The Real Estate Market Post Covid-19

Cristiano M. Teixeira 

The real estate market, like any other, has its ups and downs.  When the whole economy is doing well, companies are growing and people are earning extra bonuses.  As a result, companies rent more office space, and people buy bigger homes. 
 
That is the normal cycle of things in life.  It is not every day that there is a pandemic.  History shows us that one pandemic happens, more or less, every 100 years or so. 

For the past 13/14 months the world has experienced one of these pandemics.  This time caused by this virus called Covid-19.  Little we knew in March of 2020 what we were about to face.  Everywhere in the world people were forced to stay inside their homes.  Companies were not allowed to open their offices.  Their employees were to work from home, anticipating a movement that a lot of us always wanted: to stay home and work from there.
 
However, not everyone was ready for that.  Actually, most people, I would say, were not ready.  A lot of people live in condos.  Other people do not have space in their home where they could call it “office” or the now famous “home office”.  Some of us have newborns at home, and some others have large families living with them.  So working from home, especially when it is the only option you have, became a major challenge for everyone. 
 
Because of this, a lot of people considered buying a bigger home, and some others decided to move somewhere warmer.  And Florida seemed to have it all.  Cheaper real estate, especially if compared to San Francisco and NYC, and warmer climate all year round.  As a result, the Florida real estate market, especially residential, is in high demand.  After a few years of slow sales, due to the oversupply of condos, as well as an economic crisis in Latin America, South Florida residential real estate market reinvented itself.  Demand for single-family homes, especially the ones close to the water or with a sizable lot, simply skyrocketed.  And as the demand increased, the prices went up.  All of a sudden, all these houses that were stuck on the market for a few years, were sold within a few days, for top dollars.  Now that there are not many single-family homes available anymore, that demand is shifting to the condo market.  The prices are still somewhat attractive, but the pressure to raise them is on. 
 
A lot of people are worried about where this whole demand will leave us.  Some say that it will be impossible for the regular person to buy a home (that is already a problem in major cities everywhere in the world).  Some others think that it will be impossible to live in places like Miami due to the increase of cars and the lack of a good public transportation system.  All of this is true but the real estate market is not stopping any time soon. 
 
Historically Americans, especially from colder places, choose South Florida for two reasons: weather and a tax break.  But this kind of demand is very specific and does not affect the market that much, as most of these buyers buy their second homes in Florida, spending some time down here, but not living.  However, what we have seen is something completely different.  People are actually moving, buying their primary homes in South Florida.  How many of you who live in Miami have seen cars with New York or Massachusetts license plates lately?  Also, not only people but now companies are moving their headquarters or regional offices to Florida.  Not only because their employees are moving down, but also because they realized that it is much more cost-effective to work from sunny Miami, all year round, than it is to work from their Wall Street offices.
 
We still do not know where all this will take us.  We have not reached the end of the pandemic yet.  There are signs of it, but it is still uncertain what will life be like after all this.  But one thing is certain: real estate will never be the same again.
 
So if you are in the market, either to buy, sell or rent, take advantage of the moment.  Research, study, talk to your local real estate agent.  After all, our home is and will always be the safest place for our families.”  

Cristiano M. Teixeira is a real estate adviser with Elite International Realty, in Miami.
 
After working as a senior executive in two real estate development companies in Brazil for over 15 years, Cristiano has been acting as an adviser and sales associate at Elite International Realty in Miami.  His focus is mainly residential, in the high-end segment of the market, but he also works with commercial real estate, more specifically triple net properties as well as empty lots for future residential developments.
 
You can find more information on Cristiano and his properties at www.cristiano-teixeira.com, or by visiting his LinkedIn profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristianomteixeira/ or by writing him at [email protected]
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