Miami and Orlando were revealed today as two of the top ten location searches in 2010 on Realtor.com.  Of course, no one could beat the real estate investment interest in Las Vegas and Los Angeles last year -- bargain hunters kept these two recession-hit markets in the top two search spots throughout last year, but Florida's two municipalties held their own as they fought with San Antonio to land in the 3d, 4th, or 5th most-searched spots on the top real estate search site for every month during 2010.  

This is good news for our state - but particularly for the Miami area, where we're welcoming both Floridians and relocating and retiring Americans into our communities as well as overseas buyers from all over the globe:  Canada, Australia, Great Britian, Columbia, Mexico, and other parts of Central and South America.  There are a lot of savvy foreign buyers who are looking for condo bargains here in Miami. 

Florida's Land Planning Agency Getting Bigger

Coupled with these excellent stats is the news that Governor Rick Scott is considering combining three state agencies to maximize efficiency.  As many commercial real estate investors and land developers are aware, the Florida Department of Community Affairs oversees Florida's land planning and community development, having the responsiblity to insure that growth occurs in accordance with the state's vital growth management laws.

Governor Scott wants to combine the FDCA with Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.  While Florida's environmental groups (the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, etc.) have voiced concern over this scheme  they are not actively fighting to stop the overhaul. 

They have written the governor that they are worried that the FDCA acts as "an independent state land planning agency to promote the most efficient use of essential regional and statewide resources." 

Meanwhile, it's becoming more and more apparent that the new governor is very cognizant of the importance of real estate investment and commercial land development to Florida's future.  One can only wonder if the FDCA proposed plan (read it here) submitted under Governor Crist's reign will stand without substantive change in the upcoming years. 

The fight between Florida conservationists and Florida business development has continued so long in this state as to be a tradition at this point.  Meanwhile, development here is at a standstill and our local economy is welcoming foreign investment in both residential and commercial properties as vital to our growth, perhaps even our survival. 

The news this week is good for us.  We're gonna make it, South Florida.