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LessonsLearned
Beth Azor, principal, Azor Advisory Services; Aly-khan Merali, CFO and chief investment officer, Turnberry Associates; Jack Lowell, executive VP, Colliers International South Florida; Avra Jain, principal, Vagabond Group; and Chris Weilminster, executive VP, Federal Realty at the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce real estate summit

Beth Azor, principal, Azor Advisory Services; Aly-khan Merali, CFO and chief investment officer, Turnberry Associates; Jack Lowell, executive VP, Colliers International South Florida; Avra Jain, principal, Vagabond Group; and Chris Weilminster, executive VP, Federal Realty at the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce real estate summit

The experts gathered for the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s South Florida Real Estate Summit stressed that the market is not headed for a downturn, even though growth has slowed.

About 450 people gathered at Miami’s Jungle Island on Thursday for the event, which featured two panels and various speakers. Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez told attendees that 2015 saw the highest volume ever for the city’s building department, with 174 permits issued and $2.4 billion in ongoing construction. “That is why you are waiting so long in the building department,” he said.

Here are five highlights from the panels:

Retail Carries Great Potential, At A Moderate Pace

South Florida has about 6 million square feet of retail proposed or under construction, with a handful of new malls planned and four malls set to expand, said Beth Azor, principal of Azor Advisory Services.

“That is a little crazy,” Beth Azor said. “I am not sure how much will be built. SoLe Mia and American Dream Miami will probably happen, but four or five other projects we hope are not built because limited supply keeps our market healthier.”

Azor is looking to sign tenants at a new retail center at Northwest 79th Street and Northwest 32nd Avenue.

“Retail leasing is going well at SoLe Mia in North Miami, and rents there are better than on nearby Biscayne Boulevard,” said Aly-khan Merali, CFO and chief investment officer of Turnberry Associates, the co-developer of the project. “It’s focused on signing tenants that will be relevant in three or five years,” he said.

The real estate stability in Miami is still strong.

For four years, Miami’s economy in real estate has not met any downturn and consecutively even with the rising cost of real estate, it is evident that the city is one of the biggest players in this sector.

“South Florida offers world-class amenities, a top-tier arts and cultural epicenter, a diversified economy and more. The strong demand is leading to fewer days on the market for Miami single-family homes while buyer offers are near asking price,” according to World Property Journal.

Meanwhile, the increase in sales of properties was not only due to U.S. homebuyers. There was also a report stating that part of the buyers that are seeing potential and interest in the city is from the international market.

“Miami real estate continues to attract international buyers from all over the world as well as a growing number of domestic consumers,” said Miami-based Realtor Christopher Zoller

One promising note about the stability in the real estate of Miami is that the city offers a limited number of properties that can be loaned in mortgage. Out of the thousand properties that were available to sell to the public, only a small number can be allowed for mortgage loans. This makes it all the more visible how many are really eyeing settling in this city.

“Miami existing condominiums have been impacted by a lack of access to mortgage loans. Of the 8,523 condominium buildings in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, only 23 are approved for Federal Housing Administration loans, down from 29 earlier this year,” based from the article and the statistics from Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation and FHA.

In addition to this, there was a policy that was worked on this month to open up more opportunities for buyers to own a property in Miami. This could detail in more growth for the city’s real estate economy as people who are opting to own a residence in this city can apply instead via a mortgage loan.

“By increasing the number of local condo buildings approved for FHA loans, more consumers will be able to access FHA’s low down payment mortgages. Accepting Citizens insurance and co-insurance clauses is another significant development, which would help more than 85% of Florida’s condo projects in complying with FHA’s insurance requirements,” said MIAMI’s SVP Government Affairs & Housing Danielle Blake.

 

Source: Realty Today