Commercial Real Estate in Florida is Heating Up. Here’s Why: The solid pace of the American economic recovery is boosting commercial real estate in Florida. According to late August report published by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), current conditions for industrial, retail and office spaces are looking good at the national level. Some regional markets are performing better than others, and Florida is a prime example.
A recent transaction reported by the Wall Street Journal and the Miami Herald illustrates the health of the commercial real estate sector in South Florida: the Datran officer towers, located in Kendall, sold for $150 million. Another sign was reported earlier in 2016 by the CBRE Group, which published a research study showing that foreign investors poured $4.3 billion into Florida commercial properties in 2015; this represents an increase of 85 percent on an annual basis.
The factors attracting domestic and foreign investors to Florida are numerous. First of all, business growth across the state has been gradual; this inspires confidence among investors who would like to see long-term profits on their financial commitments. Second, commercial real estate prices in Florida are still reasonable in comparison to metropolitan centers in other states.
To explain the current interest in the Sunshine State, it helps to review the economic forecast issued by the University of Central Florida (UCF) at the beginning of summer: by 2018, the statewide economy will be valued at one trillion dollars thanks to a projected annual rate of nearly three percent.
Looking at the NAR and UCF forecasts, Florida is on track to become the 16th largest global economy based on metrics used by the World Bank. This projected growth comes at a time when the economies of Canada and certain Latin American nations are not looking very stable nor prosperous, thus making the Sunshine State even more attractive for doing business.
