Condo Sales Jump in Downtown Miami

Buyers purchased more than 700 new condominium units in Greater Downtown Miami during this year's first quarter, nearly twice as many as in the same period a year ago when 390 apartments were sold, according to a new report from Condo Vultures, a Bal Harbour, Fla.-based consulting firm. Of the 82 projects started in the area since 2003, 35 are now sold out and 24 are at or beyond the halfway point, the report said. But six, including a two-tower, 324-unit property near the new Florida Marlins baseball stadium that was just taken back by lender iStar Financial, still have not sold a single unit. The inventory of unsold product in the area has now dipped below the 6,600-unit level. The jump in sales was fueled largely by lower prices, as developers and lenders which have taken back properties dropped their prices from $300 per square foot to $200. Now, some are attempting to bump back up to $300-per-foot range, according to Peter Zalewski, a principal in Condo Vultures, who says "time will tell if the new pricing sticks."