It's now "buy one get one free" for homes in Florida. And that's probably STILL not even close to what these units will end up going for

One thing about these firesales? The comps will be destroyed for years and years to come. One bad thing? Anyone who "owns" a house in the area now has a new comp.

And just because it seems like a good deal today (comparing against the bubble high) doesn't mean it's a good deal. Just ask the buyers of pets.com stock as it headed down.

Thanks Eric for the link..

ABC Nightline says the P word... "Panic"

Great series on the housing crash underway on Nightline. Here's their story about the condo panic in Miami - "Fools Gold". You're going to see 50%+ drops in real home prices (not "median", but "real" or "marked to market" price) in some of these bubble cities folks - no matter what the government, realtors on commission or the NAR tell you.

Also check out the expose on the mortgage lending meltdown here.

The MSM is good at one thing - reporting on the dead bodies at crime scenes. Too bad they weren't there when the crime was going on.

Real Estate Fool's Gold
Condo Fever in Miami Brings Profits, Then Panic

You can't miss the flocks of cranes that hover over Miami's skyline. They were hatched by a condo fever that seized the city and fueled what is now the biggest construction boom in the country.

Not long ago the only thing going up faster than buildings in Miami was the prices -- and Lucy Blanco wanted in

"It was going up so rapidly that I was fearful that if it went any higher I could not afford it anymore," she said. "So I needed to get it while it was still at a price I could afford…before it went out of my range.

"If we don't hurry up and buy something now," she said, "we're never going to be

able to buy anything."

In February 2006, Blanco bought a preconstruction one-bedroom unit in a condo community called Quantum on the Bay. She paid $465,000. Today, however, Blanco estimates the property is worth $100,000 less than what she agreed to pay.

Florida condo bust: Buyers vs. builders and here come the lawyers

It's amazing when you see someone walk away from a $340,000 deposit rather than close on the condo. Shows you what the place is really worth (or not worth)

Anyone want to guess what % drop we'll see on Florida condo prices?

As Condos Rise in South Florida, Nervous Investors Try to Flee

As dozens of condominium towers conceived during Florida’s real estate boom near completion, investors who snatched up units in the preconstruction phase in hopes of turning a quick profit are increasingly trying to break contracts, even walking away from fat deposits.

“Motivated” sellers are flooding online forums like Craigslist with advertisements for condo units still months or years from being finished. And lawyers have been inundated with calls from people hoping to avoid closing on units they bought during the speculative craze of 2004 and 2005.

“I get two or three of these calls a day,” said James Ryan, a lawyer in Boca Raton who said he had 40 clients looking to get out of condo contracts. One, Mr. Ryan said, abandoned a $340,000 deposit rather than close on a $1.6 million unit that lost its appeal as the market faltered.

The numbers suggest that it will only get worse. In Miami-Dade County alone, 8,000 new condo units will be completed this year and nearly 12,000 more in 2008.

But demand has dropped markedly, and people who thought they could “flip” condos — buying, then selling for a steep profit before construction is done — are parting with that fantasy. After years of stunning price increases — 25 percent in the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton area, for example, from March 2005 to March 2006 — condo prices have started dropping.