The Daily Soak - November 21

New Miami Condo Closings Going Better Than Expected

The pessimistic closing scenarios and rumors flying around earlier this year in South Florida were enough to send most developers to the roofs of their glistening new towers for a contemplative gaze downward from the ledge. It turns out Miami closings are going much better than anticipated in several projects. Over 17,000 new construction units have been delivered so far at an average price of $405,000. According to the Miami Herald, "The sales have been better than many observers expected for a downtown area held out by some as ground zero for speculation and excess. And it underlines Miami's ongoing urban revitalization, fueled by people, builders and investors returning to the city center." Developers of new towers on the verge of closing are equally bullish. Miroslav Mladenovic of the Everglades on the Bay project (pictured) says, "Comparable projects to ours have fared well, we don't see why we can't fare the same.''


More Good News: Encouraging Sales Reports for Tampa & Orlando

Miami isn't the only Florida city with some encouraging news regarding home sales. According to the Tampa Tribune, "Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater had 6,502 existing single-family homes close through the third quarter, up 10 percent from the 5,913 sold in 2007. That was double the state average of 5 percent." And over in Orlando, the Sentinel reports, "Existing-home sales continued to outpace sales in most of the rest of Florida during the third quarter, with Orlando Realtors closing on 4,689 single-family homes, or 14 percent of the statewide total." Yes, median prices have fallen significantly, but at least inventory is moving out of the hands of banks and into the hands of interested buyers. The Orlando-Sentinel concluded, "FAR President Chuck Bonfiglio said the gains were encouraging, particularly in light of the widely reported "lending restrictions and the difficulties of finding affordable credit."


Auctioneer Announces Multiple Florida Dates in December

Auction industry leader Hudson & Marshall plans on auctioning off over 650 bank-owned homes and condominiums in 12 Florida cities between December 2-7. The auctioneer is even upping the commission for buyer's agents from 2% to 3%. The list of cities and dates is as follows: December 2nd - Fort Myers (68 homes); Fort Pierce (9 homes); Pensacola (10 homes)... December 3rd - Tampa (67 homes); Port Charlotte (16 homes); Jacksonville (34 homes); Titusville (20 homes); Tallahassee (3 homes)... December 4th - Orlando (114 homes); Gainesville (6 homes)... December 6th -Miami/Fort Lauderdale (185 homes)... December 7th - Miami/Fort Lauderdale (140 homes). Properties may be viewed during the Open House this Saturday and December 2nd. For more information, visit Hudson & Marshall's website.