2009 brutal for South Florida condo sales, but signs encouraging
Miami’s skyline at dusk tells the story of the condo crisis in stark relief: Some of the luminous towers beam with life, others flicker half-full, and still others are completely dark, mired in legal disputes over past-due loans and stalled sales.
South Florida’s condo market is still caught up in the violent landslide of the region’s housing downturn — with developers in bankruptcy, entire projects in foreclosure and homeowner associations struggling to stay afloat. But as the year draws to a close, at least a few signs point toward a fledgling recovery.
“It’s horrific and getting better,” said Adam Greenberg, managing director of BayBridge Real Estate in Miami. “In May, we were all at bars drinking at two in the afternoon. Now I’m just getting home after a full day of showings, after a full day of showings yesterday.”
Among the harbingers of change: The impasse between buyers and sellers that marked 2008 ended when lenders finally let developers sell for less than the cost to repay their construction loans. The subsequent price cuts continue to dramatically boost sales for new units, unleashing a mini-boom in condo sales in the downtown Miami area.