Housing prices have risen rapidly in the past year, even as mortgage rates are on the rise with pros saying they will likely go up more (see the lowest mortgage rates you can qualify for here). But some markets are now a lot more overvalued than others, according to researchers Ken H. Johnson, associate dean of graduate programs at Florida Atlantic University, Eli Beracha, director and professor at the Tibor, and Sheila Hollo School of Real Estate at Florida International University.

They developed a methodology, using Zillow data, to score the top 100 most overpriced and underpriced metropolitan cities in the United States. “For the 100 markets, we use Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) monthly data to develop the long-term trend for home prices, and from there we estimate a market’s average expected price and compare this estimate to the actual ZHVI values — the premium is the percentage between the two numbers,” says Johnson.

The first thing to note is that all of the 100 largest metros sold at a premium, but for some that premium is extremely small. Indeed, their data shows that Baltimore is housing sold at the smallest premium, with buyers paying just about a 2% premium for real estate. That’s followed by picturesque Honolulu 2.11% and New York City 2.83%.

Least underpriced housing markets

So why is housing in these markets not selling at more of a premium? Johnson says this may harken back to the last housing downturn, when these were some of the hardest hit metros in terms of price declines. “These and other hard-hit markets such as Miami seem to have learned and resulted in more aggressive price negotiations by locals. Sort of, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me,” says Johnson.

Meanwhile, in some markets real estate is selling at a major premium, pros say. At the top, Boise City, Idaho ranks as the most overpriced metro, with a 75.18% premium. What makes that so? It may have something to do with people moving out of more densely populated areas into spots like Boise, which has steady population growth, as well as wage increases in the Mountain-West region and many outdoor amenities — all of which has made places like Boise a reliable bet for investors.

“For several months, Boise has been the most overpriced housing market in the US, making it the market most exposed to a turn down. Thus, it’s reasonable to expect rising mortgage rates would first slow prices and premiums in Boise,” says Johnson. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index revealed that increased demand for second homes favored smaller towns, and in 2021, Boise saw real estate appreciate 22%, with the average homeowner equity increasing $64,000 from December 2020 to December 2021.

Most overpriced housing markets

“Supply of and demand for housing units is the underlying driver of prices across all markets. While demand can change rapidly, the supply of housing units cannot change that quickly, thus, once a market’s relative position in the ranking is established, it’s difficult to change in a few months,” says Johnson. However, what may be more important than a market’s ranking is comparing performance in terms of premiums today with those of the past. “Lessons can be learned,” says Johnson.

Of course, this isn’t the only list of overvalued housing markets. CoreLogic looked at overvalued housing markets in March. Not only did the company reveal that home price growth in 2021 surged 15% from 2020, which is triple the average rate seen in the decade prior — it also found that plenty of markets are seemingly overvalued. Indeed, it called out Destin, Florida; Homosassa Springs, Florida; Prescott, Arizona; Lake Havasu City, Arizona; Punta Gorda, Florida; Naples, Florida; and Austin, Texas. CoreLogic’s Market Conditions Indicator tool uses a benchmark to indicate whether a metro’s home prices are high compared to local household incomes, and if they are, the market is considered overvalued.

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Below the surface of the crystal clear blue waters of our natural springs is a hidden cancer that plagues the ecosystem. Layers and layers of muck and decayed material, caused by years of algae blooms and pollution, blanket the bottom.

CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. — Below the surface of the crystal clear blue waters of our natural springs is a hidden cancer that plagues the ecosystem. Layers and layers of muck and decayed material, caused by years of algae blooms and pollution, blanket the bottom.

If you swim too close to the dirt layer, it stirs up like a black cloud of smoke. The loose material makes it impossible for underwater seagrass to take root, grow, and thrive. And the muck blocks out any chance for photosynthesis.

Biologist Ryan Brushwood is the project manager for the Kings Bay and Homosassa Springs projects for Sea and Shoreline. Brushwood explained what is happening from a scientific perspective.

