News About Properties

Developers have sold 85 percent of the condos built in South Florida during the building boom beginning in 2002, according to a report released this week by Bal Harbour-based consultancy Condo Vultures.

The report, which studies condo markets from South Beach to West Palm Beach, found that developers have sold 41,258 condos in the last eight years, with the largest chunk of sales taking place in downtown Miami.

“People are certainly taking advantage of the fact that [condos] are affordable and available both to live in and also to invest in,” said Leo Zabezhinsky, manager of business development and real estate for the Miami Downtown Development Authority.

via Condo inventory detailed in new report

Residential and commercial real-estate owners aren’t the only ones losing their properties to foreclosure. The past few years have seen a rapid acceleration in the number of churches losing their sanctuaries because they can’t pay the mortgage.

Just as homeowners borrowed too much or built too big during boom times, many churches did the same and now are struggling as their congregations shrink and collections fall owing to rising unemployment and a weak economy.

via Churches Find End Is Nigh

Question: I am one of those anal-retentive people who starts working on his tax returns before the tax year even comes to an end. But forget about 2010. I have heard that there is a new real-estate sales tax for 2011. What do you know about that? —K.J.S., Laurel, Md.

Answer: Not a lot, if only because the tax doesn’t become effective until 2013, which means the Internal Revenue Service is a long, long way from writing the rules.

via New real-estate sales tax is on the way Realty Q&A

Four years ago, the Marina Grande condominium in Riviera Beach was among the first Palm Beach County condos to experience the buyers’ remorse crowd. As the market for flipping real estate died during early 2007, dozens of investors at Marina Grande scrambled to try to undo their pre-construction contracts.

Now Marina Grande is finding popularity with buyers who can’t resist snapping up the properties at discounted prices.

The sudden interest shows that people will buy condos – at the right price.

via Low prices spur sales at Riviera high-rise

Poor Florida. The state that is home to Disney World, key lime pie and the Daytona 500 hasn’t had much to crow about when it comes to real estate in recent years. Sorry to break it to Sunshine Staters, but they shouldn’t be expecting a rebound anytime soon either.

That’s according to Local Market Monitor (LMM), a Cary, N.C.-based real estate research firm that crunched the numbers for our list of the best and worst cities for home values in 2011. One list includes the 10 cities where home values are expected to rise the most in 2011, and the other the 10 cities where they are expected to fall the most.

via The Best And Worst Cities For Home Values In 2011

The three giant towers, which cover about 5 million square feet, house showrooms for furniture manufacturers and representatives that try to land orders from the retailers attending the market. Most of the showrooms are dark for all but two weeks a year.

The agent representing the lenders in reworking the $557.1 million in mortgages on Buildings A and B reported this month that it was "finalizing the terms of a loan modification and reinstatement." This marked progress from previous monthly reports, published by research firm Trepp LLC, that merely said negotiations were continuing.

World Market Center defaulted on the loans in April as companies that leased showrooms went out of business or moved out to save money, driving up vacancies and cutting rental income. Reports by the lenders’ agent, known as a special servicer, said the occupancy in Building A had dropped from 99 percent when it opened to 85 percent in June 2009, the most recent date available. Building B occupancy had fallen 98 percent to 75 percent, with no numbers for Building C. Maricich declined to give any data but said the effective occupancy ran higher due to temporary leases instead of the five-year ones signed by permanent tenants.

via Furniture mart boss hopeful