South Florida by the numbers: The big stories of 2018

(Credit: iStock and Miami Herald)
(Credit: iStock and Miami Herald)

“South Florida by the numbers” is a web feature that catalogs the most notable, quirky and surprising real estate statistics.

Like most years, 2018 had its ups and downs. Plenty of good news for South Florida (no hurricanes, Brightline launches, Amendment #2 passes), but also some challenges (a condo glut and ballot-counting issues) and tragedies (the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school shooting and the FIU bridge collapse). National real estate trends hit home, as the industry continues to be revolutionized by technology and major new players in brokerage gobbling up independent and boutique firms. Through it all, we continue to observe the trends, data, and stats of South Florida business and real estate, and present you with (what we consider to be) the most significant and impactful items we documented over the past twelve months. Thank you for enjoying our little corner of TRD, and happy holidays and new year from South Florida by the numbers!

January: “Alexa, add Miami to the Amazon HQ2 shortlist”

20-1: Odds of Miami/South Florida being selected for the HQ2 location, according to Irish online bookmaker PaddyPower.com — putting them in the group with the smallest chances of being chosen. While Miami has certain advantages over its competitors, most observers consider it a surprise that it was included in the top 20. [WLRN]

March: “Pushing back the sea”

$192 million: Portion of a $400 million bond approved by city of Miami voters to fund storm drain upgrades, flood pumps, and sea walls. Miami officials have also promised to start funding an additional $1 billion in projects to prepare the city for the effects of climate change. [TheRealDeal]

May: “Here comes the Brightline!”

8: Number of daily roundtrips the Brightline will make between Miami and West Palm Beach during the week, with one fewer on the weekends. (Additional roundtrips may be added in the months and years ahead.) [TheRealDeal]

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July: “Yes news is good news”

$1 trillion: Threshold Florida’s economy is expected to reach in 2018, according to a report from the Florida Chamber of Commerce. The report adds that if Florida were a country, it would rank 16th in the world, with a GDP bigger than Saudi Arabia. [SunSentinel]

October: “The politics of real estate”

#2: Florida amendment on the 2018 ballot that would permanently adopt an already-existing cap that limits property-tax assessment increases to 10% annually for “non-homestead” property, such as commercial or rental properties. (The purpose of the amendment is to prevent the repeal of the cap, which is scheduled to expire in 2019.) The Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel, and Palm Beach Post all endorsed a “yes” vote for the amendment, as did the property appraisers from Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. [MiamiHerald]

November: “Miami soccer rolls forward”

$900,000: Estimated amount spent by the team’s ownership group to successfully get the ballot initiative approved by about 60 percent of Miami voters, according to the most recent campaign finance reports. In addition to David Beckham, the ownership group includes Miami businessmen Jorge and Jose Mas, Sprint Chairman Marcelo Claure and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son. [MiamiHerald]

This column is produced by the Master Brokers Forum, a network of South Florida’s elite real estate professionals where membership is by invitation only and based on outstanding production, as well as ethical and professional behavior.