With the real estate markets in large cities such as San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and New York City saturated with domestic and foreign capital, driving market prices beyond the reach of many developers and lenders, investors naturally look for alternative markets that offer lower capital thresholds to entry but project strong future returns. The question then becomes: Where are these secondary markets, and what market characteristics predict future growth? The latest report from the Urban Land Institute (“ULI”) provides an in-depth look at those markets that planners, developers, brokers, financiers and others in the real estate industry believe are poised for the greatest growth, and cities across Florida have piqued the interest of industry insiders.
Forecasting real estate development and investment opportunities across the U.S. and Canada, ULI’s Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2016 report emphasizes increased investment attention garnered by 18-hour cities: locations that do not feature the population density and established attractions of 24-hour cities (think NYC) but that have nonetheless experienced a revitalization of the urban core catalyzing investment and growth in the surrounding area. Based on the results of over 400 interviews with leaders in the real estate industry and more than 1,400 survey responses, the 2016 Emerging Trends report projects a favorable outlook for many of Florida’s cities; Miami, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville all placed within the ULI’s U.S. Markets to Watch: Overall Real Estate Prospects top-75 cities list. The list factors in investment, development and homebuilding opportunities.
Jacksonville attracted attention in the report as one of the “villes” (which term includes Nashville and Knoxville, TN and Gainesville, FL): cities “offering opportunities to take advantage of faster-growing demographics, economies, concentrations in desirable industries, and . . . aggressive development plans to establish growth centers within the community.” Offering lower costs of doing business and high quality of life metrics, the “villes” are poised for continued economic growth, according to the ULI. The report also highlighted Florida’s real estate resurgence in general, noting the positive attitude toward the state’s growth exhibited by interviewees and survey respondents.
The Urban Land Institute is a membership-based professional organization representing the land use and development disciplines. A full copy of ULI’s Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2016 report can be found on the organization’s website: http://uli.org/research/