Confidence in the Florida Condo Market
“Starwood Sees Payoff in Patience” – Wall Street Journal 10/7/09
A Starwood Capital Group led consortium is buying the Florida condo assets of the broken up Corus Bank. In this depressed market Starwood sees opportunity for real investment return in Florida condos in the near future.
Starwood’s Barry Sternlicht makes their motivation clear:
“In years three, four and five, there won’t be any more new condos being built in these markets and you’ll be one of the few guys with new inventory.”
This is what recovery looks like. A bubble bursts, consumer confidence understandably goes down, distressed properties accumulate and then, after a bit of time, people remember that unusually low prices, bank approved unusually low prices, are a good investment. We’re now seeing some of the lowest prices in the Florida condo market than we’ve seen in almost a decade. It’s especially good for first time home buyers considering the federal incentives now being offered for first time homebuyers in Florida. Not to mention that that three, four year timeline also works particularly well for students in Jacksonville because of the variety of well built, affordable condos. Parents can invest in both their child’s future through tuition AND in a money maker by investing in Florida property their child can live in as student housing while it accumulates profit and provides real tax benefits. In Jacksonville’s Riverside Historic District, The Chelsea Lofts has seen a spike in sales as prices were reduced to bank minimums and buyers “waiting for the bottom” found the award winning project attractive.
Read the whole article HERE