Florida's Condo Market Starts to Fizzle

[wforsyth]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061228/...ate_miami_dc_2

Florida's overbuilt condo market starts to fizzle

By Jim Loney Thu Dec 28, 10:41 AM ET

MIAMI (Reuters) - On a piece of prime bayfront property near downtown Miami, weeds climb the steps of the sales office for Onyx 2, a planned waterview condo where apartments were to sell for $500,000 to $2,000,000.

A sign reads "For Sale. Land, plans and permits for Onyx 2. Includes fully equipped sales center."
Three blocks north, the land on which a glassy loft-condo called "Ice" was to rise lies idle. A realtor's Web site says: "This project has been canceled and will not be built."
Developers have pulled the plug on some of Miami's most anticipated condominium developments, a sign the city's sizzling, speculator-driven condo market -- where prices of many apartments doubled or tripled in a few brief years -- has finally chilled.
"This market was too good to be true," said Lewis Goodkin, a Miami economist and real estate analyst. "But it was a market fueled by speculators, so it wasn't a true market."
City officials say 15 condo projects, representing nearly 1,900 units, have been officially pulled from the waning market. But analysts say the numbers are much higher when you consider the rest of Florida's overbuilt condo market.
Miami's building boom, the biggest in the city's history, is far from over. Construction cranes dominate the skyline, as they have for years.
The city of Miami alone still has more than 77,000 units, in nearly 300 projects, under construction or in planning.
But the "for sale" signs are not the only warnings of a fading market....

[wsiegel]

Gee, thanks Wendy, add to our depressions down here.

All kidding aside, business is not too bad. Thank god for all the commercial sales - they are going strong.

It is definitely a wierd market these days. Of the homes I have done in the past month, all but one of them was vacant. A lot of people are getting out of Dodge because of the high insurance rates (and taxes). My insurance alone went up $1000 this year and is expected to go up a least another $2000 next year if the government (yeah right) doesnt figure out a solution.

[wforsyth]

Originally Posted by wsiegel

Gee, thanks Wendy, add to our depressions down here.

All kidding aside, business is not too bad. Thank god for all the commercial sales - they are going strong.

It is definitely a wierd market these days. Of the homes I have done in the past month, all but one of them was vacant. A lot of people are getting out of Dodge because of the high insurance rates (and taxes). My insurance alone went up $1000 this year and is expected to go up a least another $2000 next year if the government (yeah right) doesnt figure out a solution.

Honestly I wasn't trying to do that. I'm sorry if I did. I just hate when other articles say business is booming and mislead people into feeling like things are better than they are. It's better to know the truth and be prepared right?

[Joseph Burkeson, CMI]

Originally Posted by wsiegel

It is definitely a wierd market these days. Of the homes I have done in the past month, all but one of them was vacant. A lot of people are getting out of Dodge because of the high insurance rates (and taxes). My insurance alone went up $1000 this year and is expected to go up a least another $2000 next year if the government (yeah right) doesnt figure out a solution.

I hear the plan is to license home inspectors and use the fees collected to reduce insurance premiums, "The Coalition" discovered it was home inspectors who caused that crisis, everything should be fixed at next month's emergence session.

On a real note, I agree, most homes I inspect today are either vacant or the sellers are moving out of state. This trend has already showed up in some school districts where schools were built based on expected population growth now contain empty classrooms due to expected students that never arrived.

[Henry Valenzano, CMI]

Originally Posted by wforsyth

Honestly I wasn't trying to do that. I'm sorry if I did. I just hate when other articles say business is booming and mislead people into feeling like things are better than they are. It's better to know the truth and be prepared right?

The market in Colorado is still fair. We just need to get rid of some of this snow so we can get to the homes to inspect them. At 1-2 ft. a day its a little ruff to get on roofs. If Nick is at his home in Colorado he will probably be snowed in for a while.
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[Joseph Burkeson, CMI]

Originally Posted by hvalenzano

The market in Colorado is still fair. We just need to get rid of some of this snow so we can get to the homes to inspect them. At 1-2 ft. a day its a little ruff to get on roofs. If Nick is at his home in Colorado he will probably be snowed in for a while.

The Diary of a Snow Shoveler

Enjoy!

[James H. Bushart]

Originally Posted by jburkeson1

I hear the plan is to license home inspectors and use the fees collected to reduce insurance premiums, "The Coalition" discovered it was home inspectors who caused that crisis, everything should be fixed at next month's emergence session.

I understand that the "coalition" is providing pots for those without one to piss in...and then, once filled, providing them to the state for analysis.

[wforsyth]

Originally Posted by jburkeson1

The Diary of a Snow Shoveler

Enjoy!

I love that one! It's too funny!

[Henry Valenzano, CMI]

Originally Posted by wforsyth

I love that one! It's too funny!

When i was 40 years younger i would have loved the snow. Now i love to watch it on the news in another state.
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