Positive Signs for Florida Real Estate

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is reporting that builder confidence is up 5 points this month. After months of negative numbers, their Housing Market Index indicates that this is the biggest one month gain in 6 years.

“If you’re a potential buyer who’s been sitting on the fence waiting for a sign that now is the time to act, this is it,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a home builder from Tulsa, Okla. “Some of the most favorable buying conditions in a lifetime are now in place, and they are drawing more consumers back to the market.”  

“This is a very encouraging sign that we are at or near the bottom of the current housing depression,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe.

In other good news from Tallahassee, Florida is experiencing an unprecedented number of requests to build new homes and develop commercial property. Despite a rapidly deteriorating housing market and plunging real estate values, requests are coming from developers with an eye on a future real estate bubble. “Instinctively, most people would think there would be a slowdown,” said Mike McDaniel, a planner at the state’s Department of Community Affairs. “And it may be true at the other end, where the developers apply for the permit. But there’s been no letup here. It’s a gold rush.”

It is the Department of Community affairs that approves and denies requests to change land usage. Since 2007, it has received a massive 410,126 acres of proposed new projects, with a potential for over 630,000 new homes and 480 million square feet of nonresidential space.

“This really catches me by surprise,” said David Denslow, a University of Florida economics professor. “I’ll have to revise my thinking.”

Of course, not all plans submitted get approved, and not all plans approved will be built, but this trend seems to add to the indicators that things are gradually improving for Florida real estate.

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