Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a perfect time to count our blessings. Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving and many relaxing days with plenty of Turkey! Here are some facts about Thanskgiving:

Thanksgiving was a centuries-old tradition held by most cultures around the world. After the autumn harvest, communities held 3-day-long feasts, sharing meat, bread and drinks. Today, Thanksgiving is known best as a U.S. public holiday.

The first U.S. Thanksgiving was held between September 21 and November 11, 1621 in Massachusetts by 50 Plymouth Pilgrims and their 90 Wampanoag neighbors. After that, Thanksgiving was held fairly randomly. Thanksgiving days were proclaimed annually by the U.S. Congress from 1777 to 1783 which, except for 1782, were all celebrated in December. George Washington declared Thanksgiving in 1789 and 1795, and John Adams in 1798 and 1799. James Madison declared Thanksgiving twice in 1815. None of these were celebrated in the autumn.

The next national Thanksgiving was declared only in April 1862, by Abraham Lincoln. In 1863, he declared Thanksgiving for August 6th, and for the last Thursday in November. He went on to declare a similar Thanksgiving observance in 1864, establishing a precedent that was followed by Andrew Johnson in 1865 and by every subsequent president.

After a few deviations of the day of celebration – Thanksgiving was held on December 7th in 1865, and November 18 in 1869 – the last Thursday in November was proclaimed as the national Thanksgiving day, but still not a officially holiday. Thanksgiving remained a custom unsanctified by law until President Roosevelt signed a bill on November 26, 1941 that established the fourth Thursday in November as the national Thanksgiving public holiday.

Turkey is the traditional dish for the Thanksgiving feast. In the U.S., about 280 million turkeys are sold for the Thanksgiving celebrations. There is no official reason or declaration for the use of turkey. They just happened to be the most plentiful meat available at the time of the first Thanksgiving in 1621, starting the tradition.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a perfect time to count our blessings. Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving and many relaxing days with plenty of Turkey! Here are some facts about Thanskgiving:

Thanksgiving was a centuries-old tradition held by most cultures around the world. After the autumn harvest, communities held 3-day-long feasts, sharing meat, bread and drinks. Today, Thanksgiving is known best as a U.S. public holiday.

The first U.S. Thanksgiving was held between September 21 and November 11, 1621 in Massachusetts by 50 Plymouth Pilgrims and their 90 Wampanoag neighbors. After that, Thanksgiving was held fairly randomly. Thanksgiving days were proclaimed annually by the U.S. Congress from 1777 to 1783 which, except for 1782, were all celebrated in December. George Washington declared Thanksgiving in 1789 and 1795, and John Adams in 1798 and 1799. James Madison declared Thanksgiving twice in 1815. None of these were celebrated in the autumn.

The next national Thanksgiving was declared only in April 1862, by Abraham Lincoln. In 1863, he declared Thanksgiving for August 6th, and for the last Thursday in November. He went on to declare a similar Thanksgiving observance in 1864, establishing a precedent that was followed by Andrew Johnson in 1865 and by every subsequent president.

After a few deviations of the day of celebration – Thanksgiving was held on December 7th in 1865, and November 18 in 1869 – the last Thursday in November was proclaimed as the national Thanksgiving day, but still not a officially holiday. Thanksgiving remained a custom unsanctified by law until President Roosevelt signed a bill on November 26, 1941 that established the fourth Thursday in November as the national Thanksgiving public holiday.

Turkey is the traditional dish for the Thanksgiving feast. In the U.S., about 280 million turkeys are sold for the Thanksgiving celebrations. There is no official reason or declaration for the use of turkey. They just happened to be the most plentiful meat available at the time of the first Thanksgiving in 1621, starting the tradition.

Foreclosures Dragging Down Home Value

Homeowners in Northeast Florida will lose about $2,000 of value in their homes because of foreclosures on subprime borrowers, according to a report by the Center for Responsible Lending.

The center estimates that there will be 6,300 foreclosures in the five-county area on homes financed by subprime loans and that the value of homes will drop an average of $2,063.

Duval County will have most of the foreclosures — about three-quarters, according to the study — but the biggest average drop in value will be in St. Johns County, where values are projected to drop by nearly $2,700.

The center also says the area will lose about $450 million in its tax base over the next several years because of subprime foreclosures.

The state of Florida could lose $23.5 billion from its tax base, the fallout of an expected 98,000 foreclosures coming from subprime mortgages made in 2005 and 2006.

Nationwide, the center says the subprime foreclosures will cause 44.5 million homes to lose $223 billion in wealth over the next few years, most of it in 2008 and 2009 and with the most severe impact in minority communities.

The $223 billion loss affects many cities and communities, as lower property values translate into less revenue to fund schools, hospitals and other government-funded programs. The center said that, as a result of subprime foreclosures, 42 counties and about half the states will lose more than $1 billion each in reduced property values.

“These losses are particularly tragic when you consider that most subprime foreclosures never should have happened,” said Martin Eakes, the center’s CEO and head of Self Help, a credit union and nonprofit lending fund, in a release. “The subprime industry became intoxicated with large fees from dangerous loan products. Unfortunately, lenders and Wall Street aren’t the only ones suffering through the hangover; 44.5 million innocent bystanders are feeling the pain, too.”

Source: Jacksonville Business Journal

Foreclosures Dragging Down Home Value

Homeowners in Northeast Florida will lose about $2,000 of value in their homes because of foreclosures on subprime borrowers, according to a report by the Center for Responsible Lending.

