Next year, the vacancy rate of trophy office premises in South Florida will drop below 5%, according to the forecasts by Tere Blanca, Founder, Chair, and Chief Executive Officer at Blanca Commercial Real Estate, Inc. He thinks the demand from companies moving to South Florida in combination with a limited supply of trophy office spaces will boost the rent considerably in the nearest future.
Craig Studnicky, Chief Executive Officer at ISG World, believes that in 2023, the South Florida market of single-family houses will look exactly as in 2022. In his opinion, it is the population growth that currently drives everything, and Florida is one of the fastest growing US states. First-timers want to buy real estate now but several years will pass before apartments that are currently at the construction preparation stage are commissioned. The workforce drain caused by Hurricane Ian will probably extend this term further.
House prices cannot lower despite the growing mortgage rates, because the population continues to grow at record rates, Mr. Studnicky says. The rental market, however, can see a slight respite. People who moved to Florida and have been renting homes for a while have now decided where they want to live and are surrendering their leases.
Bob Vail, President at Kolter Urban, observes that the supply of vacant plots for new waterfront development in Miami-Dade County is severely limited. In 2023, this will force developers to move northwards, to Fort Lauderdale and up. Development firms in Miami and its suburbs have to demolish the existing buildings to free up space for new projects, while their colleagues will go further north and start developing the unused land, so new properties will be commissioned sooner.
Beachfront real estate will always be in demand in South Florida, so Mr. Vail expects buyers to keep going north, following the developers.
The number of property buyers from other countries is also expected to increase in 2023. Christian Tupper, Vice President of Sales at PMG Residential, is certain this will happen, as Miami has historically been a magnet for buyers from Central and South America. According to forecasts, the interest from foreign countries, such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, will surge in the nearest future, boosted by direct flights to Miami launched in 2021.