Good stuff! ‘Vultures’ are buying up property in Florida

Evidence is mounting that “vultures” are moving into some U.S. markets, snatching up depressed property. Nowhere is that more obvious than in Florida, a favored spot for international buyers.

The number of existing homes sales in Florida rose 24 percent in September over a year earlier, the first increase in three years, according to the latest Florida Association of Realtors report. Sales of condos rose 11 percent.

And that sounds like great news for the market. But the median price for an existing home now stands at $175,100, a 22 percent drop from a year earlier, the FAR says. So it’s not like people are fighting over houses.

Increased activity at depressed prices suggests buyers are scooping up low-end bargains—including foreclosures and shorts sales—which isn’t a scenario for a healthy market. But it does hint that buyers believe the market may be close to a bottom.

Meanwhile, here is another illustrative story about the Florida market: Miami developer Jorge Pérez, who is building condos towers around the city, is using a separate entity to buy hundreds of condos “on the cheap,” including units in his own buildings, the Wall Street Journal reports. Not only is he bolstering sales in his own developments, he’s accumulating units at what he believes are bargain prices. “There is no question in my mind that within some time—I don’t know if that’s two, three or four years—people are going to look back and say: ‘These units were bought for how little!’” Pérez told the Journal.

http://blogs.iht.com/tribtalk/properties/roof/?p=552

Good stuff! ‘Vultures’ are buying up property in Florida

Good stuff! ‘Vultures’ are buying up property in Florida

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