9'; : ;~
J4nuWy 1955
Volume 8
Number 1
The University of Miami
CORAL -GABLES, FLORIDA
I,:
t
c;
-7p-r""~~"'m;~l~"rrff"
i~FF~Frp~~
'x~LT. ~
I* a "Aw awal *nfi!i T it i.n1l^ i- il}
L "L
-*~~a
I~,' ,i
..
i
se
'C
. h t
rfIs
:Easnswc~
;QgPBLM.C~
Miami Economic Research
FORMERLY MIAMI RESIDENTIAL RESEARCH
A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION
The University of Miami
Coral Gables, Florida
JAY F. W. PEARSON, President
School of Business Administration
GROVER A. J. NOETZEL, Dean
Copyright 1955
The University of Miami
Division of Research and Industry
WALTER O. WALKER, Dean
Bureau of Business and
Economic Research
REINHOLD P. WOLFF, Director
Editor:
Dorothy G. Melville
Volume 8 January 1955 Number 1
GROWTH TRENDS IN GREATER MIAMI
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN 1954
The economic development of the Miami Metro-
politan Area (Dade County) was little affected by
the business slump that occurred in the national
economy in 1953 and extended into the summer of
1954. In Southeastern Florida, the strong increase
in population continued with unabated strength
and business indicators reflect the maintenance of
a favorable trend in almost every segment of the
economic structure. While it is apparent that cy-
clical influences were not completely absent from
the Florida economy, they were overshadowed by
the long range growth trend of local business.
A few points stand out in the developments of
the last year. One of the most encouraging is the
strength of the local capital structure. This is evi-
denced in the sharp increase in bank resources
which grew by almost one-fifth, and of saving de-
posits in savings and loan companies which in-
creased by more than one-third. This growth of
local capital has brought South Florida closer to
self-sufficiency in the financing of its residential
and commercial expansion. While still dependent
upon capital resources of the northern markets,
Southeastern Florida is now in a position to finance
many of its own projects.
Another notable development was the increase in
manufacturing employment. While still relatively
insignificant in comparison with that of other
heavily industrialized cities, manufacturing is be-
coming of increasing importance as the area grows,
helping to iron out the sharp seasonal swings
characteristic of the past and to reduce its depend-
ence on the tourist industry as the main bread-
winner.
The construction industries of Dade County also
exhibited some significant trends last year. While
building construction as a whole reached a new
high of over a quarter billion dollars, there was a
decline in residential building, particularly in the
apartment house field. In view of the continuing
strong inward migration of families, this downward
trend in residential building seems a favorable
rather than an alarming factor. Miami still leads
most other cities in its size class in the amount of
new home construction. However, now that most
of the accumulated demand of the war years has
been satisfied, new additions to the housing in-
ventory are becoming proportionately smaller and
the danger of overbuilding less acute.
In general, the facilities needed to sustain a
rapidly growing population have been expanded
proportionately. Tourist lodgings, retail stores,
wholesale establishments, utilities and service in-
dustries have all been increased during the past
year. There has also been an effort made to bring
existing public works, such as streets, school build-
ings, parks and sewer systems, in line with the needs
of a growing population. Remarkable progress has
been made in flood control and land reclamation,
especially in the widening of drainage canals. The
large housing developments in the northwest sec-
tion of the county have been built on ground that
was considered unfit for building only a few years
ago but which now offers a large degree of protec-
tion from flooding.
In contrast to these factors that have strengthened
the local economy, we also notice some trends that
are less favorable and which foreshadow future
disturbances. The home price structure has been
weakened by the large building programs of the
past years. Apartment houses show increased va-
cancies, especially in the tourist areas. Hotel and
motel occupancy was also down slightly last year,
despite the record number of visitors to the area.
While South Florida's tourism is still growing,
competition for the tourist dollar is increasing.
The lack of suitable building land has become
a problem in many metropolitan areas. This is
particularly so in the Miami area where high-lying
land is scarce. Already increasing land prices have
invited land speculation, which brings to mind the
unfortunate experience of the twenties.
In conclusion, the observer of the Miami economy
cannot fail to be impressed by the one hundred per
cent expansion that the area has undergone in ten
years. He must also be aware of the dangers that
such fast growth implies for the stability of its
economic structure.
