South Florida Economy Looking Good

August 30, 2016

South Florida Nothing is perfect, and our economy is no different. We have real concerns about the slowing Miami residential market, the Zika virus and the toxic green algae blooms that threaten our beaches and tourism but we are going to focus on the bright side here like usual. First we can talk about the expansion of the Panama Canal. It has already resulted in a new lucrative port contract and right now we are taking serious market share from the West Coast as a shipping port for trade with the Far East. We are also becoming a hub for cars made in Mexico. This is expanding quickly and expect more business deals to be announced shortly. Then we have the tourism and travel to Cuba. Florida is a major hub for cruises going there as well as flights and even ferries soon. Expect this traffic along with trade to increase in the next 24 months. Speaking of that 24 month window, there is enough real estate development, both residential and commercial, in place for the next 2 years or more. Huge developments, including the creation of downtowns, are happening in West Palm Beach, Lantana, Margate, Coral Springs, Ft. Lauderdale, Coconut Creek, Riviera Beach, Hialeah, and Overtown to name a few. The technology push is bearing signs of fruit and is growing quickly. I predict that medical marijuana will be legalized this November which will create additional needs for office, retail and warehouse space. It will also create many jobs. On top of it all there are almost 1,000 people moving to Florida every day which greatly helps many sectors of the economy. The population is diversifying with many people moving here from Russia, France, Latin America, Puerto Rico, China and more. The EB-5 visa program is fueling much of the new development and at the same time bringing people here from other countries, although 85% of it is Chinese. So you can see that for at least the next 24 months things look very solid and prospects are bright for the region and the entire state. It could surely be worse than living in South Florida! I know, I used to live in New York. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.