I'm considering a move to Florida in the next year or so and I'm amazed at the number of homes built in the last 10-20 years that point out that they have be re-piped or replumbed. Why is this? I've lived in the northern midwest and the upper south in homes that were at least 50 years old and still have the original pipes. What gives in Florida?

Greetings from Sarasota whereI own a 55 year old home with the original piping still intact. One reason we have so many repipe jobs is that our buildings are built on slabs with all the piping under the cement. Up North, where you have basements, it's fairly simple to go down in the basement and repair a leak. Here we have to first locate it with a leak detecting service, then jackhammer up the slab, dig down and expose and repair the leak. Most home owners figure that If I have one leak there's sure more to come. I don't want my house torn up again so let's repipe in the attic.
Repiping a house down here is mostly a preventive measure rather then a job that just has to be done. And now you know the trest of the story!
On another note: We moved to Florida from Wisconsin 54 years ago as a family unit. We never regretted the move. I feel very lucky to have lived in and grown old in a place exactly where I wanted to be. WELCOME TO FLORIDA!! Tom