"This is more like matte forming algae that will float to the surface, it pulls sunlight and nitrogen right from the atmosphere, and it sinks back down," Brushwood said. "And, when it sinks down, it chokes out what's below it. And ultimately, you know, outcompetes it. So, through decades of that process happening with that algae floating up, sinking down, floating up, sinking down, it dies off and comes back, and it starts to decay as a muck. And that muck holds a lot of internal nutrients and creates anoxic conditions."

Brushwood took ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska and investigative reporter Kylie McGivern out on the water in Homosassa Springs and Crystal River to show us more than a decade of hard work, trial and error, failure, and successes that are now paying off.

"And, it's neat to compare the two; in Crystal River after our first year, you know, we had grass growing, but it was small," Brushwood said. "It was sparse. It was heavily grazed on, and it was hard to imagine that it would wind up where it is now."

"It sounds like the same pride and excitement that a farmer has when their crops are growing," McGivern said.

"We half-jokingly call ourselves underwater farmers because essentially, that's what we're doing," Brushwood said. "No farmer would go out and throw seeds and expect to come back in a year and have a full crop ready to harvest. It takes a lot of maintenance and takes a lot of effort. So it's like those little moments, those little moments when you see a little tiny flower. And we were taking pictures. And we were all excited. This is awesome. And then now it's like a forest of flowers."

The process is time-consuming and methodical.

First, divers spend hours in the water sucking out all the muck. Then, miles of pipes installed in the springs pump it to de-watering sites where it is cleaned; the muck is captured in giant bags. The cleaned water then flows back into the spring.

Then teams come back behind the divers and start planting seagrass. They plant using snorkel gear, weight belts, and a regulator pumping air into their lungs.

Paluska jumped into Homosassa Springs to see the process up close. Planters have to lift giant metal cages and plant the seagrass inside. They realized if they didn't use the cages, hungry manatees would devour their hard work before the seagrass took off. The current is swift, the water is cold, and at times, visibility is low. But, planters spend hours underwater making sure their crop will survive to support an ecosystem in peril.

"You see the water get cleaner, get clearer, you see the fish community come back," Brushwood said. "And, everything from the bugs, the snails, the fish, the native species started to come back in. So you started seeing more bass, more bluegill, things like that."

Hundreds of manatees came back too. While at the same time, a record amount of manatees are dying on Florida's East coast, they're thriving in Crystal River.

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"So the greatest compliment that we get is when people from here and grew up here come up to us and say, you know, 'I've never seen a river look this clean,'" Brushwood said. '"I've never seen this much grass. I've never seen this many manatees, this many big manatees.'"

The model is working. After planting hundreds of acres in Crystal River, the grass started to expand on its own, giving the project an additional 50 acres of seagrass that took off on its own.

"It's been shown to be resilient with storm events to at this point," Brushwood said. "The seagrass is the greatest filter you can have. It's a natural filter; it's going to sequester a lot of nutrients, it's going to trap suspended particles, keep them buried in the sediment, whereas an algae bloom is going to pop up, use all the nutrients, all the pollutants die-off become muck and restart that never-ending cycle."

Brushwood said sometimes people don't want to take action until it's too late. In the case of the springs, you can't see the muck building up year over year unless you are a biologist studying the impacts.

"It's one of those things that may have, in the past, kind of gone unnoticed until there were visible results," Brushwood said. "Until you have a nasty algae bloom that makes your water, you know, unappetizing, you don't want to swim in it, you don't want to boat in it, it stinks. You know, you see fish kills and things like that. When in reality, you know, that process probably started many years back."

"Do you think seeing some of the impacts is what people needed to realize this is real?" McGivern asked.

"It's hard to diagnose like a system's health until you start to see those negative impacts," Brushwood said. "The biggest part and the message to push is that it's it is reversible with you know, it takes time, takes effort, takes money, it takes community involvement, education, but it can be done, and it's really neat to kind of be on the other side of that and see some of these systems starting to come back."

Sea and Shoreline's work in Crystal River and Homosassa Springs can be applied to polluted waterways across the state.

"The goal is to use this project as the model for these other spring systems throughout the state like Homosassa, Withlacoochee, you know, all these rivers that are seeing similar issues where algae have come in, algae is dominating, and it's just creating, you know, a gross system. That's not the way it should be," Brushwood said. "The Indian River Lagoon is a big system. And it needs a lot of work. But part of that work is definitely to plant seagrass, do some pilot projects, and try to get it going. They have a terrible algae problem, a muck problem. A lot of similar things that we saw here, red tide, brown tide, all of it."

