Lenders seize 1,900 Miami condos

A group of three lenders controlled by HSBC Bank, Bank of America and iStar Financial have taken control of over 1,900 new unsold condos in the greater Miami region in the last month and a half, according to real estate tracking firm Condo Vultures. The seizures were largely localized at troubled developments, including Everglades on the Bay, which filed for bankruptcy in August 2009 and saw its title transferred to its lender late last month. Peter Zalewski, head of Condo Vultures, said that the takeovers signal a new phase in the market. “We are entering the phase of the real estate cycle where the lenders, not the developers, are dictating the course of the condo market going forward in greater Miami,” Zalewski said. TRD