SoFla construction ends year strong at $12.7B

South Florida construction starts topped $12.7 billion in 2018, rising in both residential and commercial sectors, a recently released report shows.

Overall, new construction was up 15 percent in 2018 from $11.1 billion in 2017, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Non-residential construction starts reached nearly $6 billion, up 5 percent over the previous year, while residential construction starts topped $6.8 billion, up 25 percent.

The last month of the year ended strong, with total construction up 29 percent to $495.3 million, compared to $274.5 million in December 2017. The increase was due to a boost in commercial construction starts, up 80 percent to $495.3 million. Residential starts totaled $289.2 million, down 13 percent from December 2017, according to the report.

Dodge Data defines non-residential as office, retail, hotels, warehouses, manufacturing, educational, healthcare, religious, government, recreational and other buildings. Residential includes single-family and multifamily housing.

Despite the slowdown in new condo construction, residential construction has risen due to a wave of new multifamily projects. Commercial construction has also been strong, party reflecting demand for new warehouses amid surging e-commerce.

Yet, in Miami-Dade, the industrial construction boom is expected to dip in 2019. The cost of land acquisitions and construction is becoming too expensive for developers to consider new projects and rezoning of industrial properties into retail and office uses is also limiting development, according to the Commercial Industrial Association of South Florida’s annual industrial market report.