California wildfire victims seek refuge and rentals in Florida
By Jade Jarvis
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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (WPBF) — As wildfires continue to rage in southern California, many victims are now seeking refuge in Florida.
Local realtors are reporting an uptick in inquiries about rentals from the West Coast.
Real estate agent Holly Meyer Lucas, of Meyer Lucas Real Estate Team in Jupiter, said she’s been fielding calls from people in Los Angeles from people in desperate need of housing and others who’ve had their eyes on the market and are ready to make a move.
“Florida has homes for sure,” Meyer Lucas said. “We’ve had a bunch of inquiries and a bunch of hits on our website from people with either California area codes or, or that we can trace back in the analytics from California.”
Meyer Lucas said those people fall into two categories—the first is people who need immediate housing, and the second is people who were already interested in the Florida market and are now going all in after the wildfires.
“What’s really interesting is, so many of the real estate brokers in California are reaching out. The vast majority of the increase that I’ve received have been from brokers in California who are just desperate to help their LA clients,” Meyer Lucas said.
Meyer Lucas said Florida is one of the top locations victims are looking at for refuge, along with Texas, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Nevada.
“I really think that if they’re looking at Florida, it’s because they’ve had, they’ve had someone, a family member, a friend that has moved to California already. You know, there has been a mass exodus of people from California to Florida to begin with. So, I think Florida represents familiarity,” Meyer Lucas said.
Her advice to people looking to sell – don’t try to pull one over on people fleeing the fires.
“I would so strongly advise you, if you’re selling your home not to overprice it and not to think that these people are going to come in with cash and they’re from Hollywood and they’re going to overpay. These people are smart. These people are smart. Buyers are smart. do not overprice your home,” Meyer Lucas said.
Meyer Lucas said because South Florida is in season right now, there are fewer rentals to go around, but there are some that are still immediately available.
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