Many of you have been emailing me the following question:

... Mark, You keep mentioning about the Orlando and Las Vegas investment real estate market but you havent mentioned much about the South Florida investment market. What are your thoughts on the South Florida investment and preconstruction real estate markets?

I wish there was a short answer but the following will have to do. South Florida real estate properties have been rising over the last few years but I feel there are better and safer markets to invest in right now. Although investing in Miami (as long as its preconstruction) is always a great idea because of the overwhelming demand for it. When investing in south Florida the fact is that finding preconstruction investment real estate in Miami is much more difficult then lets say Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, or even Las Vegas. There are several preconstruction developments opening up but many investors like choice and when you tell them that you have 8 nice preconstruction properties in Orlando and 6 in Las Vegas and only one in south Florida, people tend to think that south Florida isnt growing like the rest of the market. Many investors like to pick a home that reflects their personal style and when there is no selection of inventory this usually turns the investor off or even worse causes the investor to buy a very risky investment from a new developer. Imagine you walked into a car dealership and asked to see their luxury cars and they pulled out one car and said this is our entire inventory. Chances are you are not going to buy the car no matter how perfect is because you didnt have any selection and you felt like you had no choice in the matter. That is what the South Florida investment market is like, there are some good preconstruction investment properties but because the selection is limited only the educated experienced investors will purchase them.

Im not saying that investing in south florida real estate properties is a bad idea its just not at the top of the list for the serious real estate investors. Many people choose to invest in south Florida hot spots like Miami or South Beach but that is because they want to visit the condo or home for vacation. I never discourage investors from investing in south Florida but then again I seldom bring it up unless that is the specific area they want.

The key thing to remember is that south Florida was a great investment market a few years ago but has defiantly cooled down over the last year or two. While if you buy in preconstruction you can still make a strong ROI you may want to look into other markets where there is more of a selection of choice developments.

If you are looking for more information on the south florida investment real estate market please call or visit our website. I have over 19 years experience in the Florida investment real estate industry and have a great knowledge of almost all projects around the state.