The Crystal River project is so successful crews are collecting enough seagrass that floats to the surface to feed manatees in other parts of the state.

Despite the years of work crews have already put in. There is still more that needs to be done. Another 40 acres remain on the Southern side of Kings Bay.

"So the goal for the project is to be finished with the dredging and the planting by July 2023," Brushwood said. "But, I would say, it's time to act time to start doing projects, right, trying to even take a chance on some projects and technology, that, you know, my work; may not. But, it's time to really put shovel to the sand and start doing things."

Most people know that winter is the best time to see manatees. But where can you see manatees in Florida, any time of year? The answer is Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park.

Spark some romance and hit the road. A day trip is a great way to connect with your honey. Put together a playlist, grab a few of your favorite road trip snacks, and make the hour and 45-minute drive to Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. There are multiple roadside stops along the way if you want to make it a real road trip, plus other springs and parks nearby if you'd like to make it a weekend getaway.

Homosassa Springs Things To Do

There is so much to love about Florida's State Parks, and Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park is a shining example of what makes our state parks so special. You get a little bit of everything here — natural springs and a river view, wildlife, boardwalks, and walkways.

We parked in the parking lot on US Highway 98. This parking lot has a Welcome Center with restrooms, a small shop, and a few exhibits showcasing the park's history of nearly 100 years. From here we boarded a tram that drove us down to the park's visitor center and entrance. Expect crowds on the weekend. After purchasing our tickets ($13 per person), we passed through the doors and into Florida's beauty.

The Underwater Observatory in the “Bowl” of the springs is one of the very first attractions added to this park during its early years. In 1968 the underwater “fish bowl” was installed, back when this park was a roadside attraction, rather than a state park. This bowl is a great place to start your day.

By visiting the Underwater Observatory first, we caught some views of manatees in the wild before they moved on in the afternoon. We also enjoyed the boardwalk leading up to the Underwater Observatory. There are multiple photo opportunities here.

After viewing the manatees and plethora of fish, we continued walking past the observatory, towards the river. Soon we came to a lovely wooden pavilion that enabled us to look out over the river. Plenty of boaters enjoyed the weekend and safely moved slowly along the river to be mindful of manatees and other wildlife.

We backtracked and followed the walkway along the riverbank. We saw turtles sunning themselves on logs and a few more manatees in the wild. We noticed a few people crowding along a bridge-like structure and soon found that this is where some of the rescued manatees dwell.

We continued toward the Wildlife Walk. This winding walkway makes a complete circle, so there's no way to lose your way. All the animals along this lovely Wildlife Walk are rescued from various places around the state. As much as possible, such wildlife is rehabilitated and sent back into the wild.

However, if it is not safe for an animal to return to the wild for whatever reason, it finds a home here. Along our walk, we spotted Florida alligators, river otters, pelicans, flamingos, owls, deer, black bears, a Florida panther, and more.

Some might compare this part of the park with visiting a zoo, and the experience is similar, but to see a sample of Florida's diverse wildlife in one spot like this is truly special. Speaking of special, you won't be able to overlook Lu the Hippo. A former animal actor, Lu is over 60 years old. He is a reminder of when this land was used to show off animals that were trained to perform in movies and television. Hippos certainly are not a Florida animal, but Lu is considered an honorary Florida resident.

Special note – Homossas Springs Wildlife Park is adorned with Christmas lights in a few spots during the holiday season.

Where to See Manatees in Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park

One of the must-do experiences in Florida is seeing manatees in the wild. When entering Homossa Springs park, head to the left to the Underwater Observatory. Both inside the observatory and along the boardwalk leading to and from the observatory you may spot some manatees.

First thing in the morning and cool weather days are your best bet for catching views of manatees in the wild at Homosassa Springs. However, you can also view a few rescued manatees that remain at the park year-round. Their habitat is near the center of the park.

