31 July 2017

When is a lot of Condo Construction in South Florida too much?

Motivated by weak condo sales, developers are increasingly turning from condo* development to apartments*, which could eventually lead to a glut of rental offerings, experts say.

One Florida research firm states that about 10,500 apartment units have been completed in South Florida in the last 18 months, and another 18,000 apartments are scheduled to be delivered during the next two years.

Luxury Florida Homes by Modern Architecture Specialist and Agent Tobias Kaiser

A Miami Downtown Development Authority report showed that in 2017, Greater Downtown Miami will see more rental apartments delivered than condominiums for the first time ever.

The slowdown in home and condo sales in South Florida has led to an overall decline of 26 percent in residential construction in 2017 so far, compared with the first half of last year.

That in turn has affected the construction business in the three Southeast counties Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. Consequently, the region’s biggest general contractors have or are shifting their business toward rental apartments, offices, airport concourses, schools, bridges and more.

If the numbers above don't impress or scare you enough – depending on your position on growth – here's more: 

Fort Lauderdale, definitely having "Growth" written all over it's agenda as anyone who lives or works there will agree, has over 3,200 apartments and condos scheduled for downtown alone in various approval stages.

The latest is a 32-story rental tower near Las Olas with 374 units. The developer is hoping for city approval by the end of the year.

Add that to such luxury condo projects on Las Olas such as the Gale, the Auberge and the Paramount, or the planned millennial-oriented, mixed-use development along A1A, to be completed by fall 2020, and one must ask oneself where the choke-point is, or if Fort Lauderdale is already past it.

I would love to hear feedback from you, especially if you know or live in the Fort Lauderdale area – is this growth schedule healthy, insane, inevitable? What's your take?

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(*for non-US readers: condos or condominiums are owned flats, versus rental apartments. – Photo by istock)