Condo Market UPDATE
A Glass
Half Full,
Maanyd be
More
Experts look to next up cycle
for solution to lagging unit sales
By Crystal Proenza
Associate Editor
With the threat of a recession on
the horizon and negative real
estate news dominating the national
media, it’s easy to lose sight of the bright
side of stagnating condominium sales,
even in the Sunshine State.
Nonetheless, many in Florida’s commercial real estate industry feel that this
storm will pass, as storms always do
across the peninsula, and those still
standing when it’s over will be the experienced professionals who have always
held on during bad times, ready for the
next cycle to climb like an outdoor thermometer in summer.
Florida is caught in what is often described as a perfect storm created by
way too much supply, rising construction
costs and a credit market that started
shrinking as soon as the subprime mortgage crisis was revealed.
Some aspects of the downturn in residential real estate seem to be as bad as
the media portrays, yet a closer examination by real estate executives in the
state’s urban markets doesn’t forecast
quite so many clouds.
South Florida, the perceived star of
nationwide condo mania, is being
flooded with negativity—
overdevelopment, oversupply, waning demand,
dropping prices and so on. Real estate
pros raise their hands in defense, admitting that there’s a problem, but not as
bad as any of us thought.
A few horror stories are oft told. A number of residential condo developments, including 1200 Brickell Bay Drive, went into
foreclosure last year. Then there are mixed
results in cases where buyers file lawsuits
against developers to terminate purchase
contracts.
