Financing For New Condo Towers Approaches $1.4 Billion In South Florida Published on 11/16/2013 8:44:00 PM 
As developers proceed with plans to build more than 175 condo towers in South Florida, a newly funded construction loan for nearly $100 million has pushed the total amount of financing related to proposed preconstruction projects to nearly $1.4 billion since the real estate market crash of 2007, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.
The developers of the proposed Marina Palms Yacht Club & Residences in the Aventura area of Northeast Miami-Dade County obtained a construction loan for $98 million on November 14, 2103 from HSBC Bank USA to build one of the two towers in the 468-unit complex fronting the Intracoastal Waterway, according to the South Florida Business Journal.
The Marina Palms Yacht Club financing package ranks as the fifth largest loan issued for a South Florida preconstruction project during the growth phase of this current real estate cycle, according to the preconstruction condo projects website CraneSpotters.com.
Construction loans for a pair of unrelated condo projects - the 132-unit Porsche Design Tower with financing of $213 million and the 79-unit Mansions At Acqualina tower with financing of $160 million - in the barrier island city of Sunny Isles Beach rank at the top of the list, according to press reports and Miami-Dade County records.
Other condo projects have obtained financing but for amounts of less than $110 million or under different structures, industry watchers said.
"The construction financing spigot for new condo towers in South Florida appears to be opening slightly," said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Greater Downtown Miami-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC. "Lenders are apparently moving forward cautiously to provide financing to proposed condo projects that appear to be on the path to completion. Lender financing does not necessarily mean a proposed condo project will succeed - as the last South Florida boom-and-bust cycle showed - but a loan commitment does provide some assurance to buyers that a developer's claims can be substantiated to a certain degree.
"The unanswered question going forward is whether more construction financing for proposed condo towers will lead to another South Florida boom-and-bust cycle."
CondoVultures.com has been profiling condo trends in the third quarter of 2013 in the 10 largest coastal markets in the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties since the week of October 14, 2013.
The Condo Vultures® Market Intelligence Report™ plans to publish a 10-part weekly series that analyzes the markets of Greater Downtown Miami, South Beach, Bal Harbour / Surfside / Bay Harbor Islands, Sunny Isles Beach, Aventura, Hollywood / Hallandale Beach, Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach, Pompano Beach, Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach, and Downtown West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Island.
In the Aventura market, a combination of domestic and international developers - in unrelated projects - are proposing to construct nine towers with nearly 1,100 new condo units in a market that stretches from Northeast 163rd Street north to the Broward County line, and the Atlantic Ocean west to Federal Highway as of November 15, 2013, according to the Preconstruction Condo Projects Database™ compiled by the licensed Florida brokerage CVR Realty™.
Overall in South Florida, at least 176 new condo towers with nearly 23,100 units are proposed, planned, under construction, or recently completed in the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach as of November 15, 2013, according to the Preconstruction Condo Projects Database™ compiled by the licensed Florida brokerage CVR Realty™.
Some six years after the South Florida real estate crash began in 2007, four new condo projects (in order) - 23 Biscayne Bay, 4001 North Ocean, Apogee Beach, and Bellini Williams Island - have already been completed in the tricounty region and 41 other buildings - Aventura's Echo Aventura (two towers), and Marina Palms Yacht Club & Residences (two towers); Bal Harbour's Oceana Bal Harbour; Fort Lauderdale's Adagio Residences; Greater Downtown Miami's 1100 Millecento Residences, Brickell Citycentre (two towers), BrickellHouse, Habitat II, ICON Bay, MyBrickell, Nine At Mary Brickell Village projects; Hallandale Beach's Beachwalk; Hollywood's Costa Hollywood (two towers), H3, Sage Beach (two towers); Key Biscayne's 101 Key Biscayne and Oceana (two towers); Miami's Baltus House in the Morningside area and Grove At Grand Bay (two towers) in Coconut Grove; Miami Beach's 321 Ocean Drive (two towers), Faena House, Marea South Beach, One Ocean (two towers), Peloro Miami Beach, and Residences At Miami Beach Edition; and Sunny Isles Beach's 400 Sunny Isles (two towers), Chateau Beach, Jade Signature, Mansions At Acqualina, Porsche Design Tower, and Regalia - are under construction as the post-crash development era gains momentum, according to a recent CondoVultures.com report.
The push for new condo construction comes as the boom-era unit inventory is dwindling in South Florida.
Fueled by investors primarily from overseas, about 1,925 new condo units remain unsold from a supply of nearly 49,000 units created since 2003 in South Florida’s seven largest coastal markets of 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 as of June 30, 2013, according to a recent CondoVultures.com report.
The total number of unsold new condos does not include any of the more than 8,000 units that were purchased in bulk transactions by investment groups that plan to one day resell the units at a premium, according to the Condo Vultures® Bulk Deals Database™.
A number of the newly proposed condo units are not expected to be completed until 2014 when the unsold developer inventory from South Florida's last real estate boom and bust is projected to be sold.
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.
Condo Vultures® LLC is a real estate consultancy and marketing company based in the 225 Midtown Building at 225 NE 34th St., Suite 209B, Downtown Miami, Florida, 33137. Condo Vultures® LLC can be reached at 800-750-0517.
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™.
© Copyright 2013. Condo Vultures® LLC. All Rights Reserved.
