At Least 12 Distressed Aventura Condos Listed For Sale In South Florida During COVID-19 Pandemic

Aventura Buyers Purchased 17 Distressed Condos In South Florida In First Half Of 2020

(This Report Is Powered By The Condo Vultures® Podcast Series Featuring Expert Peter Zalewski

DOWNTOWN MIAMI (Sept. 19, 2020) - At least a dozen distressed condo units - both shortsales and real estate owned (REO) by lenders - are formally listed for sale in the Aventura market of South Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from Condo Vultures® Realty LLC.

Based on distressed condo sales of less than three units monthly in the first six months of 2020, Aventura now has more than a four-month supply of REO and shortsale units available for purchase in the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach during the traditional Summer Buying Season, according to the report based on data from the Southeast Florida MLS Matrix.

A balanced market is generally considered to have about six months of supply. More months of condo supply listed for sale suggests a buyer’s advantage and less months typically indicates a seller’s advantage in the market.

In this new COVID-19 pandemic era, numerous questions exist about how the South Florida residential real estate market will perform going forward, both in the short- and medium-term periods. After a typical start to the new year, the South Florida residential real estate market began to change dramatically at the end of the first quarter of 2020. 

When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a "state of emergency to create a pathway to obtain funding and resources to stop the spread of COVID-19" on March 9, 2020, the South Florida residential real estate market continued to function, albeit with changes for safety that included social distancing and a push for virtual tours instead of buyer actually visiting properties.  

Nearly a month later on April 3, 2020, DeSantis instituted a 30-day "statewide stay-at-home order" that effectively shut down the Florida economy but in doing so deemed residential and commercial real estate businesses "essential services," according to an industry press report.

Despite the ability to transact real estate during the "stay-at-home order," it is unclear how many buyers have been willing to view properties - either in person or virtually - in hopes of purchasing residences. It is also unclear how many sellers have opened their properties to potential buyers given the contagiousness of the COVID-19 virus. 

Once the "stay-at-home order" was finally lifted on May 4, 2020 for nearly all of the state - excluding the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach - the Florida economy was thought to be in recession like much of the United States. Palm Beach County eventually opened its economy on May 11, 2020, and a week later both Miami-Dade and Broward counties opened for business on a limited basis on May 18, 2020.

A month later during the week of June 22, 2020, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties instituted mandatory mask wearing in public areas in response to a "spike" in the number of COVID-19 cases in the South Florida region, according to a press report. 

Broward County - located between Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties - recommended but did not mandate masks be worn in public areas.

After Independence Day, Miami-Dade County took a step backward and shut back down restaurant dining rooms, party venues, gyms and short-term rentals due to a spike in new COVID-19 cases, according to a press report.    

With the situation worsening, the state of Florida surpassed New York on July 12 for the distinction of having the most new COVID-19 cases reported in a day with more than 15,300, according to a press report.  

A day later on July 13, an additional 12,624 new cases were reported in Florida, pushing the state number of COVID-19 cases to at least 282,435 with more than 121,000 cases in the tricounty South Florida region. On a county-by-county basis, Miami-Dade had nearly 67,715 cases, Broward had nearly 31,485 cases and Palm Beach had more than 21,800 cases, according to a press report.

As of July 24, Florida had more than 402,300 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with nearly 5,700 deaths, according to the Florida Department Of Health's COVID-19 Data And Surveillance Dashboard.

On that same day, the tricounty South Florida region had about 172,440 confirmed cases - representing about 43 percent of the Florida total - and about 2,660 deaths - representing about 47 percent of the state total, according to the state dashboard. 

Following the Labor Day holiday on Sept. 8, the COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in nearly 650,100 confirmed cases and about 11,915 total deaths in Florida. In the tricounty South Florida region, there were more than 276,635 cases and about 5,070 deaths, according to the state website. 

On a county-by-county basis, Miami-Dade had more than 160,765 confirmed cases and more than 2,665 deaths; Broward had nearly 72,950 confirmed cases and nearly 1,235 deaths; and Palm Beach had more than 42,925 confirmed cases and about 1,170 deaths, according to the state website. 

In a pair of encouraging steps in consecutive weeks, Miami-Dade County joined Broward and Palm Beach counties in once again permitting restaurants to allow indoor dining at levels of up to 50 percent of the seating capacity as of Aug. 31. The move in Miami-Dade County was based on a leveling off in the number of new COVID-19 cases and pandemic-related deaths, according to a press report.   

The following week on Sept. 8, Palm Beach County transitioned into Phase 2 with the reopening of entertainment businesses such as movie theaters, playhouses and bowling alleys. Additionally, patrons could once again be served drinks at the bar of various venues. Retailers and museums were also allowed to operate at full capacity, according to a press report.       

A week later on Sept. 14, DeSantis upgraded Miami-Dade and Broward counties into Phase 2, joining Palm Beach County and the rest of the other counties in Florida in gradually loosening restrictions in a quest to return to the new normal. Despite the move by the governor, the mayors of Miami-Dade and Broward counties said they are planning to loosen the restrictions eventually but not immediately, according to a press report. 

As of Sept. 14, Florida had about 665,730 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with more than 12,640 deaths, according to the Florida Department Of Health's COVID-19 Data And Surveillance Dashboard.

The tricounty South Florida region had about 280,700 confirmed cases - representing about 42 percent of the Florida total - and about 5,377 deaths - representing less than 43 percent of the state total, according to the state website.

On a county-by-county basis, Miami-Dade had about 163,065 confirmed cases and nearly 2,900 deaths; Broward had about 73,900 confirmed cases and nearly 1,285 deaths; and Palm Beach had about 43,735 confirmed cases and nearly 1,200 deaths, according to the state website.  

This being said, about 13 distressed condo units are currently under contract - or pending - and waiting to transact in Aventura. 

On the shortsale front, the average asking price of the three Aventura shortsale condos currently listed for sale is about $271,000 per unit. This works out to an average asking price of $231 per square foot, according to the data compiled by CondoVulturesRealty.com.

In the first six months of 2020, the average transaction price of the three Aventura shortsale condo sales was more than $234,665 or about $155 per square foot.

This means the current asking price of a Aventura shortsale condo listed for sale is nearly 16 percent higher than the average transaction price achieved on a per-unit basis and about 49 percent higher than the average transaction price on a per-square-foot basis between January and June of this year.

In the first half of 2020, the sellers that were able to unload their shortsale units needed about 80 days to transact the Aventura condos listed for sale. The current Days-On-The-Market average for an Aventura shortsale condo listed for sale is about 114, according to the statistics.

On the REO front, the asking price of the nine Aventura REO condos currently listed for sale is about $471,678. This works out to an average asking price of $294 per square foot, according to the data compiled by CondoVulturesRealty.com.

In the first six months of 2020, the average transaction price of a Aventura REO condo was about $304,790 or about $183 per square foot.

This means the current asking price of a Aventura REO condo listed for sale is nearly 55 percent higher than the average transaction price achieved on a per-unit basis and nearly 61 percent higher than the average transaction price on a per-square-foot basis between January and June of this year.

In the first half of 2020, the lenders that were able to unload their REO units needed about 94 days to transact a Aventura condo listed for sale. The current Days-On-The-Market average for a Aventura REO condo listed for sale is about 166, according to the statistics.

CondoVulturesRealty.com is a licensed Florida brokerage that specializes in assisting buyers and tenants in value-oriented condo acquisitions and leases in the tricounty region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.

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