There was a time when South Florida’s condo market was red hot. However, changes in regulations and increases in ownership costs have pushed many condo owners in the area to sell. However, the problem is that they’re now all selling at once.
Michael Leccese's one-bedroom, two-bathroom unit at the Sian on South Ocean Drive in Hollywood, Florida, has been on the market for more than a year, and he's dropped the price four times since listing it.
"It's gonna take a while,” he told CBS News, in reference to finding a buyer.
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South Florida condo owners are struggling
A big reason Leccese is looking to sell his condo is that the overall cost of homeownership has risen. "I'm definitely taking a hit economically to support these types of expenses," Leccese said.
When Leccese first listed his condo just over a year ago, he priced it at $435,000. Most recently, he lowered it to $414,000 in the hopes of finding a buyer. He's banking on finding one eventually.
"There's a lot of condos on the market right now, so for a buyer it's a great opportunity," Leccese said. "But you have to be an educated buyer."
Leccese isn’t the only South Florida condo owner to see his costs go up.
"A lot of people have seen their maintenance double. They've seen some of the assessments become extremely unaffordable. It's definitely impacted many residents here in Florida," said Phil Gutman, President of Gutman Development Marketing President, in a Fox News interview.
Why it’s so hard to sell a condo in South Florida right now
Any time there’s more supply of a given commodity than there is demand, prices tend to fall. That’s what’s happening in South Florida right now.
Many condo owners are buckling under the weight of increased costs and are looking to unload their units. That’s created an abundance of inventory on the market.
Peter Zalewski, who tracks the condo market on his site Condo Vultures, said South Florida condo owners are selling in short order because they can't keep up with higher maintenance fees and special assessments.