The funniest thing about the rush for the condo-investor exits is all those real estate clerks who've already spent the commissions they'll now never collect.
Man, do I have dot-com deja-vu today...
Isn't it fun to watch a ponzi scheme unravel? What were they thinking? What were they thinking...
Nervous condo buyers want out - Jittery over the cooling condo market, some buyers seek to break their deals as developers resist.
In a cool housing market already overflowing with condos, what were once hot properties are now hot potatoes that many don't want in their hands. Buyers seeking to get out of contracts are pouncing on changes in developers' plans, including those related to higher insurance costs. Some are even combing through documents for blown deadlines, which developers blame on hurricane delays.
The tension is rising as closing day approaches for the roughly 25,000 new condos expected this year and next. And the spats between buyers and developers will help decide one of the biggest questions in the troubled housing market -- how many condo sales will actually close. If the spats continue, they would signal a rocky time to come, with unsold units and falling prices.
'This may be the beginning of the `interesting period,' '' said real-estate analyst Michael Cannon. ``We will see it evolve through 2008.''
So far, there have not been widespread defaults or much litigation, and by most accounts, buyers are going to the closing table, however reluctantly. Still, there is evidence of growing unease.
''The scary thing is, people who have flaked on me tell me they have like five other contracts in other buildings under construction,'' Covin said.
