SUNNY ISLES, FL-The Trump logo has found a place on six condo projects in Sunny Isles Beach since 2003. But many units remain dark and the volume of empty units is driving up vacancy rates in the oceanside city.
According to a new report from Condo Vultures, nearly half of the 1,000 finished condo units that remained unsold in Sunny Isles Beach at end of the third quarter are located in the six condo projects that carry the Trump name. Specifically, about 500 units of the 1,800-plus Trump-branded condos build on the ocean side of Collins Avenue since 2003 sit empty. The Trump Organization did not return calls seeking comment.
"The fact that such a large percentage of the Trump-named units are unsold has more to do with the number of condos constructed rather than the product type," says Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, FL-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures. The largest block of unsold Trump condos in Sunny Isles Beach is in Trump Tower III. As of the end of the third quarter, none of the 271 units in the building were sold, according to Miami-Dade County records.
"Many buyers are attracted to the condo product bearing the Trump name. At the right price, today's all-cash buyers will consider purchasing a unit or two in one of the half-dozen Trump projects standing in Northeast Miami-Dade County,” Zalewski says. In fact, buyers are buying—and even paying a bit more, on average, today than they were in previous quarters.
Buyers snapped up 104 units in Trump’s Sunny Isles projects during the quarter, according to Miami-Dade County records. The sales totaled $103 million for an average sales price of $511 per square foot. That compares to 75 units sold in the second quarter for $425 per square foot, 55 units in the first quarter at about $430 per square foot, Condo Vultures reports.
While the Trump name was licensed at a premium during the hey days of the condo building boom, the brand hasn’t delivered the promised premium, Jack McCabe, principal at McCabe Research & Consulting, tells GlobeSt.com. People who closed on units have seen their values drop as much as any other condo building in South Florida, he says.
“These units were sold at the highest price the market would bear,” McCabe says. “The units were predominantly sold to flippers at pre-construction prices. The majority of those investors backed out. Now, many are still sitting empty.”
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