired persons started to move to Florida in ever increasing numbers. The number of retired men and women that flocked to Florida became a proverbial flood after World War II.

Beyond senior citizens, there are over a million so-called Snow Birds that spend part of the year in the Sunshine State. These people spend the summer months in other locales.

Over the course of the past ten years, Florida has started to experience some head on competition in regard to the “recruitment” of retired individuals and Snow Birds alike. A number of other states have developed intense programs to draw retired men and women to their states as permanent residents and have striven to attract Snow Birds in their own right.

For example, Arizona has been on the forefront of developing a concerted campaign to attract both retired persons and Snow Birds into its borders over the course of the past decade. Indeed, the Phoenix-Scottsdale metro-plex is the fastest growing community in all of the United States.

In addition, many other Southern states have become residential destinations for an increasing number of retirees and Snow Birds alike. For example, a growing number of men and women who might otherwise have landed in Florida are settling instead in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee. There are other retiree residential destinations such as Branson, Missouri, that have enjoyed tremendous growth.

However, Florida remains the dream locale for many, many people heading towards retirement and for men and women who want to spend winter in a relaxing environment. Additionally, a most concerted effort is being made to stabilize and enhance the Florida real estate market.

First of all, there are a number of important efforts being made to lessen the property tax burden on people who purchase residences in the State. Indeed, there are some constitutional amendments that have been proposed and that are likely to be enacted that should provide significant property tax relief to residents.

In addition, more generalized efforts are being made to stabilize and improve the Florida real estate market more broadly. As with other states across the country, the Florida real estate market has taken some hits in recent years.

Finally, a great deal of effort is being spent on developing a system to improve the availability of more affordable housing. Due to the high dollar damages caused by natural disasters in Florida (and in some other Gulf States) the cost of homeowners insurance actually has made homeownership an impossibility for some men and women today.

In the end, experts who understand the Florida real estate market tend to agree that improvement will be seen in the market in 2008 and beyond. Because direct action is being taken to enhance the state of the Florida real estate market, most predict that the Sunshine State will remain a residential goal for many people.