CNBC Reporter Diana Olick, who is in Miami this week shooting a piece for "Business Nation" which won't air until November, has come to this conclusion: Miami is poster child for the housing crash.
“Prices are falling fast around here and foreclosures are on the rise. And no matter how bright the sun shines here, at the moment Miami's real estate future, which ties tightly to its economy, looks pretty bleak,” Olick writes on her blog post.
I couldn’t agree more with Olick. In fact, I’m hoping that Olick is correct and I’m wrong when she predicts that Miami’s condo turnaround will take at least three years (roughly early 2011) for prices to drop to the necessary levels to be classified as a deal.
What worries me is that like Olick many people don’t have a clear picture about the extent of the number of Vulture funds (hedge funds and private equity funds) that are circling Florida right now looking for bulk deals, almost always as a short sale.
Many of these funds have been on the ground since the first quarter of this year. An increasing number of these funds are sending representatives down to South Florida to rent apartments so that they can network and establish relationships with the local players.
Our group for example has been contacted by more than 40 different groups. Four are from abroad. As different as they are, all of the funds are ready, willing, and able to invest. All want to buy all-cash, and close quickly. (If you are interested in Bulk Purchasing, here’s a link to last week’s Market Intelligence Report where I forecast what I think is likely to happen in the fourth quarter.)
The question that remains is, will all of these circling funds be able to buy at the prices they envision or will they have to pay more to secure a bulk asset?
Peter Zalewski is a principal with the consulting firm Condo Vultures™ and the qualifying licensed Florida real estate broker of Condo Vultures™ Realty LLC. Peter can be reached at 800-750-0517 or by email at peter@condovultures.com.
Copyright © 2007, Condo Vultures™ LLC
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