Downtown West Palm Beach and Peter Zalewski, principal of Condo Vultures
While a second condominium boom is practically underway in Miami, nearby downtown West Palm Beach is still recovering from the bust.
Citing data from Condo Vultures, GlobeSt.com noted that while thousands of new units are planned to replenish the dwindling Miami inventory, there’s still 650 unsold developer units on the market in downtown West Palm Beach — and they’re only being absorbed at a rate of about 10 per month. Plus there’s at least 400 more units, including 273 at CityPlace South Tower, that don’t qualify as new development because they were purchased by bulk investors.
The discrepency can be attributed to the foreign buyer. “Foreign buyers — who tend to arrive in South Florida via Miami International Airport — are generally most interested in condo product in Miami-Dade County,” said Peter Zalewski, a principal at Condo Vultures. “The interest level tends to drop off as the buyers consider traveling north to Fort Lauderdale and ultimately West Palm Beach.” [GlobeSt]