The Florida real estate market has been on fire for a while, and things really took off with the Covid pandemic as so many northerners fled to homes in the south.
Single family homes did best, but luxury condos have also been selling for huge premiums in Florida.
But things are suddenly changing in the wake of the partial collapse on June 24 of Champlain Towers South in Surfside.
Real estate agents across the region are already seeing ripple effects from the disaster.
“No one ever asked about a 40-year recertification before,” Ines Hegedus-Garcia, a real estate agent with Avanti Way Realty in South Florida, said of the process of assessing the structural condition of buildings constructed decades ago. “Nobody ever did that, but buyers are now asking for that.”
Cordelia Anderson, a Miami real estate agent, said five clients who had been looking at units in older condo buildings asked for hefty discounts after the collapse, or abandoned the coast altogether and instead wanted to search farther inland.
In volatile markets like South Florida, events can have a huge ripple effect on the real estate market. We’ve seen it with hurricanes, and this building collapse could have a similar effect.
It will be critical to see how inspections impact other buildings. One building in North Miami Beach has already been ordered to vacate due to structural issues.
How widespread is the problem? Will the market collapse for certain types of buildings, and will that boost the valuations of well-maintained buildings? Time will tell . . . this could be a buying opportunity if you can take advantage of the concerns while doing your homework to find suitable buildings.