Due to multiple environmental reasons, including over-development throughout Florida, wildlife experts are concerned about the increased mortality rate of manatees. One way to bond together is to do some good together, so I would encourage you and your honey to learn more about manatees and how we can help them.

Practicalities: Parking, Food and Beverage, and Restrooms

Don't expect anything fancy at this state park. However, there are plenty of creature comforts. There are restrooms near the center of the park, as well as the Welcome Center at the Highway 98 parking lot, and the Visitors Center that you must pass through before entering the park itself.

There are two parking lots – one off County Road 490 and the other on Highway 98. Since we came from Orlando it was easiest for us to park at the parking lot on Highway 98. This is where the Welcome Center is, and where you will board a tram to head to the park entrance itself. The trams come and go about every 15 minutes. There is also usually boat transportation, but this is temporarily unavailable.

The parking lot off County Road 490 is smaller, but it does put you next to the park's actual entrance and the Visitor Center. At this visitor center there is a casual cafe with sandwiches and snacks, as well as a gift shop. Some of the t-shirt designs in this shop are fun and attractive.

Dogs are not allowed in the park, but there is a kennel at the Welcome Center where your pup can hang out while you explore.

There is also a small snack stand near the center of the park. This is a good spot for a midday snack with cold drinks, ice cream, hot dogs, and other quick snacks.

Pack some water to keep yourselves hydrated. You don't want to feel rushed as you explore this lovely park.

What's Near Homosassa Springs State Park

Driving to Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park from Orlando takes about an hour and 45 minutes. It's not a very quick trip, but it is worth the drive. And if you want to make it a full day or a full weekend getaway there is plenty nearby.

Along the drive, my husband and I took note of some places that would be fun to stop in next time. On our recent visit to Homosassa Springs we hadn't built enough time to stop along the way. But, there is plenty to see.

Within 10 – 20 minutes drive of Homosassa Springs State Park, you'll find plenty of other parks, activities, and restaurants.

Dress comfortably and enjoy being in Florida's natural beauty, together.

A win-win strategy is in motion to give the rehabilitation of the Homosassa River better footing, and also rid a former riverfront RV park of its derelict trailers.

Sea & Shoreline, LLC crews contracted by the nonprofit Homosassa River Restoration Project Inc. (HRRP) recently demolished roughly a dozen unlivable mobile homes at Sportsman Cove off of Fishbowl Drive, near the Homosassa water tower.

Get more from the Citrus County Chronicle

Workers tore down the last trailer Monday, March 14, and hope to clear the 10-acre site of remaining debris within the next two weeks, depending on their hauler’s availability.

In exchange for the demolition, the property owner agreed to let the HRRP on their land so the organization can set up its final base of operations and finish restoring 46.19 acres of the river by 2025, from its headspring to south of the Halls River Road bridge.

“He had heard about our project,” HRRP Board President Steve Minguy said of the landowner’s representative, “and thought this would be a great fit for us to have a new worksite to help the river, and to help the owner with some of the trailers he was having an issue with with Citrus County.”

“He’s happy, we’re happy, and this is going to be the future of the project, this site,” added Mark Mekelburg, a Sea & Shoreline superintendent. “It was effort and teamwork to get stuff done, and this is the ticket for the future of the project.”

Sea & Shoreline barges and divers are slated to go in the river April 1 to start vacuuming out layers of accumulated muck and detrital materials from its depths, which will then be planted with lush and sustainable eelgrass to help bolster marine habitats.

Whatever’s removed from the river is piped back to Sea & Shoreline’s on-land filtration site before clean water is pumped back into the river.

HRRP has used Sea & Shoreline’s method since 2020, when it launched the first phase of cleanup in canals and coves between Fishbowl Drive and Spring Cove Road.

Sea & Shoreline rented private land behind the Bella Oasis Hotel off of U.S. 19 to house its filtration devices, including large and porous Geotube bags river water seeps through after it’s treated for microscopic contaminants.

During 2020 and 2021 from the site along the highway, the HRRP has restored a total 13.56 acres of the river, planted almost 74,500 eelgrasses, and reopened 21 spring vents.

However, Sea & Shoreline’s access to the water from upriver has been limited, requiring its workers to rely on a long network of pipes running down Pepper Creek and into the Homosassa River.

