Home builders shop for vacant plots, even as construction activity stalls

New home construction in South Florida has hit its lowest level in
recent memory, according to a Metrostudy report that cited inventory
so low that some developers need to build a new house whenever they
sell one. But looking ahead, the housing research firm said that
developers are now building up banks of vacant developable land in
Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties in anticipation of a
future building resurgence. That could lead to a shortage of vacant
land in the region, the report said. Brad Hunter, chief economist with
Metrostudy, said builders may not be putting up frames, but are
certainly shopping for plots. Within a six-county region that
stretches from Indian River County to Miami-Dade County, only 370 home
starts occurred, and 497 completed new homes were occupied. More than
half were in Palm Beach County, which had 227 housing starts and 245
new homes occupied. [Palm Beach Post]