South Florida construction market declines at end of 2015, but overall central, south volumes reach nearly $14 billion for the year

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Despite a significant slowdown in South Florida construction spending at the end of 2015, overall volumes there and in Central Florida showed a significant increase from 2014, according to Dodge Data and Analytics.

Combined, the two markets generated almost $14 billion in construction volume through 2015.

Dodge says in central Florida, residential and commercial projects totalled $6.9 billion, a 51 percent increase from the $4.6 billion reported in 2014, according to a report in the Orlando Business Journal.  Commercial project permits including retail, office, hotels, schools, warehouses, medical facilities and religious institutions, doubled from January to December  from $1.1 billion in 2014 to $2.2 billion in 2015.  Meanwhile, homebuilding increased by 36 percent from 2014’s $3.5 billion to $4.7 billion in 2015.

Meanwhile, in South Florida, according to The Real Deal, Dodge has reported that “contracts started to dry up by year’s end” especially in the residential market — but the overall annual volume was helped by “an overheated spring where residential spending was growing by double-digit percentages compared to 2014.”

“The tri-county area in 2014 saw an explosion of building, both on the residential and commercial sides of the market. Multifamily projects in particular had a 121 percent increase in building than in 2013, while commercial building as a whole was up 51 percent,” The Real Deal reported. “Now, South Florida is facing headwinds from economic troubles abroad in regions like South America — a major feeder market for buyers of local real estate. Home sales took a hit at the end of the year, and analysts say poor global economic conditions could have a chilling effect on new industrial construction.”

“The construction start statistics do show some deceleration for the commercial building sector at the national level during 2015, after the substantial gain witnessed during 2014,” Robert A. Murray, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics, wrote in his report. “The recovery for commercial building has so far been hesitant, with periods of increased activity often followed by a pause.”

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