Ten-X’s U.S. Retail Market Outlook listed the top five markets for investors to consider buying retail real estate.  Three out of those five were Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach.  Robust employment and increasing population in all three cities are pushing the demand for retail space in all of their respective counties.

  Last week I attended the Realtors Commercial Alliance meeting Commercial Disrupters, Game Changers, and Market Makers and was fascinated by a presentation by John Dohm  on autonomous vehicles.  These cars are not in the far off future, they are already here and the big players including Google, Tesla, Apple, Audi and most of the car companies […]

              These two maps show what South Florida will look like if we continue developing the way we are (map on left) and if we build sustainably and conserve more open space and agricultural areas.  The Florida 2070 Report, prepared by 1000 Friends of Florida and the University of […]

I was lucky to be invited to an evening reception and tour of University of Miami’s College of Engineering labs.  Titled Engineering in the 21st Century:  Innovation and Sustainability, the evening started with a brief overview of the engineering program by Dr. Jean-Pierre Bardet, Dean of the College of Engineering and was followed by tours […]

Bisnow’s list of the 10 cities with the highest office vacancy rates does not include Miami, which is one of the most in-demand office markets in the country.  With the exception of some office space at Brickell City Center, there isn’t any new construction of office space due to the high cost of land and […]

  Two changes made to the  U.S. Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 (FIRPTA) will go into effect February 17.  While one affects foreign investment in publicly-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) and should make commercial property in the U.S. more attractive to foreign buyers, the second one affects foreign buyers of […]

  Bank of America/USA Today Better Money Habits® Millennial Report, provides great insight into the financial concerns of the millennial generation.  As the mother of three millennials, ages 21-25, and a Realtor I am always interested in what reports say drive this group of young adults. Of great interest is the correlation between jobs and […]

Remember all of the outcry in late 2013 &  early 2014 about flood rates increasing due to changes approved in the federal 2012 Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act?  Well, once it was amended with the “Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act,” people in coastal zones and flood prone areas seem to have forgotten about how flood insurance can affect […]

The economic outlook for the Sunshine State is extremely positive. TD Economics, an affiliate of TD Bank, estimates that Florida’s economic growth will grow from 2.4% this year to 3.5% in 2014 & 4.0% in 2015.  This growth is largely due to the increase in domestic in-migration, which has led us to knock New York […]

Going through my Google Alerts this morning, I came across so many articles that mentioned Florida and taxes that I decided I needed to blog about it.  Although it is not the only consideration to take when making a move, either as a business or an individual, taxes appear to be taking on a great […]