South Florida hotel industry analysts are predicting anything from modest to flat growth in the local market during the next couple of years, but at least one Miami-based hotel division expects significant gains in its 2008 and 2009 operations.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Latin America’s nearest hotel is roughly 1,000 miles south of its Miami corporate headquarters, but “we attribute a lot of our success to the fact that we are in Miami,” says Alvaro Diago, area president for IHG Latin America. “Many of the suppliers who deal in the goods and equipment the hotels need are here. Many of the developers who build the hotels in Latin America are here. Many of the multinational corporations who want to do business in Latin America have regional offices here. And most of the investors in the business — the wealthy Latin American families who have been hotel owners there for generations now — come to Miami on a regular basis.”
The division handles Latin America hotel franchising and management for United Kingdom-based InterContinental Hotels Group PLC — the world’s largest hotel company by sheer room numbers, with nearly 564,000 rooms. “Miami is more or less the place to be if you want to be a key player in the hotel business in Latin America,” Diago says.
IHG, with brands that include InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites, has more hotels in Latin America than any other hotel company — 60 in 18 nations — and is acquiring more. This summer a whirlwind of openings included the company’s fourth hotel in Colombia — a 19-story Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites in Medellin. IHG also opened a 112-room Holiday Inn Santiago Airport in Chile, the nation’s first.
Diago is positioning the company to take advantage of booming economies in some parts of Latin America, including Brazil, where IHG has signed agreements with investors to build new hotels in four cities. “Brazil is an extremely important region for IHG, since it is the sixth most-populated country in the world,” Diago says. “Brazil’s continuous economic growth fuels its massive business and tourism industries, which provides tremendous room for growth for all our brands.”
Travelers in Latin America are increasingly brand conscious. Independent Miami hospitality industry analyst Scott W. Brush, of Miami-based Brush & Company, says international hotel franchising and operating companies like IHG Latin America are in a particularly good position these days — providing they have the strong brand identity to back it up. “It’s not something you can build overnight,” Brush says. “But if you have the strong brand and you maintain your quality standards, your brand becomes very valuable. Investors feel they can make money building hotels that carry your name.”
IHG has a strong brand history in Latin America. The InterContinental chain got its start in that region, when a nascent Pan American Airways opened a chain of hotels to support its air routes. In pre-Castro days, the InterContinental Havana was one of the most profitable and best-known hotels in the chain, building a brand that would endure for generations. “Our brand is the most important thing we have to offer,” Diago says. “That’s what we are all about.”
Throughout the region, Diago is aggressively growing the hotel network, including existing properties: By the end of this year, some 22 of the 61 IHG hotels in Latin America will have completed a two-year program involving $95 million worth of improvements and upgrades.
IHG has benefitted from hotel owners who are increasingly willing to make those expenditures, with the region’s booming economy spurring demand for high-quality hotels and giving the wealthy more money to invest. That is also helping IHG boost its total number of hotels in the region. “Latin Americans tend to be bricks-and-mortar people in terms of where they want to put their money,” Diago says, explaining that, with institutions and even governments occasionally unstable there, investors tend to prefer real estate such as office buildings and hotels.
A rise in internal leisure tourism within Latin America is also helping IHG grow. Diago says the tightened restrictions for entering the United States in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 mean affluent Latin American families who might have gone to Disney World for their annual vacation are now more likely to visit other destinations within Latin America. And more Latin Americans are travelling for pleasure, too, says Carlos Baruki, IHG Latin America’s senior vice president for marketing. “Worldwide, the projections are for a 5 percent growth in travel in 2008,” he points out. “But Brazil is looking at 9 percent and Central America is looking at 8 percent.”
Source : http://www.southfloridaceo.com/
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Condo sales increase in Florida
DESTIN — There might be a light at the end of the real estate tunnel for the Emerald Coast.
The Florida Association of Realtors released numbers for September that show sales of existing condominiums in the Fort Walton Beach area had the highest increase in Florida compared to September 2006.
While existing condo sales across the state fell, sales for the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors jumped 22 percent. The median price for those condos increased from $157,500 to $338,900, or 115 percent, according to the report.
The state figures were gathered from sales reported from local Realtor associations, according to Florida Association of Realtors.
It’s easy for Harry Millsaps, president of the Emerald Coast Association Realtors and a Realtor with Prudential Coastal Properties, to figure out why condos have been selling locally.
“Obviously, we’re special. We’ve got the most beautiful beaches in Florida,” he said.
The market is primed for an upswing, Millsap’s added. Property and condo prices have bottomed out and buyers are ready to get a deal, he said. The beaches contributed to the sales increase, but the local association also gave the stretch from Navarre to Bay County a marketing nudge.
“The Emerald Coast Association of Realtors has done a lot of advertising on radio and in print and on TV,” Millsaps said.
The increase will run into the first quarter of next year, but will really take off in the spring and summer, he said.
Although local sales are up for September, they are a far cry from where they were a few years ago, officials said.
Source : http://www.nwfdailynews.com/
The Florida Association of Realtors released numbers for September that show sales of existing condominiums in the Fort Walton Beach area had the highest increase in Florida compared to September 2006.
While existing condo sales across the state fell, sales for the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors jumped 22 percent. The median price for those condos increased from $157,500 to $338,900, or 115 percent, according to the report.
The state figures were gathered from sales reported from local Realtor associations, according to Florida Association of Realtors.
It’s easy for Harry Millsaps, president of the Emerald Coast Association Realtors and a Realtor with Prudential Coastal Properties, to figure out why condos have been selling locally.
“Obviously, we’re special. We’ve got the most beautiful beaches in Florida,” he said.
The market is primed for an upswing, Millsap’s added. Property and condo prices have bottomed out and buyers are ready to get a deal, he said. The beaches contributed to the sales increase, but the local association also gave the stretch from Navarre to Bay County a marketing nudge.
“The Emerald Coast Association of Realtors has done a lot of advertising on radio and in print and on TV,” Millsaps said.
The increase will run into the first quarter of next year, but will really take off in the spring and summer, he said.
Although local sales are up for September, they are a far cry from where they were a few years ago, officials said.
Source : http://www.nwfdailynews.com/
Friday, November 23, 2007
Florida's Housing Market for 3Q 2007: Sales Activity Remains Soft
In third quarter 2007, Florida's housing sector in many markets continued to report high inventory levels of homes for sale, median prices edging down and sales activity levels that reflect the impact of mortgage disruptions and tighter lending standards.
Statewide, sales of single-family existing homes totaled 31,910 during the three-month period, a decrease of 29 percent compared to 44,776 homes sold during the same time a year earlier, according to the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR).
The statewide existing-home median sales price was $232,100 in the third quarter; a year ago, it was $246,800 for a decrease of 6 percent. In 2002, the third-quarter statewide median sales price was $141,300, which reflects an increase of about 64.3 percent over the five-year period. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half for less.
As the impact of the credit crunch subsides, a modest recovery for existing-home sales is expected in 2008, according to the National Association of Realtors®'(NAR) latest market outlook. "Over the near term, home sales are likely to be fairly flat as the lingering impact of the credit crunch filters through the system through the end of the year," says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "In some ways, the extended real estate boom from 2001 to 2005 created unrealistic expectations that housing is a short-term, high- yield investment. 2007 will be the fifth best year for housing on record."
Continuing low mortgage rates remain another positive influence on the housing market. According to Freddie Mac, the national commitment rate for a 30-year conventional fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.55 percent in third quarter 2007; one year earlier, it averaged 6.65 percent.
Looking to Florida's existing condominium market, sales of existing condos also decreased during the quarter, with a total of 9,622 condos sold statewide compared to 13,028 in third quarter 2007 for a 26 percent decline, according to FAR. The statewide median sales price for condos for the three-month period was $196,300; a year ago, it was $205,000 for a 4 percent decrease.
Among the state's larger markets, the Jacksonville metropolitan statistical area (MSA) reported 3,105 existing homes sold for the quarter compared to 4,173 homes sold a year earlier for a decrease of 26 percent. The market's existing-home median sales price was $196,700; a year earlier, it was $204,500 for a 4 percent decline. A total of 392 existing condos sold in the market over the three-month period, down 12 percent from third quarter 2006, while the existing-condo median price decreased 8 percent to $163,500.
Hank Oltmanns, president of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors and broker-owner of A Broker's Choice Realty, says, "Buying a home remains one of the best decisions you can make as a long-term investment that also provides security and stability for your family."
The Panama City MSA, one of the smaller markets in the state, reported that 369 homes changed hands in the third quarter, a decrease of 8 percent compared to 401 homes sold a year earlier. Over the same period, the market's existing-home median home price was $202,800; a year earlier, it was $211,300 for a 4 percent decline. A total of 127 existing condos sold in the Panama City MSA during the third quarter, an increase of 38 percent from the previous year, while the existing-condo median price decreased 13 percent to $252,100.
"Homeownership continues to be a wise, long-term investment," says Scott Bowman, president of the Bay County Association of Realtors and a broker-sales manager with Prudential Shimmering Sands Realty. "Financing remains available, with very favorable mortgage rates for qualified buyers with good credit. Now more than ever, people gain confidence in working with a Realtor -- an experienced professional who can help them navigate the complex challenges of today's market."
Two charts showing statistics for Florida and its MSAs are attached. One chart compares the volume of existing, single-family home sales and median sales prices in the third quarter of 2007 to the third quarter of 2006, based on Realtor closed transactions from local Realtor boards/associations within the MSAs. The second chart compares the volume of existing condo sales and median sales prices in third quarter 2007 to third quarter 2006, based on Realtor closed transactions from local Realtor boards/associations within the MSAs.
The Florida Association of Realtors (FAR), the voice for real estate in Florida, provides programs, services, continuing education, research and legislative representation to its 150,000 members in 67 boards/associations.
Source : http://biz.yahoo.com/
Statewide, sales of single-family existing homes totaled 31,910 during the three-month period, a decrease of 29 percent compared to 44,776 homes sold during the same time a year earlier, according to the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR).
The statewide existing-home median sales price was $232,100 in the third quarter; a year ago, it was $246,800 for a decrease of 6 percent. In 2002, the third-quarter statewide median sales price was $141,300, which reflects an increase of about 64.3 percent over the five-year period. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half for less.
As the impact of the credit crunch subsides, a modest recovery for existing-home sales is expected in 2008, according to the National Association of Realtors®'(NAR) latest market outlook. "Over the near term, home sales are likely to be fairly flat as the lingering impact of the credit crunch filters through the system through the end of the year," says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "In some ways, the extended real estate boom from 2001 to 2005 created unrealistic expectations that housing is a short-term, high- yield investment. 2007 will be the fifth best year for housing on record."
Continuing low mortgage rates remain another positive influence on the housing market. According to Freddie Mac, the national commitment rate for a 30-year conventional fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.55 percent in third quarter 2007; one year earlier, it averaged 6.65 percent.
Looking to Florida's existing condominium market, sales of existing condos also decreased during the quarter, with a total of 9,622 condos sold statewide compared to 13,028 in third quarter 2007 for a 26 percent decline, according to FAR. The statewide median sales price for condos for the three-month period was $196,300; a year ago, it was $205,000 for a 4 percent decrease.
Among the state's larger markets, the Jacksonville metropolitan statistical area (MSA) reported 3,105 existing homes sold for the quarter compared to 4,173 homes sold a year earlier for a decrease of 26 percent. The market's existing-home median sales price was $196,700; a year earlier, it was $204,500 for a 4 percent decline. A total of 392 existing condos sold in the market over the three-month period, down 12 percent from third quarter 2006, while the existing-condo median price decreased 8 percent to $163,500.
Hank Oltmanns, president of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors and broker-owner of A Broker's Choice Realty, says, "Buying a home remains one of the best decisions you can make as a long-term investment that also provides security and stability for your family."
