Land sales show no sign of cooling down under the Florida sun

MIAMI – Feb. 15, 2023 – Over the last few years, Florida has benefitted from tremendous in-migration, which equates to approximately 1,000 people per day moving to the state. The trend includes not only the movement of individuals, but also employers, capital sources and developers who are expanding into the Florida market. For the first time in 65 years, Florida leads the nation in population growth.

This recent growth has been a catalyst for development, particularly in South Florida, Orlando and Tampa, which are some of the most active development markets in the U.S. In the last few years, development was primarily limited to residential and industrial, but there is renewed interest in office, hotel and retail projects. New residential developments extend beyond traditional multi-housing to build-for-rent communities, senior housing, student housing, affordable housing and manufactured housing.

As a result of the robust development pipeline, developable land is in high demand and selling at record prices. JLL’s Capital Markets team has sold more than $6 billion in land sites in South Florida, $1.6 billion of which was sold in the last three years alone, demonstrating the sharp uptick in demand. In addition, compared to the broader U.S. market, South Florida / Miami land sales totaled $3.2 billion in 2022, up 49% year-over-year, while the U.S. land sale volume equaled $28 billion, down 10% year-over-year.

Some of the record setting JLL sales include the $363 million sale of 1201 Brickell Bay Dr., which is slated for Citadel’s new headquarters and 700 North Miami Avenue, a 4.7-acre site that sold for $94 million.

“We’ve really seen an uptick in non-traditional real estate owners monetizing their land holdings as well – groups such as schools, religious institutions and non-profits,” said Maurice Habif, Managing Director, JLL Capital Markets. “They see the record setting prices others are getting for their properties and realize they can fund more of their goals and missions by monetizing their land holdings. It’s been really fulfilling working on behalf of the non-profit organizations, and we look forward to seeing this trend continue in the near term. Land is only becoming more and more coveted throughout Florida and that demand should continue for the foreseeable future.”

“Florida really is experiencing phenomenal growth on all fronts,” added Simon Banke, Senior Director, JLL Capital Markets. “With more than 1,000 new residents moving to Florida every day, the state currently leads the country in population growth. Now, for the first time in forty years, Florida boasts more jobs than New York. Investors are acutely aware of these trends and hyper focused on investing in our market. In addition to a wealth of developers and capital providers that are already active in the state, we are speaking with new investors that want to be in Florida on a daily basis.”

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment sales advisory, debt placement, equity placement or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,700 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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