South Florida residential construction starts surge again in April

South Florida residential construction starts surged in April, but commercial starts declined, according to a newly released report.

Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties’ residential starts increased 36 percent in April, year-over-year, reaching $505 million, according to Dodge Data & Analytics, a Hamilton, New Jersey-based construction data analytics firm.

Commercial construction starts fell 11 percent to $295 million.

Overall, total construction starts rose 14 percent in April, year-over-year, to $800 million, the report shows.

Nonresidential construction includes office, retail, hotels, warehouses, manufacturing,
educational, healthcare, religious, government, recreational and other buildings. Residential construction includes single-family homes and multifamily housing, according to Dodge.

Year-to-date, total construction starts remained flat at $3.5 billion, compared to the same period of last year. Residential starts increased 2 percent to $2.2 billion, and commercial starts fell 3 percent to $1.3 billion.

For March, Dodge reported the same trend as April, as residential construction starts swelled, but commercial ones dropped. Residential starts increased 40 percent, year-over-year, in March, to $461 million. Commercial starts decreased by 2 percent to $306 million.

The continuing rise in residential construction starts reflects South Florida’s booming housing market. The luxury market is especially hot in light of high demand from out-of-state buyers.

In the first quarter, residential sales in the region totaled $15.8 billion. The area recently recorded the second most expensive sale of the year in May, with punch time clock heir Edward G. Watkins selling an oceanfront Palm Beach estate for $95 million.

The record for the year is held by private equity titan Scott Shleifer’s purchase of another oceanfront Palm Beach mansion for more than $120 million.