At Least 30 Distressed Condos Listed For Sale In Greater Downtown Miami Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

Less Than 10 Distressed Condo Units Traded In Greater Downtown Miami In Q1 2020

DOWNTOWN MIAMI (May 13, 2020) - At least 30 distressed condo units - both shortsales and real estate owned (REO) by lenders - are formally listed for sale in the Greater Downtown Miami market of South Florida amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from Condo Vultures® Realty LLC.

Based on distressed condo sales of about three units monthly in the first three months of 2020, Greater Downtown Miami now has about a 10-month supply of shortsale and REO units available for purchase in the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach at the start of the traditional Winter 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 (which was reopened on May 11, 2020) until further notice - the Florida economy was thought to be in recession like much of the United States. 

This being said, about nine distressed condo units are currently under contract - or pending - and waiting to transact in Greater Downtown Miami. 

On the REO front, the average asking price of the 17 Greater Downtown Miami REO condos currently listed for sale is about $807,765 per unit. This works out to an average asking price of $397 per square foot, according to the data compiled by CondoVulturesRealty.com.

In the first three months of 2020, the average transaction price of the seven Greater Downtown Miami REO condos was more than $307,865 or about $302 per square foot.

This means the current asking price of a Greater Downtown Miami REO condo listed for sale is more than 162 percent higher than the average transaction price achieved on a per-unit basis and nearly 32 percent higher than the average transaction price on a per-square-foot basis between January and March of this year.

In the first quarter of 2020, the lenders that were able to unload their REO units needed about 51 days to transact a Greater Downtown Miami condo listed for sale. The current Days-On-The-Market average for a Greater Downtown Miami REO condo listed for sale is about 90, according to the statistics.

On the shortsale front, the average asking price of the 13 Greater Downtown Miami shortsale condos currently listed for sale is about $395,231 per unit. This works out to an average asking price of $364 per square foot, according to the data compiled by CondoVulturesRealty.com.

In the first three months of 2020, the price of the two Greater Downtown Miami shortsale condo transactions was about $310,000 or about $295 per square foot.

This means the current asking price of a Greater Downtown Miami shortsale condo listed for sale is nearly 28 percent higher than the average transaction price achieved on a per-unit basis and more than 23 percent higher than the average transaction price on a per-square-foot basis between January and March of this year.

In the first quarter of 2020, the sellers that were able to unload their shortsale units needed about 146 days to transact the Greater Downtown Miami condo listed for sale. The current Days-On-The-Market average for a Greater Downtown Miami shortsale condo listed for sale is about 120, 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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