The center estimates that there will be 6,300 foreclosures in the five-county area on homes financed by subprime loans and that the value of homes will drop an average of $2,063.

Duval County will have most of the foreclosures — about three-quarters, according to the study — but the biggest average drop in value will be in St. Johns County, where values are projected to drop by nearly $2,700.

The center also says the area will lose about $450 million in its tax base over the next several years because of subprime foreclosures.

The state of Florida could lose $23.5 billion from its tax base, the fallout of an expected 98,000 foreclosures coming from subprime mortgages made in 2005 and 2006.

Nationwide, the center says the subprime foreclosures will cause 44.5 million homes to lose $223 billion in wealth over the next few years, most of it in 2008 and 2009 and with the most severe impact in minority communities.

The $223 billion loss affects many cities and communities, as lower property values translate into less revenue to fund schools, hospitals and other government-funded programs. The center said that, as a result of subprime foreclosures, 42 counties and about half the states will lose more than $1 billion each in reduced property values.

“These losses are particularly tragic when you consider that most subprime foreclosures never should have happened,” said Martin Eakes, the center’s CEO and head of Self Help, a credit union and nonprofit lending fund, in a release. “The subprime industry became intoxicated with large fees from dangerous loan products. Unfortunately, lenders and Wall Street aren’t the only ones suffering through the hangover; 44.5 million innocent bystanders are feeling the pain, too.”

Source: Jacksonville Business Journal

Study: Florida Population Growth Slows

Population growth in Florida has slowed down, but is still moving at a rapid pace, especially in Jacksonville.

After four years of adding about 400,000 residents a year, the state’s population grew by about 331,000 from April 2006 to April 2007, said Stan Smith, director of the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research. His group released a study showing the state had 18.68 million residents on April 1, an increase of 2.7 million, or 17 percent, since April 2000.

Jacksonville’s population grew 15.9 percent to 852,450 in the same period.

“With the meltdown in the housing market nationally, one of the impacts has been a slowdown of migration to Florida,” Smith said. “It’s certainly harder to get a new mortgage now than it was a year or two ago — and add to that the difficulty of selling your previous house.”

Over the past year, only Monroe County had negative population growth, but most counties had a slowdown, Smith said. The state’s population growth will stay at about 300,000 a year for the next three years, which is below the previous projections, he said. Smaller, less urban counties will experience a higher percentage of growth than the large urban counties, he added.

The counties that added the most residents between April 2000 and April 2007 were:

1. Orange County, which added 209,259 to total 1.1 million
2. Miami-Dade County, which added 208,513 to total 2.46 million
3. Hillsborough County, which added 193,913 to total 1.19 million
4. Lee County, which added 174,853 to total 615,741
5. Palm Beach County, which added 163,842 to total 1.3 million
6. Broward County, which added 142,689 to total 1.77 million
7. Duval County, which added 118,718 to total 897,597

The cities that added the most residents between April 2000 and April 2007 were:

1. Jacksonville, which added 116,833 to total 852,450
2. Port St. Lucie, which added 66,546 to total 155,315
3. Cape Coral, which added 62,237 to total 164,523
4. Orlando, which added 42,814 to total 228,765
5. Miramar, which added 38,966 to total 111,705
6. Palm Coast, which added 37,644 to total 70,376
7. Miami, which added 32,964 to total 395,434
8. Tampa, which added 32,817 to total 336,264
9. North Port, which added 30,935 to total 53,732
10. Fort Lauderdale, which added 27,574 to total 179,971

Source: University of Florida

Study: Florida Population Growth Slows

Population growth in Florida has slowed down, but is still moving at a rapid pace, especially in Jacksonville.

After four years of adding about 400,000 residents a year, the state’s population grew by about 331,000 from April 2006 to April 2007, said Stan Smith, director of the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research. His group released a study showing the state had 18.68 million residents on April 1, an increase of 2.7 million, or 17 percent, since April 2000.

Jacksonville’s population grew 15.9 percent to 852,450 in the same period.

“With the meltdown in the housing market nationally, one of the impacts has been a slowdown of migration to Florida,” Smith said. “It’s certainly harder to get a new mortgage now than it was a year or two ago — and add to that the difficulty of selling your previous house.”

Over the past year, only Monroe County had negative population growth, but most counties had a slowdown, Smith said. The state’s population growth will stay at about 300,000 a year for the next three years, which is below the previous projections, he said. Smaller, less urban counties will experience a higher percentage of growth than the large urban counties, he added.

The counties that added the most residents between April 2000 and April 2007 were:

1. Orange County, which added 209,259 to total 1.1 million
2. Miami-Dade County, which added 208,513 to total 2.46 million
3. Hillsborough County, which added 193,913 to total 1.19 million
4. Lee County, which added 174,853 to total 615,741
5. Palm Beach County, which added 163,842 to total 1.3 million
6. Broward County, which added 142,689 to total 1.77 million
7. Duval County, which added 118,718 to total 897,597

The cities that added the most residents between April 2000 and April 2007 were:

1. Jacksonville, which added 116,833 to total 852,450
2. Port St. Lucie, which added 66,546 to total 155,315
3. Cape Coral, which added 62,237 to total 164,523
4. Orlando, which added 42,814 to total 228,765
5. Miramar, which added 38,966 to total 111,705
6. Palm Coast, which added 37,644 to total 70,376
7. Miami, which added 32,964 to total 395,434
8. Tampa, which added 32,817 to total 336,264
9. North Port, which added 30,935 to total 53,732
10. Fort Lauderdale, which added 27,574 to total 179,971

Source: University of Florida