Consultant States Banks Dumping Foreclosed Condos Are Ruining Downtown Miami Real Estate Market

MIAMI, FL--Jack Studnicky (top right photo) , an internationally known  real estate consultant, lecturer, trainer and real estate workout specialist  for 50 years, warns the current dumping of financially distressed residential condominiums in the Greater Miami axis, could damage the development and financing in the luxury condo market for years to come.

In a specially prepared White Paper, he states:

"There are some great deals on condominiums in downtown Miami right now. Some banks holding foreclosed condos in luxury high rise buildings along Biscayne Bay (middle right skyline photo)  from the Rickenbacker Causeway (bottom left photo) north are offering door buster prices.

"These 'below cost' of construction prices are great for homebuyers who seek an amenity rich, knockout-view lifestyle. But the fire sale prices banks are setting now will play a critical role in the decline of the downtown real estate market.

"This downward spiral may be so steep, it could take years for the market to come back strong enough represent the actual cost of building the condos.

"To stop the downward trend, banks need to draw a line in the sand on pricing.

History repeats itself

"I’ve seen the Brickell Ave.(top left skyline photo)  effect, the pressure to sell below cost, when I entered the business of marketing foreclosed condos. In the 1970s, Chase Trust gave me an opportunity to blow out 175 Maryland beachfront condos.

"I had to hustle because with winter approaching, the selling season was nearing a close. In less than six weeks I sold every unit. The bank was thrilled. I had a pocket full of gold and my phone was ringing off the hook with requests from other financial institutions to help them dump their foreclosed properties.

"But the downside of the blow out pricing was drastic. It took more than a decade for that market to recover.

" Homeowners who purchased their condos when they were priced above the cost of construction saw their home values plummet.

"New development became stagnant because the market was saturated with underpriced homes.

"Economic reality dictated that no developer would start any new building in the area while existing condos were selling below construction costs. Loan officers would not lend under those conditions, so commercial banking became anemic.

Why the giveaway?

"Downtown Miami condominium supply and demand is way out of balance. Supply is high while normal demand is non-existent. This is facilitating panic selling. On top of that, real estate agents are more than happy to support any bank’s lowball pricing. These agents, understandably, want a commission check now, not next holiday season.

"Fire sale pricing is encouraging bulk buyers to swoop in like vultures to snap up blocks of condos. These latest flippers are also going for the quick buck.

"The great deals in downtown condos are attracting Latin American buyers who are purchasing for a home away from home.

"They realize this is an excellent time to obtain a second home in the U.S. capital of Central and South America. But there’s not enough of them to create a seller’s market.

"The continued panic selling and bulk buying will result in the stagnation of future financing and development of Miami’s luxury condo market.

"Banks holding boatloads of foreclosed Miami condos need to take a deep breath and stand firm on realistic pricing, which should be at least cost of replacement. There is no need to comply with an archaic and misdirected appraisal process as these bargain hunters are paying cash."

BACKGROUND:

Jack Studnicky has been a member of the Institute of Residential Marketing since 1988. As a spokesperson for the National Association of Home Builders, (NAHB), Jack has testified before Congress and appeared on national TV.

Jack has provided training and lectured at most of the major home builder conventions in America. He has been published or written about in many of the top newspapers and trade publications in the United States.
Studnicky  has directed the sales of over $2 billion dollars worth of residential real estate. He  is a REO Specialist and has completed over fifty "workouts."

Contacts:
Jack Studnicky, http://www.jackstudnicky.com/
Edward L. Donato, Peter Nasca Associates, office 954 473 0677; cell 954 401 1443; edonato@pnapr.com
Peter Nasca, president, Peter Nasca Associates, pnasca@pnapr.com

Concord Hospitality Adds 12 Properties in 2009; Expects Minimum of 20% Growth in 2010

RALEIGH-DURHAM, N.C., Feb.  22, 2010—Concord Hospitality Enterprises, one of the nation’s top-ranked hotel developer/owner/operators, today announced that it added 12 properties to its portfolio in 2009, closing the year with 62 hotels.

The company has continued its aggressive growth in 2010, adding eight properties representing six brands in January.

Included among the 2010 hotels are the first flags under the Hyatt Hotels Corporation and InterContinental Hotels & Resorts brand families. Concord now owns or operates hotels franchised by all the nation’s major premium brand groups.

The company said that it expects to grow at least another 20 percent in 2010 through three strategies: acquisitions/joint venture, third-party management and development.

“We will be active in all three areas, but in this phase of the hotel real estate cycle, we expect to become increasingly active in acquisitions/joint ventures as the year progresses,” said Mark G. Laport, (top right photo)  president and CEO of Concord Hospitality.

