South Florida’s real estate market made the Great Recession a distant memory in 2013. But can the region maintain the positive momentum in the year ahead? To find out, The Real Deal spoke with some industry professionals in the region. Check out what they had to say.
Neil Fairman, president and founder of The Plaza Group
“The present day condominium market is undersupplied. The projects currently under construction, with their high deposit structures, will be finished in one-to-three years and for the most part are almost sold out. If developers and bankers are disciplined and keep the deposits at 40 percent or more it will discourage rampant speculation and ensure the buyers close when the units are complete.”
Deme Mekras, regional managing partner, Franklin Street Real Estate Services
“The multifamily market will continue to be strong, but it won’t keep up the torrid pace it has enjoyed over the past few years. I believe values will continue to increase in 2014, but at a slower rate than what we’ve seen. We’ll continue to see some rent appreciation in desirable markets such as Coral Gables and Miami Beach but remain somewhat flat in secondary markets.”
Steven McCraney, president and CEO of McCraney Property Company
“As we move into 2014, the market continues to stabilize. Lending continues to be supportive of projects and continues to mitigate risk. The growth of the residential market will be accretive to a pick-up for the commercial market. Leasing activity remains strong, but rate stabilization will occur in the second half of 2014.”
Mark Pordes, CEO of Pordes Residential Sales and Marketing
“We expect to see continued growth and several projects starting to come out of the ground with new preconstruction towers now reaching their presales requirements. In regards to standing condominium inventory, it seems it will be trading at a premium as almost all supply has been snatched up over the past year. We will also see lending starting to come back to the market in a traditional sense and it will begin to play an important role as units are completed and move toward closing. Additionally, we should expect to see some stronger growth in Broward County, as Miami-Dade is again approaching all-time highs in sale pricing.”
Barry Wolfe, vice president investments at Marcus & Millichap
“I am very bullish and optimistic regarding South Florida’s retail market in 2014. We started seeing improvement in the market in 2012 with a pace that accelerated in 2013. My belief is that 2014 will be another positive step forward. For certain segments of the market, especially single tenant, net leased properties, 2014 will look a lot like the heat of the market in 2006.”
Lloyd Berger, founder and president of Berger Commercial Realty
“In Broward and Miami-Dade counties, we are seeing a resurgence of small industrial users looking to lease and filling up space, a good sign for small businesses. Demand is still strong for larger industrial leases as well. On the sales side, there is a strong demand from institutional and local investors for Class A and Class B properties, but a lack of product.”