South Florida Real Estate Market outlook in 2021.

 

A little over a year ago, residential brokers and developers expected sales to slow down as the market for single-family homes and condominiums cooled. And when the coronavirus rapidly spread from the northeastern U.S. to the Sunbelt in early March, the local residential sector prepared for a catastrophe.

 

Then a trend began to take shape; high net worth individuals residing in New York and other states subject to tighter government restrictions began fleeing to the less restrictive confines of South Florida.

 

Since early summer, the residential market has soared. In November, total home sales reached nearly $4.3 billion in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. Single-family home sales dollar volume led the way, increasing by over 50 percent in each county in November, compared to the same period in 2019, when real estate experts predicted a slowdown.

 

This will boost the residential sales market in 2021 as the current cycle enters the expansion phase, according to more than a half-dozen leading brokers and developers.

 

Some of those experts discussed their projections in interviews with The Real Deal:

 

Dora Puig, founder, and principal broker of Luxe Living Realty:

"I am confident that momentum will continue through 2021. I haven't heard of new condo developments, but I have heard of developers selling existing condo projects. I think we are at 60% near the peak of a cycle. We have a way to go in 2021. I see the peak in the first or second quarter of 2022."

 

Mike Pappas, CEO, and president of Keyes Company:

"The luxury market has never been stronger than it is right now. It's the strongest I've ever seen. The only submarket that is down is homes under $500,000. Indicators show that we will sell more units in 2021 than were sold at 2020 and prices will continue to appreciate."

 

Nathan Zeder, associate and principal broker of Coldwell Banker's The Jills Zeder Group:

"We've seen some pretty significant price increases and you can't raise prices forever. But it's hard to say there will be a slowdown. Covid-19 hampered the condo market in the short term, but the market has been stable since 2016. If the single-family market gets too expensive, condos represent value."