Think the condo market in Miami is still hung over from the recession? Think again.
According to Diego Ojeda, vice president of Miami-based Rilea Group and a speaker at IMN’s Condo Development, Finance and Investment Forum, the market has recovered to the point that developers like himself find it more than a little attractive.
During the last condo boom, Ojeda said, the estimates of what was actually built were too high. “When we counted, there were about 20,000 units instead of the 80,000 units people were saying. In the last three years, those units got sold,” he said.
In fact, supply on the market, which hit a high of 40 months in 2008, has contracted back to a healthy level of six months, he said.
That and a new 50% deposit structure has given Rilea Group the confidence to move forward on projects like The Bond, a new condo tower in the heart of Brickell inspired by Bond Street in London.
I wondered aloud whether, with the nearby competition, the market is deep enough to support a high-end project like The Bond. But Ojeda said the new deposit structure gives him a lot of confidence. It generates a completely different buyer, someone who is educated, savvy and very interested in higher finishes and amenities.
“Because of the deposit structure, we’ve completely weeded out speculators,” he said.
And with Miami condo pricing at $500 to $600 per square foot, it’s a bargain for Europeans compared to prices in New York, Paris and Moscow averaging $1,500 per square foot.
Click here to listen to the full interview with Diego Ojeda of Rilea Group.
