Report shows hardest-hit South Florida condos
There’s no question that South Florida’s condo market is on the ropes,
but some complexes are faring much, much worse than others.
Prices
in the most battered complexes have fallen by at least 75 percent since
peaking, bringing huge financial losses for owners and lenders.
In
a ranking of the 10 worst-performing projects, Keystone Towers in North
Miami topped the list, with unit prices dropping 81 percent since
peaking in 2007, according to a new analysis of first-quarter sales
from Miami-based condo research firm CondoReports.com
Sales in Keystone Towers, an apartment complex converted to
condominiums during the boom, peaked in 2007 with 20 units selling for
an average of $334 per square foot. At the end of March, the price had
fallen to $62 per square foot.
That
means an owner who bought a 1,000-square-foot unit for $334,000 would
have seen a similar unit go for $62,000. The loss in value: $272,000.
Not
every building saw similar bloodshed, though. Three projects located in
what generally are considered desirable submarkets actually saw sale
prices increase, supporting analysts’ claims that the recovery of the
housing market will be submarket specific and even building specific.
Seven of the top 10 best performers still saw erosions in value.
The
analysis looked at closed sales in 2,000 condominium and town-home
complexes in Miami-Dade County built before 2008. Projects making the
list had at least three sales in the first quarter.
”The fact
that a fraction of 1 percent of the buildings in the study experienced
increased pricing is indicative of a market where prices have decreased
nearly across the board with few exceptions. The major difference, of
course, is the degree of the price declines,” Adam Cappel, president
of CondoReports.com, said in a statement.
Tags: Condominiums, Condos, Foreclosure, Miami, South Florida, South Florida Real Estate