POPULATION
Miami is a late-comer among the large metro-
politan cities of the United States. At the turn of
the century, the city had a population of less than
5,000. In the 55 years since 1900, population has
grown to more than 700,000 and Miami is now in
about the same size class as Denver or Providence.
In the five years since 1950, more than 200,000
permanent residents have come into the area, an
increase of 43 per cent.
POPULATION
MIAMI METROPOLITAN AREA
1900- 1955
ON
1900
1905
1910
1915
1920
1925
1930
0 1935
1940
1945
1950
1900 05 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 1955
195$
Source: Southeastern Mortgage Company. The 1955 figure is the January
of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research, University of
the basis of 2.74 persons per dwelling unit.
1 estimate
Miami, on
POPULATI(
700,00(
600,00o
500,000
400,00C
300,00(
200,00(
I00,00C
4,955
12,089
11,933
24,536
42,753
111,332
142,955
180,998
267,739
315,060
495,084
707,000
FLOATING POPULATION
In addition to the 700,000 permanent population
of Greater Miami, the area has a large floating
population of tourists and seasonal workers for the
tourist trade. It is estimated that for all of South-
eastern Florida (Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and
Monroe counties), the total number of visitors
present at any given time varies between 35,000 at
the lowest point in September and 327,000 at the
height of the season in late February. At the low
point this tourist influx amounts to only about 3
per cent of the resident population and is probably
smaller than the outflow of permanent residents on
vacation; at the height of the season the floating
population is almost a third as large as the total
permanent population. Evenly distributed through-
out the year, the floating population would add 13
per cent to the resident population. (For details,
see "Tourist Days and Tourist Spending in South-
eastern Florida 1953-1954" by Reinhold P. Wolff,
Bureau of Business and Economic Research, Uni-
versity of Miami.)
SOUTHEASTERN FLORIDA VISITOR MOVIE TS
October 1, 1953 May 31, 1954
GRAND TOTAL NET INFLOW OR OUTFLOW Cunulated
Visitors In
Date Arrivals Departures Inflow Outflow Area
September 30, 1953 (midnight)
October 7 31,872 27,251
11 36,103 27,577
21 36,231 30,529
28 35,554 31,749
November 4 38,959 27,130
11 51,976 27,376
18 48,386 35,654
25 44,832 36,588
December 2 43,355 32,547
9 43,127 33,602
16 42,794 34,643
23 83,689 35,597
30 82,308 15,009
January 6, 1954 63,011 87,761
13 73,401 50,576
20 51,898 50,126
27 81,563 57,741
February 3 83,961 61,812
10 91,822 64,534
17 100,490 78,322
24 94,917 101,271
March 3 79,602 109,681
10 78,743 94,403
17 72,250 93,141
24 62,842 84,675
31 57,6^1 99,203
April 7 55,370 96,833
14 56,884 68,694
21 51,948 68,107
28 39,749 75,588
May 5 42,518 57,351
12 40,290 49,280
19 36,983 45,999
26 30,274 41,132
Totals 1,971,351 1,961,188
7,618
8,526
5,705
3,805
11,829
24,600
12,732
8,244
10,808
9,525
8,151
48,092
37,299
22,825
1,772
23,822
22,152
27,288
22,168
316,961
35,000
42,618
51,1414
56,849
60,654
72,483
97,083
109,815
118,059
12d,867
138,392
146,543
194,635
231,931
24,753 207,181
230,006
231,778
255,600
277,752
305,01,0
327,208
6,3514 320,908
30,079 290,829
15,660 275,169
20,891 254,278
21,833 232,4h5
41,562 190,883
41,463 149,1420
11,610 137,610
13,159 124,451
35,839 88,612
l1,833 73,779
8,990 61,789
9,016 55,773
10,853 14,920
307,095
Source Bureau of Business and Economic Research, University of Miami
Area comprises Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and M4nroe Counties.
FLOATING POPULATION
SOUTHEASTERN FLORIDA
WEEKLY AVERAGE OF OCTOBER,1953 MAY, 1954
NON-RESIDENTS IN THE AREA
SOCTO .1E 11 I is C. DECEMBER jb I. CNU
OCTOPER NOVEMBER DECEMBER JLANIARY
SOURCE' BUREAU OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
3
FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL
HOUSING
At the beginning of 1955 there were over 250,-
000 dwelling units available in Greater Miami, of
which almost 75 per cent were one and two-family
homes. The other 25 per cent were apartment units,
used largely by the floating population and con-
centrated in areas of high tourist frequency such
as Miami Beach. More than half of all the dwell-
ing units now standing in Miami have been built
within the past ten years; about a third have been
built within the past five.