The Panama City MSA, one of the smaller markets in the state, reported that 369 homes changed hands in the third quarter, a decrease of 8 percent compared to 401 homes sold a year earlier. Over the same period, the market's existing-home median home price was $202,800; a year earlier, it was $211,300 for a 4 percent decline. A total of 127 existing condos sold in the Panama City MSA during the third quarter, an increase of 38 percent from the previous year, while the existing-condo median price decreased 13 percent to $252,100.
"Homeownership continues to be a wise, long-term investment," says Scott Bowman, president of the Bay County Association of Realtors and a broker-sales manager with Prudential Shimmering Sands Realty. "Financing remains available, with very favorable mortgage rates for qualified buyers with good credit. Now more than ever, people gain confidence in working with a Realtor -- an experienced professional who can help them navigate the complex challenges of today's market."
Two charts showing statistics for Florida and its MSAs are attached. One chart compares the volume of existing, single-family home sales and median sales prices in the third quarter of 2007 to the third quarter of 2006, based on Realtor closed transactions from local Realtor boards/associations within the MSAs. The second chart compares the volume of existing condo sales and median sales prices in third quarter 2007 to third quarter 2006, based on Realtor closed transactions from local Realtor boards/associations within the MSAs.
The Florida Association of Realtors (FAR), the voice for real estate in Florida, provides programs, services, continuing education, research and legislative representation to its 150,000 members in 67 boards/associations.
Source : http://biz.yahoo.com/
Ormond Beach - Daytona Beach Florida Area
Ormond Beach is a beautiful seaside town that sits on the east coast of Florida, and is often called the “Sparkling City by the Sea.” Its location makes it an ideal place to rent or own a Florida condominium. “Hour” is the magic word, when it comes to that town. It is only an hour south of historic St. Augustine, an hour east of Orlando (and all theme parks found there), and an hour north of the Kennedy Space Center. It is a quiet, laid back place, the sort of small town where folks build sandcastles with their kids on the beach. Compared to the flash and excitement of Daytona Beach, it is much more of a family community and that what makes real estate over here a worth while investment.
The town got the name “Birthplace of Speed” when early racing enthusiasts started racing their cars on the wide sandy beaches. To this day, the “Birthplace of Speed Antique Car Show and Swap Meet” is held there every Thanksgiving. Yet, do not for a minute think that is all the area is about. The Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center puts on splendid plays and musicals every year.
If being outside is your bag, the beautiful Tomoka State Park is only three miles to the north, and is a perfect place to go fishing, boating, hiking and camping. The park also boasts scenic walking and bike paths, wooded campsites and guided canoe tours that will take you down either the Tomoka or the Halifax River.
When it comes to Florida real estate, you can find everything from a beachside apartment to an Oceanside cottage or a condo villa by the sea. Ofcourse costs of condos depend on a variety of factors such as its proximity to the ocean, amenities included etc. However the average cost of a condo can be relatively cheap and you can find excellent bargains.
While the town is known for its quiet, peaceful lifestyle, Ormond Beach is not some distant outpost and condos here are a real steal. Sitting between Route 1 and I-95, you can fly into the Daytona Beach International Airport and be there in under half an hour. Then, if you care to go sightseeing around the state, that same I-95 can take you up to historic St. Augustine (oldest town in North America), or south to picturesque Key West and the Miami Beach area. In addition, excellent stores,great medical and professional offices make investing in real estate an excellent deal here.
So, it is clear to see that Ormond Beach can provide a lazy afternoon by the shore, or an exciting evening of fun. It all depends on what suits you.
Source : http://daytonabeach.condocompany.com/
The town got the name “Birthplace of Speed” when early racing enthusiasts started racing their cars on the wide sandy beaches. To this day, the “Birthplace of Speed Antique Car Show and Swap Meet” is held there every Thanksgiving. Yet, do not for a minute think that is all the area is about. The Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center puts on splendid plays and musicals every year.
If being outside is your bag, the beautiful Tomoka State Park is only three miles to the north, and is a perfect place to go fishing, boating, hiking and camping. The park also boasts scenic walking and bike paths, wooded campsites and guided canoe tours that will take you down either the Tomoka or the Halifax River.
When it comes to Florida real estate, you can find everything from a beachside apartment to an Oceanside cottage or a condo villa by the sea. Ofcourse costs of condos depend on a variety of factors such as its proximity to the ocean, amenities included etc. However the average cost of a condo can be relatively cheap and you can find excellent bargains.
While the town is known for its quiet, peaceful lifestyle, Ormond Beach is not some distant outpost and condos here are a real steal. Sitting between Route 1 and I-95, you can fly into the Daytona Beach International Airport and be there in under half an hour. Then, if you care to go sightseeing around the state, that same I-95 can take you up to historic St. Augustine (oldest town in North America), or south to picturesque Key West and the Miami Beach area. In addition, excellent stores,great medical and professional offices make investing in real estate an excellent deal here.
So, it is clear to see that Ormond Beach can provide a lazy afternoon by the shore, or an exciting evening of fun. It all depends on what suits you.
Source : http://daytonabeach.condocompany.com/
Thursday, November 22, 2007
The Florida Beaches
When many people think of Florida the first thoughts they have are sunshine and beaches. That's because Florida has gorgeous sunshine year round and breathtaking white sandy beaches that attract residents and visitors year round. Some beaches are more well-known such as The Florida Keys, Miami's South Beach. The east coast has Daytona and Cocoa Beach and on the west coast there is St. Petersburg and Clearwater Beach. Panama City has also become a popular spring break and summer getaway for younger beach goers who are looking for a great place to unwind and enjoy the sun. No matter which location you choose, you can't go wrong. Most locations have taken great care in preserving their shorelines, placing boardwalks or piers to sight see from, and offer low priced and upscale hotels and condominiums to enjoy. Whether you are looking for a seasonal getaway or want to call one of these seaside locations home, you will not be disappointed. Florida is blessed with warm weather almost year round which makes it a great place to stroll in the sand, splash in the water, enjoy a sunset or take advantage of the beachside restaurants that provide lively entertainment and night life.
Florida is surrounded by great waterways to enjoy. You can charter a boat or Jet Ski to play on the water. A good captain will be able to help you catch snook, grouper or the many other types of fish in these waters! You can take sight seeing cruises where you can see dolphins, sea turtles or go to many small or remote islands off these coasts. The Florida Keys is an ocean lovers paradise and popular for lobster catching, snorkeling or scuba diving. It has great live coral and the scenery is breathtaking.
Recently, many beaches have started to expand to not just offer daytime activities but to really spice up their night life. Visitors were coming to this area and spending their days at the shore and their nights in larger cities nearby. These cities decided they wanted their visitors to stay nearby and have taken an interest in offering beachside entertainment such as bands, magicians, and street vendors. Local restaurants and hotels have begun serving appetizers and drinks out on the patio areas and people have started to enjoy sitting by the ocean at night listing to the crashing waves. Now these beachside locations are some of the most popular in town!
Florida Real Estate has always been very popular on the water. Hotels are remodeling to attract more guests. Condominiums and town homes are undergoing renovations to update their facilities and offer more amenities to their owners. Waterfront property has never been more popular. If you are looking for a great place to vacation or live, don't miss the Florida Beaches. These white sand beaches overlook some of the best water and sea life. View dolphins splashing in the water or go for a day of fishing and you will see why so many people come to Florida year round!
Source : http://www.clearwaterfloridarealestatesite.com/
Florida is surrounded by great waterways to enjoy. You can charter a boat or Jet Ski to play on the water. A good captain will be able to help you catch snook, grouper or the many other types of fish in these waters! You can take sight seeing cruises where you can see dolphins, sea turtles or go to many small or remote islands off these coasts. The Florida Keys is an ocean lovers paradise and popular for lobster catching, snorkeling or scuba diving. It has great live coral and the scenery is breathtaking.
Recently, many beaches have started to expand to not just offer daytime activities but to really spice up their night life. Visitors were coming to this area and spending their days at the shore and their nights in larger cities nearby. These cities decided they wanted their visitors to stay nearby and have taken an interest in offering beachside entertainment such as bands, magicians, and street vendors. Local restaurants and hotels have begun serving appetizers and drinks out on the patio areas and people have started to enjoy sitting by the ocean at night listing to the crashing waves. Now these beachside locations are some of the most popular in town!
Florida Real Estate has always been very popular on the water. Hotels are remodeling to attract more guests. Condominiums and town homes are undergoing renovations to update their facilities and offer more amenities to their owners. Waterfront property has never been more popular. If you are looking for a great place to vacation or live, don't miss the Florida Beaches. These white sand beaches overlook some of the best water and sea life. View dolphins splashing in the water or go for a day of fishing and you will see why so many people come to Florida year round!
Source : http://www.clearwaterfloridarealestatesite.com/
Miami Condo Report Newsletter
When most people think about "the good life", for many, vacationing, or better yet, living year-round in South Florida is one of the first things that comes to mind. Each year, almost 20 million people travel to the Miami area, and of them, many of said seekers of sun, sand and surf eventually make the decision to relocate to the Sunshine State.
A key question for those who are considering investing in one of the most attractive real estate markets in the U.S. would be, what type of property is best for me? For many who move to South Florida, the condominium is a highly-appealing form of home ownership. A condominium, or condo for short, is the legal term used in the United States for a type of joint ownership of real property in which portions of the property are commonly owned and other portions are individually owned. In recent years, the condominium industry has been booming in many major metropolitan areas of the U.S., particularly in Miami.
A report issued in 2005 on the housing market projects that even if interests rates climb, South Florida residential real estate will continue to grow in value. What rising interest rates will determine is how fast real estate values are going to increase.
The report comes from industry veteran Michael Sklarz, chief valuation officer for Fidelity National Information Solutions. Sklarz reports that South Florida homes were slightly on the high side of the national average--28 percent over value for Miami, 22 percent for Fort Lauderdale and 11 percent for West Palm--but still undervalued compared to other coastal cities.
Because of the current rate of condo construction, there hasn't been a better time in the last 30 years to purchase a luxury condominium in South Florida, especially for international buyers from Europe due to the strength of the Euro relative to the Dollar. The surplus of units in the marketplace has caused asking prices for many new projects, to include those from $1,000,000 and more, to be reduced, sometimes by as much as 30 percent, making it a buyers market.
Foreign investors find the South Florida real estate market particularly attractive because of the stability and security they find here. Those who chose to purchase condominiums are generally swayed by the fact that the buyer can get more for his money in terms of actual square footage. Another advantage is that the Homeowner's Association takes care of the outside of the building, and the owner is responsible only for the inside, thus, maintenance concerns are significantly reduced. Another alluring feature is that of amenities, such as pools, hot tubs, waterfront living, barbecues, tennis courts and more that are to be found at luxury condominiums in South Florida.
Last but not least is the issue of appreciation of investment. Nationally, home prices are up more than 50% in the past five years, and in 30 cities -- including San Diego, Los Angeles and Miami -- prices have doubled. In 2003 condo appreciation actually exceeded home appreciation in many markets, and this trend continues today, making the purchase of a condominium a particularly sound investment in current market conditions.
Whatever your reason for moving to Miami: work, year-round warm, sunny days, the beautiful beaches, to be close to family, or perhaps simply for a change of scene and society South Florida style, you will be sure to find an wide selection of condominium homes from which to choose at prices that represent an appealing opportunity to be part of Miami's leisurely lifestyle.
Source : http://www.condocompany.com/
A key question for those who are considering investing in one of the most attractive real estate markets in the U.S. would be, what type of property is best for me? For many who move to South Florida, the condominium is a highly-appealing form of home ownership. A condominium, or condo for short, is the legal term used in the United States for a type of joint ownership of real property in which portions of the property are commonly owned and other portions are individually owned. In recent years, the condominium industry has been booming in many major metropolitan areas of the U.S., particularly in Miami.
