South Florida's industrial market could boom after pandemic

| 4/20/2020

South Florida’s industrial market could boom after pandemic

South Florida industrial brokers and developers say the sector could benefit in the long-term from many of the behavioral changes spurred by the crisis. Consumers, increasingly from older generations, will shift more of their spending to e-commerce. More manufacturers will come to the Americas from China. And after experiencing inventory shortages, more warehouses will be needed, experts say. [Source: The Real Deal]

The coronavirus is changing real estate sales contracts. The shift looks permanent

The contracts drawn between a seller and buyer in South Florida may never be the same again. As coronavirus continues to spread, residential real estate agents are adding a “COVID rider” to existing contracts and including it in new sales. The standard force majeure clauses that protect sellers and buyer in the case of an act of God typically cover only natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes and tornado. [Source: Miami Herald]

Coronavirus accelerating CRE trendlines in Florida

The Covid-19 pandemic is expected to “accelerate” trends that were already taking hold in the commercial real estate industry prior to the health crisis, according to a prominent national trade group. Along the Gulf Coast and into Central Florida, leaders with several of the industry’s foremost groups concur that while the novel coronavirus has generated upheaval and tragedy throughout the state, for much of the commercial real estate industry regionally, the disruption could be relatively short term — if new cases of Covid-19 diminish over the coming weeks. [Source: Business Observer ]

Low-income families could see rents go up during the crisis

The letter came April 1, the very day Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he was shutting down the state of Florida. Rent was going up for Jason and Catherine Zoubek, the letter said. They are tenants of FairView Cove, an apartment complex in east Tampa managed by the affordable housing company Concord Management. In fact, tenants all over Florida in income-restricted units controlled by Concord Management, which manages properties throughout the state, got a customized version of the same letter and faced the same fate. [Source: Tampa Bay Times ]

Inventory shrinking across South Florida just as the summer home-selling season begins

Two new studies quantify early signs of COVID-19’s impact on South Florida real estate — right at the start of the summer selling season. A new study by online listings site Zillow shows a sharp drop in new residential listings. A separate study, by Douglas Elliman in conjunction with the appraisal firm Miller Samuel, shows a retraction in luxury inventory. [Source: Miami Herald]

STAT OF THE WEEK
$13.6 million
A family-owned bakery that uses both artisanal and machine methods to make its bread and rolls now owns the Coconut Creek warehouse where it’s based after purchasing the property for $13.6 million. [Source: Daily Business Review]

ALSO TRENDING:

› Hundreds of homes pulled from Tampa Bay real estate market [Tampa Bay Times]
In Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties, 874 single-family homes and condos were temporarily taken off the market in the past four weeks alone. That’s according to a report by the Pinellas Realtor Organization, which only recently started tracking that number.

› Palm Beach County inspections haven’t stopped - and why that’s critical for the economy [Palm Beach Post]
While other cities and counties in South Florida have curtailed or shut down their building inspections because of the coronavirus, it is pretty much business as usual in Palm Beach County. In Palm Beach County, inspectors have workloads that involve more than $1.6 billion worth of construction. They are all in unincorporated areas of the county - areas that are not under the jurisdiction of a municipality.

› Gov. DeSantis suspends Florida property appraiser accused of fraud [Tampa Bay Times]
A county property appraiser in Florida illegally paid himself more than $176,000 over three years and made nearly $27,000 in fraudulent charges on his government-issued credit card, authorities said. Wakulla County Property Appraiser Brad Harvey, 45, was arrested Friday and charged with two counts of organized scheme to defraud, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

› Fortune sues Chetrit over stalled Miami River project [The Real Deal]
The new development sales arm of Fortune International Group is suing the Chetrit Group for alleged breach of contract tied to the stalled Miami River development. Edgardo Defortuna’s Fortune Development Group filed the lawsuit against CG Miami River LLC this week, alleging that it’s owed a $200,000 termination fee, plus other costs incurred.

Tags: Real Estate eNews

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