In the 2024 predictions, we made a number of difficult calls. There were three predictions that were fully incorrect and two were stretch predictions. We suggested that a road project would finish ahead of schedule and that the housing market would continue to cool. We were half correct on the prediction of a wholesale club or gourmet market. We were fully correct on two other predictions. So this year, we earned a two and a half out of six, which is slightly worse than fifty-fifty. Basically, you would do better flipping a quarter than this past year’s predictions.
2024 Prediction: We have noticed a trend: the housing market has cooled off and we expect it to stay that way through 2024.
The number of single-family building permits in Hernando County so far this year is 1,855, while last year was significantly less at 1049. There are also a number of developments reaching the building stage, so I expect the number of houses being permitted to increase over the next few years.
2024 Prediction: The 2024 election will be some of the biggest news of the year. We predict that Republicans will win Hernando County’s local and state elections.
The Republicans won all the offices at the local and state level. In addition, Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, also campaigned against two constitutional amendments and those were defeated. We are taking full credit for this prediction.
2024 Prediction: We predict that the intersection of Cortez Blvd and Cobb Road and the associated work will be finished in 2024.
At the time, we said that this would be an unexpected result since the project was scheduled to be finished in 2025. This road project was not finished by the end of 2024. We will get no credit for this prediction.
2024 Prediction: Once again, we predict Hernando will get a club store or high-end grocery store.
We are getting a BJ’s Wholesale Club in the Coastal Way-Coastal Landing, where Sears used to exist. The exact prediction was that Costco, Whole Foods, Fresh Market or Trader Joe’s will announce that they are opening in Hernando County. This did not happen, but we did get a BJ’s Wholesale Club. We are getting half credit for this prediction.
2024 Prediction: We are predicting that the Brooksville Splash Park will be finished in 2024.
It was scheduled to open on November 15th but was delayed as the City was still waiting on sign-off from the Health Department. It still has not opened. Apparently, they are waiting for the spring to finish the last few hurdles for the park. We are really salty about this since the park has been almost finished for a while. We are getting no credit for this prediction.
2024 Prediction: The Hernando Leopards football team had a losing record of four wins and six losses this past year … we are predicting that the Leopards will have a winning record in 2024.
This year, the Hernando Leopards football team had a record of 6-4, which was a winning record. We are taking full credit for this prediction, as the Leopards did have a winning season.
2024 was not a great year for the Hernando Sun predictions. We managed to do worse than a random coin flip. As we noted in the predictions, if you used these predictions for betting purposes, we would appreciate a cut of the winning. However, if you lost, you are on your own.
What are your predictions for 2025? If you have a fun prediction with a local angle, email it to [email protected] and we’ll include your prediction in our 2025 predictions next week. We’ll also be rating 2024 predictions from community members.