DWELLING UNIT INVENTORY
MIAMI METROPOLITAN AREA
1940-1955
Miami Metropolitan Area
1 and 2 Aoartment
Family Units Units
61,369 26,103
70,985 28,1,88
76,862 29,470
78,655 29,549
80,273 29,519
83,170 29,691
88,138 30,472
95,545 32,310
109,472 37,286
120,522 42,027
134,075 16,583
119,680 50,210
158,423 54,899
170,685 58,268
182,951 63,196
191,822 66,047
Total
Dwelling
Units
90,472
99,173
106,332
108,204
109,822
112,861
118,610
127,855
116,758
162,519
180,658
199,920
213,322
228,953
216,167
257,869
Source: 1940 and 1950 figures are from the U. S.
Bureau of the Census. Other years have been
estimated by the Bureau of Business and Economic
Research of the University of Miami on the basis
of reports from the Building Inspectors of 21
municipalities in the Miami Metrooolitan Area
nlus the Dade County report for unincoororated
areas. All figures are for Aoril 1 excent the
1955 figure which is for January 1, and is based
on the number of building permits issued for the
area through September 194h. Figures since the
1950 Census do not include non-permanent units
such as house trailers, boats and similar dwell-
ings nor do they include buildings for which no
permits were issued or buildings in certain small
municipalities for which building permit figures
are not available. On the basis of cast experi-
ence, these additions are usually about offset by
demolitions.
9a,0 i 4 1.9. 1o43 944 9 945 094f. a 947 1946 949 Ii ,5o ,!. 2 rS 1953 ,i54 19.5
*The trend toward the suburbs during recent years
is shown by the substantial increase in home build-
ing in the unincorporated areas of the county and
in some of the newer municipalities like North
Miami Beach as compared with a steady or de-
clining trend in older areas such as the city of
Miami proper, Miami Beach or Hialeah.
5O.C i::
DWELLING UNITS STARTED
no. llule MAJOR DADE COUNTY MUNICIPALITIES
1954 COMPARED WITH 1949-53 AVERAGE
,.ooo
7,- 5076
Sdo 3,076 3,.73
L rih l, 1-39
[--]
m- uc BliS 1EA15
0,000 0e 0 __e
*O0 0 UOm ImE15 rms DAnt OU*T uII00 LIcIE
Since 1950, Miami has been the second fastest
growing housing area in the United States, ex-
ceeded only by Albuquerque. As measured by
actual amount of building since 1950, Miami ranks
eighth among metropolitan areas, exceeded only by
New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, San
Francisco, Philadelphia and Washington. During
the twelve months ended September 1954, there
were more new dwellings started in Miami than
in any of the following cities: New Orleans, Bir-
mingham, Jacksonville, Seattle, Tampa-St. Peters-
burg, San Diego, Atlanta, Houston or Dallas.
DWELLING UNIT STARTS
10 METROPOLITAN AREAS
1954 *
TtOu5AONDS
12
10
to...|
S10 -
u. .: ,'-
a, ,6
.- .7
.0 a
u 0 ;;
,, ~ ~ :. 41 ?
I: '1
10 .
1, 5
I,
Standard Metropolitan Areas
New Orleans
Birmingham
Jacksonville
Seattle
Tampa-St. Petersburg
San Diego
Atlanta
Houston
Dallas
Miami
Dwelling Unit Starts
1954*
2,367
L,290
14,810
8,633
8,691
9,343
10,L72
13,180
111,596
15,1l01
"9 I
S
0P
Sources Miami Dade County Building Inspectors; other areas "Drelling Units Authorized," U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
* 12 months ended September, 1954.
