New condo sales drop in fourth quarter

The fourth quarter wasn’t the best of 2009, but buyers paid for 700 new condominium units to bring the year’s total to 2,350. Purchasing rates dropped 27 percent from the third quarter, according to Bal Harbour-based Condo Vultures. However, the second half of the year clearly showed improvement — the sales of 246 new condos in the first quarter and 465 in the second were only 30 percent of the year’s total. Condo Vultures principal Peter Zalewski said many buyers are paying cash for their properties, and that the average price per square foot dropped from about $300 a square foot at the start of 2009 to $200 by the year’s end. [Condo Vultures]