By Susanne Dwyer
Florida’s economy grew in 2017, and that positive momentum should continue in 2018, according to economists and business data experts who spoke to a crowd of about 500 REALTORS® at the recent 2018 Florida Real Estate Trends event, held during the Florida Realtors® Mid-Winter Business Meetings.
“For 2018, from a business point of view, Florida’s economy benefits from a growing population, strong and growing employment and a rising number of visitors,” said Dr. Tony Villamil, founder and principal advisor of The Washington Economics Group and a former U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs under President George H.W. Bush. “In fact, Florida is growing faster in terms of employment growth than the rest of the U.S., which is good for Florida real estate.”
Villamil noted the three major drivers of the state’s economy are: 1) Florida’s business climate, including real estate sales; 2) the U.S. economy and financial market trends; and 3) the global economy.
“Overall, Florida is a positive, pro-business climate state, and I don’t see that changing significantly,” Villamil said. “For U.S. economic activity, I see a lot of enthusiasm on tax reform and deregulation—the U.S. economy is poised for a strong performance this year. We’ll likely see about 3 percent growth in the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for the U.S.”
Villamil added that Florida’s GDP growth in 2018 is likely to also be about 3 – 3.5 percent.
Global economic activity is rebounding from its sluggish performance and growing, especially in major markets like Brazil and Canada, Villamil noted. “Here in Florida, one of the sleepers is going to be India—it deserves a closer look.”
Another positive: Household net worth is at record levels, leaving consumers ready to spend, so real estate is in demand, Villamil added.
However, “One downer here is D.C. dysfunction,” Villamil cautioned. “In Washington, there’s a lot of animosity between the political parties. The key (for action) is going to be how we move toward less polarization between the parties. Florida’s economy depends on open markets. Looking at the global economy, in this area, I’m concerned about the administration’s policies.”
Other speakers who discussed trends for 2018 and beyond were Kevin Foreman, general manager of GeoAnalytics for INRIX Inc.; and Dr. Brad O’Connor, Florida Realtors® chief economist.
Foreman discussed how self-driving cars will impact real estate in the future, noting that there are currently about 7,000 on the roads, with that figure expected to reach 4.5 million by 2035. There are four trends in self-driving cars: autonomous (Tesla, Uber, Google and others are working on versions of autonomous cars); shared; electric; and connected. There are five levels of autonomy, including hands-on at level 1, hands-off at 2, eyes-off at 3, mind-off at 4, and no-wheel at 5.
At the Seattle office, INRIX offers the chance on a rotating basis to get to work using a Tesla autonomous vehicle, Foreman said.
“It’s really nice to go to work and be able to shave, to eat (with both hands) and check email…oh, yes, you’re all REALTORS®—you already do that,” Foreman said, earning laughs from the crowd.
Foreman
From:: Real Estate News