Despite the vast building program of recent
years, Miami's dwelling unit starts per capital have
declined. Immediately after the war when a large
backlog of housing demand existed, there were
more than 4,600 dwellings started per year per
100,000 population; in 1954 the figure was down
DWELLING UNIT STARTS
PER 100,000 POPULATION
MIAMI METROPOLITAN AREA
1947- 1954
Dwelling
Unit
Starts
17,535
14,423
16,741
19,262
13,102
15,631
17,494
16,069
Dwell. Unit
Starts Per
100,000
Population
L,614
3,518
3,762
3,891
2,459
to 2,273. In other words, while the level of new
residential building has remained on a high plateau
for the past eight years, much higher than for the
average American city of similar size, the rapid
influx of population has meant a declining trend of
building per person.
5,000
4,000-
3,000-
2,000-
1.000-
Sources Dwelling Unit Starts Dade County Building Inspectors.
Population 1950, U. S. Bureau of the Census; other years estimated by Bureau of Business and Economic Research, University of Miami.
GENERAL BUSINESS INDICATORS
Rapidly expanding business activity in the
Miami area in recent years reflects the high level
of business generally throughout the United States
plus the stimulation of major population and hous-
ing expansion. Some of the standard business in-
dicators such as postal cancellations, gasoline sales
and number of telephones in service are up 40 to
50 per cent since 1950. In other areas such as
airplane passenger traffic, bank debits and elec-
tricity sales, the increase is 60 to 90 per cent. De-
partment store sales, which lagged behind other
general business indices for most of 1954, showed
a definite upturn during the past three months and
are currently ahead of last year.
GENERAL BUSINESS INDICATORS
MIAMI METROPOLITAN AREA 1945- 1954
(1950 = 100 )
,945 4a 4? 48 4". :0 51 -2 53 54
1946 47T 48 49 50 5i 52 53 54
1945 46 4F 48 49 .50 5' 52 53 54
GASOLINE SALES
TELEPHONES IN SERVICE
1945 46 47 ad 49 50l 51 52 55 54
Bank Debite
Millions of Dollars
$2,401
3,3114
3,578
4,159
L,101
4,926
5,778
6,315
7,017
8,167
Passenger
Airplane Traffic
1950 100
.8.7
67.3
72.6
83.2
100.0
117.3
128.2
112.4
165.8
Thousands of
Passengers
1,062
1,01..
959
1,0149
1,387
1,655
1,856
2,112
2,489
Electricity Sales
1950 100
76.6
75.3
69.1
75.6
100.0
119.3
133.8
1514.
179.5
Thousands
of Kwh.
388,040
417,535
583,497
685,073
780,295
942,776
1,098,996
1,283,78
1,463,725
1950 100
L9.7
53.5
62.1
74.8
87.8
100.0
120.8
1L0.8
161.5
187.6
Postal Cancellations
Thousands
109,115
109,618
123,301
136,631
152,18
155,922
173,833
192,218
207,889
221,161
Gasoline SaleJ
1950 100
70.0
70.3
79.1
87.6
97.8
100.0
111.5
123.3
133.3
141.8
Thousands
of Gallons
88,565
10I,818
115,335
123,286
1U2,136
153,00h.
170,323
185,769
202,639
Telephones in Service
(End of Year)
1950 100
62.2
73.6
81.0
86.6
100.0
107.1
119.6
130.1
142.3
Sources and Area Covereds See page 12.
BANK DEBITS
200-
too-
175--
150-
125--
100-
75 -
50-
25-
Number
95,956
117,099
133,3414
159,997
178,873
200,687
221,218
215,286
267,628
297,170
1950 100
47.8
58.3
66.1
79.7
89.1
100.0
113.2
122.2
133.4
148.1
* 12 Months ended November.
TOURIST TRADE
Despite the rapid growth of building, aircraft
and other manufacturing industries, the tourist
trade is still Miami's largest single source of in-
come. Last year it is estimated that 2,500,000 per-
sons visited Southeastern Florida, spent 47,600,000
visitor days in the area and spent an aggregate
$513,000,000. Of this amount about three-quarters
or $376,000,000 was spent in Dade County. The
tourist dollar may be estimated to amount to
roughly one-third the aggregate spending of the
permanent population. About 32c of the tourist
dollar goes for lodging, 29c for food and restau-
rants, 14c to amusement, 14c for clothing, 8c for
gifts and 3c for taxis and car rentals. About 42
per cent of total tourist expenditures are made in
the peak season from January 20 to March 17.
