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2009 Industry Outlook
Real Estate 2009
Where's the Bottom? The retail, commercial, and office sectors join in on the misery.
Opportunity Knocks
 Moses Salcido |
Many investors have heard how a financial genius named Ed Ball picked up St. Joe Co.’s 12 miles of Panhandle oceanfront property during Florida’s real estate bust in the 1930s for less than $15 an acre. Real estate is a long-term business, and based on Florida population projections, “when you look at the long-term, there are still a lot of positives,” Todd Mansfield, chairman and CEO of Charlotte-based Crosland, told a roomful of disheartened investors at Florida State University’s annual Real Estate Trends conference late last year.
| Foreclosures | ||
| Ten of the 25 metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates are in Florida. | ||
| Rank | Metro | Foreclosure Rate (households) |
| 1. | Las Vegas | 1 per 62 |
| 2. | Cape Coral/ Fort Myers | 1 per 79 |
| 3. | Miami | 1 per 93 |
| 4. | Stockton, Calif. | 1 per 100 |
| 5. | Merced, Calif. | 1 per 103 |
| 6. | Phoenix | 1 per 109 |
| 7. | Riverside, Calif. | 1 per 111 |
| 8. | Fort Lauderdale | 1 per 114 |
| 9. | Modesto, Calif. | 1 per 118 |
| 10. | Orlando | 1 per 121 |
| 11. | Vallejo, Calif. | 1 per 128 |
| 12. | Reno, Nevada | 1 per 137 |
| 13. | Port St. Lucie/ Fort Pierce | 1 per 141 |
| 14. | Bakersfield, Calif. | 1 per 143 |
| 15. | Naples / Marco Island | 1 per 155 |
| 16. | Tampa / St. Petersburg | 1 per 171 |
| 17. | Sacramento, Calif. | 1 per 172 |
| 18. | Salinas, Calif. | 1 per 180 |
| 19. | Detroit | 1 per 184 |
| 20. | Melbourne / Palm Bay | 1 per 185 |
| 21. | Daytona Beach / Ormond Beach | 1 per 185 |
| 22. | St. George, Utah | 1 per 188 |
| 23. | Sarasota / Bradenton/ Venice | 1 per 189 |
| 24. | Visalia, Calif. | 1 per 205 |
| 25. | Bergen, N.J. | 1 per 207 |
| Source: RealtyTrac | ||
Indeed, now is the time “to take advantage of opportunities that will be others’ misfortune,” Mansfield said. “That’s the nature of the real estate business.”
