According to ARA Florida principal Dick Donnellan, Florida has encountered a general recovery in its “primary markets” over the last year. He pointed out that “a decline in home ownership has pushed more renters back into the market place. The economy is starting to recover, jobs are increasing, and there’s more demand for apartments. A lot of these jobs will be obtained by younger people and they are starting to get out of living at their parents or in a two- to three-roommate situation, and they can rent an apartment for the first time because they’re employed.”
The ideas perpetrated above were echoed by senior client manager at Forum Architecture & Interior Design Inc., Andrew Roark who pointed to the continued demonstrations of growth in the region. Florida consistently is found among the top of completed multifamily projects. While indeed all of the larger metropolitan area are developing nicely, it seems that Miami is ahead of the curve. As Senior VP at Colliers International South Florida says, Larry Stockton noted, “Southeast Florida (Miami in particular) is highly sought-after for development. Coastal cities along the west coast of the state have seen some improvement but have not benefited from international demand to the same degree as South Florida,” Stockton says. “Orlando and Central Florida continue to see moderate demand. Existing product has been one of the better performing asset classes over the last 12 months with vacancy rate declines and strong year-over-year growth, especially in the urban core.”
Meanwhile many Florida homeowners continue to struggle to pay their mortgages, especially the elderly. Thus earlier this week a program was launched by Florida Housing launched a program to help elderly homeowners through the Elderly Mortgage Assistance Program. Those homeowners who are encountering difficulties will be able to receive aid in the amount of $25m. This translates into eligible homeowners receiving a 2-year, forgivable loan of up to $25,000.
So while in general Florida housing is doing well, there are still gaps that need to be addressed.