Southeastern Florida ranks second only to South-
ern California in amount of visitor spending and
this section's share in the national travel business
is still increasing. Last year witnessed the largest
influx of tourists on record. The increase in visitor
accommodations has more than kept pace with the
rising tide of tourists and in October, 1954 there
were more than 250,000 available rooms in Dade
County. Because of the addition of new facilities,
occupancy rates last year were slightly lower than
in the previous season and indications of overbuild-
ing appear in the motel and apartment field (page
11).
VISITOR SPENDING
SOUTHEASTERN FLORIDA
AGGREGATE SPENDING OCTOBER, 1953-MAY, 1954
PER WEEK
HIALEAH CLOSES
( 30,000,000 HIALEAH HIALEAH CLOSES
OPENS
ORANGE BOWL CLASSIC
0,00,0CHRISTMAS
S. C...r
A S PEAK SEASON .. POST SEASON v
14 21 28 4 II 18 25 2 9 16 23 301 6 1320 27 3 10 17 241 5 10 17 24 31 1 7 14 21 28 5 1219 I26G
OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY
ESTIMATED VISITOR EXPENDITURES
SOUTHEASTERN FLORIDA
October 1, 1953 September 30, 1954
Season Aggregate Soending Percent
Fall Season (Oct. 1 Dec. 16) $ 56,623,000 11.0
Holiday Season (Dec. 16 Jan. 6) 14,352,000 8.6
Pre-Season (Jan. 6 Jan. 20) 36,184,000 7.0
Peak Season ( Jan. 20 March 17) 211,803,000 41.8
Post-Season (March 17 April 28) 68,841,000 13.14
Spring Season (April 28 May 26) 13,521,000 2.6
Summer Season (June 1 Sept. 30) 79,200,000 15.4
Total All Seasons $513,500,000 100.0
Source; "Tourist Days and Tourist Soending in Southeastern Florida 1953-51",
by Reinhold P. Wolff, bureau of Business and Economic Research, University
of Miami.
DISTRIBUTION OF VISITOR ACCOMMODATIONS
SOUTHEASTERN FLORIDA
October, 1954
C 0 U NTIE Four County
Accommodations Broward Dade Monroe Palm Beach Total
HOTELS
'Number 58 510 15 76 689
Rooms 3,662 h2,962 832 6,102 53,858
APARTMENTS
Number 1,674 5,902 1l8 862 8,586
Rooms 31,891 179,189 2,336 17,255 233,671
ROOMING HOUSES
Number 622 2,261 165 1,247 4,298
Rooms 6,701 21,292 1,402 11,072 40,467
IMTOR COURTS
Number 258 307 151 332 1,0.8
Rooms 4,899 7,729 2,L68 5,283 20,379
TOTALS
Number 2,612 9,013 l.97 2,517 114,639
Rooms 50,153 251,172 7,038 40,012 318,375
Percent of
rooms 14.4 72.1 2.0 11.5 100.
Sources Florida State Hotel Commission, October, 1954.
EASTERER
EMPLOYMENT
Employment growth in Miami has kept pace with
the incoming population, increasing more than one-
third in the four years from 1950 to 1954. Trade,
service and utilities are the. three largest fields of
non-agricultural employment. Significantly, man-
ufacturing now ranks fourth in importance as com-
pared with sixth place position in 1950. The con-
struction trades are also large employers of labor
and the record high level of building permits
awarded last year meant a record level of construc-
tion employment.
EMPLOYMENT
MIAMI METROPOLITAN AREA
1950 COMPARED WITH 1954
THOUSANDS
IIIIIIIIII1 EMPLOYMENT ADDED BETWEEN 1950 AND 1954
:*.::: EMPLOYMENT- 1950
Trade
Service
Transportation,
Communication &
Public Utilities
Construction
Government
Manufacturing
Finance,
Insurance &
Real Estate
Other Manufacturing
Total
Increase
1950 1954 1950-51
49,150 64,950 32.1%
28,100 40,512 44.2%
20,350
18,1400
16,300
1,650
27,462
21,092
18,554
25,250
8,00 12,025 l3.2%
1,6360
L5660
211,150
Source: Florida State Employment Service. Figures are yearly averages for non-agricultural establishments.
TREND TOWARD SEASONAL STABILITY
Miami's economic life is no longer characterized
by a pronounced slump during the summer dol-
drums. While business still falls off substantially
after the departure of the winter tourists, the dif-
ference in the seasons becomes smaller each year.