A report issued in 2005 on the housing market projects that even if interests rates climb, South Florida residential real estate will continue to grow in value. What rising interest rates will determine is how fast real estate values are going to increase.
The report comes from industry veteran Michael Sklarz, chief valuation officer for Fidelity National Information Solutions. Sklarz reports that South Florida homes were slightly on the high side of the national average--28 percent over value for Miami, 22 percent for Fort Lauderdale and 11 percent for West Palm--but still undervalued compared to other coastal cities.
Because of the current rate of condo construction, there hasn't been a better time in the last 30 years to purchase a luxury condominium in South Florida, especially for international buyers from Europe due to the strength of the Euro relative to the Dollar. The surplus of units in the marketplace has caused asking prices for many new projects, to include those from $1,000,000 and more, to be reduced, sometimes by as much as 30 percent, making it a buyers market.
Foreign investors find the South Florida real estate market particularly attractive because of the stability and security they find here. Those who chose to purchase condominiums are generally swayed by the fact that the buyer can get more for his money in terms of actual square footage. Another advantage is that the Homeowner's Association takes care of the outside of the building, and the owner is responsible only for the inside, thus, maintenance concerns are significantly reduced. Another alluring feature is that of amenities, such as pools, hot tubs, waterfront living, barbecues, tennis courts and more that are to be found at luxury condominiums in South Florida.
Last but not least is the issue of appreciation of investment. Nationally, home prices are up more than 50% in the past five years, and in 30 cities -- including San Diego, Los Angeles and Miami -- prices have doubled. In 2003 condo appreciation actually exceeded home appreciation in many markets, and this trend continues today, making the purchase of a condominium a particularly sound investment in current market conditions.
Whatever your reason for moving to Miami: work, year-round warm, sunny days, the beautiful beaches, to be close to family, or perhaps simply for a change of scene and society South Florida style, you will be sure to find an wide selection of condominium homes from which to choose at prices that represent an appealing opportunity to be part of Miami's leisurely lifestyle.
Source : http://www.condocompany.com/
Miami Condo Crash and the BS Watch
Just how dismal is the city’s condo market? Well, if last week’s Platinum Condo auction was any indication, a bloodbath is in the making. The auction, which was held in a ballroom at the Biscayne Marriott, drew a few hundred people, mostly curious people who wanted to see how low the no-reserve condos would sell for.
The answer: $160,000 for a one-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath. Let’s put that into perspective: Two similar units in the same building sold a few months ago for about $260,000. Another two-bed, two-bath was auctioned for $295,000; a similar unit sold earlier this year for as much as $500,000. Ouch.
Wrote Lucas Lechuga, a local real estate broker who pens the Miami Condo Investments blog: “If tonight was any indication of what lies ahead, then the Miami condo market is in a rude awakening. Miami condo developers are in for a sleepless night if word about tonight’s auction reaches them before bedtime.”
But the best part of the auction wasn’t the prices. It was sitting next to Joey Skaggs, a heavily bearded, long-haired guy dressed entirely in denim and cowboy boots. He was from Hawaii, and was there only to accompany friends, not to buy a condo. I asked him what he did for a living. “I’m an artist and prankster,” he replied. “I’ve been called the godfather of the media prank.”
Turns out that since the mid-Sixties, Skaggs has duped the media into believing his phenomenal (and hilarious) pranks. In 2000 he “announced” the creation of “The Final Curtain,” a Disney-like memorial theme park and cemetery. In 1992 he “leaked” a (fake) letter from then-New York City Mayor David Dinkins, saying Dinkins was selling the Brooklyn Bridge via a lottery. Skaggs has also sold a bit of real estate himself: He created Fish Condos, which are elaborately designed aquariums for “upwardly mobile guppies.”
Skaggs leaned over and held out his wrist to show me his latest creative endeavor: the Universal Bullshit Detector. It looks like a watch, with a little cartoon bull on the face and a pile of crap where the number six should be. “It flashes, moos, and shits,” whispered Skaggs. He was nearly drowned out by the auctioneer, who was desperately trying to get folks to start the bidding at $300,000 for a one-bedroom condo.
He pressed a button on the side of the watch. It flashed a red light and made a loud mooooo. “Everyone should have a bullshit detector,” Skaggs said, grinning.
I giggled in agreement. Especially, I thought, in this city.
Source : http://www.nowpublic.com/
The answer: $160,000 for a one-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath. Let’s put that into perspective: Two similar units in the same building sold a few months ago for about $260,000. Another two-bed, two-bath was auctioned for $295,000; a similar unit sold earlier this year for as much as $500,000. Ouch.
Wrote Lucas Lechuga, a local real estate broker who pens the Miami Condo Investments blog: “If tonight was any indication of what lies ahead, then the Miami condo market is in a rude awakening. Miami condo developers are in for a sleepless night if word about tonight’s auction reaches them before bedtime.”
But the best part of the auction wasn’t the prices. It was sitting next to Joey Skaggs, a heavily bearded, long-haired guy dressed entirely in denim and cowboy boots. He was from Hawaii, and was there only to accompany friends, not to buy a condo. I asked him what he did for a living. “I’m an artist and prankster,” he replied. “I’ve been called the godfather of the media prank.”
Turns out that since the mid-Sixties, Skaggs has duped the media into believing his phenomenal (and hilarious) pranks. In 2000 he “announced” the creation of “The Final Curtain,” a Disney-like memorial theme park and cemetery. In 1992 he “leaked” a (fake) letter from then-New York City Mayor David Dinkins, saying Dinkins was selling the Brooklyn Bridge via a lottery. Skaggs has also sold a bit of real estate himself: He created Fish Condos, which are elaborately designed aquariums for “upwardly mobile guppies.”
Skaggs leaned over and held out his wrist to show me his latest creative endeavor: the Universal Bullshit Detector. It looks like a watch, with a little cartoon bull on the face and a pile of crap where the number six should be. “It flashes, moos, and shits,” whispered Skaggs. He was nearly drowned out by the auctioneer, who was desperately trying to get folks to start the bidding at $300,000 for a one-bedroom condo.
He pressed a button on the side of the watch. It flashed a red light and made a loud mooooo. “Everyone should have a bullshit detector,” Skaggs said, grinning.
I giggled in agreement. Especially, I thought, in this city.
Source : http://www.nowpublic.com/
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
South Florida Condo Trends
Condo living is popular in south Florida, and the condo real estate market behaves very differently from the single family market.
The coast line is predominatly condo living, with new condo units coming on the market all the time. Popular with vacationers, retirees and as second homes, condos on the beach are south Florida living at it’s best (cities include Fort Lauderdale, Dania beach, Hollywood, Pompano beach, Lauderdale by the sea, and Wilton manors).
As you move further inland, condos surround the many golf courses, and are popular with retirees, first time home owners, and those that prefer not to deal with the joys of single family home ownership - ah, the lawn maintenance.
Source : http://www.zillow.com/
The coast line is predominatly condo living, with new condo units coming on the market all the time. Popular with vacationers, retirees and as second homes, condos on the beach are south Florida living at it’s best (cities include Fort Lauderdale, Dania beach, Hollywood, Pompano beach, Lauderdale by the sea, and Wilton manors).
As you move further inland, condos surround the many golf courses, and are popular with retirees, first time home owners, and those that prefer not to deal with the joys of single family home ownership - ah, the lawn maintenance.
Source : http://www.zillow.com/
Florida Real Estate Info - South Florida
The South Florida metropolitan area is an informal name for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach metropolitan area. It encompasses a three county area of the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida, including Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. It is commonly referred to as simply South Florida, and is roughly synonymous with the term Gold Coast.
Because the population of South Florida is largely confined to a strip of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Everglades, the urbanized area (that is, the area of contiguous urban development) is about 110 miles long (north to south), but never more than twenty miles wide, and often only five miles wide (east to west). South Florida is longer than any other urbanized area in the United States except for the New York metropolitan area. It is one of the most densely populated urbanized areas in North America. As of the 2000 census, the urbanized area had a land area of 1,116 square miles (2,900 square kilometres), with a population density of 4,400 per square mile (1,700 per square kilometre). Miami and Hialeah (the second largest city in the metropolitan area) had population densities of more than 10,000 per square mile (more than 3,800 per square kilometre).
Palm Beach County, Florida was added to the official Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area for the first time in 2000, giving it a considerable boost in population and in ranking among U.S. metropolitan areas. As of July 1, 2005, the region's population is estimated at 5,422,200 by the US Census Bureau; making it the sixth largest metropolitan area in the United States. It is currently the 45th-largest metropolitan area in the world. It is also the largest metropolitan area in the United States that lacks a city with at least 500,000 people (Miami has over 380,000). Each of the three counties of the Metropolitan Statistical Area are their own Metropolitan Divisions.
Counties
* Miami-Dade County
* Broward County
* Palm Beach County
Transportation and Commerce
The South Florida metropolitan area is served by five major interstate highways operated by the Florida Department of Transportation in conjunction with local agencies. The busiest of the five, I-95, is the chief and most heavily-traveled artery during rush hour traffic, and runs north to south along the coast, ending just south of downtown Miami. I-75 runs east to west, turning south in western Broward County; it connects suburban North Miami-Dade to Naples on the west coast via Alligator Alley, which transverses the Florida Everglades before turning north. I-595 connects the Broward coast and downtown Fort Lauderdale to I-75 and Alligator Alley. I-195 and I-395 both connect the main I-95 route to Biscayne Boulevard and Miami Beach, which is located across Biscayne Bay. I-195 and I-395 also connect (at their interchanges with I-95) to the Airport Expressway (State Road 112) and the Dolphin Expressway (State Road 836), respectively, both of which run west to Miami International Airport; the Dolphin Expressway also connects to Florida's Turnpike and the western suburbs of Miami-Dade County.
Locally, the area is served by three county transit authorities: Palm Tran (Palm Beach County), Broward County Transit, and the largest, Miami-Dade Transit. The latter not only operates bus, but metro rapid transit (the Metrorail) and a downtown people mover (Metromover). Additionally, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority operates Tri-Rail, a commuter rail system that connects the three primary cities of South Florida (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach), and most intermediate points.
South Florida is served by three major airports:
* Miami International Airport (MIA) is the largest of the three, and ranks among the busiest in the world for international passengers and cargo. It is a major air hub for Latin America and Caribbean flights, and is a large reason why Miami is considered the de facto capital of Latin America. American Airlines operates its main Latin American and Caribbean hub at MIA.
* Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is a large hub for low cost airlines, and is a secondary air hub for the Caribbean. It is the biggest airport for domestic passengers in South Florida.
* Palm Beach International Airport
The metropolis also has four major seaports, the Port of Miami, Port Everglades, both major cruise ship ports (ranking 1st and 2nd in numbers of passengers respectively), and the Port of Palm Beach and the Miami River Port. Furthermore, the Port of Miami imports and exports goods from all over the world, making it one of the busiest and most heavily traveled ports in the country.
Most of South Florida's business is conducted in Miami, of which, the central business district (downtown) has the largest concentration of international banks in the United States. The area serves as the Latin American headquarters to a number of corporations, including American Airlines, Cisco, Exxon, Microsoft, and Sony.
Source : http://www.preconstructionprograms.com/
Because the population of South Florida is largely confined to a strip of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Everglades, the urbanized area (that is, the area of contiguous urban development) is about 110 miles long (north to south), but never more than twenty miles wide, and often only five miles wide (east to west). South Florida is longer than any other urbanized area in the United States except for the New York metropolitan area. It is one of the most densely populated urbanized areas in North America. As of the 2000 census, the urbanized area had a land area of 1,116 square miles (2,900 square kilometres), with a population density of 4,400 per square mile (1,700 per square kilometre). Miami and Hialeah (the second largest city in the metropolitan area) had population densities of more than 10,000 per square mile (more than 3,800 per square kilometre).
