Fort Lauderdale Outshines Tri-County Area Amid Housing Downturn

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Report shows downtown Fort Lauderdale and the beach area is relatively stable compared to real estate markets in surrounding counties.

Out of an estimate 5,100 Fort Lauderdale Condos created or converted in the past eight years, less than 2 percent remain unsold, according to a recent report from Condo Vultures, a Bal Harbour based real estate consultant firm.

“Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the beach are arguably one of the most stable coastal condo markets in the tri-county South Florida region based strictly on remaining unsold developer units,” notes the report.

The anti-development stance the Fort Lauderdale City Commission took during the real estate boom is one reason why the city’s condo market may be faring better than markets in nearby counties.

Former Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle and commission members opposed multiple new construction projects proposed during the boom years.  This resulted in many of the condo developments in downtown Fort Lauderdale and the beach being approved, constructed and ultimately sold out before the South Florida real estate crashed in 2007.

“Fort Lauderdale did not experience the massive over-development that happened in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties,” explains Jack McCabe, owner of Deerfield Beach-based McCabe Research & Consulting LLC, which analyzes condo markets.

“There were a lot of developers that were upset that they had set this maximum, but it was a wise decision on the part of the city commissioners because it prevented the same type of condo disasters that we are seeing throughout the state.”

Excluded from the report is the 298-unit condo-hotel project known as Trump International Hotel & Tower.  Sales for these new units have not yet begun.

Of the condos that were created or converted during the boom almost 5,000 have been sold for an average of $358 per square foot.

According to a recent South Florida Sun-Sentinel article, bulk buyers have contributed to a majority of transactions.  In February of this year, a bulk buyer purchased 68 units in the Village East condominium complex near the 17th Street Causeway.

“Strong demand for Broward properties has resulted in a balnaced market where housing inventory is currently 5.5 months of supply,” notes Terri Bersach, president of the 2011 Broward County Board of Goverors of the Miami Association of Realtors.  ”This sharp reduction in housing inventory along with price stabilization reflects the health of the local market.”

The international market has also played an important part in stabilizing the Fort Lauderdale Real Estate market.  International buyers tend to prefer condos because of familiarity and consider our local market as a safe investment.