For one thing, Miaini is growing in importance as
a summer vacation resort. Thousands of visitors
now arrive in July and August and most of the
hotels and restaurants stay open the year round.
Moreover, other industries with year round employ-
ment, such as aircraft maintenance, food, apparel,
aluminum and other light manufacturing, have
gained important places in the economy and con-
tribute to its year round stability.
This long range trend towards a more stable
seasonal pattern is apparent in practically all the
major business indicators. For example, the drop
in employment last year from 218,950 in February
to the June low of 201,750 was less than 8 per cent.
Fifteen years ago gasoline sales for the month of
June were only 75 per cent of the annual monthly
average as against a figure of 132 in the peak
winter months, a spread of 57 points; in 1953 the
spread between the high and low months was only
34 points. In the case- of bank debits, the spread
between high and low months was 32 points in
1953 as compared with 66 points in 1938. For
postal cancellations, the spread between high and
low months dropped from 110 points in 1938 to
86 points in 1953.
CHANGES IN SEASONAL PATTERN
MIAMI METROPOLITAN AREA
1938-40 COMPARED WITH 1951-53
GASOLINE SALES
POSTAL CANCELLATIONS
Bank Debits
(Average Ionth for Year Equals 100)
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Annual Range
in Points
Gasoline Consumption
(Average Month for Year Equals 100)
1938 1953
122 112
123 103
140" 118"
111 110
95 95
79 94
77 94
75 86a
7Ub 88
87 93
93 94
124 112
66 32
Postal Cancellations
(Average Month for lear Equals 100)
1938 1953
132) 111
132)* 110
132) 11l
107 102
83 97
750 91
76 89
82 89
76 86
87 92
96 98
122 120*
57 31
1938 1953
140 105
154 104
137 108
91 98
72 93
67 83
66 85
68 8cY
61 83
77 99
91 97
174* 166*
110 86
*Highest Month lowest month h
Bank debits 'to individual accounts as reported by the Greater 1Fiami Clearing House Association. For years prior to 1943, debits are for Hiami only.
Gasoline Consumption Florida State Department of Agriculture.
Postal Cancellations Post Office, Miami. Includes all of Dade County except Hial ah, Viami Springs, North Miani and Homestead.
9
BANK DEBITS
REAL ESTATE AND MORTGAGE MARKETS
Miami has had an extremely active real estate
market during the past decade as thousands of new
residents entered the area and purchased homes.
It is one of the few cities in the United States which
has a national market for homes and Miami real
estate is advertised in leading national newspapers.
Property transfers reached a new high in 1954 of
$412,000,000.
Mortgage loans have also risen sharply in line
with the increase in building activity and in 1954
attained a peak of $394,000,000.
WARRANTY AND MORTGAGE DEEDS
DADE COUNTY
1945 -54
hit L,,Nt OF
OOLLARS
VALUE OF WARRANTY DEEDS RECORDED
314.0
337.2
071 7
I
,:
. . .
S. .. ...,
1945 19,46 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954
WARRANTY DEEDS RECORDED
Number
28,11.6
38,555
32,551
29,271
26,1h09
33,299
28,855
32,118
33,3148
32,537
Thousands of
Dollars
$166,172
257,710
197,936
218,681
206,916
282,701
313,961
337,205
371,701
412,302
Source Clerk of Circuit Co0 t, Dade County.
MLL,. f. )r
LLVALUE O MORTGAGE DEEDS RECORDED
40, ------
VALUE O" MORTGAGE DEEDS RECORDED
1945 1946
1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952
MIRTGAOE DEEDS RECORDED
393 7
355
i~' C
1953 1954
Number
11,749
16,345
19,999
18,800
22,.714
30,279
25,858
30,903
32,996
36,279
Thousands of
Dollars
$ 8h,115
139,257
182,031
158,999
187,246
287,912
251,535
297,796
329,l11
393,658
Sources Florida Business Research, Inc., and Dade
Cosmonwealth Title Insurance Co.
p. preliminary
MORTGAGES FILED
BY
Capital to finance Miami's rapidly expanding
building market has been provided in part by large
institutional investors outside the area but an in-
creasing share of this mortgage money is coming
from local sources. Share accounts of local sav-
ings and loan associations rose more than $125,-
000,000 during the past two years and at the end
of 1954 totalled over $325,000,000. According to
Mr. G. A. Bishop, Editor of "Mortgage Research
Analysis," these associations increased their loans
by 80 per cent during the past five years and in
1954 accounted for 27 per cent of the total amount
of mortgages filed.
SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS
DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA
195o 1951*
Number
5,251
5,6L7
7,476
8,574
9,070
Percent
17.1
21.6
23.9
21.2
25.0
Amount
(Thousands)
$ 59,521
59,501
72,183
85,0316
107,469
Percent of Total
Mortgages Filed
20.7
23.7
25.8
27.3
Source "Mortgage Research Analysis," Florida Business Research, Inc.
*1954 estimate (11 months actual volume, December estimated).
200 --
100 3
The average asking price for a house in the
Miami area declined from 1947-48 through 1950,
retraced most of this loss in 1951, and has again
declined gradually since that time. The average
asking price in 1954 was about 9 per cent lower
than in the 1947-48 base period and about 6 per
cent lower than in 1951. One of the reasons for
the decline in the average asking price has been
the large number of lower-priced project homes
which have been built in the last few years. This
factor was undoubtedly responsible for part of the
10 per cent drop in the Northeast section last year.
In general, asking prices for unfurnished homes
have held up much better than those for furnished.
Since 1951, the largest decline has been in Miami
Beach property although the trend during the past
year has turned up.
Coral Gables is the only area where the index
last year was above the 1947-48 base. It is in-
teresting to note that the actual selling price of
homes as reported by the Coral Gables Realty
Board rose from an average of $18,902 in 1947-48
to $21,518 in 1954; the average asking price for
Coral Gables homes, as computed by the Bureau
of Business and Economic Research, rose from
$19,733 in 1947-48 to $20,674 in 1954.
ASKING PRICE INDEX FOR HOMES
MIAMI METROPOLITAN AREA
1949-1954
1947-L8 1954
Average Average
N. E. Combined
N. W. Furnished
Unfurnished
S. d. Furnished
Unfurnished
Miami Beach Combined
Coral Gables Combined
Miami Metropolitan Area
Weighted Average
S13,1427
13,536
1l.,175
13,176
11,382
30,300
19,733
1949 1950
311,171
10,591
10,03A
11,517
10,971
21,796
20,674
7 4 8
7-48
1951
92.6
90.8
91.9
94 .5
99.2
101.7
112.2
- 1 0
1952
89.3
95.3
100.7 1
90.3
1OO.4 1
88.2
105.7 1
1953 1954
13,637 12,389 86.6 85.2 96.4 94.8 94.2 90.8
Sources Bureau of Business and Economic Research, University of Miami
Note: Annual averages are computed from the advertised asking prices for CBS homes in 16 Sunday papers during the year. In Miami Beach and Coral Gables only 2 or 3
bedroom, 2 bath homes were included in the eariple; in all other sections, 2 or 3 bedroom, 1 bath homes were used. Combined means furnished and unfurnished. To
obtain the weighted average for the Miami Metropolitan Area, Northeast combined, Forthwest furnished and Northwest unfurnished were each given a weight of 3, South-
west furnished and Southwest unfurnished were each given a weight of 2 and Miami Beach and Coral Gables were each given a weight of 1.
The apartment house occupancy survey con-
ducted by the Bureau of Business and Economic
Research during the past year 'indicates that the
vacancy rate in the Beach area is definitely higher
now than it was a year ago but that the occupancy
ratio in other areas is substantially unchanged.
MIAMI BEACH
AREA I
TOTAL AREA
APARTMENT HOUSE VACANCIES
Miami Metropolitan Area
November, 1953 February, 19514 November, 1954
Miami Area 9.4%
Miami Beach Area 27.0%
3.1% 18.1%
Source: Bureau of Business and Economic Research, Univorsity of Miami.
Voter Percentage vacancies are based on surveys of from 2,500 to L,500 apartment units throughout the Yiami Metrooolitan area.
1947-48 100
APARTMENT HOUSE VACANCIES
MIAMI METROPOLITAN AREA
MIAMI AREA
Total Area
1949 .950P .?". '33? 0,3 9!..
