As developers proceed with proposals for a series of new residential projects in Miami Beach, nearly 700 new condo units in the popular South Beach neighborhood remain unsold from the South Florida real estate boom and subsequent bust as of March 31, 2012, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com. 

The ratio of unsold condos decreased significantly in the first quarter of 2012 as buyers acquired nearly 275 residential units - more than 90 percent of which traded in a single bulk deal at the Paradiso on Collins Avenue - for a combined $155.3 million between January and March, according to an analysis based on Miami-Dade County records. 

Factoring in the latest developer transactions, the South Beach condo market has now sold about 88 percent of the nearly 5,600 units created since 2003, according to an analysis based on the Condo Vultures® Official Condo Buyers Guide To South Beach™. 

"Developers are slowly chipping away at the new condo inventory overhang in South Beach," said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC. "The South Beach condo inventory, quite possibly, could have been sold out by now if developers would have reduced their prices more significantly during the darkest days of the real estate crash. As the South Beach condo market transitions, developers are standing firm - and in some cases even increasing - with pricing.

"It is unclear what impact - if any - the series of new residential projects proposed for coastal South Florida will have on developers transactions of unsold units."  

CondoVultures.com is scheduled to profile the latest condo trends in the first quarter of 2012 in the seven largest coastal markets in the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. 

Since the week of April 16, 2012, the Condo Vultures® Market Intelligence Report™ has been publishing a seven-part weekly series analyzing new condo sales trends in Greater Downtown Miami, South Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, Hollywood / Hallandale Beach, Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach, Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach, and Downtown West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Island.     

South Beach is a 24-block long neighborhood in the barrier island city of Miami Beach that stretches from South Pointe Drive north to 24th Street, the Atlantic Ocean west to the Venetian Islands, according to the Condo Vultures® Official Condo Buyers Guide To South Beach™.

Developers created 37 projects with nearly 5,600 units in the South Beach neighborhood during the South Florida real estate boom beginning in 2003.

Prior to the real estate boom, South Beach - a historical district with a large number of Art Deco, low-rise structures - had 110 condo projects with 10,800 units.

As of March 31, 2012, buyers have purchased about 5.7 million square feet of condo space for nearly $3.4 billion, representing an average price of more than $590 per square foot, according to the report.   

In the first quarter of 2012, buyers purchased new developer units at five projects - Boulan South Beach, Continuum On South Beach North Tower, Paradiso, Mondrian South Beach, and the W South Beach - at an average price of $525 per square foot due to the bulk transaction, according to the report. 

The W South Beach bolstered the overall average transaction price in the first quarter of 2012, selling 10 units for an average of more than $2,100 per square foot, according to a new CondoVultures.com report.    

In addition to the developer units available, more than 265 condos created since 2003 are on the resale market at a median asking price of nearly $915 per square foot in South Beach as of April 24, 2012, according to the licensed Florida brokerage CVR Realty™.   

It is important to note there are various stages to a residential real estate transaction in South Florida.  

A transaction begins when a property is made available for sale and ends when a title is conveyed from one party to another party as a result of the recording of a deed with the local government. 

As part of the process, a property typically goes under contract and into a due diligence phase by which a deal can be canceled.  

The CondoVultures.com new condo sales report is based on completed transactions where a deed is recorded and taxes paid as a result of the sale.  

Don't forget to sign up for our weekly Market Intelligence Report™ for detailed condo reports to stay informed on the latest market trends and to find out about our various Condo Vultures® Seminars. Looking for a property at a deep discount? Take a peek at the Vultures Database™ or view our Video Library. Looking for bulk projects direct from developers or lenders? Visit the Condo Vultures® Bulk Deals Database™. Our new books, the Official Condo Buyers Guide to Miami™, Official Condo Buyers Guide To South Beach™, Official Condo Buyers Guide to Sunny Isles Beach™, Official Condo Buyers Guide to Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach™, Official Condo Buyers Guide to Hollywood / Hallandale Beach™, Official Condo Buyers Guide to Downtown West Palm Beach™, and Official Condo Buyers Guide to Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach™, are now available. Want to see every foreclosure filed in South Florida since 2007? Check out our Foreclosure Database™.

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