Miami Projected To Be Worst Real Estate Market Of 2008
While Hawaii is at the top of its game right now, another popular vacation destination is gasping for air. Florida has four cities on HousingPredictor.com’s forecast list of 25 worst real estate markets in 2008. Coming in at number one was Miami, where a two-story three-bedroom waterfront home with hardwood floors, two and a half baths and a private dock can be had for $365,100, according to Forbes.com. Miami’s median price dropped 5.6% from 2005 to 2006, and HousingPredictor.com predicts it will drop another 15.2% in 2008.
In fairness, nothing compares to California, with eight cities on Housing Predictor’s list of the worst. Of course, this is probably due to the fact that California real estate has long been priced miles above the rest of the country and it simply had nowhere to go but down. Miami’s problems are being blamed on the glut of condos, which could probably explain the similar problems in Fort Lauderdale, Naples and Palm Beach. Condos were a cash cow for a long time, but now they’ve transformed into a major financial liability. It looks like that market is simply correcting itself from the overbuilding of the last couple years.
Forbes places Detroit atop the worst list based on the major housing depreciation over last year, blamed largely on the massive auto industry job cutbacks that hit the city so hard. But Miami is in second place on Forbes’ list.
As far as third place goes, I would have to agree with Housing Predictor’s choice - Las Vegas. Builders in the area say there has been a housing glut, but that the market is slowly starting to correct itself. Of course, one aspect of that involves price decreases. Forbes chose Indianapolis for its third-worst real estate city and no cities in Nevada even made it on the list, which I would have to say seems a bit inaccurate. At any rate, a bit of good news: housing prices are picking up along the Gulf Coast, which is a well-deserved dose of positivity for Hurricane Katrina victims.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
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