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Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Les H who wrote (31391)	5/17/2005 11:52:42 AM
From: Jim McMannis	Respond to of 306849

Same in all bubble areas. It's da' land.

To: Les H who wrote (31391)	5/17/2005 2:39:18 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

Miami Real Estate Showing No Signs of Slowing Down, Jeff Neal Tuesday May 17, 1:30 pm ET biz.yahoo.com Housing and in particular condo-type housing in the Miami/Dade county area continue to experience surging prices, despite all the talk nationwide about a possible bubble and the likelihood of higher interest rates. For example, just recently a four-storey three bedroom condo overlooking the Atlantic and scenic Biscayne Bay went for upwards of $7 million dollars, which has Miami developers and brokers alike scrambling for profits in what is now one of the hottest real estate markets in the United States. According to the various real estate associations in the Miami area, this insatiable demand is coming mainly from foreign buyers as well as wealthy baby boomers and retirees from the northern part of the country. Foreign buyers of course have benefited tremendously from the weak dollar, making the purchasing of real estate in the South Flor! ida region a very attractive investment. What is happening in the Miami market is truly amazing given that home values increased 20 percent in 2004 versus the national average of just over 11 percent, based on federal government statistics. However, it is the beachfront condos that have really catapulted in price; developers are asking around a half a million dollars for a one bedroom on the beach overlooking the ocean. The demand continues to be hot and developers have about 69,000 condo units just newly built or are currently in the permit stage. Ironically this extremely hot real estate market is on the heels of several recent hurricanes that devastated the South Florida region. With more than $22 billion in damages incurred from these storms, many experts at the time were ready to write off or discount the real estate market in Miami. However, that has not proved to be the case as the city of Miami is currently experiencing the largest urban redevelopmen! t in its history. For the baby boomers and retirees flocking to Miami, it is not just the warm weather but also the mortgage rates at historically low levels that has made big mortgages more affordable. The past four to five years has rendered real estate a far better investment overall than, say, both the stock and bond markets. In addition, and as mentioned earlier, the overall weak U.S. dollar has really provided Europeans with an incentive to look to the Miami market for bargains, at least from their perspective. This is because in euro currency terms, Miami properties are attractive due to the fact that they have increased purchasing power with the favorable currency exchange rate. This new worldwide interest in Miami real estate has prompted government and civic leaders to re-shape the city into a world-class destination. For instance, Miami is in the process of constructing a performing arts center with further development planned all around this new structure. The city also just opened the top of the line sports f! acility American Airlines arena where the Miami Heat of the NBA plays. And of course the city has the ever popular South Beach, which possesses a plethora of hot nightclubs and hip restaurants. All of this new development in Miami's downtown area has called urban land prices to really appreciate. For example, in the popular and pretty Brickell Avenue area, the new Jade Beach oceanfront project's 2.5-acre site was purchased for around $19 million in 2001. Today in 2005 an empty lot right next to this new oceanfront project is being advertised for $100 million. Real estate experts in Miami claim that there continues to be a large buying public out there that is very well diversified in their origins. Buyers of Miami real estate are coming from Europe, Russia, virtually every Latin America country, Canada and, of course, retirees and baby boomers from across the United States. This does have some banks a little nervous about excessive speculation and some have v! owed to do business only with developers they already know and have a relationship with in an effort to protect their interests. Despite these concerns it is clearly apparent the Miami-Dade county are (and all of South Florida, for that matter) is going through an incredible boom period in real estate prices. No one knows exactly when this will slow down or even reverse somewhat, but from all current indications it definitely will not be anytime soon. Happy Trading.