South Florida Condo Resales Inventory Dips Below 40,000 Units

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According to a new report by Condo Vultures, fewer than 40,000 condominiums and townhouses are now for resale in the tricounty South Florida region, marking the fewest number of available units on the market in the last 18 months.

The number of condos and townhouses for resale in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties has dropped by 23 percent on a year-over-year basis compared to May 2009 when there were 52,000 units on the market, according to the report produced using Florida Association of Realtors data.

The available resales do not reflect the new units that developers are privately marketing, according Condo Vultures.

"South Florida's condo resale inventory has decreased by more than 35 percent - or 21,400 units - in the last 18 months," said Peter Zalewski, a principal with Bal Harbour, Fla.-based Condo Vultures LLC. "The inventory is depleting for a variety of reasons, ranging from more investors and second-home buyers purchasing units at prices they think are deeply discounted to primary users taking advantage of the government incentives related to real estate. There also have been some sellers who have decided to take their condos off the market as a result of obtaining mortgage modifications.

"The unknown is whether more product will be put up for resale once some of the better capitalized sellers determine that the market is stabilizing, reducing the chances of having to accept a fire sale price."

South Florida's condo resale inventory has been continuously falling since November 2008 when Condo Vultures first began tracking available resales and pending contracts on a weekly basis. At the time, there were 61,000 condos and townhouses available for resale in South Florida.

Condos and townhouses available for purchase slipped below 60,000 in December 2008 and then dipped below 50,000 in June 2009.

On a county-by-county basis, Miami-Dade County, which is home to Aventura, Miami Beach, and Sunny Isles Beach, has the greatest number of condos and townhouses for resale in South Florida with 41 percent of the overall available inventory.

Miami-Dade County currently has 16,200 units available for resale. As high as that total is, the number is down 21 percent from nearly 20,600 condos and townhouses for resale in Miami-Dade in May 2009, according to the report. 

Broward County, which is home to Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and Pompano Beach, accounts for 30 percent of the available resale condo and townhouse inventory.

Nearly 12,100 condos and townhouses are available for resale in Broward, down 30 percent from 17,200 units on the resale market in May 2009, according to the report.

In Palm Beach County, which is home to Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and West Palm Beach, there are currently about 11,300 condos and townhouses for resale. Palm Beach County represents about 29 percent of the South Florida available resale inventory.

A year ago in May 2009, there were 13,900 condos and townhouses for resale in Palm Beach County, according to CondoVultures.com.

As the number of units available for resale is falling, total pending sales are on the rise.

Buyers have more than 12,200 condos and townhouses under contract in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. The current number of pending sales represents a 77 percent year-over-year increase compared to May 2009 when there were 6,900 contracts in place, according to the report.

Nearly half - some 48 percent - of the pending contracts are on condos and townhouses located in Miami-Dade County. An additional 38 percent of the pending sales are in Broward County, while Palm Beach County represents 14 percent of the contracts, according to the report.

In November 2008 when CondoVultures.com first began tracking pending contracts on a weekly basis, South Florida had some 4,400 condos and townhouses under contract.

Pending contracts on condo and townhouse units reached the 5,000-units threshold February 2009. Nearly a year later in January 2010, South Florida's pending contracts for condos and townhouses surpassed the 10,000-units mark, according to Condo Vultures.

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