MIAMI—Luxury condo developments—including star-powered projects with never-before-seen amenities and the prices that go along with them—have dominated South Florida real estate headlines this cycle. At the same time, concerns over affordability in the region loom large and condo sales figures plateau, which is sparking a rising demand for single-family homes.

The Miami market alone saw a 10% year-over-year spike in single family home sales last month, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. That actually outpaces condo sales, which grew at 4.2%

Given South Florida's tight land constraints—bounded by the ocean on the east and the Everglades on the west—developers are challenged to find empty land that's ripe for large-scale home development and are instead turning to infill sites to meet mounting demand. Mike Nunziata, division president of Central Communities, a subsidiary of 13th Floor Investments, is seeing developers race to snap up infill sites in Miami-Dade and Broward.

Nunziata's Central Communities has over 900 housing lots in construction across South Florida—all within the $200,-000 to 400,000 range, a far cry from luxury condo prices. The firm's recently completed Central Parc community in Tamarac has seen over 120 sales within 90 days. GlobeSt.com caught up with Nunziata to talk more about this trend.

GlobeSt.com: With so much focus on South Florida's condo market, how is the single-family home segment fairing?

Nunziata: Both the condo and single-family home markets remain strong performers and continue to sustain momentum, but each is driven by a unique buyer base. Whereas the condo market continues to be dominated by foreign investors, primarily from Latin America, who are looking for longer-term assets for investment, single-family home buyers are primarily end users.   

In many cases, home ownership has become more affordable than renting, largely due to historically low interest rates, pent up demand, and skyrocketing rental rates.  During the recession, the housing market was frozen—both developers and buyers were faced with the limited capability to obtain financing.  Today, as the market continues to strengthen, buyers are coming off the sidelines and savvy developers are seeking opportunities to build new homes to serve pent-up demand. 

GlobeSt.com: What are some of the biggest factors associated with a growing demand for home ownership and how do you see those trends holding up over time?

Nunziata: South Florida is a place where a growing number of people want to live due to its appealing quality of life, favorable tax climate, and positive economic trends. The home-buying market will remain healthy and grow in lockstep with the local economy as long as a prudent yet healthy financing environment remains intact.

Additionally, many renters that have put off the home buying decision, whether or not by choice, now realize that home ownership is once again attainable. With rent growth in South Florida projected to continue into the foreseeable future, home buying should remain the financially smart decision by providing immediate cost savings and allowing buyers to fix their cost of living and begin saving—something renting does not allow for.

GlobeSt.com: What is the relationship between Central Communities and 13th Floor Investments and how do the two entities work together?

Nunziata: Central Communities is the wholly owned homebuilding division of 13th Floor Investments. While Central Communities has its own dedicated team, it works in coordination with 13th Floor to create synergies for both companies in a way that imparts expertise where appropriate for the benefit of 13th Floor's investors.

Projects led by Central Communities include Central Parc, a single-family infill redevelopment community at the northwest corner of Commercial Boulevard and Florida's Turnpike in Tamarac, FL. The 253-home development is one of the rare projects across South Florida with prices starting in the mid-$200,000s. More than 130 sales have been completed in the last 10 months, and prices are now up 6% from when we launched sales. Central Communities also has about 1,000 additional homes in its pipeline for delivery throughout South Florida over the next several years.

For more on what's unique about Miami's new boom, read my recent interview with Rey Melendi, a former executive of Rialto Capital Management and president of Lennar's southeast Florida land division. he oversees 13th Floor's development, construction and operational asset management of the sponsor's investments.