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| Venezuela President Hugo Chavez |
MIAMI, FL --South Florida's improving condo market -
currently in the early stages of another construction boom - is projected to
benefit from this week's reelection of populist president - and outspoken U.S.
critic - Hugo Chavez in the oil-rich South American nation of Venezuela,
according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.
Despite strong support from the business sector for
challenger Henrique Capriles, Chavez's vision for creating "21st
century socialism" in Venezuela garnered the former coup leader - who was
later elected president in 1998 - more than 54 percent of the votes even though
the nation of 28 million people has a "decaying infrastructure, increasing
dependence on oil exports, and inability to control one of the world's highest
homicide rates," according to the Washington Post.
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| Henrique Capriles |
Even before Chavez won another six-year term on Oct. 7,
2012, foreign real estate investors from Venezuela - in search of deals and a
safe haven for their capital - were already purchasing about $750 million
annually in Florida real estate, with nearly 90 percent of the deals in the tri-county
South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, according to the
"Profile Of International Home Buyers In Florida 2012" report from
the Florida Realtors and the National Association Of Realtors.
Now with the presidential outcome decided, a number of the
estimated "200,000 Venezuelans" living in the United States expect
Chavez's election victory to "prompt a further exodus" of Venezuelans
- who are "worried about the future" - to head to South Florida under
investor-oriented visa programs, according to the Miami Herald.
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| Jenny Huertas |
For many Venezuelans, Miami is a place where they feel
comfortable given the U.S. infrastructure, diverse population, and proximity to
their home country, according to Jenny Huertas, a licensed Florida
broker with CVR Realty™.
Foreign investors from Venezuela have a long history of
buying residential real estate - especially condos - in South Florida.
Veteran real estate watchers, often times, cite a financial
crisis in Venezuela as one of the key macroeconomic causes of Miami's condo
crash on Brickell Avenue in the 1980s.
As of late, foreign investors from Venezuela transacted an
average of $62.5 million monthly on Florida real estate with condos accounting
for 44 percent of the deals in a one-year period ending in June 2012, according
to the Realtors report.
Single-family houses accounted for about 24 percent of the
transactions, and townhouses an additional 16 percent. Another 16 percent of
the Florida transactions by foreign investor from Venezuela involved commercial
properties, according to the report.
As for location, nearly 75 percent of the Florida real
estate transactions by Venezuelan investors occurred in "central city /
urban" areas and 22 percent in "suburban" areas, according to
the Realtors report.
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| Miami skyline |
For foreign investors from Venezuela, Miami-Dade County is
the most popular destination, accounting for more than 67 percent of the
Florida transactions. Broward County accounts for more than 16 percent of the
Florida transactions by foreign investors from Venezuela, and Palm Beach County
represents an additional four percent, according to the Realtors report.
Some industry watchers contend that foreign buyers have
increased their investments in the United States - and South Florida - as this
nation's economy shows signs of gradually improving at the same time that
conditions deteriorate in their home countries.
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| Palm Beach Skyline |
International buyers have played a major role in acquiring
the excess South Florida condo inventory that flooded the market beginning in
2007 at the start of real estate crash.
Estimates are that foreign buyers acquire nearly $11 billion
annually in condo, townhouse, and single-family house resales in Florida,
according to the Realtors report.
In addition to resales, foreign buyers are also purchasing
new condo units directly from South Florida developers – or lenders that have
repossessed troubled properties - with unsold inventory from the boom that
began in 2003.
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| Collins Avenue, Miami Beach |
At the end of the second quarter of 2012, buyers have
acquired about 93 percent of the nearly 49,000 new condos created during the
boom in the seven largest coastal condo markets of Greater Downtown Miami,
South Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, Hollywood / Hallandale Beach, Downtown Fort
Lauderdale and the Beach, Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach, and Downtown West Palm
Beach and Palm Beach Island.
Foreign buyers are also playing a key role in the latest
South Florida new condo boom where at least 70 towers with nearly 10,500 units
are proposed as of Oct. 10, 2012, according to the Preconstruction Condo
Projects list from CVR Realty™.
Contact:
Condo Vultures® LLC is a real estate consultancy and
marketing company based in the 225 Midtown Building at 225 NE 34th St., Suite
209B, Downtown Miami, Florida, 33137. Condo Vultures® LLC can be reached at
800-750-0517.
