University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business Administration conducted a survey that revealed the Florida real estate market remains strong and is at its highest level since the third quarter of 2006.
The Survey of Emerging Market Conditions, conducted quarterly by the Kelley A. Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies, showed a positive outlook on the real estate market, the University of Florida’s new website reported.
Director of the Bergstrom Center Timothy Becker said the positive market growth can be credited to the improvement in the job market and growth in the tourism industry.
The survey uses the UF’s Commercial Real Estate Sentiment Index, which measures the outlook of surveyors own businesses. For the 2015 first quarter, UF’s Commercial Real Estate Sentiment Index was a 7.45 out of 10, which is the highest level since the 2006 third quarter.
The survey involved 97 participants, consisting of 13 urban regions of Florida and up to 15 different property types. The survey also pointed out that the results showed a “positive impact on the commercial market in Florida.” It also reported that more than 57,000 jobs were added in Florida during the first quarter, just crossing the 8 million mark for the first time since June 2007.
Participants did show uncertainties toward certain aspects —more specifically interest rates toward certain property types — of the real estate market, but said overall that Florida’s economy continued to improve, which in return made them believe so will real estate. The participants also believe that occupancy and rents across property types to remain stable in the next quarter, while multi-family property occupancy continued to be have a positive outlook.
To view the survey results, click here.
