If you’re in the market to buy a medical building in South Florida and finally have a practice of your own where you are the owner and boss of the facility and building that it’s in, this is a boom period. The demand for medical facilities and their associated professionals is high, and South Florida has historically always been an area with a consistent, regular demand for the medical industry.
However, when it comes to the actual purchase of a medical building, the considerations at play here have less to do with how “booming” the medical industry is, and more to do with the ebb and flow of the real estate market based on various factors. So what may be good for doctor professionally, may not be so good for a real estate investor, and vice versa. But there are still a few good guidelines that anyone, regardless of industry, should think about when it comes to buying and investing in property.
The Golden Rule
Of course, the cornerstone of almost all good business is that financial maxim, “buy low, sell high.” This means simply that, whenever possible, you should make your purchases when the prices are lower and, if you want to eventually profit from a resale, wait until circumstances change and demand increases, then sell your investment at a suitably higher price. All market forces are cyclical, and there will always be a rise and fall to various industries and the markets that are part of them.
In real estate, this means that for people that can “weather the storm,” the best time to think about buy a medical building is during a recession.
When markets are expanding, it is the sellers who benefit most. That can’t last, of course, and eventually there’s a contraction when prices begin to drop. That contraction is followed by the recession, when few people are buying, prices on properties have dropped significantly, and there’s a general feeling of “doom and gloom.” This is followed by a recovery period where prices start to go back up again, as the cycle continues back to expansion.
2016 is, obviously, not a recession phase for medical spaces. Demand is very high now, and the market is moving at a fast rate. While people who are able to play “the long game” may be able to wait for several years to see prices slow down or stabilize, people that are looking to start clinics in the near future don’t have this luxury.
The Right Time
For people that want to start their careers now as owners of their own clinic or other medical space, it’s still not necessarily a good idea to simply jump in as quickly as possible. Owning and administering to a medical space takes funds and organization. Give yourself some time to get your plans and resources together. 6-9 months of intensive planning should be sufficient. This is especially true if that time is used to access the skills and knowledge of a consultant. While a consultant may cost between $5,000-$10,000, it’s money well spent to quickly gain access to the strategies and best practices you should be using to get your own facilities running smoothly.