Why should you buy property in Florida? What is the real estate investment potential? Florida real estate remains attractive for many reasons. Ranked the fourth most populace state in the United States, Florida is a home to a little over 20 million residents and 11 of the country’s 100 fastest growing counties. People continue to move to Florida for the prolific attractions the state provides from good climate, to strong job growth and attractive real estate, not to neglect the increasing percentage of visitors and tourists filling the city and bolstering its economy. The large influx of residents and tourists has further boosted the job market, thus creating more demand for housing.
Today, we have gathered data to help you understand the Florida real estate market and whether or not you should buy property in Florida now. We go on to explain the strengths and weaknesses of this real estate market to help you understand why and how to buy property in Florida. We further propose three top performing cities to give you a better depiction of prices and lifestyle.
Flourishing Economy
The economy of Florida has been booming for many years now. Today, it is one of the top performing in the nation with the job market as its strong driver. The state has a robust economy that is centered around the services sector, particularly trade and tourism. According to state officials, Florida had, in fact, the third fastest annual private sector job growth in the nation. Continued growth is seen in sectors such as science, construction, and education. Meanwhile, the state’s unemployment rate is 4.1%, which is 0.3% lower than the national average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There’s no doubt that the attractiveness of real estate investment in Florida is driven by its economy.
Low Inventory of Real Estate Properties
While real estate developers are trying hard to raise the pace of construction to meet the demand for housing, real estate property demand is outstripping supply. The sharp increase in population growth accompanied by a strong labor market growth has attributed to more demand for housing, which has become unbearable. This has caused home values to increase, turning the local real estate market into a seller’s market. The median sales price for a single-family home in 2017 hovers around $240,000, which is about 9% higher than it was a year ago. As home prices continue to increase and homes become short in supply, we encourage that you invest in Florida today before it is not feasible.
Related: How to Save Money and Invest in Real Estate Properties
Vacation and Rentals
The trend towards vacation and rentals has become increasingly more popular as more short-term renters, tourists, millennials, college students, and retirees continue to prefer them to ownership. This is not to neglect the tourism sector that has been thriving, attracting close to 35 million visitors in Orlando alone each year. Florida is considered to be a top travel destination worldwide with a record breaking of 87.3 million visitors in 2011. Florida enjoys a good climate and abundance of outdoor activities that continue to bring tourists from different countries into Florida. This is particularly advantageous to Airbnb landlords and those servicing this sector. If you’re keen on making quick cash and learning about different cultures, we recommend further looking into Airbnb rental service for your Florida investment property.
Commercial Real Estate Market Booming
The population and job growth that the state has been seeing have translated into more demand for real estate, including commercial real estate. The job growth in particular has been roaring, thus increasing demand for commercial properties including office space. In the last year, Florida has added over 35,600 new jobs in the trade, transportation, and utilities industry alone. This job growth is directly proportional to the demand for office space; as more jobs are added, more office space is demanded.
Related: What Are the Best Ways to Make Money in Commercial Real Estate for Rent?
Top Cities in the Florida Real Estate Market
Below we give a glimpse of the three top cities to buy property in Florida. As you go over these top cities, we hope that you will have gained enough understanding of Florida real estate to allow you to conclude on the best investment in the Florida housing market.
WHERE TO BUY PROPERTY IN FLORIDA: Orlando
Called the City Beautiful, Orlando is known for its cleanliness and variety of lakefront and nearby attractions. People continue to choose Orlando for the varied options of attractions surrounding it from Walt Disney World to Sea World and Universal Studios. This influx of tourists and residents has, thus, contributed to a growth in real estate activities. In fact, Orlando, last year, rated among the best cities for investment properties. The overall median home prices are around $215,000, which is about 12% higher than the 2016 level of a median price of $190,000. If you wish to buy property in Florida, we recommend that you do it now before property prices become too expensive.
WHERE TO BUY PROPERTY IN FLORIDA: Cape Coral
Located in Southwest Florida, Cape Coral is favorable to many for its sunny skies and flourishing job growth. Industries such as hospitality and real estate continue to drive this growth. While the population and job growth have contributed greatly to the growth in the real estate market, we ought to consider other reasons that have been greatly conducive to the sector’s growth as well. These include: the safe neighborhoods, the pleasant climate conditions, and the abundant recreational activities. The aforementioned characteristics have granted this town an excellent reputation, attracting many into it.
Related: The Pros and Cons of Investing in a Rural Property
Where to Buy property in florida: Jacksonville
A large city in northeastern Florida, Jacksonville is a home to 880,000 residents. Not only is the city lively and continuously fills with locals but it also attracts numerous with tourists all the time. Last year, Jacksonville welcomed a record number of tourists, causing a sharp increase in occupancy rates at hotels reaching 73%. Many tourists and residents prefer Jacksonville for being a regional business center, while offering many museums and cultural events. If you are looking for a more luxurious and city-like lifestyle, we encourage looking further into Jacksonville. Be aware that median home prices remain to be higher than in other areas, hovering around $190,000. This trend is likely to continue, so hurry up to buy your property in Florida soon.
Whether you are looking to invest in Jacksonville or Orlando, to buy property in Florida for real estate purposes is favorable for many reasons. The climate conditions, the excellent educational system, accompanied by population and job growth, the strong economy, and the many tourists continue to make this state more appealing than many others in the US real estate market. We encourage that you look into Florida real estate, whether you are a millennial, a retiree, or a senior professional.
To find and buy property in Florida with high return on investment potential, make sure to use Mashvisor, the available property search, and the investment property calculator.
