(This story, in slightly different form, originally appeared inthe Daily BusinessReview.)

Miami architect-turned-developer Willy Bermello knows firsthandabout free-falling land values in the wake of the housing boom.Bermello and his partners sold a vacant site west of BrickellAvenue in Miami for $9 million, half of what they paid for it atthe peak of a condo craze in 2005, according to Miami-Dade Countyproperty records.

Since the housing market crashed in 2007, hundreds ofdevelopment sites across South Florida have remained idle.Developers abandoned plans to build condo projects as buyers leftthe market and banks almost stopped residential constructionfinancing. The lack of demand for land has forced developers likeBermello to sell at large discounts and, in some instances, atbelow the outstanding mortgage on the property. Bermello's $9million sale price is less than the $13.5 million loan his companygot from Colonial Bank when it refinanced in July 2006. Bermellodid not respond to a phone message or an e-mail requestingcomment.