Condo Glut Floods Cities

Bargains abound as boom-time projects completed
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 22, 2008 8:17 AM CDT
Condo Glut Floods Cities
A construction worker helps builds a condominium project in Mountain View, Calif., Friday, Nov. 30, 2007.    (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

A deluge of new condos is about to hit many American cities already flooded with an unprecedented number of unsold units, the Wall Street Journal reports. This year, thousands of projects started at the height of the housing boom will be completed; oversupply and economic slowdown are likely to cause prices to plummet in condo-heavy cities like Miami, Atlanta, and Dallas.  

Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will see nearly 10,000 total new units added to a market already saturated with what the Journal calls "canyons of unsold condos." Developers worry that people who paid deposits of just 3% won't show up to close the sale. Turning the properties into rental apartments isn't an option for many builders who need money fast to pay back loans. "Vulture buyers" are circling, waiting for prices to bottom out. (More condominium stories.)

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