Florida Realtors® 2017 Real Estate Trends: What's Ahead for Fla. Real Estate?

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Jan 20, 2017, 09:35 ET

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The real estate market plays a vital role in Florida's growth, and figuring out what lies ahead in 2017 is a key question for policymakers, residents and Realtors®.

Several highly respected and nationally known economists will share their insights at Florida Realtors® 2017 Florida Real Estate Trends on Jan. 26, 2017, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The session is a highlight of Florida Realtors' annual Mid-Winter Business Meetings, which take place from Jan. 25-28, 2017, at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld, 6677 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Fla., 32821.

Speakers include Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors® (NAR); Dr. Elliot Eisenberg, chief economist for GraphsandLaughs, LLC, and a former senior economist with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB); Michael Johnston, regional sales manager, Florida, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage; Julie Harrington, director of Florida State University's Center for Economic Forecasting & Analysis; and Dr. Brad O'Connor, Florida Realtors chief economist.

"In many ways, 2016 was a good year for real estate in Florida," says Dr. O'Connor. "For one, the statewide pace of single-family home sales remained high in 2016 following a remarkably strong 2015. And although we did not see the double-digit percentage increases in sales that characterized the previous year, the state's housing markets clearly got healthier in 2016 due to a major decline in the number of distressed properties for sale.

"Currently, only about 5 percent of single-family home listings in Florida are for distressed properties. Sales of these properties still make up around 10 percent of all sales from month to month, though, so I'm expecting distressed inventories to decline even further in 2017. At the same time, traditional owner-occupant buyer and seller activity has picked up the slack, and then some. Non-distressed property sales were up solidly across the state in 2016 and I expect this pace to continue in 2017."

Realtors and anyone interested in Florida's future should attend the upcoming Real Estate Trends event, says 2017 Florida Realtors President Maria Wells, broker-owner with Lifestyle Realty Group in Stuart.

She adds, "Learn what trends may be developing for 2017 – you'll gain insights that can expand your network, boost your productivity and offer future business opportunities."

Florida Realtors® serves as the voice for real estate in Florida. It provides programs, services, continuing education, research and legislative representation to its 165,000 members in 55 boards/associations. Florida Realtors® Media Center website is available at http://media.floridarealtors.org.

SOURCE Florida Realtors