IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FLORIDA REAL ESTATE MARKET IS GOOD NEWS FOR SKY DEVELOPMENT
May 9, 2013
Are we seeing a rebound in the Florida housing market? Not exactly, but according to industry analysts and real estate professionals, there is light illuminating what has been a bleak real estate story. This is good news for real estate development companies such as Sky Development, who had the strength to weather the turbulent storm of Florida’s housing slide.
The euphoria of an amazingly strong housing market coupled with easy to obtain mortgages, produced a buying frenzy across America. The old American dream of home ownership became reality even for those who could not afford one. Florida’s woes hit their worse in 2007, when financing opportunities disappeared and prices hit bottom. Prices of homes fell by fifty percent or more. Development companies who were previously dealing with over-demand suddenly found themselves with new housing stock and not a single buyer. It required a tremendous amount of courage and a strong financial standing for developers like Sky Development to successfully ride out this difficult period.
The emerging rebound is due in large part to foreign investors, especially those from Latin America, who are taking advantage of favorable opportunities to cash in during this window of opportunity created by lower prices. Before the crash, the majority of overseas investors were from the UK. Today, the Florida market is flooded with investors from Brazil, Canada, China and northern Europe. They are investing heavily in new residential and commercial projects, such as condominiums, luxury and vacation properties, providing a much-needed boost to Florida’s construction business. Sky Development and other residential and commercial construction companies are riding strong now on the wave of this surge in foreign investment.
Americans experiencing an improvement in their personal financial health continue to look to Florida as the spot for their winter homes. In fact, Florida’s popularity as the preferred location for resort and vacation homes has never diminished and will be another factor enabling its recovery. As the baby boomer segment of the American population grows, the demand for retirement homes will increase and Florida, most particularly the Miami-Dade corridor, will be the preferred location. Retirement community developers will be the logical benefactors of this upswing in consumer demand.
All around, one can see signs of recovery. Just outside of Disney World, for instance, a new residential project of 3200 homes is underway. In Pompano Beach, the number of foreclosures and short sales has decreased. All of the Miami-Dade corridor, including communities such as Aventura, home to Florida’s most upscale condominium projects, and Sky Development’s headquarters, Sunny Isles Beach and Hallandale Beach, are benefiting from a surge in demand for luxury homes. Sunny Isles Beach, a highly coveted area located on the coast in N. Miami Beach, has been rated by Forbes as one of the top three cities in the world in which to live.
This doesn't mean all is roses, but developers with good market analysis skills and who have managed to survive these rough years, will see their efforts pay off in the coming year.