According to an article on bizjournals.com, “Construction starts increased 3 percent in South Florida in 2017, led by residential projects, according to Dodge Data & Analytics.
Based on its monitoring of construction permits, the firm said $10.9 billion in projects started in the tri-county region, up from $10.6 billion in 2015. Residential construction starts were up 7 percent to $7.1 million while non-residential (commercial real estate, education, health care, and government) declined 4 percent to $3.8 billion.
That growth was even more impressive than in 2015, when construction starts increased 3 percent year-over-year.
Most experts forecast that fewer condo projects will break ground in 2017 as pre-construction sales have slowed. However, that’s a large pipeline of apartment projects in the works. On the commercial side, industrial and retail projects have been popping up across the region and that is expected to continue.
Florida added 22,300 construction jobs, for 5.1 percent growth, during 2016, according to the Labor Department.
A survey by the Associated General Contractors found that 30 percent of Florida construction firms expect a higher dollar volume of projects in 2017.”
Source Credit: Brian Bandell, South Florida Business Journal