CondoVultures.com
Nearly two dozen new South Florida condominiums have obtained Fannie Mae approval in the first five months of this year, clearing the way for individual buyers to secure mortgages in each of the respective projects, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.
The flurry of approvals comes after 41 South Florida condo projects were approved for financing in all of 2009. No new condominium projects were approved for financing by Fannie Mae in 2008, according to the report.
"Fannie Mae has gone from virtually black listing the South Florida condo market to suddenly focusing all of its attention on assisting developers in the tricounty region of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach to sell units in their projects by permitting financing," said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC. "The challenge now becomes convincing lenders to originate mortgages for buyers who want to acquire condominiums in the South Florida region.
"Until financing is readily available, the South Florida condo market is unlikely to stabilize in spite of Fannie Mae's best efforts."
Condo financing is one of the topics that will be discussed at the upcoming Condo Vultures® seminar June 1 entitled "An Insider's Assessment Of Florida Banking"
Florida Bankers Association President and Chief Executive Officer Alex Sanchez, who has run the powerful industry organization since 1998, will be the keynote speaker.
The 5.30 pm to 8 pm event will be held at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel on North Bayshore Drive in Greater Downtown Miami.
A lawyer by training with several years of experience, Sanchez's energy is now focused exclusively on guiding the state's 400 financial institutions through one of the toughest economic times in decades as regulators seize banks, borrowers opt not to pay their mortgages, and special assets employees outnumber loan originators.
Sanchez's governmental efforts take him from Florida's capital in Tallahassee to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., in pursuit of protecting and promoting the interests of the banking industry.
Sanchez, who was nominated by former President George W. Bush and supported by former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham (D-Florida), serves on the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Boardthat oversees a voluntary program for government workers.
One bill Sanchez and the Florida Bankers Association supported in the last Florida legislature session called for speeding up the foreclosure process by shifting the action out of the courtroom and into an administrative setting.
South Florida bankers have said privately that a typical foreclosure now takes about 18 months to complete at a cost of at least $100,000. Back in 2007 when the foreclosures first began to spike, many bankers estimated the process would take as little as six months and cost a minimum of $40,000.
Register for the seminar online at www.condovultures.com. Tickets are $40 in advance and $50 at the door.
For more information about the June 1 event, please contact CondoVultures.com executive editor John Fakler at 800-750-0517 or by email at jfakler@condovultures.com.