.-* 7Az
BUSINESS STATISTICS
Greater Miami Area
1954 Per Cent Change
4th Q 1954 Year ]
Oct. Nov. Dec. from fror
4__th Q-1953 Year
L954
L953
Bank Debits to Individual Accounts ($1,000) $625,618 $685,979 $834,859 + 22.6 + 16.4
Postal Cancellations (1,000) 18,402 18,560 30,194 + 7.1 + 6.4
Gasoline Sales (1,000 gal.) 16,883 17,258 N.A. + 15.2$ + 10.1I
Electricity Sales (1,000 kwh) 125,373 118,450 121,754 + 11.8 + 14.0
Number Residential Customers of Electricity 204,825 208,325 212,538 + 6.7 + 7.4
Number Telephones in Service (end of mo.) 286,854 291,013 297,170 + 10.5 + 9.5
Index Dept. Store Sales (adjusted for
seasonal variations-1947-1949= 100) 167 159 N.A. + 11.6$ + 4.1*
Sales Tax Collections ($1,000) $1,441 $1,659 N.A. + 12.30 + 5.3$
Employment (total non-agricultural) 206,050 216,800 230,450 + 7.4 + 7.7
Unemployment 13,300 13,100 11,500 + 23.9 + 31.0
School Enrollment (end of mo.) 98,534 99,891 100,505 + 12.1 + 11.6
Passenger Arrivals and Departures-
International Airport 149,236 189,218 N.A. + 20.2 + 16.5$
Value of Building Permits Issued ($1,000) $24,448 $21,204 $17,605 + 34.7 + 10.5
Number of Dwelling Units Started:
Total 1,883 1,707 1,057 + 16.8 8.1
1 & 2-Family Units 1,592 1,207 923 + 14.6 + 2.7
Apartment Units 291 500 134 + 26.4 33.5
Value of Warranty Deeds Recorded ($1,000) $37,918 $37,189 $53,374 + 31.9 + 10.9
Value of Mortgages Filed ($1,000) $34,388 $35,758 $43,270 + 33.7 + 15.2
Value of Real Estate Sales:
Miami Beach ($1,000) $5,048 $9,866 $12,416 + 42.9 + 3.6
Coral Gables ($1,000) $2,546 $2,274 $2,464 + 11.6 + 8.3
Item Source Area Covered
Bank Debits ....--...---...-...... ---------------. Greater Miami Clearing House Association ..-...... All Dade County banks reporting to Federal
Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Postal Cancellations --...............-- ..... ....-------- -- Post Office, Miami ..........---.------...--All Dade County post offices except Hialeah,
Miami Springs, North Miami & Homestead
Gasoline Sales .--- ----.......-.......... ----.... Florida State Department of Agriculture ...............--.. Dade County
Electricity Sales .........-----..-- --.-- -.....------.. Florida Power and Light Company ..--..................- Dade County
Number Residential Customers of Electricity .. Florida Power and Light Company ---..._--............ Dade County
Number Telephones in Service ....---........... Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company. -_Dade County
Index Department Store Sales ------ ------Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta .-...------.......... Miami Metropolitan Area
Sales Tax Collections .......---- -..--.. ------ ....- Comptroller, State of Florida ....---.....----........ ... -Dade County
Employment ..-........ ---------- ---- ..e.... Florida State Employment Service ....-........-..-------.- Dade County
Unemployment ..--...--....--....-..---.----- -- Florida State Employment Service ----------... Dade County
School Enrollment ....-....------ ---- Dade County School Board ....--- ------........... ---. Dade County
Passenger Arrivals and Departures ....---- Dade County Port Authority ...................--- Miami International Airport
Value of Building Permits ...------...........---.... Building Permits Filed-22 communities .....-----... Dade County -- 22 communities
Number of Dwelling Units Started ..--...--.....--- Building Permits Filed-22 communities ........--.....-. Dade County 22 communities
Value of Warranty Deeds Recorded ........-.......... Clerk of Circuit Court, Dade County ....----.....--.---. Dade County
Value of Mortgages Filed .---- ----........--... ..- First Federal Savings and Loan Association .......--.. Dade County
Value of Real Estate Sales Miami Beach .. Miami Beach Board of Realtors --...--......----...---- Miami Beach
Value of Real Estate Sales Coral Gables .....Coral Gables Realty Board ............-----.... .......-- ---Coral Gables
N.A. Not Available
S12 months ended November or 3 months ended November
* 11 months ended November
|