Interest Rates & Short-Term Rentals Are Changing The Landscape
First Service Realty ERA Powered was established in 1982 by Eduardo San Roman Sr., G.R.I., who, at age 24 became the youngest president of the Miami Association of REALTORS®. With nearly 400 independent affiliated sales agents and nine offices, the company serves clients in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
“Miami is still a destination of choice and will continue to be,” says San Roman. “We have nightlife, restaurants, great sports teams, and plenty of job opportunities. But what we really sell is the weather.” Miami is a hotspot for both international home buyers and snowbirds seeking warm weather and the beaches.
Considered “the melting pot of the south,” Miami is like a smaller version of New York. San Roman proudly says that, “numerous cultures, nationalities and traditions make Miami a unique and wonderful place to call home. Our international flair, wonderful arts and theater scene, and diverse culinary options offer a vibrant and unique experience.”
“Lower interest rates have kept real estate alive in our area and have pushed more buyers into the market as opposed to renters,” says San Roman. But in Miami, he is seeing an increased interest in rentals. Due to its popular demand, vertical construction is on the rise in Miami. At least 17 condominiums are going up in the city, including two “Airbnb-friendly” condos that will be partially owned by Airbnb, designed to operate as short-term rental buildings with corporate offices on the ground level. “That is an interesting concept to explore, the idea of large companies partnering with the builder,” says San Roman. “Depending how that venture goes, we may see more of that in the coming decade.”
John Tomlin, co-owner and CEO of Tampa Bay brokerage Tomlin St Cyr Real Estate Services ERA Powered, has noticed similar trends in his market. “Tampa has continued to see growth of short-term rentals with the expansion of Airbnb and its competitors, especially because it offers solid income for the owners and flexibility for the tenants. As the workforce becomes more transient, and the gig-economy lifestyle becomes more normalized, this alternative, more flexible style of living better meets their needs.”
The Election Will Be A Disruptor
“2020 will be an interesting year to say the least,” says Brent Myers, a 22-year real estate industry veteran. He is the founder and owner of ERA Myers & Myers Realty, a brokerage which provides residential real estate services in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas. “Election cycle years are always temperamental and we’re expecting 2020 to be the same.”
With the Dallas Fort-Worth market growing at an amazing rate—which has largely been due to an increased number of businesses opening offices or relocating their corporate headquarters to the area—more and more jobs and thus, residents, are flocking to DFW to capitalize on the lower taxes, more affordable cost of living and the highly skilled employee base, according to a study by the HT Group.
To win in the market specifically for 2020, Myers’ advice is to sell in the spring, rent through the summer, and be ready to buy in the September/October timeframe. He reflects that, “we’re planning to have a banner year with a larger than normal number of listings in spring, but I believe the market will turn in August and that buyers and companies transferring people to the area will take a break until the elections are over.” Myers recommends that clients be ready to buy during the critical fall season window, as it will be a great opportunity to make a discounted purchase.
Myers also assures that “the market will get back to normal as soon as the elections are over regardless of the results, and we’ll be back to business for 2021.”
Hipsturbia: Millennial Homebuyers Are Flocking To Flexible, Affordable Suburban Markets
Charline Wright, founder and owner of Columbia River Realty ERA Powered, has seen “Hipsturbia” unfold firsthand in Washougal, the growing riverfront community in southwestern Washington where her brokerage is based. Hipsturbia is the concept of millennials and other young working professionals trading in urban lifestyles for a more suburban scene, taking advantage of lower costs of living in areas that also provide metropolitan delights like dining, shopping, entertainment and job opportunities.
“Hipsturbia is a national trend, and we're already seeing its impact locally here in Washougal,” Wright explains. “Downtown and the waterfront at the Camas-Washougal Port are being revitalized to be vibrant ‘live, play, work’ domains with condos above retail space.”
Due to Washougal's close proximity to Portland and Vancouver, Wright anticipates that her market will continue to see more and more homebuyers who work in these cities, but want to live in more affordable, smaller communities undergoing development efforts.
“We love to help first-time homebuyers, and almost half of our market is made up of millennial clients,” says Wright. “We believe we will continue to see this demographic enter the area over time as Washington state becomes an increasingly popular destination to live and work. We were even ranked as the #1 state in the country by U.S. News & World Report earlier this year, based on a number of factors including the economy, education, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, crime & corrections, and natural environment.”
People Are Looking For Agents To Provide Reliable And Convenient Service
Ron Restaino, who runs his Madison, Wisconsin-based brokerage, Restaino & Associates ERA Powered, realizes that even though real estate is changing, and technology is becoming fundamental to many businesses’ operations, there is a renewed interest in the traditional real estate experience in his marketplace.
Restaino & Associates was ERA Real Estate’s largest affiliation of 2019 and represents the franchise’s entry into the fast-growing Madison market, where residents are attracted by affordability, high income potential and robust employment opportunities. This also makes it another popular market for the rise of Hipsturbia and millennial residents – seventy-five percent of recent movers to the area fall under this category, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Restaino referenced the rapid rise and fall of WeWork as an example of how disruptive models are not always reliable, and this has repercussions within the real estate industry as well. “Fortunately, Madison isn’t seeing a prevalence of disruptive models, which will allow room for local real estate to continue to thrive in our market for the foreseeable future.”
