No slump in S. Florida apartment market
The South Florida condominium market might be languishing, but according to at least one brokerage the apartment market remains robust, with low vacancies, rising rents and strong demand from both tenants and investors.
Every year, Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co. publishes the National Apartment Index, an analysis of 42 apartment markets around the nation. These markets are ranked based on criteria such as forecasted employment growth, vacancies, construction, housing affordability and rental growth.
In the 2007 index, New York City moved up four places to claim the top spot, surpassing last year’s leader, Orange County, Calif., which dropped to second. Fort Lauderdale ranked sixth, Miami, No. 13, and West Palm Beach, No. 15. All three South Florida markets fell on the list from last year due to instability in the local real estate market. But they still have strong underlying fundamentals that make brokers bullish for the long term.