A study out of the University of Florida paints a picture that concurs with what we have been saying about the states real estate economy. Essentially the report indicates that the condo market is very overbuilt, the single family housing units have slowed but prices have remained fairly stable, and multifamily and commercial real estate are either holding their own or trending positively.

This is no surprise as Florida spent 2003–2005 feeding the speculators who were flipping condos primarily and single family home otherwise. Apartments and new construction were all converted to condo’s to feed this demand, with the resultant oversupply when the market turned. Now that the speculators have left there is a surplus inventory that will have to be absorbed, while there is a shortage of rental apartments and commercial properties as all of the construction was in condo’s.

“Condominium markets are clearly struggling and single-family markets are softening, although, contrary to some news reports, we don’t see evidence of prices tumbling,” Archer said. “But the picture is pretty healthy when you look at everything else. One important indicator of the real estate market is occupancy rates, and these appear to be stable or increasing in most markets, including apartments, office buildings, retail space, and industrial warehouse and distribution space.”
More than 70 percent of those surveyed said now is a bad time to build condos, and 46 percent said the same thing about single-family housing, but for 10 other property types the respondents were predominantly neutral or even positive, he said.
The foundation for the upbeat view about business property is the relative health and growth of Florida’s economy, Archer said.
“Employment is very good and the fundamentals that drive rental income and occupancy are still very strong,” he said. “In addition, interest rates have remained perhaps a little more stable than some people expected via the University of Florida News

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