Articles
A simplified measure of housing affordability is the ratio of median household (HH) income over income needed to own a median-valued home. This is a gauge of broad-based affordability that can help determine if a market is balanced. Using the input choices shown in Figure 1 yields a current index of 1.07 for Florida indicating [...]
There is no question that debt markets face some challenges and current maturities are elevated by any standard. In February, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported 20% of the outstanding $4.7 trillion in U.S. commercial mortgages held by lenders and investors will mature in 2024. If commercial mortgages range from one to 10 years maturity, then [...]
Florida consumers are not pleased with the economy these days, but at least they’re more upbeat than a year ago. Survey respondents’ overall sentiment fell two-tenths of a point to 73.1 in May from the previous month (Figure 1), but it’s an improvement from a year ago when it stood at 69.1, according to the [...]
7-9% ADUs in Los Angeles: How much do they raise property value? Using data from Los Angeles, researchers found the presence of an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) raises a parcel’s assessed value and selling price 7% to 9%. The results show that ADUs are less likely found on large parcels containing newer houses, in certain [...]
By the Numbers 701 Net mitigation of people added to Florida’s population per day in 2021 $83K Average gross income (AGI) of people who moved to Florida in 2021 $42K AGI of people who moved out of Florida in 2021 Sources: IRS, UF Bergstrom Real Estate Center Sources: IRS, UF Bergstrom Real Estate Center Percentages [...]
Ferber Co. spent $28 million to develop Cypress Ranch, the largest land development project in the company’s 117-year history. The mixed-use project in Pasco County includes retail businesses, single family homes, townhomes, and apartments. Work began in 2018 when Ferber applied for governmental approvals to rezone the 164-acre tract. After navigating delays related to the [...]
Jim Ayotte is convinced if you tour one of Florida’s 10 house-building factories you will change your mind about the quality of the manufactured homes. “I spend a lot of time bringing people to see the factory-built housing process and every time I do they’re totally impressed,” said Ayotte, executive director of the Florida Manufactured [...]
The overall outlook for the real estate market has begun to return to levels last seen in 2021, when the UF Bergstrom Real Estate Center first started surveying its advisory board members. Responses to questions about the housing sector yields the best evidence of this general direction. Rapidly rising interest rates in mid-2022 caused concern [...]
The Alfred A. Ring Distinguished Speaker Series brings real estate leaders to campus Peter Ma earned a bachelor’s in civil engineering from UF and spent most of his career at England-Thims & Miller, a Jacksonville-based civil engineering firm, where he serves as executive vice president. He specializes in land development for all manner of commercial [...]
Much of the most valuable property across the United States is near the coasts, and the estimated costs from coastal hazards and rising sea levels are enormous — amounting to over a trillion dollars. Florida represents perhaps the best example of the explosive combination of severe weather hazards and a large population. Warm weather and [...]
Following the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Tower South condominium in Surfside, Florida, the state Legislature enacted a new law to address high-rise condo safety concerns. The new regulations require increased inspections, specify the involvement of experts, mandate the funding of reserves and remove inspection exemptions. If executed with diligence, these new requirements should improve [...]
Over the last four years, the commercial real estate market has undergone a series of major changes, marked by three periods. First, uncertainty: In 2020, the world was rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns that brought global economies to a virtual standstill. The real estate industry was among the hardest hit as government [...]
Repurposing office buildings to housing has been one of real estate’s hottest topics in recent years. It’s little wonder. In the four years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, vacancies in office buildings reached record levels and an increasing shortage of housing has plagued parts of the country. Consider two data points: 19.6% of [...]
This may be a good time to start noticing industrial outdoor storage (IOS) facilities, a tiny segment of the industrial sector dominated by small-to-midsize properties with fractured ownership and localized operations. It’s such a small part of the real estate business that you won’t find reliable aggregate returns and other market data to analyze. Instead, [...]
Florida consumers seem more optimistic than they’ve been in more than two years. Floridians’ overall sentiment increased 3.1 points to 72.6 in January from the previous month (Figure 1) — the highest level since September 2021, according to the latest survey from the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR). Source: University [...]