Industrial, office, retail: NAIOP’s state of the Tampa Bay commercial real estate market

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Land, industrial, retail, multifamily, office and investment are all sharing a similar reality.

Life is good – for now.

Brokers shared detailed assessments of the state of Tampa Bay’s hopping commercial real estate market in the annual Broker Update from the Tampa chapter of NAIOP.

People patterns drive land demand

The hottest land deals are a function of what’s happening in demographics, with 20 million people slated to move to Florida in the next five years, said Nancy Surak, senior broker… …read more

If millennials aren’t buying homes, don’t blame student loans, Zillow says

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Student loans aren’t a big hurdle to homeownership, at least for those who actually graduate with at least a four-year degree, according to real estate website Zillow.

The impact of hefty student loans on career and family and the pace of millennials moving into homeownership have been points of heated debate.

But Zillow says high rents, a growing problem across the country, can be a bigger hurdle to homeownership by making it harder to save for a downpayment. The region’s hefty price tag for housing… …read more

Sneak peek: Inside the Warehouse Lofts in Seminole Heights

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“Grit” is rarely a selling point for apartments, but that’s exactly what the developer of the Warehouse Lofts was going for.

Wes Burdette, who is redeveloping the former warehouse at 4513 Florida Ave. into apartments, said he wanted an industrial chic vibe — something that stands out from the luxury apartments dotting the urban core.

The model apartment has exposed cement block walls and a gleaming metal banister leading up to the loft. Of the 54 units in the building, 44 are 720-square-foot… …read more

Land race is on for custom home sites in South Tampa

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Brooke Layton can’t seem to buy enough land.

The co-owner of Devonshire Custom Homes plans to close on four sites in the next four weeks — two of which already have buyers lined up.

“Everything I buy, someone seems to want,” Layton said, “and you can’t get customers unless you have the land.”

Demand for custom homes — driven by both locals who want a new house and out-of-town buyers relocating to the region — is pushing up lot prices in the region’s hottest neighborhoods: South… …read more

Jose Garcia: Focus on better housing has wider economic reach

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Title, company: Executive director, Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay

Education: B.S.Ed. in Special Education, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela

Named director RTTB: 2007

Arrived in Tampa Bay: 2002

Family interests: History from the discovery of the Americas to medieval

First paid job: Special education teacher

Why Jose is a big deal: RTTB’s mission is to provide decent housing to the most vulnerable sector of the population. With nearly 25 years of experience in the nonprofit… …read more

Gold toilets, a personal hockey rink and more: Behind the doors of custom homes in Tampa Bay

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What is the most unusual request you have had from a client?

Mike Bartoletta, Taralon Homes: To install a gold toilet

Brandon Boss, Boss & Mennie Inc.: To build a hockey rink inside a home

Jay Fechtel, The Fechtel Co.: To design and build a “car barn”

T.J. Nutter, Nutter Custom Construction: Glass garage doors

Leslie Bessey, Macale Builders Inc.: We had a three-story, castle-like structure to build.

Stephen Bronstein, Cornerstone Homes and Design: Mid Century Modern home

Joe Triplett,… …read more

Florida Fast 100: Right place. Right time. Right skills.

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The key to being one of the fastest-growing companies in Florida , it turns out, is pretty easy: All you have to do is be in the right place at the right time with the right skills.

Of course, figuring out exactly what those right things are is the hard bit.

For the companies that made the 2015 Florida Fast 100 list — health care companies, technology firms, construction businesses and more — making sure they hired the very best people they could, pushed them in the proper direction and focused… …read more

Downtown St. Pete apartments sold for $84.5M

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A downtown St. Petersburg apartment development has been sold for $84.5 million.

Alabama-based B&M Management paid $259,202 per apartment for Beacon 430, which is at 430 Third Ave. South, in a deal that closed Thursday.

Beacon is a four-story building, wrapped around a five-story parking garage. The amenity package includes a pool, 3,000-square-foot fitness center, yoga studio and outdoor kitchen.

JBM Multifamily Institutional Advisors of Tampa represented the seller, NRP Group, in the transaction.… …read more

Two major transactions in two days as Ritz-Carlton condo, coastal compound sell in Sarasota (PHOTOS)

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Two major residential real estate transactions in Sarasota have closed in the last two days.

The home at 8306 Sanderling Road on Siesta Key sold for $6.25 million on Tuesday. On Monday, unit No. 1101 in The Beach Residences at the Ritz-Carlton sold for $4 million. One agent from Sarasota brokerage Michael Saunders & Co. was involved in both transactions.

The buyers have not been disclosed, and deeds for the transactions have not yet been filed in Sarasota County.

The home on Sanderling Road is… …read more

What people earn is expanding most rapidly in America’s heartland

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Paychecks are expanding more rapidly in the nation’s heartland than anywhere else in America.

Five major markets enjoyed income growth of at least 2.5 percent per year between 2009 and 2014 — and four are located in a narrow belt from Arkansas and Oklahoma to Texas.

Atop the list is the Fayetteville, Arkansas metropolitan area, which is best known as the home base of Wal-Mart Stores.

The typical worker in the northwestern corner of Arkansas earned $42,410 in 2014, the latest year for which official… …read more