Rental Apartment Construction At 27 Year High. Construction of multifamily units nationally is proceeding at the strongest pace since 1987. Multifamily construction starts have now eclipsed the previous high water mark during the last boom housing cycle in 2006. One difference in the current development cycle is that 93% of the multifamily units are being built as rentals whereas in the previous boom cycle that ended in 2006 there was much more development of condominiums as a percentage of multifamily development. click here to read more
Florida Construction Industry Jobs Still Far Below Pre-Recession Levels. While Florida's economy has seen broad based job growth in tourism, education services and retail sectors, the state's construction industry remains over 226,000 jobs below the Pre-Recession levels and is still down over 277,000 construction related jobs from the peak of the boom in 2006. click here to read more
Sunrail Phase 2 To Start Construction By Fall 2015. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced a late summer/early fall projected construction start for Phase 2 of the Sunrail commuter train line. Phase 2 will extend the current rail system south into Osceola County. FDOT anticipates advertising construction contracts for Phase 2 in the spring of 2015. Budget estimates for the additional 17.2 miles of commuter rail equate to over $173,000,000 of spending. Phase 2 will run from Sand Lake Road in Orange County to Poinciana in Osceola County. click here to read more
Florida Added 40,000 Construction Jobs But Still Facing Shortages. In the past year, Florida has added 40,000 construction jobs according to the U.S. Labor Department. That figure represents an 11% annual increase and accounts for more new positions in construction than any other state. Despite the added construction jobs, Florida is facing a critical shortage of skilled labor among the construction trades. The shortage is especially acute in South Florida. Contractors are having to bring in workers from out of state. Miami Dade College recently received a $10MM grant from the federal government designed to fund programs which will equip students to compete for specialized construction jobs. click here to read more
TIA Set To Approve First $250mm In Airport Construction Contracts.
Tampa International Airport's Board of Directors is expected to approve the first approximately $250MM in construction contracts in connection with the expansion of the airport. These contracts are part of phase one of the planned TIA improvements which will total over $940MM for phase one alone. The phase one improvements are expected to be completed by 2017. A significant component of the first phase improvements will be an expansion of the airport's automated people mover system. Future expansion plans include a hotel, office complex and gas station on airport property. click here to read more
Demand For Housing Outpacing Supply.
The Chief Economist at Moody's Analytics said that home-building will pick up by end of 2014 and will continue to flourish through 2016. He indicated that demand for new homes nationwide is already outpacing supply by approximately 650,000 units. Demand for new homes is expected to grow as young adults who have been living with their parents move out to form new households. Supply side issues (e.g., availability of Canadian lumber and manufacturing capacity to produce fixtures in sufficient quantities) may serve to constrain some of the near future growth. click here to read more
