Biscayne Beach condominium in Downtown Miami's East Edgewater neighborhood

MIAMI—2018 will be a great year for buying opportunities in the high-end condo market. The developer inventory from 2012, is now over 85% sold and unsold developer inventory is growing short.

That's according to research from Craig Studnicky. He's the principal at RelatedISG.

Consider the breakdown. Looking back, the years 2012 through and including 2015 saw new condo developer inventory being sold at a pace of just over 3,200 per year.

By late 2015, Studnicky tells GlobeSt.com, the value of the US dollar skyrocketed and caused International buying activity to slow down. The buying pace of condos during both 2016 and 2017 averaged 1,370 condos per year. That's less than half of the sale pace from 2012-2015.

“There is a very clear signal from most developers with unsold inventory—a willingness to offer substantial buyer incentives and discounts in 2018 to accelerate sales,” Studnicky says. “Some of these buyer incentives being offered supersede whatever hesitation might exist with international buyers over the high value of the US dollar. Moreover, we see these incentives working. We are seeing selling prices by developers that are highly competitive to any pricing found in MLS.”

(Will 2018 be a buyer's or seller's market? Get one view here. You can still read part one: What to Expect in Miami's Condo Market in 2018.)

As an example, Studnicky points to his own firm. RelatedISG is now offering buyers at the W Residences Fort Lauderdale a two-year leaseback option. The program offers buyers an annual lease payment of 8% of the net purchase price on select units for two years.

“We rolled out a leaseback program because of our confidence in the W Residences and in Fort Lauderdale,” he says. “We want to make a bold statement proving our excitement for this market and also want to help current and prospective buyers feel secure in their purchasing decision. This was the perfect way to show our optimism in the W Residences Fort Lauderdale.”

Where does the market go from here? Studnicky has some clear insight: “My prediction is that with only 289 unsold units remaining, together with the pricing incentives and discounts such as leaseback programs currently offered by developers, the current unsold inventory will be sold by this time next year.”

Instant Insights /

How Long Will it Take Remaining Condo Inventory to Sell?

Related Stories

Recommended For You