“We are seeing more hotels coming to market now than in the past 18 months, and with access to more than $200 million in equity and debt, we have a very active pipeline and expect to close on transactions later this quarter.”

Laport noted that the company also continues to expand substantially its third-party management growth. “We now manage 30 hotels, or more than 45 percent of our total portfolio,” he said. “Because we are now approved to operate in all the premium-branded hotel families, we expect that growth to accelerate. We also continue to add boutique, unaffiliated properties to our portfolio.”

New hotels being added to the company’s portfolio in 2010 include:

· Management Contracts

ü The 219-room Crowne Plaza, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.(top left lobby photo)  It is the company’s 11th Canadian property and its first under the InterContinental Hotels brand family.

ü The 89-room Fairfield Inn in Peoria, Ill.

ü The 130-room Four Points by Sheraton in Galveston, Texas. The property will go through a total make-over and is expected to reopen in June of 2010. Concord now manages Starwood-branded hotels in the full- and limited-service segments.

· Ownership, Joint Ventures

ü The 122-suite Hyatt Summerfield Suites in Broomfield, Colo. (bottom left photo)  just north of Denver.

The project, led by the Oxford Development Company, is a joint-venture partnership with Oxford.

The property currently is expected to open in June of 2010. “We have had a long relationship with Oxford, and we look forward to building on what has been a very successful partnership with them on additional projects,” Laport said. It is also Concord’s first managed Hyatt-branded property.

ü The 88-suite Residence Inn by Marriott Pompano Beach  (middle right photo) opened in February, following conversion of the former Ocean Sands Resort & Spa. It is the first Residence Inn “on the sand” on the Atlantic Ocean in Florida.

ü A 130-room Courtyard by Marriott is expected to break ground in Washington, Pa., in suburban Pittsburgh in the 2010 first quarter. It will be the company’s second LEED-certified, ground-up Courtyard, a concept that Concord is pioneering with Marriott.

“All future hotels development by Concord will be LEED-certified,” Laport commented. “While over time we will earn our LEED-related investment back, our primary reason is that it simply is environmentally the right thing to do.”

ü The previously announced 124-room Settler’s Ridge Courtyard by Marriott, the company’s first ground-up LEED-certified Courtyard, is expected to open during the 2010 second quarter. “We are working closely with Marriott, which is adopting our designs to create a pre-approved LEED-certified prototype.”

ü The 110-room Bakery Square Springhill Suites, (bottom right photo)  an adaptive reuse and new construction project in Pittsburgh. Built in a former Nabisco cookie plant, the mixed-use project will feature the hotel, a connected 50,000-square foot urban-active, lifestyle fitness center, which will be free to hotel guests.

“We have a robust pipeline in all three of our growth strategies and expect the next few months to be especially active,” Laport said. “While it remains a difficult operating environment, we are seeing a lot of positive signs and are preparing for the rebound. Our portfolio gained market share over its respective competitive sets last year, which we intend to leverage as the industry begins its expected climb out of a very challenging period.”

Contact: Chris Daly, Jerry Daly, (703) 435-6293

Marcus & Millichap Promotes John Leonard and John Przybyla to First VP Posts

ENCINO, CA – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has named John M. Leonard (top right photo) and John M. Przybyla (top left photo) first vice presidents, according to Harvey E. Green, (bottom right photo)  president and chief executive officer of Marcus & Millichap.

John M. Leonard is vice president and regional manager in the firm’s Atlanta Office. Leonard also serves as East Coast director of the company’s Special Asset Services division. John M. Przybyla is vice president and regional manager in the Chicago Downtown office.

“The elections of John Leonard and John Przybyla to first vice president are testaments to the significant contributions each has made to the firm, our clients and to the careers of the firm’s investment professionals,” says Green. “Their promotions also reflect the high regard the managing directors have for both of them.”

Leonard joined Marcus & Millichap in 1995 as a sales agent in the Las Vegas office and was promoted to regional manager of that office in November 2000. The managing directors awarded him with the firm’s Regional Manager of the Year designation in 2007 and in 2008 he was the recipient of the firm’s Agent Tenure award.

Leonard attended Fairfield University, graduated from SUNY Potsdam with a bachelor’s degree and received an M.B.A. from the University of Phoenix.

Przybyla joined Marcus & Millichap in 1999 as sales manager of the Los Angeles office and later that year was promoted to regional manager. He assumed the role of regional manager of the Chicago Downtown office in 2007.

Prior to joining the firm, Przybyla was a sales agent and sales manager with a Phoenix-based real estate firm. He earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the College of St. Francis in Illinois.

Press Contact: Stacey Corso, Communications Department, (925) 953-1716