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In a recent article the National Real Estate Investor magazine posted a great article about the multifamily market that I know many of you would enjoy, so I’ve included an exerpt below:

Apartment properties remain one of the strongest investments in the commercial real estate market, says Brian McAuliffe, managing director and chief investment officer with RREEF Alternative Investments.

Demand for multifamily housing has surged as potential homebuyers face tougher mortgage requirements, higher debt payments and declining home values, McAuliffe said at a seminar on capital markets and investment trends at the fall meeting of the Urban Land Institute in Las Vegas. He anticipates more construction of garden apartments nationally because commodity costs for lumber and drywall are coming down with the drop in home construction.

That is the sector we are very bullish on, McAuliffe says. When you look at the demand of the apartment sector, you have to look at two areas ” one is the existing tenants that you have in your community, and the other is the demand for vacant space. Obviously, we feel very confident on the renewal rates,” he says.

“We have already seen signs where it is increasing, and we expect that to continue. That is because the ability to get financing today is much more challenging. You need higher debt. The other factor is the fear factor of being in a position to buy a home today and find out six months or a year from now that its worth less. I think there is going to be a lot more patience by the existing renters.

So this is further good news for the multifamily owners and investors who have been waiting out the market fluctuation here in Florida. The bottom line is: Now is the time to be looking for multifamily properties.

Peter J Barnett, CCIM with contributions from NREI magazine and Buck Wargo.

This week Florida lawmakers agreed upon a revision to our current tax structure which you may have been following. While it makes most of the provisions for homesteaded properties and focuses on “Portability” of the exemptions for these properties, the commercial market got a small bit of good news.Â

Under the new law, properties recognized as non-homestead and income producing will have an annual cap of 10% on the increase in taxable value of their property. This will go into effect on the 2009 year tax roll, using 2008 as the baseline year to put the 10% cap into effect. So if your property has an assessed value of $1,000,000 in the 2008 year tax roll, then in 2009 the value can not increase above $1,100,000 and your taxes can not increase above 10% accordingly. This provision will be in effect for 10 years and then the voters will be responsible for keeping going after that time.

 These changes will go to a final vote in January at which time many are expecting the changes to the law to pass with flying colors. We will continue to keep you up to date with legislation changes for tax and insurance problems that affect commercial property owners in Florida.

Peter J. Barnett, CCIM