Palm Beach County, Florida was added to the official Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area for the first time in 2000, giving it a considerable boost in population and in ranking among U.S. metropolitan areas. As of July 1, 2005, the region's population is estimated at 5,422,200 by the US Census Bureau; making it the sixth largest metropolitan area in the United States. It is currently the 45th-largest metropolitan area in the world. It is also the largest metropolitan area in the United States that lacks a city with at least 500,000 people (Miami has over 380,000). Each of the three counties of the Metropolitan Statistical Area are their own Metropolitan Divisions.
Counties
* Miami-Dade County
* Broward County
* Palm Beach County
Transportation and Commerce
The South Florida metropolitan area is served by five major interstate highways operated by the Florida Department of Transportation in conjunction with local agencies. The busiest of the five, I-95, is the chief and most heavily-traveled artery during rush hour traffic, and runs north to south along the coast, ending just south of downtown Miami. I-75 runs east to west, turning south in western Broward County; it connects suburban North Miami-Dade to Naples on the west coast via Alligator Alley, which transverses the Florida Everglades before turning north. I-595 connects the Broward coast and downtown Fort Lauderdale to I-75 and Alligator Alley. I-195 and I-395 both connect the main I-95 route to Biscayne Boulevard and Miami Beach, which is located across Biscayne Bay. I-195 and I-395 also connect (at their interchanges with I-95) to the Airport Expressway (State Road 112) and the Dolphin Expressway (State Road 836), respectively, both of which run west to Miami International Airport; the Dolphin Expressway also connects to Florida's Turnpike and the western suburbs of Miami-Dade County.
Locally, the area is served by three county transit authorities: Palm Tran (Palm Beach County), Broward County Transit, and the largest, Miami-Dade Transit. The latter not only operates bus, but metro rapid transit (the Metrorail) and a downtown people mover (Metromover). Additionally, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority operates Tri-Rail, a commuter rail system that connects the three primary cities of South Florida (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach), and most intermediate points.
South Florida is served by three major airports:
* Miami International Airport (MIA) is the largest of the three, and ranks among the busiest in the world for international passengers and cargo. It is a major air hub for Latin America and Caribbean flights, and is a large reason why Miami is considered the de facto capital of Latin America. American Airlines operates its main Latin American and Caribbean hub at MIA.
* Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is a large hub for low cost airlines, and is a secondary air hub for the Caribbean. It is the biggest airport for domestic passengers in South Florida.
* Palm Beach International Airport
The metropolis also has four major seaports, the Port of Miami, Port Everglades, both major cruise ship ports (ranking 1st and 2nd in numbers of passengers respectively), and the Port of Palm Beach and the Miami River Port. Furthermore, the Port of Miami imports and exports goods from all over the world, making it one of the busiest and most heavily traveled ports in the country.
Most of South Florida's business is conducted in Miami, of which, the central business district (downtown) has the largest concentration of international banks in the United States. The area serves as the Latin American headquarters to a number of corporations, including American Airlines, Cisco, Exxon, Microsoft, and Sony.
Source : http://www.preconstructionprograms.com/
As Housing in Florida Plummets, the Top Tier of the Market Just Dips
Despite a record number of foreclosures and a raft of public auctions of unwanted houses, the upper tier of the real estate market in Florida remains relatively immune to the spreading disaster.
Houses and condominiums with price tags of $1 million or more are still changing hands robustly in some of the most exclusive areas, though at a pace less brisk than a year ago. The glistening waterfront glass towers on Miami Beach, the sprawling estates set in manicured gardens in Palm Beach and the clustered mansions in Naples are attracting buyers, both domestic and foreign.
As in other once-booming regions, in Florida the housing market seems to be not one market, but two. The lower end is littered with vacant houses and unfinished developments, and homeowners are struggling to meet their monthly payments as rates adjust upward. The luxury end has its unsold new condos and mansions lingering on the market, too, but as in New York, where the demand in pricey Manhattan is still strong, sales have fallen less. And Miami and other parts of Florida are continuing to attract interest among the wealthy.
Both markets have been buoyed by foreign buyers attracted to the United States because the weak dollar makes American homes comparative bargains. Florida has the added demand from affluent retirees across the country and second-home buyers, particularly from the Northeast.
“The very, very high end of the markets in communities such as the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Manhattan and Miami and to a lesser degree Chicago, Seattle and Washington that have global appeal have held up much better than the rest of the housing market,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com. “A recession would certainly not help the high end, but it would not undermine it. And much of their buying is done with cash and not affected by the global financial turmoil and its impact on the availability of mortgages.”
Take the greater Miami area. Over all, home prices have fallen 7.3 percent from their peak in December 2006, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index that tracks repeat sales of specific homes. But because of a shift upward in the value of the homes that have traded hands, the median price for condos sold so far this year for over $1 million is holding steady at $1.5 million, according to the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches.
The median price for single-family homes sold is even reported to be up slightly, to $1.51 million from $1.46 million in the 2006 period. In Miami Beach, two brokers, Kevin Tomlinson and Dora Puig, recently represented a buyer from the Midwest who paid $7 million for a beachfront triplex. The sellers, a group of wealthy Mexicans, had bought the apartment for $6.13 million in April 2005, near the height of the market. They put it up for sale in early 2006 for $9.5 million and finally sold it for a 14 percent gain.
“When people are realistic about prices, they can sell,” said Mr. Tomlinson, a broker with EWM Realty, an affiliate of Christie’s.
Based on the number of sales, the Florida real estate market as a whole has taken a huge hit this year. Unit sales of homes and condominiums worth less than $1 million in Miami-Dade County, for example, fell 37.2 percent through Oct. 23 compared with the period a year earlier. So far in 2007, 7,078 homes have been sold.
But even the high end is cooling off. In the greater Miami area, the number of condos and single-family homes that sold for more than $1 million through Oct. 23 fell 18 percent, to 958 units from 1,166 units in the comparable period a year earlier.
At the very high end of the market in Naples on Florida’s west coast, there have been about 40 sales so far this year, compared with 46 sales for all of 2006, according to Thomas L. Campbell Jr., sales associate at Premier Properties.
In Palm Beach, the number of units sold has fallen 15 percent, to 223 properties.
“There is more inventory in all price ranges,” said Deborah Boza Valledor, the chief operating officer of the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches. But even as more homes linger on the market, some areas remain particularly popular with potential buyers. “They are waterfront properties that are exclusive,” she said, “and people are willing to pay the price.”
Indeed, more than 78,000 homes were for sale in the Miami area in August, up from 51,000 a year before, according to ZipRealty, the real estate brokerage firm.
The overhang of unsold homes helps explain why reported selling prices do not tell the whole story. Sellers “are making concessions,” Ms. Boza Valledor said. “They will offer a year’s worth of paid maintenance fees to the buyer, or they will pay for the parking space or they will throw in country club fees that might be part of the expense of buying a home in a gated community.”
Just a year ago, when buyers were bidding against one another for properties, such deals would have been unusual. And in another sign that the feeding frenzy has ended, the highest price paid for a Miami-area condo this year was $13.9 million, down from the top price of $16.9 million last year.
Mr. Tomlinson, the Christie’s broker, suggests that sellers are starting to be more realistic. “They are coming off their 2005 prices and are more in today’s market,” he said. “Two years ago, if you sold something at $3.5 million, the next listing in that building came at $4.2 million. Now it is more reasonable.”
Across the state through the end of September, the real estate company Coldwell Banker has sold 1,222 condos worth a million dollars or more, said Clark W. Toole, who runs the company’s operations in Florida. The average sale price is down less than half a percent from last year.
To the degree that the market has held up, it has been helped by eager foreigners, checkbooks in hand, who are still showing up and often paying cash. A survey last year by the National Association of Realtors found that the number of foreign buyers in Florida had dropped significantly from 2005. But of those who bought, 29 percent paid cash. Only 8 percent of domestic purchasers did. More than 10 percent of the foreigners bought homes for over $1 million.
The pattern of sales remains uneven, with evidence that some of the most exclusive places are having a harder time. On Fisher Island, the private island just off Miami Beach that has its own golf course, tennis courts and spa, business has slowed sharply, said Lars Ekdahl, who has worked as a real estate agent on the island for 13 years.
Right now, the island, which boasts Andre Agassi as a frequent visitor and where Oprah Winfrey once owned a home, has 96 of its 700 housing units for sale. At one point, the number offered was just 39.
“I didn’t think it would affect us so much at Fisher Island,” Mr. Ekdahl said, “with the dollar so weak and the euro so strong.” Only about half the island’s residents are Americans. The cost of living on the island has risen because of dues and other expenses, and in a market in which buyers have more choice, they may be pickier.
Perhaps the starkest sign of a two-tier housing market is in Palm Beach. The island of Palm Beach itself has about 8,000 housing units. Leslie Evans, a local real estate lawyer, said that about 80 percent of sales there are cash deals and that most buyers are American. But just across the bridge in West Palm Beach, “there are buildings with 200 units and 80 of them are for sale, and others where the building is nearing completion and sales will never close.”
Source : http://www.nytimes.com/
Houses and condominiums with price tags of $1 million or more are still changing hands robustly in some of the most exclusive areas, though at a pace less brisk than a year ago. The glistening waterfront glass towers on Miami Beach, the sprawling estates set in manicured gardens in Palm Beach and the clustered mansions in Naples are attracting buyers, both domestic and foreign.
As in other once-booming regions, in Florida the housing market seems to be not one market, but two. The lower end is littered with vacant houses and unfinished developments, and homeowners are struggling to meet their monthly payments as rates adjust upward. The luxury end has its unsold new condos and mansions lingering on the market, too, but as in New York, where the demand in pricey Manhattan is still strong, sales have fallen less. And Miami and other parts of Florida are continuing to attract interest among the wealthy.
Both markets have been buoyed by foreign buyers attracted to the United States because the weak dollar makes American homes comparative bargains. Florida has the added demand from affluent retirees across the country and second-home buyers, particularly from the Northeast.
“The very, very high end of the markets in communities such as the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Manhattan and Miami and to a lesser degree Chicago, Seattle and Washington that have global appeal have held up much better than the rest of the housing market,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com. “A recession would certainly not help the high end, but it would not undermine it. And much of their buying is done with cash and not affected by the global financial turmoil and its impact on the availability of mortgages.”
Take the greater Miami area. Over all, home prices have fallen 7.3 percent from their peak in December 2006, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index that tracks repeat sales of specific homes. But because of a shift upward in the value of the homes that have traded hands, the median price for condos sold so far this year for over $1 million is holding steady at $1.5 million, according to the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches.
The median price for single-family homes sold is even reported to be up slightly, to $1.51 million from $1.46 million in the 2006 period. In Miami Beach, two brokers, Kevin Tomlinson and Dora Puig, recently represented a buyer from the Midwest who paid $7 million for a beachfront triplex. The sellers, a group of wealthy Mexicans, had bought the apartment for $6.13 million in April 2005, near the height of the market. They put it up for sale in early 2006 for $9.5 million and finally sold it for a 14 percent gain.
“When people are realistic about prices, they can sell,” said Mr. Tomlinson, a broker with EWM Realty, an affiliate of Christie’s.
Based on the number of sales, the Florida real estate market as a whole has taken a huge hit this year. Unit sales of homes and condominiums worth less than $1 million in Miami-Dade County, for example, fell 37.2 percent through Oct. 23 compared with the period a year earlier. So far in 2007, 7,078 homes have been sold.
But even the high end is cooling off. In the greater Miami area, the number of condos and single-family homes that sold for more than $1 million through Oct. 23 fell 18 percent, to 958 units from 1,166 units in the comparable period a year earlier.
At the very high end of the market in Naples on Florida’s west coast, there have been about 40 sales so far this year, compared with 46 sales for all of 2006, according to Thomas L. Campbell Jr., sales associate at Premier Properties.
In Palm Beach, the number of units sold has fallen 15 percent, to 223 properties.
