MIAMI CONDO ROUNDUP

Bulk Buyers Resell 400 Condos At $83 Per Foot Profit in South Florida

MIAMI, FL--Nearly 400 South Florida new condo units purchased in bulk by investment groups have been turned around and resold for more than $164 million, representing an average return of $83 per square foot, according to a new report by CondoVultures.com.

Of the 42 bulk transactions for 3,300 units to occur since July 2008, at least 16 of the bulk buyers have successfully retraded more than 21 percent of their newly acquired condos - some 1,800 units - at an average price of $388 per square foot, according to the report based on the Condo Vultures® Bulk Deals Database™ and government records in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

These bulk buyers, who are now reselling their units, paid an average of $305 per square foot, which translates into a 27 percent return in what typically takes a matter of months, according to the report.

"A small but growing number of bulk buyers are purchasing blocks of condos at wholesale prices from developers or lenders, slapping a spread on, and then reselling the units on a retail basis to individual buyers," said Peter Zalewski, (lower right photo) a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC.

"Not all bulk buyers are looking for a quick exit immediately but some clearly are trying to capitalize on the strong demand for new units by all-cash investors. A pair of bulk buyers in unrelated deals went as far as flipping their new units - albeit only 24 condos combined - the same afternoon of their transaction to other buyers, and in the process earned an average of $10,000 per minute.

"This is not the norm but it has happened twice since August 2009."

New 60-Unit Miami Condo Tower Deeded To Lender

The developer of the troubled Vista Del Rio condo (top right photo) project just west of Greater Downtown Miami has signed a deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure, transferring over all 60 units the eight-story tower over to the lender of record, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.

The developer, Villa Lante Properties LLC with principal Egbert Anthony Gorra, signed over control of the nearly 42,000-square-foot tower with 42 one-bedroom and 18 two-bedroom apartments on March 16 in a $4.9 million deal, according to the report based on Miami-Dade County records.

Lender Files To Foreclose Downtown Miami Condo Tower

A foreclosure action has been initiated against the 17-story Capital Lofts at the Security Building (middle left photo) condominium conversion in Downtown Miami, seeking repayment of $24.6 million, according to a local press resport.

The Miami Daily Business Review first reported that a private lender, Capital Loft Miami LLC with principal Guy Sharon of Aventura, filed to foreclose, seeking repayment of the outstanding balance or ownership of the 47-unsold developer condo units in the project located at 117 NE First Ave. in Downtown Miami.

Contact: Peter Zalewski,  Condo Vultures®,  800-750-0517,  peter@condovultures.com