The South Florida residential real estate market is at bottom and likely to experience some appreciation within a year, the National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun said.

Yun joins Jim Cramer (Mad Money) and a host of other economists who feel that bottom is basically here.

“I think the prices have already pretty much bottomed in the South Florida market,” Yun said. “The rest of the country is more difficult to say but I think here, given the buyers, the prices have already bottomed in Florida.”
 
Yun spoke on June 11 during a keynote address to a lunch crowd of the International Real Estate Congress and Expo. Given the growing number of residential deals occurring in South Florida despite no readily available financing, Yun projects that today’s buyers could actually realize some home price appreciation as soon as next year when credit is expected to be available once again. 

“Soon you will reach the point of equilibrium where home prices begin to show growth,” Yun said. “It is always difficult to precisely predict. I think that many people who are buying today in this month -  June of 2009 -  if they look back a year from now in June 2010, I think many people will see that they have actually gained in equity.”

Yun acknowledged that Florida market conditions – a diverse community with limited developable land, attractive weather, and an international appeal -  give the region an advantage over many other areas in the United States. Sales are up about 100 percent from one year before.

The Orlando real estate market is generally doing even better than south Florida since it never had quite the glut of inventory found in cities like Miami. The Orlando condo market in particular hasn’t taken the hit that it did in Miami where the supply of Miami condos is still a considerable problem - despite Yum’s comments.