Is it a national phenomenon that the South Florida has become the poster child for the condo craze; other markets are experiencing plenty of construction activity. It is heavily favored that the market is having a down time. Jack McCabe has a sure-fire way to make a killing in Florida real estate. No, he's not joining the throng of speculators in downtown Miami who are snapping up blocks of condominiums in hopes of flipping the properties quickly. And no, the real estate analyst from Deerfield Beach, Fla., isn't acquiring apartments in order to convert them to condos for a handsome profit. Instead McCabe has other things in mind.
He wants to raise several hundred million dollars for what they all call a "vulture" fund that plans to snap up distressed condos in Florida within 12 to 15 months maybe sooner. If the numbers are good, of course, much depends on when the high-octane condo investment market begins to run out of gas. It is a good plan and probably has a high chance of being a positive note in the future. Like everybody else, McCabe just wants to be positive when almost everyone else is in a negative thinking. Right now, the highly anticipated plan is on the process. The real estate market right now, especially the condo market is facing the bust side of the cycle and is not faring up well.
McCabe, who has encountered everyone from taxi drivers to dentists jumping into the condo investment arena, said that "It's clearly a problem waiting to happen when you see these unsophisticated people get into this risky business." It is notoriously known that Miami is the kingpin when it comes to new condo construction. Developers plan to add more than 70,000 new condo units to the area over the next three years, and don't be mistaken it is a fact. That's nearly three times the number of condo units that have been built in Miami over the last three years.
Well as everybody knows, Florida is certainly no stranger to condo booms and subsequent busts. In the mid-1980s, for example, offshore investors ditched their condo deposits after an economic downturn swept through Latin America. The banks that inherited these condos through foreclosure were forced to significantly discount the properties prior to sale. Developers typically use the proceeds from the sale of each condo unit to repay their construction loans. It is safe to say that Miami condo real estate is trying to make strides in order to make a difference, everybody is trying something else to have at least a little development and progress. Sure it is a cycle but the question is how long will the bust stay before the boom comes back once again?
Jron Magcale
