Florida's real estate market is stabilizing compared to a bleak outlook nationwide, according to a recent UF study.
Across the nation, high prices for homes are causing potential buyers to be cautious.
The study, by UF's Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies, indicates Florida's persistent demand for homes and lack of overbuilding has helped stabilize the business.
Bergstrom Director Wayne Archer said healthy portions of the state's real estate market include apartments, retail, office and industrial.
Florida is in better condition than the rest of the country, Archer said.
Florida's building rate is moderate, which prevents imbalances in supply and demand. Condominiums are the only exception. They tend to be overabundant in certain cities, he said.
For example, in Miami, about 40,000 condo units are on sale when not even a fraction of those are needed, Archer said.
Archer said Florida's high growth rate has also helped the state recover from problems in the real estate market.
"If there is a problem with the housing market in Chicago, Indianapolis or Kansas City, people there may have to live with it for a long time because growth is relatively slow, and it takes awhile for the problem to work itself out," he said.
Real estate like single-family houses and condominiums have been struggling, according to the quarterly survey used in the study.
Hope is on the horizon for homebuyers, especially those seeking to buy single-family homes, Archer said.
"I think homeowners have not yet come to terms with the fact that the price increases we've seen in the last two or three years are not going to continue," he said.