“There is more inventory in all price ranges,” said Deborah Boza Valledor, the chief operating officer of the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches. But even as more homes linger on the market, some areas remain particularly popular with potential buyers. “They are waterfront properties that are exclusive,” she said, “and people are willing to pay the price.”
Indeed, more than 78,000 homes were for sale in the Miami area in August, up from 51,000 a year before, according to ZipRealty, the real estate brokerage firm.
The overhang of unsold homes helps explain why reported selling prices do not tell the whole story. Sellers “are making concessions,” Ms. Boza Valledor said. “They will offer a year’s worth of paid maintenance fees to the buyer, or they will pay for the parking space or they will throw in country club fees that might be part of the expense of buying a home in a gated community.”
Just a year ago, when buyers were bidding against one another for properties, such deals would have been unusual. And in another sign that the feeding frenzy has ended, the highest price paid for a Miami-area condo this year was $13.9 million, down from the top price of $16.9 million last year.
Mr. Tomlinson, the Christie’s broker, suggests that sellers are starting to be more realistic. “They are coming off their 2005 prices and are more in today’s market,” he said. “Two years ago, if you sold something at $3.5 million, the next listing in that building came at $4.2 million. Now it is more reasonable.”
Across the state through the end of September, the real estate company Coldwell Banker has sold 1,222 condos worth a million dollars or more, said Clark W. Toole, who runs the company’s operations in Florida. The average sale price is down less than half a percent from last year.
To the degree that the market has held up, it has been helped by eager foreigners, checkbooks in hand, who are still showing up and often paying cash. A survey last year by the National Association of Realtors found that the number of foreign buyers in Florida had dropped significantly from 2005. But of those who bought, 29 percent paid cash. Only 8 percent of domestic purchasers did. More than 10 percent of the foreigners bought homes for over $1 million.
The pattern of sales remains uneven, with evidence that some of the most exclusive places are having a harder time. On Fisher Island, the private island just off Miami Beach that has its own golf course, tennis courts and spa, business has slowed sharply, said Lars Ekdahl, who has worked as a real estate agent on the island for 13 years.
Right now, the island, which boasts Andre Agassi as a frequent visitor and where Oprah Winfrey once owned a home, has 96 of its 700 housing units for sale. At one point, the number offered was just 39.
“I didn’t think it would affect us so much at Fisher Island,” Mr. Ekdahl said, “with the dollar so weak and the euro so strong.” Only about half the island’s residents are Americans. The cost of living on the island has risen because of dues and other expenses, and in a market in which buyers have more choice, they may be pickier.
Perhaps the starkest sign of a two-tier housing market is in Palm Beach. The island of Palm Beach itself has about 8,000 housing units. Leslie Evans, a local real estate lawyer, said that about 80 percent of sales there are cash deals and that most buyers are American. But just across the bridge in West Palm Beach, “there are buildings with 200 units and 80 of them are for sale, and others where the building is nearing completion and sales will never close.”
Source : http://www.nytimes.com/
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
A $100,000+ Discount On Miami Condos
By this point and time, many people have heard about buying preconstruction condos and some of the amazing profits that have been generated by these investments. What many people don’t understand is that there is another way to play the preconstruction investing game, especially for those investors with solid financial resources. Let’s take a look at the Miami condo market as a great example.
Right now, there is a Miami condo that originally sold out almost 2 years ago when the prices were much lower but original investors are now interested in reselling their units. This project was one of the first high-rise projects in the downtown Miami area. Recently, similar units at ICON Brickell (on the opposite side of the Miami river) sold out the first tower in 2 days at an average of $550 a square foot. The second tower is now selling at an average of $600 sq ft. For some of these resells in the area, we are seeing close to a $100/sqft reductions in price to around $500 per square foot; and that is asking price. Now is when the negotiations begin.
One strategy is to AGRESSIVELY pursue projects where other investors are about to close. In this case, you have a number of original investors that are hearing that loud clock ticking in their head. That is the clock counting down to close where they will 1) have to close on their Miami condo, 2) have to pay debt service, and 3) potentially try to rent out their Miami condo. You have to realize that these sellers are people that have already made (on paper) great returns, then they may have a lot of motivation to just get most of their profits and run without incurring additional expenses.
As an example, suppose you were able to negotiate a $130/sq ft discount on such a Miami condo instead of only $100/sqft. Let’s say that results in an additional $30,000 savings on a 1,000 sqft unit. From a motivated seller’s perspective, what do they care if they have to drop their profit from $150,000 on a Miami condo to only $120,000. For the right kind of seller, the important thing is that if they know you, as the buyer, can make it painless for them with no additional cash outlays.
For a resell type investor, they may look at this and say well, I will rent the Miami condo out for a couple of years. No, their payments will not cover their mortgage and maybe they end up losing $800 per month. That is only $19,200 over the course of two years. Compared to that $30,000 extra discount they got, that is a small price to pay for the right individual knowing that they purchased their condo at $130 *1000 sqft = $130,000 less than what people across the river are paying for new Miami condos. If you do this type of investment, you need to establish the actual numbers for yourself since these numbers are only provided as an example.
We have used a Miami condo as an example here but these opportunities are going to exist in many places. As projects begin to close, especially in overbuilt areas having lots of investors that are ill prepared to close, that provides an excellent opportunity to find EXTREMELY motivated sellers. One trick to this, in my opinion, is to find those early projects in an area that are about to close since there is tons of equity that the seller can give up to the new investor if that new investor will just pay them some profit and not make them incur any additional expenses.
Source : http://www.miami-florida.com/The Miami Condo Market
The Miami condo market is very diverse and offers a large number of different solutions for those interested in purchasing or renting a condo. People from all over the world are attracted to the vibrant Miami area and its supreme climate for relocation. Miami condos are also popular among vacationers as well as investors. The recent decrease of the dollar value on the international market has made Miami condos an even more interesting option for many Europeans looking for a home away from home, a place in which to retire or just a good investment.
Location, location, location - is the mantra of the real estate business. This is naturally true for Miami real estate as well. The beach front condos are the most popular ones and consequently the most expensive ones to obtain. Just by choosing a condo a few blocks away from the beach you can save huge amounts of money. A Miami ocean view is astonishing, but certainly not for free when we're talking real estate. South Beach is one of the most popular areas of the Miami condo market, not only due to its proximity to the ocean but to its famous nightlife and gastronomic scene as well.
Another highly esteemed part of Miami is the Brickell neighborhood. The Brickell region is commonly referred to as "the Wall Street of the South" and the condominium towers share the space with over 60 commercial banks. This area is typically marketed as a more strict and upscale alternative to South Beach; a neighborhood ideal for those who prefer a downtown environment instead of a sandy beach. The Brickell community is inhabited by people who want to avoid long hours of commuting.
In Brickell it is possible to be close to work as well as to downtown entertainment, but still live in a relaxed area suitable for recreation. The fact that popular South Beach restaurants are beginning to setup finials in Brickell is only one of the signs that predicts how Brickell will turn into an even more sought for area in the future. Three years ago it was possible to buy one of the smaller condos in Brickell for $115,000. Today you must be prepared to pay at least $200,000 for the same condo. The condos in Brickell are however still very reasonably priced compared to the condos located at Miami Beach. A Miami Beach condo of the same type as the $200,000 Brickell condo would cost you at least $500,000.
In such a popular area as Miami there will naturally be a shortage of suitable lots for new condo developments, and the Miami condo market is now stretching into the older neighborhoods and has even reached the suburbs. Downtown Miami has seen a lot of new development recently. Further expansion down Miami Beach is naturally another extremely lucrative business for Miami real estate developers since the Miami real estate market shows no signs of cooling down, particularly not when we're talking ocean front properties.
If you visit Wynwood, a neighborhood located not to far from the very popular South Beach district, the recent expansion of the Miami condo market will be very evident. What used to be large warehouses and grocery stores are currently being turned into condos, lofts and smaller apartments. Wynwood is also witnessing a huge change of the cultural scene as more and more galleries and private museums find their way into this new and exciting neighborhood. Wynwood is only one example of how condo development is taking place in almost all the not to remotely located neighborhoods in the Miami area.
The Miami condo developers are now turning their eyes towards the Miami working class neighborhoods. Former blue collar neighborhoods such as Little Haiti, Liberty City and Overtown are already overflowing with condos. These neighborhoods have become very popular for those who wish to own a Miami condo but can't afford to pay for ocean front properties at Miami Beach or get luxury condos such as the Four Season Residences.
Those who are still willing to pay for an ocean front condo should take a look at the South Pointe region. This used to be quite a shady area with a high crime rate and the median family income in 1995 was below $ 8,000. Today, this has changed and condos in South Pointe are already worth several hundred thousand dollars. Two new larger developing projects have been launched that will add 67 and 199 units respectively to the South Point housing market. The largest project of the two is the Continuum North Tower, a 199 unit property located at the end of South Pointe Drive. Continuum North Tower includes properties ranging in size from 1500 to 4000 square feet.
The penthouse apartments are even larger: 7000 square feet. Continuum North Tower will not be finished until late 2006 or early 2007, but prospective buyers are already lining up for the chance to own a Miami ocean front property. The other project, Apogee, is a smaller complex and will include 67 condos in the 3100 to 6900 feet range. Apogee will be 22 stories high when finished and asking price will most likely be in the $ 2.5 million range. For this price your will not only get an ocean view, but high ceilings, modern design, indoor and outdoor grills etcetera. The Penthouses in Apogee will probably go for at least $ 15 million each.
According to some analysts, a shortage of available Miami condos can be expected in the near future, but it is always hard to know for sure. The increased surge for Miami condos has launched a multitude of development projects. There are currently a large amount of projects on the verge of completion, aiming to provide the Miami condo market with everything from comparatively inexpensive studio-style condos to super exclusive condos with ocean views and all imaginable amenities. When the price began to rise even for the smallest condos, the Miami condo market consequently opened up for the development of a large number of more exclusive luxury condos.
When buyers are forced to pay ever increasing amounts of money for a tiny ocean front condo, they want to feel that they are getting supreme quality for their money in terms of style and amenities. Installing exclusive features, such as a Jacuzzi, will still only have a marginal affect on the price of the condo. On Miami Beach the largest part of the price is defined by the much sought after location of the property. Some of the most expensive condos on the Miami condo market can today be found in The Miami Four Season Residences. In the year 2005, this condominium complex offered condos priced from slightly below $ 700,000 and up to above $ 6 million. A lot of these condos are fashioned in a chic Euro style manner and have access to wine and cigar lounges, a health Spa, exclusive gyms and other selected services.
Florida is a popular state to live in, but no other city in Florida experienced the same remarkable surge for condos during the last few years as Miami. Some prospective buyers hope that the prices will drop when all the projects have finally settled. Estimations show that more than 50,000 condos will be added to the Miami condo market within the next 10 years. In downtown Miami a 35 story condominium tower named the Avenue is planned to be completed in 2007, and will add 570 condos to the Miami condo market.
The Avenue is accompanied by more than 70 other condo developments in the area. One of the larger projects in Brickell, the Mary Brickell Village, is believed to be completed by the end of 2006 and will then provide the Brickell neighborhood with a large number of new luxury condos. This could cause the prices to stabilize in Brickell, but don't count on it. The completion of two other major condo projects in the Brickell region, the Plaza and Neo Lofts, did not cause the prices to plummet - quite the contrary.
Source : http://www.articlegeek.com/
Location, location, location - is the mantra of the real estate business. This is naturally true for Miami real estate as well. The beach front condos are the most popular ones and consequently the most expensive ones to obtain. Just by choosing a condo a few blocks away from the beach you can save huge amounts of money. A Miami ocean view is astonishing, but certainly not for free when we're talking real estate. South Beach is one of the most popular areas of the Miami condo market, not only due to its proximity to the ocean but to its famous nightlife and gastronomic scene as well.
