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."
