Take a mental trip back to this past April and you’ll find the world in a pretty severe state of uncertainty.
Markets crashed, businesses shuttered, and home sales tanked. In Florida home sales went down in every single pricing category. But beginning in June, something interesting happened: Florida’s sales of million-dollar homes started going back up. As we speak, high-end homes are still hot!
What’s happened? To put it simply, all the shutdowns have reminded the world about the importance of the places we lay our heads at night.
People have a “renewed appreciation for the four corners of our home,” Jay Phillip Parker of Douglas Elliman Real Estate elaborates. “[…] anyone that could was willing to make the move into a bigger, better property, or maybe a newer, more exciting location. Obviously, with respect to the wealthy, they can make the moves much easier [because they have] the ability to quickly pivot and leave a multi-million-dollar property in another market and come here.”
Pivoting is exactly what the wealthy seem to be doing. Moving en masse to areas like Florida and Maine (or both!), they’ve been driving Tampa Bay’s real estate sales up and up.
Other luxury industries are booming in Tampa, too, as wealthy Floridians take their recreational activities into their own hands. What do you do when you can’t go on a cruise? You buy a boat, of course! “I tell my friends that if you see a boat you like, you’d better buy it because it’s going to go quick,” says Brett McGill, CEO of a luxury boating company that’s up 33% this year.
What do you do when hotel travel seems risky? You opt for an RV instead! According to Matt Marlatt, a sales manager at RV General in Dover, business is booming. “People were looking for different ways to enjoy springtime,” he explains, “and they don’t necessarily want to get on a cruise or an airplane.”
All these sales mean that Tampa’s overall economy has remained remarkably untouched by the coronavirus — if anything COVID-19 may be accelerating the economic growth Tampa had already been seeing. Tampa real estate agent Jennifer Zales says many buyers that were planning to move to Florida in a few years have since pulled their timeframes forward.
And more often than not, these buyers are wealthy. “I’ve been showing 3 million, 6 million dollar homes,” Zales says.
In addition to luxury, these buyers and their families want space.
“People woke up and said, ‘There’s no way I’m going to be trapped in my apartment for an endless amount of time. I’m getting out of here,’” Parker of Douglas Elliman Real Estate explains. “I think we’re in for the gold rush in real estate.”
Step 1: Find a property. Step 2: We take care of everything else.
All this to say that the rest of 2020 may mark a golden opportunity for Florida real estate. Growth has been strong at a time when other types of investments, like stock market investments, have become riskier and more uncertain. If you find a property you like you might want to jump on it!
Once you do find your dream home, we’ll be with you every step of the way. Our team has decades of combined experience helping clients just like you manage their homes and rental properties. Still on the house hunt? We can help with that too. Another thing: at Icon we care deeply about our clients, and that results in seriously great customer service.
Ready to get in touch? You can do so by completing our contact form or calling (321) 297-8960. We look forward to speaking with you!
To your peace of mind, Florida real estate included,
Icon Property Management
