The Hedge Funds And Cash Buyers Have Gone

[Crewleader]

The Hedge Funds And Cash Buyers Have Gone

The Housing Bubble

July 23, 2014

The Miami News Times reports from Florida. “It’s not exactly a secret that Miami’s latest unhinged condo boom is being fueled by foreign money, but the exact number of new residential units being bought in downtown by those from abroad is eye-popping. According to a not-yet-released report from consulting firm Integra Realty Resources for the Miami Downtown Development Authority that was obtained early by the Wall Street Journal, ‘90 percent of the buyers of new residential units are from abroad.’”

The Miami Herald. “Sales of existing condos have slumped for three months in a row in Miami-Dade, and prices have moderated in 2014 after years of torrid gains, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. Cash purchases — which often signal investor deals — have been on the decline. ‘We’ve seen a real slowdown in buyer activity in the past few months,’ said Mark Zilbert,CEO of Zilbert International Realty in Miami Beach, whose firm focuses on higher-end coastal properties.”

“The median period of time to sell a condo has increased to 61 days from 44 a year ago, and listings are fetching 94.5 percent of original asking price on average, down from 96.9 percent a year ago, the Miami Realtors said. ‘I don’t think there is anything to worry about at the moment,” said Francisco Angulo, who is residential president of Miami Realtors. ‘Wall Street [similarly] goes up and down. We shouldn’t be panicky.” A bit of stabilization after the protracted run-up in prices is ‘healthy,’ said Angulo.”

“The spurt in condo construction is providing stiff competition for the existing inventory, Realtors say. And a lot more unit owners have put their condos on the market to take advantage of the price increases. The supply of existing condos swelled 34.4 percent to 10,967 units — a 7.8-month supply. Zilbert said among higher-end coastal condos, there is 12 to 14 months’ supply of inventory.”

http://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=8508

[kg4jxt]

1. Florida condo construction is a growth industry for sure

With ongoing demand for coastal properties and rising sea levels, new condo construction will be moving progressively more inland for the foreseeable future and the older units will be undermined and destroyed by the rising sea so the demand can never be fulfilled - a real win-win situation! Maybe the collapsed coastal concrete will act like a new kind of barrier reef! If there are lulls in condo construction, maybe new coastal highway construction (and many attendant parking lots and shopping centers) can keep the contractors busy until another ice shelf collapses.

[Crewleader]

2. This is my county and it is very sad to see the condition these homes are in.

It is undetermined how many include pools in poor condition, but more than 8,100 properties in Brevard are in some form of foreclosure, according to county Clerk of Court estimates

http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2014/07/20/zombie-pools-raise-specter-mosquito-borne-viruses/12896579/