Entering the river closer to its headsprings, where many boaters gather, also put Sea & Shoreline’s in-water crews in close and sometimes dangerous contact with vessels.

“We’ve had some pretty close calls here,” Mekelburg said, “boaters traveling over divers in six feet of water. We don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

Being at Sportsman Cove gives Sea & Shoreline direct and safer access to the water, keeping costs down for the HRRP.

“Moving downstream, this was great,” Minguy said. “The less distance Sea & Shoreline has to pump, then the cheaper it is per square foot for us to get things done so it works for us.”

According to prior reports, power to the Sportsman Cove RV park was shut off in October 2015 after Citrus County’s building department cited several instances of illegal wiring between its mobile homes, along with electrical repairs being done by unlicensed electricians or without permits.

Florida Department of Health officials also refused to renew the park’s license to operate because of septic issues.

County spokeswoman Veronica Kampschroer told the Chronicle on Thursday the building department’s open code cases for the property “are all pertaining to the existing unsafe structures.”

“If those structures were to be demolished,” Kampschroer said, “that would satisfy the open code cases as of today.”

From its new location, Sea & Shoreline is hoping to complete the HRRP’s remaining 10.13 acres of its first cleanup phase by November.

Mekelburg said Sea & Shoreline and the property owner have an agreement in place to last until January 2025, and are working to extend it to 2027 “just in case.”

Sea & Shoreline also has other uses in mind for its Bella Oasis site but if those plans don’t happen, the company will revert the land to manage stormwater, per its owner’s wishes.

HRRP officials also look like they secured funding to finish the last 22.5 acres of their project’s remaining two phases, which the nonprofit hopes to have permitted by April to start work as soon as possible.

“We have the money,” Minguy said, “it’s just a matter of Sea & Shoreline having the crews, and the weather cooperating.”

Florida lawmakers in their March 14 pass of the 2022 state budget allocated $10 million toward the Homosassa River Restoration Project, but Gov. Ron DeSantis could still veto the line item.

Minguy said he “can’t stop smiling” about how the HRRP has grown from a grassroots campaign started in 2016.

“It’s very exciting for us,” he said. “It seemed like it took forever, and the fact that we’re here now is amazing.”

Community support is crucial to the success of the HRRP, especially when it’s board is asking legislators for money.

“Without that support, we can afford to get those permits,” Minguy said. “When the community’s behind you, then the state’s more willing to fund your project.”

Contributions to the HRRP go toward the nonprofit’s administrative, permitting and operating costs, while state funding is dedicated to the river’s restoration.

For more information about the HRRP and how to donate, visit homosassariverrestorationproject.com.

Have a question about the project itself? Call either Mekelburg at 352-231-1077 or Minguy at 407-832-1598. Project updates are also posted on HRRP’s Facebook page, tinyurl.com/4bv5atxs.

Mekelburg and Minguy asked the public to stayed informed about the project and its latest status so they know either where not to boat or what not to disturb, like Sea & Shoreline’s underwater pipes and cages protecting young eelgrasses.

“Be aware of our barges and divers in the waters,” Mekelburg said. “We’re here because we care about the water, we care about the quality of the water, and, in turn, we care about the people going out on the water.”

HOMOSASSA, Fla. - In the middle of the Homosassa River sits an island of monkeys.

Florida's own version of Alcatraz started out as a pile of submerged rocks in the 1960s and has transformed into a quirky historical fixture. It's an old tale – a story that is told numerous times by the locals and remains an attraction that both surprises and delights visitors far and wide.

The story of Monkey Island started when a well-known developer sought to fix two seemingly simple problems. Little did he know, he would create an iconic part of the Nature Coast's identity that will stick around decades later.

A lighthouse, wooden hut, swinging ropes, and palm trees sit on top of that pile of sand and rocks. Over the years, several monkeys have called it home.

The first problem

A Citrus County developer, G.A. Furgason – nicknamed "Furgy" – was involved in establishing the areas around Homosassa River back in the 1950s and 1960s, explained Marie Straight, secretary of the Historic Monkey Island board. He worked for 36 years until his retirement in 1983.

