The Daily Soak - November 18

Fontainebleau Re-opening: "A Defiant Display of Pluck"

A Time Magazine reporter attended the Fontainebleau's re-opening gala last weekend and marvels at the "lavish revelry" of $399/night hotel rooms, a 40,000-square-foot spa, a 60-piece orchestra, and celebrities like A-Rod and Heidi Klum in attendance. Instead of just relaxing, drinking his champagne and accepting the event for what it was, Tim Padgett says the event only highlights "South Florida's incorrigible reliance on low-wage industries like tourism. It has exacerbated the effects of the recession here — and it has led to a widening, Third World-style gap between rich and poor. The average wage in Miami-Dade County is less than $40,000; but according to a report this year by FAU, a family needs an income closer to $100,000 just to afford an average single-family home here." OK, so he's right, but something tells me Tim wasn't the life of the party. Speaking from experience, that kind of long-winded macro analysis will get you nowhwere with Heidi Klum.



Condo Glut Turning Into An Apartment Glut in Tampa

Rental-to-condo conversions or "rondos" were all the rage during the housing boom, but HB.com coined a phrase back in April to describe the emerging condo-to-rental shift in market strategy being implemented by many Florida developers, "condentals." Even though the phrase hasn't exactly blown up, the market has with an inundation of new rental units originally marketed as whole-ownership condos. In Tampa, hundreds of new units in buildings like the Element Tower, SkyPoint Tower and The Place at Channelside are hitting the market as rentals forcing inventory up and prices down. Despite this glut, developers must be anticipating the fact that more Florida residents will be forced into rental situations due to foreclosures and the inability to secure home loans thanks to the frozen credit market. According to Marcus & Millichap, plans are already underway for 8,300 more apartments next year.



"Kids, Forget the Orlando Hotels...We're Renting A House!"

In the 1983 classic, "Vacation," Clark Griswold and family stopped at a variety of less-than-savory hotels during the 2,000-mile odyssey from Chicago to Wally World. If Clark were planning an Orlando vacation today, I'm sure he would appreciate this CNN "Taking the Kids" article. Eileen Ogintz admits times are tough, but who can resist Orlando, in her words, "that one vacation destination many of us are determined not to give up despite the plummeting Dow." In a long list of money-saving tips for Orlando-bound families, Ogintz says staying in a hotel is ridiculous, especially when there are thousands of Central Florida homes available for short-term rental. According to Ogintz, "Agencies like www.discovervacationhomes.com, a consortium of professionally managed vacation homes and condos headquartered in Orlando, tout three-bedroom homes with pools starting at just $120 a night. Condos are considerably less."