I was listening to a great piece on NPR (National Public Radio) about the weakened condo/housing market, and especially the weak market in Miami. I’ve visited Miami many times within the last few years, and since my brother is a real estate attorney there, I feel like I’ve seen what they’re referring to.
A bit from the article:
Dozens of new high-rise condo projects are going up downtown. At the same time, foreclosures have doubled, sales have slowed to a trickle, and prices are dropping.
These conditions have attracted a new type of opportunistic buyer to Miami — the “vulture investor.”
Peter Zalewski, who runs a Web site and consulting company called Condo Vultures, says the term doesn’t have a negative connotation.
“Vultures don’t kill, they clean up,” he says.
These “vulture investors” are able to come in and pick up properties at a steep discount because…
Within a 10-block radius, 22,000 new condo units are under construction, Zalewski says. In many cases, he says units were sold to speculators — people who put down $60,000 and $80,000 deposits with the intention of reselling the properties. With prices dropping, those are the sellers Zalewski targets as the most vulnerable.
Veteran Miami developers aren’t sweating the market, as they’ve seen similar downturns in the past. If you look at things over a long period of time it will generally even out. Many speculators who didn’t do enough research or have much of a plan are the ones getting hurt. This is happening all over the country, but especially in places like Miami, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and other previously hot markets.
I must say, these “vulture investors” seem more like value investors. Warren Buffett-esqe, only with condos rather than stocks.
I found the segment/article HERE.