Another highly esteemed part of Miami is the Brickell neighborhood. The Brickell region is commonly referred to as "the Wall Street of the South" and the condominium towers share the space with over 60 commercial banks. This area is typically marketed as a more strict and upscale alternative to South Beach; a neighborhood ideal for those who prefer a downtown environment instead of a sandy beach. The Brickell community is inhabited by people who want to avoid long hours of commuting.
In Brickell it is possible to be close to work as well as to downtown entertainment, but still live in a relaxed area suitable for recreation. The fact that popular South Beach restaurants are beginning to setup finials in Brickell is only one of the signs that predicts how Brickell will turn into an even more sought for area in the future. Three years ago it was possible to buy one of the smaller condos in Brickell for $115,000. Today you must be prepared to pay at least $200,000 for the same condo. The condos in Brickell are however still very reasonably priced compared to the condos located at Miami Beach. A Miami Beach condo of the same type as the $200,000 Brickell condo would cost you at least $500,000.
In such a popular area as Miami there will naturally be a shortage of suitable lots for new condo developments, and the Miami condo market is now stretching into the older neighborhoods and has even reached the suburbs. Downtown Miami has seen a lot of new development recently. Further expansion down Miami Beach is naturally another extremely lucrative business for Miami real estate developers since the Miami real estate market shows no signs of cooling down, particularly not when we're talking ocean front properties.
If you visit Wynwood, a neighborhood located not to far from the very popular South Beach district, the recent expansion of the Miami condo market will be very evident. What used to be large warehouses and grocery stores are currently being turned into condos, lofts and smaller apartments. Wynwood is also witnessing a huge change of the cultural scene as more and more galleries and private museums find their way into this new and exciting neighborhood. Wynwood is only one example of how condo development is taking place in almost all the not to remotely located neighborhoods in the Miami area.
The Miami condo developers are now turning their eyes towards the Miami working class neighborhoods. Former blue collar neighborhoods such as Little Haiti, Liberty City and Overtown are already overflowing with condos. These neighborhoods have become very popular for those who wish to own a Miami condo but can't afford to pay for ocean front properties at Miami Beach or get luxury condos such as the Four Season Residences.
Those who are still willing to pay for an ocean front condo should take a look at the South Pointe region. This used to be quite a shady area with a high crime rate and the median family income in 1995 was below $ 8,000. Today, this has changed and condos in South Pointe are already worth several hundred thousand dollars. Two new larger developing projects have been launched that will add 67 and 199 units respectively to the South Point housing market. The largest project of the two is the Continuum North Tower, a 199 unit property located at the end of South Pointe Drive. Continuum North Tower includes properties ranging in size from 1500 to 4000 square feet.
The penthouse apartments are even larger: 7000 square feet. Continuum North Tower will not be finished until late 2006 or early 2007, but prospective buyers are already lining up for the chance to own a Miami ocean front property. The other project, Apogee, is a smaller complex and will include 67 condos in the 3100 to 6900 feet range. Apogee will be 22 stories high when finished and asking price will most likely be in the $ 2.5 million range. For this price your will not only get an ocean view, but high ceilings, modern design, indoor and outdoor grills etcetera. The Penthouses in Apogee will probably go for at least $ 15 million each.
According to some analysts, a shortage of available Miami condos can be expected in the near future, but it is always hard to know for sure. The increased surge for Miami condos has launched a multitude of development projects. There are currently a large amount of projects on the verge of completion, aiming to provide the Miami condo market with everything from comparatively inexpensive studio-style condos to super exclusive condos with ocean views and all imaginable amenities. When the price began to rise even for the smallest condos, the Miami condo market consequently opened up for the development of a large number of more exclusive luxury condos.
When buyers are forced to pay ever increasing amounts of money for a tiny ocean front condo, they want to feel that they are getting supreme quality for their money in terms of style and amenities. Installing exclusive features, such as a Jacuzzi, will still only have a marginal affect on the price of the condo. On Miami Beach the largest part of the price is defined by the much sought after location of the property. Some of the most expensive condos on the Miami condo market can today be found in The Miami Four Season Residences. In the year 2005, this condominium complex offered condos priced from slightly below $ 700,000 and up to above $ 6 million. A lot of these condos are fashioned in a chic Euro style manner and have access to wine and cigar lounges, a health Spa, exclusive gyms and other selected services.
Florida is a popular state to live in, but no other city in Florida experienced the same remarkable surge for condos during the last few years as Miami. Some prospective buyers hope that the prices will drop when all the projects have finally settled. Estimations show that more than 50,000 condos will be added to the Miami condo market within the next 10 years. In downtown Miami a 35 story condominium tower named the Avenue is planned to be completed in 2007, and will add 570 condos to the Miami condo market.
The Avenue is accompanied by more than 70 other condo developments in the area. One of the larger projects in Brickell, the Mary Brickell Village, is believed to be completed by the end of 2006 and will then provide the Brickell neighborhood with a large number of new luxury condos. This could cause the prices to stabilize in Brickell, but don't count on it. The completion of two other major condo projects in the Brickell region, the Plaza and Neo Lofts, did not cause the prices to plummet - quite the contrary.
Source : http://www.articlegeek.com/
As Condos Rise in South Florida, Nervous Investors Try to Flee
As dozens of condominium towers conceived during Florida’s real estate boom near completion, investors who snatched up units in the preconstruction phase in hopes of turning a quick profit are increasingly trying to break contracts, even walking away from fat deposits.
Gregg Covin says 45 of 200 preconstruction buyers in his condo tower in Miami have resold their units.“Motivated” sellers are flooding online forums like Craigslist with advertisements for condo units still months or years from being finished. And lawyers have been inundated with calls from people hoping to avoid closing on units they bought during the speculative craze of 2004 and 2005.
“I get two or three of these calls a day,” said James Ryan, a lawyer in Boca Raton who said he had 40 clients looking to get out of condo contracts. One, Mr. Ryan said, abandoned a $340,000 deposit rather than close on a $1.6 million unit that lost its appeal as the market faltered.
The numbers suggest that it will only get worse. In Miami-Dade County alone, 8,000 new condo units will be completed this year and nearly 12,000 more in 2008.
But demand has dropped markedly, and people who thought they could “flip” condos — buying, then selling for a steep profit before construction is done — are parting with that fantasy. After years of stunning price increases — 25 percent in the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton area, for example, from March 2005 to March 2006 — condo prices have started dropping.
Condominiums in West Palm Beach and Boca Raton sold for a median price of $211,800 in March, down from $224,600 a year earlier, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. And in Fort Lauderdale, the median price in March was $195,500, down from $202,600 the previous year.
As a result, many buyers want out — not an easy prospect unless they are willing to forfeit the 10 percent or 20 percent they put down, from $15,000 for an inexpensive studio unit to hundreds of thousands of dollars for a waterfront penthouse.
“I see buyers unleashing all possible means to try to get out of contracts,” said Gary Saul, a lawyer in Miami for developers, adding that in some projects, 20 percent of buyers want their money back.
Frank Scarfone, a retired engineer who bought two preconstruction units at Hollywood Station, a complex going up in Hollywood, is seeking to cancel his contracts. Each unit is priced at $300,000. The developer promised a city view from both units, Mr. Scarfone said, but now another building in the complex is blocking it — a change that he said made the contracts unenforceable.
He sent a letter demanding his total deposit of $120,000 back, and after getting no reply, picketed the developer’s office. Then Mr. Scarfone called a lawyer, Matthew Schlesinger, who has been unable to recoup the deposit so far.
“If we have to sue,” Mr. Scarfone said, “we’re planning on suing.”
Tom Leon, a retired business executive who moved here from Illinois, said he planned to give up $200,000 in deposits on two condo units in Miami, priced at $500,000 each, after finding “no loopholes” in his contracts. He said he was not especially bitter, since he had made money flipping other properties at the height of the boom.
“I’m of the frame of mind that you have to be prepared in business or investments to take a loss,” said Mr. Leon, 72, adding that he never had any intention of living in either of the units. “There are some people that mentally can never bring themselves around to that, especially in real estate. But there’s a time to hold and a time to fold, and in my opinion, this is a time to fold.”
The condo mania of recent years also beset cities like Las Vegas, Phoenix and Washington, but while those markets are also full of resales, analysts say South Florida drew the most investors.
“Between the Latin American influence and the out-of-state buyers who have a love affair with Miami because of its ambience,” said Jack McCabe, a consultant in Deerfield Beach who tracks the South Florida housing market, “they flocked to it and pushed it to the point where about 70 percent of all sales were to investors.”
Real estate analysts say South Florida’s housing market peaked late in 2005, and would-be flippers stopped buying in 2006. People who bought condos before 2005 might still make money or at least break even if they sell soon, the analysts say, but those who bought at the height of the mania stand to lose a bundle.
Source : http://www.nytimes.com/
Gregg Covin says 45 of 200 preconstruction buyers in his condo tower in Miami have resold their units.“Motivated” sellers are flooding online forums like Craigslist with advertisements for condo units still months or years from being finished. And lawyers have been inundated with calls from people hoping to avoid closing on units they bought during the speculative craze of 2004 and 2005.
“I get two or three of these calls a day,” said James Ryan, a lawyer in Boca Raton who said he had 40 clients looking to get out of condo contracts. One, Mr. Ryan said, abandoned a $340,000 deposit rather than close on a $1.6 million unit that lost its appeal as the market faltered.
The numbers suggest that it will only get worse. In Miami-Dade County alone, 8,000 new condo units will be completed this year and nearly 12,000 more in 2008.
But demand has dropped markedly, and people who thought they could “flip” condos — buying, then selling for a steep profit before construction is done — are parting with that fantasy. After years of stunning price increases — 25 percent in the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton area, for example, from March 2005 to March 2006 — condo prices have started dropping.
Condominiums in West Palm Beach and Boca Raton sold for a median price of $211,800 in March, down from $224,600 a year earlier, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. And in Fort Lauderdale, the median price in March was $195,500, down from $202,600 the previous year.
As a result, many buyers want out — not an easy prospect unless they are willing to forfeit the 10 percent or 20 percent they put down, from $15,000 for an inexpensive studio unit to hundreds of thousands of dollars for a waterfront penthouse.
“I see buyers unleashing all possible means to try to get out of contracts,” said Gary Saul, a lawyer in Miami for developers, adding that in some projects, 20 percent of buyers want their money back.
Frank Scarfone, a retired engineer who bought two preconstruction units at Hollywood Station, a complex going up in Hollywood, is seeking to cancel his contracts. Each unit is priced at $300,000. The developer promised a city view from both units, Mr. Scarfone said, but now another building in the complex is blocking it — a change that he said made the contracts unenforceable.
He sent a letter demanding his total deposit of $120,000 back, and after getting no reply, picketed the developer’s office. Then Mr. Scarfone called a lawyer, Matthew Schlesinger, who has been unable to recoup the deposit so far.
“If we have to sue,” Mr. Scarfone said, “we’re planning on suing.”
Tom Leon, a retired business executive who moved here from Illinois, said he planned to give up $200,000 in deposits on two condo units in Miami, priced at $500,000 each, after finding “no loopholes” in his contracts. He said he was not especially bitter, since he had made money flipping other properties at the height of the boom.
“I’m of the frame of mind that you have to be prepared in business or investments to take a loss,” said Mr. Leon, 72, adding that he never had any intention of living in either of the units. “There are some people that mentally can never bring themselves around to that, especially in real estate. But there’s a time to hold and a time to fold, and in my opinion, this is a time to fold.”
The condo mania of recent years also beset cities like Las Vegas, Phoenix and Washington, but while those markets are also full of resales, analysts say South Florida drew the most investors.
“Between the Latin American influence and the out-of-state buyers who have a love affair with Miami because of its ambience,” said Jack McCabe, a consultant in Deerfield Beach who tracks the South Florida housing market, “they flocked to it and pushed it to the point where about 70 percent of all sales were to investors.”
