Natural calamities like floods and earthquakes spell doom for the Business scenario – not so in sunny Florida which had a busy 2004 in terms of real estate in spite of four hurricanes which hit the state between August and September.

Florida – the land of the shining sun is best known for the much-talked about Miami Beach. The dream of every potential buyer is to own real estate on Miami Beach. South Miami has reached a point of saturation with no land available the developers have shifted operations to North Miami Beach and it this zone which has become the hub of construction activity.

The acute paucity of land has lead to the conceptualization of Condo Hotels, which are the most sought after products in the real estate market. Condo hotels are fast gaining popularity and not without reason.

The international buyer who usually comes from Europe, finds it the most convenient in terms of ownership. In continuance of the same Condo hotels are an attractive investment proposition considering that they have a high appreciation value coupled with the option to utilize as Vacation homes. This has lead to their becoming the most sought after in Florida.

Condos are high – rise buildings with units ranging from 250 to 1000 in number. The forces of demand drive the market and leads to the condos being sold out during the construction phase itself.

Property in Miami makes good business sense at all times – builders escalate prices up to five times at the time of moving in as compared to the launch price as the market is demand driven.

The exponential spurt in demand has lead to the abolition of all discounts, which was a routine practice in all projects until a few years back.

Investors can book handsome profits by investing in property – to illustrate -

The median home sale price for Florida in 2004 stood at $192,400 which was a 22 – percent rise over prices just a year ago. A mere five years ago the median prices were a modest $103,200 showing an escalation of 86.4 percent over just five years!

A sound business investment in Miami property should address certain vital parameters like location, which should ideally be Downtown Miami close to the financial district or even better on the Oceanfront.

Brand recognition is crucial to any property in Florida – Global players in franchise are Four Seasons, Hilton and Trump to name a few and are the preferred ones as compared to the lesser known companies.

Global players have the enviable reputation of having a higher occupancy rate as compared to stand alone players and are indisputably the preferred companies when it comes to purchasing a condo unit.

If investment is on the priority list – Miami is the logical choice – and if Miami is the choice what better than a condo unit!