South Florida cities rank high in foreclosure volume, commercial deals are hamstrung by the credit crunch, and property values are down 6 percent, said Matt Haggman, a real estate reporter at The Miami Herald, who keynoted Friday morning\u2019s South Florida Property Opportunities Conference, presented by CPN. Nonetheless, Haggman remains optimistic about South Florida\u2019s commercial real estate prospects. Despite Time magazine\u2019s recent headline that asked \u201cIs Florida the Sunset State?\u201d \u2013 an in-depth feature article that explored the worst real estate meltdown since the Great Depression \u2013 Haggman looks at the Tri-County area through the lens of transition. South Florida, he said, is in an evolutionary period. The region is making strides to move from suburban bedroom communities to more livable, urban regions marked by walkable communities and mixed-use developments ala New York or Boston. \u201cThe suburban model is terribly broken and unsustainable,\u201d Haggman said. The latest boom delivered on the promise of high-density development, he noted, and embraced principles of urban revitalization that will bode well for South Florida\u2019s future. Haggman pointed a finger at developers for making decisions that left South Florida with suburban sprawl and its negative consequences. But he also highlighted a greener South Florida future with approximately 200 LEED certified projects being planned across the region. Following the keynote, panel discussions included a conversation between top experts about the state of the market, tapping into international growth, the government\u2019s role in finding solutions for South Florida\u2019s commercial real estate landscape, and who will fill the gap in capital markets. In one panel entitled \u201cState of the Market: Slower, but Steady,\u201d moderator Donna Abood, CEO of Colliers Abood Wood-Fay, asked the panel to describe how to do business in a market where everyone is waiting for the bottom. She challenged the panel to use a baseball analogy. Panelist Eric Swansen, vice president and market officer for Flagler Development Group\u2019s South Florida operations, took up the challenge. He painted a picture of a Florida Marlins game earlier this week during which one the Marlins players tried to steal second base. The team lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. \u201cDon\u2019t get caught trying to steal second. Get back to fundamentals,\u201d Swansen said. \u201cThat\u2019s how you win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
South Florida cities rank high in foreclosure volume, commercial deals are hamstrung by the credit crunch, and property values are down 6 percent, said Matt Haggman, a real estate reporter at The Miami Herald, who keynoted Friday morning\u2019s South Florida Property Opportunities Conference, presented by CPN. Nonetheless, Haggman remains optimistic about South Florida\u2019s commercial real…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1314,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21742],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1003839858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n