South Florida 2nd most construction in 1st half of 2015 

The South Florida metropolitan area had the second-most contraction contracts awarded in the first half of 2015, according to Dodge Data & Analytics.
The company recorded $2.96 billion in commercial and multifamily construction starts in the tri-county area, behind only New York with a massive $17.3 billion.

South Florida had more construction than larger metro areas such as Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
The residential, retail, industrial and health care facility sectors have been the largest drivers of construction in South Florida. Given the number of huge projects in the pipeline, such as Miami Worldcenter, SoLe Mia in North Miami, Dania Pointe, Metropica in Sunrise, Atlantic Crossing in Delray Beach and Transit Village in West Palm Beach, construction spending isn’t likely to slow down.
Dodge Data & Analytics said construction starts surged 38 percent in South Florida in the first half of 2015, compared to the same period a year ago. That beat the national average increase of 13 percent. However, it ranked just 10th among the largest 20 metro areas on the list for most construction.

Las Vegas had the biggest year-over-year increase, at 181 percent, to $1.01 billion; followed by Kansas City, at 116 percent, to $842 million; and Tampa Bay, at 89 percent, to $979 million. Orlando also made the list with a 65 percent increase in construction starts, to $889 million.
“Market fundamentals such as occupancies and rents continue to show improvement, which supports further growth for commercial and multifamily construction,” said Robert A. Murray, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics. “While the expansion for the overall economy remains tepid, as shown by the 2.3 percent growth for GDP in the second quarter, commercial and multifamily development continues to be a prime focus of the investment community in its search for yield. The level of construction starts for commercial building is still well below the peak volume of the previous decade, even with double-digit gains over the past four years.”

Source:  South Florida Residential Real Estate