Miami Market Predictions
What a Trump Presidency May Mean for Miami Real Estate:
New political regimes are often accompanied by uncertainty. But what happens when this regime is led by a former developer? We can only speculate the answer—and it is more promising than anyone had thought.
About 53% of top industry professions in a survey conducted by Fort Lauderdale-based law firm Berger Singerman expect the local real estate market in South Florida to be “much better” or “noticeably better” than 2016. This can be compared to the same survey conducted last year where most of the respondents predicted a neutral or negative showing.
In 2016, the residential sales and prices—most noticeably in the luxury condo market—plunged significantly. It would make sense, given that the previous year was strong for residential sales, hitting record highs in some areas of South Florida, and plunges normally follow strong periods of economic opportunism. Developers were busy and catered to foreign investors as the dollar continued to strengthen.
What we are noticing now is a growing sense of confidence for two reasons: the nature of the market bouncing back as well as the optimistic sentiment of the American people with a developer-turned-president now in office. Our confidence in our growing domestic economy is slowly being restored. What can we now expect? Developers will turn their attention to under-valued neighborhoods in South Florida such as Overtown, Little Haiti and Little Havana, since the condo and retail markets are expected to see lower growth in 2017, though respondents claim they see big returns for warehouse, industrial, and hospitality development.