Real estate analysts say South Florida’s housing market peaked late in 2005, and would-be flippers stopped buying in 2006. People who bought condos before 2005 might still make money or at least break even if they sell soon, the analysts say, but those who bought at the height of the mania stand to lose a bundle.
Source : http://www.nytimes.com/
Monday, November 19, 2007
Miami condo at ground zero in mortgage fraud
At first glance, the 43-story building in Miami's international banking district seems little different from other high-rise condominiums overlooking the turquoise waters of Biscayne Bay.
But the 643-unit condo known as the Club at Brickell is a leader in mortgage foreclosures and it appears also to stand at ground zero in a blizzard of fraud that may lie behind many of the failed loans threatening to bury the U.S. property market.
America's subprime mortgage crisis is partly due to predatory, or aggressive, lenders, hard-sell tactics by mortgage brokers and an easing of underwriting standards in the $10 trillion home-loan industry.
But fraud accounts for a sizable share of the bad bets on mortgages, according to many industry experts, and lenders may have been victimized as much as anyone else.
"The lenders are holding the bag now, that's what we're finding out," said Glenn Theobald, head of a mortgage fraud task force formed in south Florida's Miami-Dade County in September.
Mortgage scams involve a cartel of inside players -- colluding property appraisers, real-estate brokers and accountants willing to draw up fake income statements and tax returns -- who recruit people with good credit histories to serve as a decoy or "straw buyer" in a real-estate deal.
The conspirators inflate the price of the property, to get the biggest loan possible, pay the sellers the original price and then pocket the excess loan money as "cash back" at the closing of the deal.
The decoy buyer is paid off -- often with just $5,000 -- and the property is quickly abandoned to foreclosure, said Theobald, a senior official with the Miami-Dade Police Department.
'EPIDEMIC'
"It's an epidemic," said Nancy Hogan, a veteran realtor and former head of the Florida Real Estate Commission.
"The cash back, the fraud for profit, is what has been so rampant," she said.
The Club at Brickell has the highest current number of foreclosure proceedings involving any single south Florida property.
There may be other properties in the United States that hold the distinction of being riddled with more cases of apparent mortgage fraud than the Club.
But Doug Dewitt, a real estate broker contracted to work with several lenders on the valuation and disposal of foreclosed properties, said nearly 70 percent of the sales or closings at the Club over the last 18 months were questionable.
That works out to more than 200 possibly shady deals in a single building, he said.
The dubious transactions all fit a pattern that Theobald said should trigger "bells and whistles" for law enforcement anywhere -- time and time again properties that failed to sell for months when listed at around $450,000 were pulled from the market and then suddenly sold for more than $800,000.
Florida leads the nation when it comes to mortgage fraud, according to the Virginia-based Mortgage Asset Research Institute, a group that works closely with the U.S. Mortgage Bankers Association.
Many apartments could wind up being sold at auctions like one held last month for bank-owned properties in Fort Lauderdale, further depressing prices in a market suffering its biggest condo glut in decades.
"You've seen some of it already. They are actually having auctions to try and sell units," said Theobald, when asked about discount sales involving recently foreclosed properties.
"I don't know where it's going to end up," Theobald said. "I don't know when the bottom is going to be."
Ken Thomas, a Miami-based banking expert and lecturer at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, said there was little surprise Florida led the country in mortgage fraud.
It stems, at least in part, in the way lenders plowed "easy money" into the local condo market before Florida's recent housing boom turned to bust, Thomas told Reuters.
"We're going to see a lot more of this fraud being exposed, especially as these units go into foreclosure," Thomas said.
"We were the poster child of the housing bubble ... maybe we should have expected more of this."
Source : http://www.reuters.com/
But the 643-unit condo known as the Club at Brickell is a leader in mortgage foreclosures and it appears also to stand at ground zero in a blizzard of fraud that may lie behind many of the failed loans threatening to bury the U.S. property market.
America's subprime mortgage crisis is partly due to predatory, or aggressive, lenders, hard-sell tactics by mortgage brokers and an easing of underwriting standards in the $10 trillion home-loan industry.
But fraud accounts for a sizable share of the bad bets on mortgages, according to many industry experts, and lenders may have been victimized as much as anyone else.
"The lenders are holding the bag now, that's what we're finding out," said Glenn Theobald, head of a mortgage fraud task force formed in south Florida's Miami-Dade County in September.
Mortgage scams involve a cartel of inside players -- colluding property appraisers, real-estate brokers and accountants willing to draw up fake income statements and tax returns -- who recruit people with good credit histories to serve as a decoy or "straw buyer" in a real-estate deal.
The conspirators inflate the price of the property, to get the biggest loan possible, pay the sellers the original price and then pocket the excess loan money as "cash back" at the closing of the deal.
The decoy buyer is paid off -- often with just $5,000 -- and the property is quickly abandoned to foreclosure, said Theobald, a senior official with the Miami-Dade Police Department.
'EPIDEMIC'
"It's an epidemic," said Nancy Hogan, a veteran realtor and former head of the Florida Real Estate Commission.
"The cash back, the fraud for profit, is what has been so rampant," she said.
The Club at Brickell has the highest current number of foreclosure proceedings involving any single south Florida property.
There may be other properties in the United States that hold the distinction of being riddled with more cases of apparent mortgage fraud than the Club.
But Doug Dewitt, a real estate broker contracted to work with several lenders on the valuation and disposal of foreclosed properties, said nearly 70 percent of the sales or closings at the Club over the last 18 months were questionable.
That works out to more than 200 possibly shady deals in a single building, he said.
The dubious transactions all fit a pattern that Theobald said should trigger "bells and whistles" for law enforcement anywhere -- time and time again properties that failed to sell for months when listed at around $450,000 were pulled from the market and then suddenly sold for more than $800,000.
Florida leads the nation when it comes to mortgage fraud, according to the Virginia-based Mortgage Asset Research Institute, a group that works closely with the U.S. Mortgage Bankers Association.
Many apartments could wind up being sold at auctions like one held last month for bank-owned properties in Fort Lauderdale, further depressing prices in a market suffering its biggest condo glut in decades.
"You've seen some of it already. They are actually having auctions to try and sell units," said Theobald, when asked about discount sales involving recently foreclosed properties.
"I don't know where it's going to end up," Theobald said. "I don't know when the bottom is going to be."
Ken Thomas, a Miami-based banking expert and lecturer at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, said there was little surprise Florida led the country in mortgage fraud.
It stems, at least in part, in the way lenders plowed "easy money" into the local condo market before Florida's recent housing boom turned to bust, Thomas told Reuters.
"We're going to see a lot more of this fraud being exposed, especially as these units go into foreclosure," Thomas said.
"We were the poster child of the housing bubble ... maybe we should have expected more of this."
Source : http://www.reuters.com/
South Florida Law Firms focus on Condo and Pre-Construction Contract Law
The Florida Real Estate market, particularly in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties have become a battleground for Condominium and Preconstruction Contract disputes. This all coming as Developers make a big push in Tallahasee to change the real estate laws to protect their interests. There is no question that the real estate boom has come to a close and many corporations, investors, and speculators have found themselves in poorly written Condo and preconstruction contracts.
The Law Offices of Eric L. Bronfeld, PA. are proud to announce the creation of Deposit Recovery Services and www.DepositRecoveryServices.com. Mr. Bronfeld says "This new extension of our real estate practice will be better organized to serve clients who question the validity of preconstruction and condo contracts which they are currently involved in", "we have found in many cases, the language of these contracts have opportunities to render them void, allowing for deposit monies to be returned".
Recently quoted in the Sun Sentinel , Realtor Barry Beschel, PA. of Aventura, Florida is quoted as saying " Mr. Bronfelds’ offices served my clients well in the real estate bull market, we are sure to not only recommend Deposit Recovery Services to our clients, but to use them in some personal matters as well"
In many instances deposits may be lost, but the deal is still rendered void, allowing investors to move on to new deals.
Source : http://www.prleap.com/
The Law Offices of Eric L. Bronfeld, PA. are proud to announce the creation of Deposit Recovery Services and www.DepositRecoveryServices.com. Mr. Bronfeld says "This new extension of our real estate practice will be better organized to serve clients who question the validity of preconstruction and condo contracts which they are currently involved in", "we have found in many cases, the language of these contracts have opportunities to render them void, allowing for deposit monies to be returned".
Recently quoted in the Sun Sentinel , Realtor Barry Beschel, PA. of Aventura, Florida is quoted as saying " Mr. Bronfelds’ offices served my clients well in the real estate bull market, we are sure to not only recommend Deposit Recovery Services to our clients, but to use them in some personal matters as well"
In many instances deposits may be lost, but the deal is still rendered void, allowing investors to move on to new deals.
Source : http://www.prleap.com/
Condo Flipping
Some real estate experts have compared the frenzy of condo flipping to the late 1990’s when investors were busy buying and selling dot-com stocks.
Miami has one of the most active markets in the country for flipping, because so many condo units are under construction or in the planning stages.
Flipping real estate contracts can bring quick bucks, but here is the rub: profits are taxed as ordinary income, not as capital gains, if the buyer’s contract is not held for at least one year.
Most developers open resale offices to help buyers sell their units. They sometimes turn a blind eye to owners flipping because they rely on pre construction sales to secure financing. Lenders often require having a certain percentage of units pre-sold before issuing the money needed to build a project.
Some developers are becoming more cautious. To avoid flipping, many force buyers to close on the condo or face penalties.
However, investors and real estate agents have been able to get around many developer roadblocks by purchasing condo units under the names of other family members or friends.
Also, condo flips never appear in the public record because it is done through selling contracts during construction.
Some are speculating that investors who sink all their money into pre construction will be the ones who will lose the most money when the market is flooded with thousands of condo units in the next few years. Many may default on their mortgages or sell for a loss.
Experts are saying that if the market declines, Miami may again be at the center of a condo bust. There are more than 64,000 condo units under construction or in the planning stages, according to the city’s monthly development report. There were 11,000 units under construction, 23,000 approved and 30,000 in the preliminary or application phase.
Fort Lauderdale has 6,000 new condos planned for its downtown and West Palm Beach will add 6,000 new units to their downtown and along the Flagler corridor. Also, apartment buildings being converted to condominiums will add thousands more units to the South Florida condo market.
Source : http://www.miamibeach411.com/
Miami has one of the most active markets in the country for flipping, because so many condo units are under construction or in the planning stages.
Flipping real estate contracts can bring quick bucks, but here is the rub: profits are taxed as ordinary income, not as capital gains, if the buyer’s contract is not held for at least one year.
Most developers open resale offices to help buyers sell their units. They sometimes turn a blind eye to owners flipping because they rely on pre construction sales to secure financing. Lenders often require having a certain percentage of units pre-sold before issuing the money needed to build a project.
Some developers are becoming more cautious. To avoid flipping, many force buyers to close on the condo or face penalties.
However, investors and real estate agents have been able to get around many developer roadblocks by purchasing condo units under the names of other family members or friends.
Also, condo flips never appear in the public record because it is done through selling contracts during construction.
Some are speculating that investors who sink all their money into pre construction will be the ones who will lose the most money when the market is flooded with thousands of condo units in the next few years. Many may default on their mortgages or sell for a loss.
Experts are saying that if the market declines, Miami may again be at the center of a condo bust. There are more than 64,000 condo units under construction or in the planning stages, according to the city’s monthly development report. There were 11,000 units under construction, 23,000 approved and 30,000 in the preliminary or application phase.
Fort Lauderdale has 6,000 new condos planned for its downtown and West Palm Beach will add 6,000 new units to their downtown and along the Flagler corridor. Also, apartment buildings being converted to condominiums will add thousands more units to the South Florida condo market.
