Peter Zalewski: Miami Beach is overheating

At the onset of summer, Miami Beach real estate is showing signs of overheating, Condo Vultures Realty principal Peter Zalewski said in a Miami Herald opinion piece. Bullish agents are asking for prices higher that surpass the peak of the last cycle in 2006, Zalewski said.

Real estate sticker prices continue to climb even amid rising inventories of resale properties, but prices are “poised to potentially weaken” as activity slackens over the summer months.

Nearly 600 South Beach condos built during the last real estate boom went unsold for a third consecutive quarter even as 17 new towers with nearly 1,100 condo units have been proposed at prices that exceed $3,000 per square foot, Zalewski said, citing Miami-Dade County records and marketing materials.

Rental inventory is rising as more tenants go to brand new units in mainland Miami, he said.

Industry observers generally deem a residential market healthy if it has about six months of resale inventory, with anything higher as advantageous to buyers and any less inventory a benefit to sellers.

Miami Beach has 190 days, or just over six months, of condo resale inventory, and nearly nine months of single-family home inventory. [Miami Herald] –Emily Schmall