Developers are attempting more condo buyouts and terminations across South Florida, from Brickell and Miami Beach up to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. But lately deals are falling apart, put on hold, or resulting in messy legal fights. That’s due to a combination of factors: high interest rates and construction costs, difficulty securing enough support from owners and pullback from lenders and equity partners. Sellers are less interested in waiting.
Sites that are most in demand are waterfront properties with favorable zoning. But completing a buyout requires all the pieces to fall in line at the right time. Jaime compares it to successfully completing a Rubik’s Cube: You may get one side, but good luck with the rest.
“There’s a lot of false starts,” said Jaime Sturgis, broker/owner of Native Realty in Fort Lauderdale. “This is the holy grail of real estate. It’s the Rubik’s Cube.”