Can Basketball Really Help Miami?

James, Wade, Bosh

Will the signing of Lebron James and Chris Bosh to the Miami Heat help improve the lagging economy in South Florida?

Some may be skeptical but a Heat ticket is now the hottest ticket in all of sports, replacing the Lakers ticket, proving the boost of interest in Miami. This activity or the "buzz" surrounding the team may stimulate the local economy. Economist suggest that the real estate market and the above average unemployment rate will be slow to recover. This may take several years but Reef Tropical’s pool construction and landscape divisions are receiving calls and delivering proposals suggesting renewed optimism.

Lebron and the Heat will certainly need help to bring Miami out of the troubled times but according to the International Business Times, “People are hopeful that Lebron and company can make a meaningful impact upon Miami's fragile economy”. With the signing of the two super stars, there will be an increase in the migration of wealthy individuals seeking to buy second homes in the Miami area. Also, when athletes of this caliber are introduced into a city, the city has a chance to become a premier sports hotspot similar to New York and Los Angeles. “Miami will become a more attractive destination for travelers and tourists, as well as sports fans, and that should have a positive spillover effect upon downtown restaurants, hotels, cruise-lines and other related businesses.”

Considering the pick up in pool construction projects at Reef Tropical in the last three months, we remain optimistic that the South Florida Real Estate market is the last piece of the puzzle before the economy takes an upward path. Some of the others positive affects of the signing include; hotel occupancy rates, tourism, higher TV advertising fees and merchandising revenues. Go Heat!

Summer Tropical Storms

High Tree Trimming

There was a tropical storm Thursday night July 15^th in Miami that produced loud thunder, lightning, heavy rain and strong winds. It rolled over the area around 11pm at night and lasted about 45 minutes. There will be about half a dozen storms like this before the end of the summer. As my son and I were driving through Miami on Saturday after the storm, we noticed some trees that were slanted due to the storm and other smaller trees that had roots coming out of the ground. This is unfortunate and takes time and money to repair. Additionally, Friday morning I noticed a dent on the hood of my car. This dent is from a medium sized branch that fell from a tree onto my car during the storm. We actually saw the culprit that caused it lying next to the car. Needless to say, the trees have been sub-sequentially trimmed around my house. Again, this takes time and money to repair.

Properly Staked

The point I want to emphasize is the importance of tree maintenance and summer pruning. With proper tree care, also called preventative maintenance, damage can be circumvented or avoided completely. During hurricane season, valiant storms are likely and we advise our customers to take action before the storms hit. When a tree is taken care of and properly maintained, it will be clear of dead branches or unnecessary thickness to allow the wind to filter through the tree easier. Consequentially, there will be less damage. It is similar to taking your car to the shop and servicing the engine so the engine will last longer and won’t cause damage to other car components. Also, new landscaping that comes in a root ball will take six months before it can sustain a 50mph wind. These trees need to be staked and it is important to stake them properly.  

Pool Construction & the Economy

Pool construction and renovations requests have really picked up in the last few months. I believe it is a sign that the economy and confidence of our customers are improving. Spread the word. The Dow Jones is the best indicator of the trend of confidence of customers. It is now up from 2009 lows when construction requests were near zero. So many weak and insolvent competitors have fallen out and so many customers have experienced the real cost of the low bidder, poor quality or other horror stories. We are now getting some people who ask for us to negotiate a value engineered pool renovation or construction to meet their budget and avoid the horror stories. Spread the word on that too.