A couple of weeks ago, we forecast the mass buyout of cheap condos by investors which could reduce condo inventory and begin to threaten Florida’s “buyer’s market.” Now, the Miami Herald reports that Jorge Perez, south Florida’s condo tycoon, is setting up a $1B fund to purchase some of these troubled condo developments. As this happens, condos become [...]

A new year deserves a new look, so we’ve updated the Condo Metropolis search engine so it’s easier to use. At the end of last year, we installed a visual map - so if you’re not from Orlando you can actually see where all the neighborhoods are in relationship to each other, rather than relying on names you’ve never heard of.
Also, when you get [...]

Most Expensive Condo:
Listed for: $212,800
Sold for: $161,000 (days on market: 104)
Least Expensive Condo:
Listed for: $135,000
Sold for: $100,000 (days on market: 164)
Median sales price: $120,000
Average days market = 123 Total Condo Listings = 132
Total Sold = 5Source: Orlando Regional Realtor Association

I’m in the mood for ranting today.
If you moved to Africa, would you be really miffed about the mean lions or those awfully aggressive heyeinas – and become indignant about how such dangerous animals shouldn’t be allowed to “just roam around like that”?
I sometimes hear would-be Florida residents ask me when they look at a condo with a nice [...]

In our last episode (newsletter), we find our hero (me) saying:
 
‘Wall Street bloodhounds are sniffing around for an emergency rate cut from the Fed.  I don’t see it happening.  Emergency cuts evidence panic from the higher-ups, and maintaining a veneer of confidence is more important than ever.  If the investing populace isn’t convinced that the [...]

2007 brought with it many interesting events that unfolded throughout the Country. Condominium and community associations were certainly not exempt from the tumultuous conditions as they found themselves struggling to manage through the loss of assessment revenue as many homeowners lost their homes to foreclosure.
On the legal front, however, condominium association boards breathed a little easier [...]

Most Expensive Condo:
Listed for: $384,900
Sold for: $300,000 (days on market: 120) 
Least Expensive Condo:
Listed for: $119,900
Sold for: $90,000 (days on market: 66)
Median sales price: $200,475
Average days market = 68 Total Condo Listings = 511
Total Sold = 6Source: Orlando Regional Realtor Association

Let there be no confusion: we are in the thick of an economic slowdown. Wall Street seems to be reacting very emotionally to all the doom-sayers and their recession dirges. Today marked another 300+ point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, coming on the coattails of other triple digit losses earlier in [...]

2007 saw many condo casualties. We reported regularly on Orlando’s downtown condo scene – and were obviously concerned about 55 West’s lack of recent activity.  
2008 has got off to an ugly start with the Lexington in bankruptcy court.
Now, the lender for 55 West Orlando, SNS Property Finance of the Netherlands, foreclosed on the property on January 7th 2008, according [...]

We’ve known about the problems at the Lexington condo hotel (downtown Orlando) for a some time now, and I recommended to one potential client that he give his particular condo hotel project a wide berth. For reasons that I’ll never understand, he refused to believe that my adivice was anything other than genuine or based simply on my knowledge of who [...]

If anyone were to say that 2008 started with a bang, they’d probably be referring to the sound of our stock market dropping like an anvil on the 1st.  Woo hoo.
However, the rationale behind the drop is not what the recessionistas of the world want to hear.  Fundamentals backing our economy are strong.  The upcoming [...]

Over the past 2 ½ years CondoDomain.com has operated as a premier lead generation portal for real estate developers and onsite sales and marketing centers in more than 30 U.S. cities.  
But now, our friends up in Boston are about to go local. By the time you read this, they will have opened their first local brokerage. Today sees [...]

A recent report by the Florida Association of Realtors suggests that for the month of November 2007, Orlando saw a 35% decline in sales of single-family homes compared with November 2006, while condo sales plumeted by a massive 55%. Orlando condo sales were a meagre 125, down from 276 sold in November 2006 (already a bad year!). Median [...]

Home prices fell nationwide for the 10th consecutive month, according to a major index of home prices. Metro Miami home prices dropped 12.4 percent in October 2007 compared with October 2006, while prices in Tampa dropped 11.8 percent compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price [...]

Seller’s expectations are still too high when it comes to price. How do I know? Look at our Zip Code of the Week (below). November to December 2007: 163 Orlando condos listed – 6 sold = 157 unhappy sellers. True, there may be several reasons for the lack of sales – one of which is that buyers can be incredibly slow [...]

Most Expensive Condo:
Listed for: $2.5M
Sold for: $2,050,000 (days on market: 136)
Least Expensive Condo:
Listed for: $136,900
Sold for: $116,303 (days on market: 28)
Median sales price: $362,500
Average days market = 142 Total Condo Listings = 163
Total Sold = 6
Source: Orlando Regional Realtor Association