11% Of New Condos Still Unsold In Greater Downtown Miami

MIAMI, FL--Less than 11 percent of the nearly 22,250 condos created in various projects in Greater Downtown Miami during the South Florida real estate boom remain unsold and under the control of the original respective developers as of June 30, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.

The remaining 2,300-unsold units controlled by the original developers are situated in two dozen of the more than 80 condo projects that were created in a 60-block stretch comprised of the Brickell Avenue Area, Downtown Miami, and the Biscayne Boulevard Corridor during the real estate boom that began in 2003, according to an analysis based on the Condo Vultures® Official Condo Buyers Guide To Miami™.

A year ago in June 2010, developers still controlled 23 percent - more than 5,000 units - of the new inventory in Greater Downtown Miami. In June 2009, the number of unsold developer units represented 40 percent - more than 8,800 units - of the new inventory added to the market during the condo boom, according to the report. 

"Foreign investors and the Florida legislature deserve a lot of credit for bailing out the Greater Downtown Miami condominium market when it was at the brink of disaster," said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC.

"Foreign buyers - armed with strong currencies and a bullish outlook on Greater Downtown Miami - have flooded into the market in the last three years to purchase new units for investment.

“These international buyers account for a super majority of the individual transactions that are occurring in projects located between the Julia Tuttle and the Rickenbacker causeways east of Interstate 95.

"The other ingredient that is proving critical in the turnaround in Greater Downtown Miami is the work in 2010 by the Florida legislature and former Gov. Charlie Crist to ease liability related to completing bulk transactions.

“The legislative revisions effectively put hedge funds and private equity groups on notice that their assistance and investment dollars were welcome in Greater Downtown Miami and across the state of Florida."

Peter Zalewski of Condo Vultures® can be reached at 800-750-0517 or by email at peter@condovultures.com