Reprinted from Florida Association of Realtors
MIAMI – Sept. 4, 2008 – Trying to time the real estate market and planning to buy once it hits bottom? Get your checkbook.
Condo Vultures LLC owner Peter Zalewski believes the recent purchase of 120 condominiums in Miami’s 50 Biscayne Blvd. tower, by the Philadelphia-based private equity firm Lubert-Adler Partners LP and Related Group of Florida, will usher in a wave of investors looking to snap up distressed properties in the region. Jack McCabe of McCabe Research & Consulting LLC believes these vulture buyers are an indication that the housing market has bottomed out, and he believes ongoing foreclosure sales could extend the bottom for a few years. He says that vulture investors plan to spend $30 billion or more on distressed housing in the Sunshine State.
However, Lewis Goodkin of Goodkin Consulting Group says prices need to be reduced to about 50 cents on the dollar to attract investors.
Downtown Miami will see the opening of 11,551 condos this year, which is a five-year supply, according to MetroStudy regional director Brad Hunter.
Source: Bloomberg (09/04/08) Ivry, Bob
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