Is Housing Boom in St. Lucie Losing Steam?

$6 billion.

That’s a lot of money. It also represents the worth of property that changed hands in St. Lucie County last year. As one might expect, however, this sort of boom couldnt last forever. Real estate experts agree that fewer Florida home loans will be used for investment purposes in the area this year.

There’s mounting evidence that speculative investment has begun to taper off, while surplus homes are lingering on the market in some Treasure Coast neighborhoods, speakers said at the annual Research Coast Outlook Conference.

A statewide Florida home loan trend

The trend is becoming clear across the state, where the number of building permits and home starts has been outpacing the number of households since 2002, Orlando-based economist Hank Fishkind told the crowd of about 240.

“Obviously there’s a housing bubble in Florida. Come on, of course there is,” he said.

But owners shouldn’t fret too much: Much of the state’s housing glut is in South Florida condominiums, and the excess local homes shouldn’t stay on the market too long, Fishkind said.

The Treasure Coast’s housing surplus is more pronounced in St. Lucie than Martin County, but Fishkind predicted healthy population growth should be enough to eat up the excess within nine months or a year.

Port St. Lucie’s growth rate - which the U.S. Census last year deemed the nation’s highest among cities larger than 100,000 residents - is holding strong. By the end of this year, Port St. Lucie is on track to hit 150,000 people, City Manager Don Cooper said.

“That makes us the largest city between Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville,” he said.

Reasons behind city growth

Why is St. Lucie growing so much more swiftly than Martin or Indian River counties? More stringent growth restrictions in the neighboring counties are driving builders into St. Lucie, Fishkind said.

Most of the county’s new development will emerge west of I-95 in communities including Tradition, where commercial growth will change the city’s image as a bedroom community, Cooper said. Central to that plan is the city and Tradition’s work to attract The Burnham Institute, a La Jolla, Calif.-based medical research organization scouting a satellite campus in Florida.

Despite the projected Florida real estate slowdown, Fishkind said all three counties - which are dubbing themselves the Research Coast to lure new business - should continue experiencing dramatic population and economic growth.

Many people seeking a Florida home loan are ending up in this area.