In 1980, Miamians never could have imagined what their city would look like by 1990. And in 2000, the Miami skyline was a blip on the horizon compared with what it finally looked like in 2010, even despite three years of financial struggle. Today, the Miami real estate market is again on the boom side of its multi-decade rise, and one thing is for sure: For those interested in investing in this city in the long term, you won’t lose.
Lately, the news has been somewhat disappointing for those of us in the industry. An Elliman report released last month confirmed what many of us already sensed. The Miami real estate market is going through a cool down after three or four years of intense growth, new constructions and record-setting sales. “It’s not clear how long we’ll be in this period,” Jonathan Miller, the author of the report, told The Real Deal. “But the market has certainly changed from what it was a year or two ago.”
There are a few things to consider when thinking about what Miami will look like in 10 years. For one, the underlying causes of the recent demand haven’t gone away: The beaches and weather will always be here, of course, and recently there’s even more luring domestic and foreign investors. That includes new cultural attractions, like the Perez Art Museum; a surge in the variety of dining and nightlife options; and new infrastructure, like the high-speed rail connection to Orlando that’s in the works.
Also, South Florida as a whole continues to grow, and as the report noted, not all areas are currently contracting. The Boca Raton real estate market, for example, continued to grow last year. If history is any guide, it’s safe to say that the long-term prospects for Miami have never been better. By 2026, Miami will be even more of a tropical metropolis than it is today.