MIAMI— Edgardo Defortuna, president of Fortune International Realty, recently pointed to several unbalanced and inaccurate media articles. He said perception affects the market because perception eventually becomes reality.

And he's not the only one speaking out. David Martin, president and co-founder of Miami-based real estate development firm Terra, is also making a point to clarify the truth.

Under Martin's leadership, Terra was active during the last construction cycle and today is behind some of the highest-profile projects in South Florida, including the Bjarke Ingels-designed Grove at Grand Bay, Rem Koolhaas-designed Park Grove in Coconut Grove, the Renzo Piano-designed Eighty Seven Park in Miami Beach and the recently completed Glass condo by architect Rene Gonzalez in Miami Beach. GlobeSt.com caught up with Martin to get some insights.

GlobeSt.com: Some industry players are saying we need to clean up media headlines about Miami real estate. What are you seeing?

Martin: The international media's coverage of The Panama Papers has characterized South Florida's real estate market as being dominated by luxury condos owned by absentee buyers. In fact, a deeper look reveals that our housing landscape is becoming increasingly diverse as developers meet demand among actual residents, so-called 'end-users'.

While the perception is that our market is one-dimensional due to the sheer number of high-rise condos that have been built over the past decade, today there are thriving single-family home and apartment communities underway in neighborhoods like Doral, Weston, Pembroke Pines and even in and around Downtown Miami.

GlobeSt.com: Has the buyer market changed in this cycle?

Martin: Though we have seen an uptick in condo development in the past three years, the majority of units being built this cycle are selling to owners who will spend all or part of their time here. This marks a shift from the boom-turned-bust of 2008, which was driven by condo developers, their buyers and banks over-leveraging themselves in the name of speculation.

Case in point: In Downtown Miami, the epicenter of overbuilding last cycle, 85% of the 3,438 condos delivering this year are pre-sold, according to the Miami Downtown Development Authority's latest market report. The same study found 94% of downtown's existing units are occupied by full-time residents. South Florida's real estate sector has learned from its past mistakes, and today's housing market is proving resilient despite economic volatility overseas.

David Martin

And he's not the only one speaking out. David Martin, president and co-founder of Miami-based real estate development firm Terra, is also making a point to clarify the truth.

GlobeSt.com: Some industry players are saying we need to clean up media headlines about Miami real estate. What are you seeing?

GlobeSt.com: Has the buyer market changed in this cycle?

Instant Insights /

End-Users Trump 'Phantom Buyers' in Today's Miami Real Estate Market

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