Source : http://www.miamibeach411.com/
Third condo plan overturned on Miami River
The activists challenging condo developments on the Miami River went three-for-three after the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Miami overturned the last of the projects they filed suit to stop.
On Wednesday, the court ruled that the city of Miami erred in changing the zoning at 1583 N.W. 24th Ave., formerly known as the Florida Yacht Basin, to 689 residential units and 30,000 square feet of commercial space. The city's comprehensive plan calls for that area along the river to be reserved for the marine industry.
The ruling sinks Miami Beach-based Merco Group's plans for the Brisas del Rio condominium. A company representative declined comment.
Miami-based TotalBank gave the project an $8 million mortgage. In March, when the balance was down to $5 million, Merco Group got a future advance to boost the mortgage to $7.1 million.
Marine industry representative Miami River Marine Group, the Durham Park Neighborhood Association and Capt. Herbert Payne challenged this project, along with two others.
In August, the same appeals court also overturned the residential zoning for the 633-unit Coastal on the River and the 1,073-unit Hurricane Cove.
Source : http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/
On Wednesday, the court ruled that the city of Miami erred in changing the zoning at 1583 N.W. 24th Ave., formerly known as the Florida Yacht Basin, to 689 residential units and 30,000 square feet of commercial space. The city's comprehensive plan calls for that area along the river to be reserved for the marine industry.
The ruling sinks Miami Beach-based Merco Group's plans for the Brisas del Rio condominium. A company representative declined comment.
Miami-based TotalBank gave the project an $8 million mortgage. In March, when the balance was down to $5 million, Merco Group got a future advance to boost the mortgage to $7.1 million.
Marine industry representative Miami River Marine Group, the Durham Park Neighborhood Association and Capt. Herbert Payne challenged this project, along with two others.
In August, the same appeals court also overturned the residential zoning for the 633-unit Coastal on the River and the 1,073-unit Hurricane Cove.
Source : http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Cracks in condo market
Cracks within Charlotte's condo market are starting to surface as supply escalates and sales prices skyrocket.
At SouthPark's Piedmont Row, investors from Florida facing foreclosure are offering a two-bedroom unit at $16,000 less than their purchase price.
"We're trying to do a short sale so the bank will accept a lower amount than what is owed," says Al Negru, a broker with ReMax Elite Associates, who is handling the condo on behalf of relatives.
Negru says the original buyers were banking on leasing out the unit, a popular investor play. A tenant's rent would, ideally, cover mortgage, taxes and condo fees, allowing the owners to profit from appreciation on a later resale.
But less than a year after purchasing at Piedmont Row, the investors have put the condo back on the market, listed along with 30 other units. The mixed-use development in SouthPark was said to have sold out its first phase of 84 units in one day in 2005.
"At that time, the condo market was booming everywhere," Negru says. "The assumption and expectation was that it would be no problem to make it work."
The numbers didn't work, not at $318 per square foot to buy, another $250 a month in association fees and a property tax bill of $4,808. Now Negru needs to sell the condo before the bank takes it, but he's finding serious inquiries are coming from vulture investors serving up low-ball bids.
"It's a nice unit on the corner, but there's no demand. I had some showings but not enough to generate actual offers," he says. "Other investors want to get it for $200,000. It's ridiculous."
The problems at the 179-unit Piedmont Row -- where 17% of its units are listed for resale for $245,000 to $539,000 -- come at a time when Charlotte's condo supply figures are booming and area developers continue to pour new product into the market.
Condo supply numbers tower
Analysts and many developers now worry that supply is already far exceeding demand.
The number of new units on the market represents a 29-month supply, based on the current rate of closings, according to an analysis by Metrostudy, a national market-research provider to the housing industry.
A six-to-eight-month supply is considered a healthy market, says Bill Miley, Metrostudy's Charlotte market manager.
But tracking condo supply requires a tricky calculus. Metrostudy counts closings on units only when it determines absorption. Analysts are unsure about how quickly buyers will clear out the inventory until new projects are completed and contracts are converted to sales.
Source : http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/
At SouthPark's Piedmont Row, investors from Florida facing foreclosure are offering a two-bedroom unit at $16,000 less than their purchase price.
"We're trying to do a short sale so the bank will accept a lower amount than what is owed," says Al Negru, a broker with ReMax Elite Associates, who is handling the condo on behalf of relatives.
Negru says the original buyers were banking on leasing out the unit, a popular investor play. A tenant's rent would, ideally, cover mortgage, taxes and condo fees, allowing the owners to profit from appreciation on a later resale.
But less than a year after purchasing at Piedmont Row, the investors have put the condo back on the market, listed along with 30 other units. The mixed-use development in SouthPark was said to have sold out its first phase of 84 units in one day in 2005.
"At that time, the condo market was booming everywhere," Negru says. "The assumption and expectation was that it would be no problem to make it work."
The numbers didn't work, not at $318 per square foot to buy, another $250 a month in association fees and a property tax bill of $4,808. Now Negru needs to sell the condo before the bank takes it, but he's finding serious inquiries are coming from vulture investors serving up low-ball bids.
"It's a nice unit on the corner, but there's no demand. I had some showings but not enough to generate actual offers," he says. "Other investors want to get it for $200,000. It's ridiculous."
The problems at the 179-unit Piedmont Row -- where 17% of its units are listed for resale for $245,000 to $539,000 -- come at a time when Charlotte's condo supply figures are booming and area developers continue to pour new product into the market.
Condo supply numbers tower
Analysts and many developers now worry that supply is already far exceeding demand.
The number of new units on the market represents a 29-month supply, based on the current rate of closings, according to an analysis by Metrostudy, a national market-research provider to the housing industry.
A six-to-eight-month supply is considered a healthy market, says Bill Miley, Metrostudy's Charlotte market manager.
But tracking condo supply requires a tricky calculus. Metrostudy counts closings on units only when it determines absorption. Analysts are unsure about how quickly buyers will clear out the inventory until new projects are completed and contracts are converted to sales.
Source : http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/
Home prices grow in Miami, fall in rest of South Florida
Miami home and condominium sellers saw their sales prices grow over the year, but sellers of both stripes in Fort Lauderdale and in West Palm Beach-Boca Raton saw price declines in May.
The numbers from the Florida Association of Realtors reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.
They showed year-over-year May median home prices for existing single-family homes grew 6 percent in Miami, to $401,100 from $379,700, as the number of homes sold dipped 44 percent, to 494 homes from 875 homes.
In Fort Lauderdale, the 3 percent decline moved May home prices to $367,700 from $379,800, as the number of homes sold declined by a third, to 574 homes from 862 homes.
The 1 percent year-over-year price decline in West Palm Beach-Boca Raton dropped May prices there to $387,800 from $391,000. The number of homes sold fell 25 percent, to 741 homes from 982 homes.
The Palm Beach area draws strong interest from retirees, baby boomers and second-home buyers, pointed out Norma Mirsky, president of the Palm Beach Board of Realtors and broker-owner of Mirsky Realty Group LLC.
"The wave of speculative investors seeking a quick profit appears to be gone, and now we have a more normal market, with buyers interested in investing in a personal dream and finding a home," she said. "The Scripps Research Institute is building very quickly and that will bring in 3,000 or more high-tech jobs, which is great for our employment outlook."
Near South Florida, median prices for existing single-family homes:
* fell 2 percent in Fort Myers-Cape Coral, to $281,500 from $286,500,, as the number of homes sold fell 42 percent, to 575 homes from 993 homes
* fell 9 percent in Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie, to $228,500 from $252,300, as the number of homes sold fell 39 percent, to 315 homes from 519 homes
* fell 16 percent in Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, to $190,400 from $227,400, as the number of homes sold fell 26 percent, to 483 homes from 651 homes
* grew 1 percent in Naples-Marco Island, to $536,200 from $531,000, as the number of homes sold grew 28 percent, to 37 homes from 29 homes. However, information for the area is not reliable, as the numbers are only from the Marco Island Association of Realtors. Data from the Naples Area Board of Realtors and Association of Real Estate Professionals were not included.
* fell 12 percent in Punta Gorda, to $186,900 from $213,400, as the number of homes sold fell 39 percent, to 235 homes from 387 homes
Statewide, May existing single-family home median prices fell 5 percent, to $237,000 from $250,100, as the number of homes sold fell 34 percent, to 12,607 homes from 19,072 homes.
As far as existing condos in May, Miami median prices rose 8 percent, to $272,000 from $250,900, as the number of condos sold fell 46 percent, to 599 units from 1,101 units.
Source : http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/
The numbers from the Florida Association of Realtors reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.
They showed year-over-year May median home prices for existing single-family homes grew 6 percent in Miami, to $401,100 from $379,700, as the number of homes sold dipped 44 percent, to 494 homes from 875 homes.
In Fort Lauderdale, the 3 percent decline moved May home prices to $367,700 from $379,800, as the number of homes sold declined by a third, to 574 homes from 862 homes.
The 1 percent year-over-year price decline in West Palm Beach-Boca Raton dropped May prices there to $387,800 from $391,000. The number of homes sold fell 25 percent, to 741 homes from 982 homes.
The Palm Beach area draws strong interest from retirees, baby boomers and second-home buyers, pointed out Norma Mirsky, president of the Palm Beach Board of Realtors and broker-owner of Mirsky Realty Group LLC.
"The wave of speculative investors seeking a quick profit appears to be gone, and now we have a more normal market, with buyers interested in investing in a personal dream and finding a home," she said. "The Scripps Research Institute is building very quickly and that will bring in 3,000 or more high-tech jobs, which is great for our employment outlook."
Near South Florida, median prices for existing single-family homes:
* fell 2 percent in Fort Myers-Cape Coral, to $281,500 from $286,500,, as the number of homes sold fell 42 percent, to 575 homes from 993 homes
* fell 9 percent in Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie, to $228,500 from $252,300, as the number of homes sold fell 39 percent, to 315 homes from 519 homes
* fell 16 percent in Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, to $190,400 from $227,400, as the number of homes sold fell 26 percent, to 483 homes from 651 homes
* grew 1 percent in Naples-Marco Island, to $536,200 from $531,000, as the number of homes sold grew 28 percent, to 37 homes from 29 homes. However, information for the area is not reliable, as the numbers are only from the Marco Island Association of Realtors. Data from the Naples Area Board of Realtors and Association of Real Estate Professionals were not included.
* fell 12 percent in Punta Gorda, to $186,900 from $213,400, as the number of homes sold fell 39 percent, to 235 homes from 387 homes
Statewide, May existing single-family home median prices fell 5 percent, to $237,000 from $250,100, as the number of homes sold fell 34 percent, to 12,607 homes from 19,072 homes.
As far as existing condos in May, Miami median prices rose 8 percent, to $272,000 from $250,900, as the number of condos sold fell 46 percent, to 599 units from 1,101 units.
Source : http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/
Thursday, November 15, 2007
south florida condo rentals
Although only hours away from Disney World in Orlando, the destinations in South Florida have a whole different vibe. As many of us have learned from watching TV, when they say Miami's "hot," they're not just talking about the weather. Not only can you dance and drink the night away, you can go to the casino and gamble it away, too.
There's more to the southern portion of Florida than Miami, though, and Vacations by Owner (VBO) has a large selection of vacation rentals by owner in south Florida on both the eastern and Gulf Coast sides. From Marco Island to Miami, you are never far away from beaches and shopping in the coastal towns of south Florida. Upscale is the word for many of the condos and other vacation properties in this part of Florida.
Renting one directly from the owner, however, can save you money over the cost of a hotel room on your next vacation to Florida. Rentals range from studio apartments to full-size houses. Find the vacation rental of your choice by browsing the listings on our Florida page.
If you own a vacation property in the area, list your South Florida rental on VBO. The low annual rate makes this form of internet marketing hard to beat. Listing is easy, and you face none of the hassles that go with trying to maintain your own website for your rental property.
Source: http://www.vacationsbyowner.com/
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