Hurricane Irma devastated Florida, and now local residents are beginning to ask: How did the storm affect our real estate market? Will vacationers see Florida as a risk and stop coming? Could we be headed for a difficult real estate market downturn like the one suffered in 2008.
Some people may even be hoping to base the decision of whether to sell or buy property in Florida on the answers to these questions. One real estate company chief executive officer (CEO) wants you to calm your fears. His company, Land Solutions, is a real estate firm that analyzes decision-making regarding land purchases and real estate development. He said that the local real estate market in Florida is looking cautiously optimistic.
He compared the 2017-2018 real estate market to being “similar to a hurricane.” It’s important to look ahead and prepare, and if we prepare we’ll be okay, but if we don’t prepare, we’ll get “slammed,” he said. The real estate CEO pointed to residential building permit numbers showing just the optimism investors are looking for. In 2000, 10,000 permits were issued in Florida. In 2005, those permits skyrocketed to 44,000. Then, in 2009, they dropped to 2,000. It’s projected that 13,000 permits will be issued in 2017, which is a very promising trend.
It seems that Hurricane Irma, as much destruction as the storm caused, has not destroyed the Florida real estate economy. However, investors and sellers may want to learn more about current real estate trends before venturing into a major transaction.
Source: Naples Florida Weekly, “Market Trends paints cautiously optimistic real estate picture,” Robbie Spencer, Nov. 15, 2017