Things are looking up on the real estate front, the University of Florida says.
“Results of our first quarter survey indicate that the real estate market in Florida has hit bottom and is in the process of stabilizing across most property types,” Timothy Becker, director of UF’s Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies, said in a statement.
While unemployment and foreclosures will continue to affect housing, some areas of the state, including South Florida, are rebounding. The report cites Miami-Dade and Broward counties’ diverse economies, steady migration and influx of foreign capital.
“The glut of condos in South Florida is actually starting to change hands — they’re beginning to rent them up — and I think there is more life in downtown Miami than there has been in a long time,” Becker said.
The apartment sector remains the hottest in the state because of demand from residents moving out of foreclosed homes, Becker said. But the retail and office markets will continue to struggle until there is more job growth.
The Bergstrom Center says it conducts quarterly surveys of real estate trends by interviewing leaders and professional advisers in the industry.
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