Furgy put together land deals and even created an animals and plants attraction, known today as the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. It's located about 2.5 miles – by road – from Monkey Island.

During the 60s, he also worked with Norris Cattle Company, which owned land in the area, Straight said. At one point, the company was about to send Furgy away for business.

"Before Furgy left," Straight explained, "he kept hearing of a pile of rocks in the middle of the river and it was causing trouble for the fisherman."

Those rocks were shallow enough for boats to run into, and deep enough where fisherman couldn't spot them with the naked eye. So, Furgy and Norris – the owner of the company he worked for – directed one of his dragline operators to pile some dirt around the rocks for boaters to spot them and avoid a collision.

"So, what happened then – how Monkey Island came to be – is these dragline operators got a little bit carried away," Straight explained, "and put a lot of dirt on these rocks. Thereby, they created the small island in the river which is just outside the Riverside resort today."

When Furgy returned, he noticed the "island" wasn't very attractive.

"It was just a bunch of dirt in the middle of the river so he enhanced it by building a lighthouse on the island," Straight said.

That lighthouse still stands on Monkey Island today.

The second problem

Meanwhile, the monkeys that would eventually call that manmade island their home were brought to America by a naturalist, John Hamlet.

Furgason ran into Hamlet in South Dakota and convinced him to come to Florida to work with him. The naturalist brought along monkeys too.

Straight said the monkeys' purpose was to perfect the polio vaccine back in the 1950s.

"The idea was that the monkeys would do like most Floridians – retire – after their purpose was satisfied with the polio vaccine and then they would be retired to the Homosassa State Wildlife Park," she explained.

But, like in the movies, the monkeys were quite mischievous, escaping their cages.

"They would get in [visitors'] cars. They would steal candy. They would even bite some of the tourists," Straight said. "So, now we have a problem. The way the legend goes, it says that he had often thought of sending them to Alcatraz."

But then Furgy realized, he had his own little Alcatraz right in Homosassa River. So, the primates – three spider monkeys and two squirrel monkeys – moved in and the Monkey Island we know today was established.

The permanent solution, decades later

Today, Monkey Island remains one of the most unique sites along Florida's Nature Coast. The original group of monkeys lasted for 12 years before they began dying. They were replaced with younger monkeys over the years.

MORE: Monkey Island in Homosassa is getting a major overhaul in 2022

Now, only a handful of spider monkeys remain.

Blake Lowman and his family took over the resort in late 2019 and, no, he never thought he would ever own an island of monkeys.

"We’re from the area. We’re from Hernando County," he explained. "We’re only 30 minutes away and my family is involved in multiple businesses and just saw an opportunity. It sounded like a pretty cool thing to try and get into so, yeah, we purchased it."

With that ownership, the Lowman family and community made big plans to maintain Monkey Island. He said he wants to make sure it can last another few decades for future generations of monkeys to live and for the community and visitors to enjoy.

Owning Monkey Island comes with guidelines in order to maintain an ownership license. Unlike decades ago, there are now regulations and rules to follow set by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that the owners must follow.

To start: food. The monkeys are fed twice a day. Their diet includes fruit, vegetables, and a USDA-approved "monkey chow" with a blend of nutrients they are required to consume.

But the fun part is how they are fed. The marina staff employees – who are cross-trained to feed the primate residents – pile into a boat and depart for Monkey Island.

While they are out there, employees circle the island, looking for any hazards or trash.

"Then we throw out the food to them. We try to scatter around so they kind of have to dig, and play, and search for their food," Lowman explained. "Usually, at least once a week we try to get on the island to do any repairs, try to clean up any trash or anything that might be hazardous to them. Basically, people kind of throw things on the island so we have to go clean that up. It’s just sad. Very sad."

He said every day is different. His family meets people from every state, every country – all walks of life.

"They’re pretty shocked if they’ve never been here before and they see an island right off of our property with monkeys on it," Lowman said. "You always explain the story of how they got there and the history behind it."

He said the best way to see Monkey Island is from the Florida Cracker Monkey Bar on the resort property, which is about 30 to 40 yards away.

To learn more about conserving Monkey Island, head over to the Historic Monkey Island website or the Florida Cracker Riverside Resort website.