The Daily Soak - September 24

Revenue Plummets at Lennar; Posts $89 Million Loss

...but that's the bad news for the Miami-based homebuilder. The good news is that the $89 million loss is $424 million less than the $513 million loss Lennar posted in the third quarter last year. The company delivered only 3,791 homes in 3Q08 compared to 7,636 in 3Q07. Lennar CEO Stuart Miller put the quarter's challenges in perspective: "While we expected the housing market to remain constrained throughout the third quarter, the weakness in the market actually accelerated as a result of increased foreclosures, weakened consumer confidence and tightened mortgage lending standards.”


Florida Foreclosures Shift Financial Burden to Neighbors

The HeraldTribune takes a closer look at some Manatee County neighborhoods where rising foreclosures and cash-strapped homeowners are forcing neighbors to feel their pain. "The symptoms are 3-foot-high lawns, moldy walls and, increasingly, associations that lack the money to maintain the common grounds or pay the water bill, much less maintain abandoned homes." 20% of homeowners are behind on their association payments in communities like Las Palmas where the HOA has been forced to get creative. "They fired the landscaping company, bought some of their own equipment and hired extra staffers to tend the grounds."


Gilded Age: Miami Beach Penthouse Lists For $22 Million

CBS4 - "Can you imagine paying $22 million for an apartment? That's exactly how much a Miami Beach penthouse is selling for in South Florida's luxury condo market. Modestly billed as one of the most prestigious South Florida penthouses ever, the 68-hundred square-foot penthouse is priced at more than three thousand dollars a square foot. For that you get six bedrooms at the top of the new Apogee Tower with a private pool, private elevator, 7 and a half baths, staff quarters, 11,000-square-feet of terrace space, a 360-degree rooftop palazzo and a summer kitchen. There's also a 2.5 car private air-conditioned garage." (VideoClip)