Michelle Lacamoire has been calling
Miami home for quite some time -- she grew up there. These days however -- like
a lot of middle-class Miami residents -- Lacamoire has discovered that actually
finding a home in Miami can be a different story.
In 2008, Miami was among the cities
hardest hit when the U.S. housing market went bust. Recently, though, things
have begun heating up again as foreign buyers scoop up properties -- paying
full price and forking over cash.
Many of those deals are
concentrated in the city's high-end waterfront communities and involve
multi-million dollar condos or homes that most middle class Miamians can't
afford. But that demand has had a ripple effect on the rest of the market and
potential home-buyers like Lacamoire.
"Let’s say if I got a listing
on a Tuesday,” says Lacomoire, “I would call [my realtor] to make an
appointment to look at the house, but she's already calling me letting me know
that the houses I was interested were already taken."
That's because inventory is low and
demand is high in affordable communities like Kendall, the Zoo Miami area,
and Homestead.
Lynda Fernandez, who works for the
Miami Association of Realtors explains: "There are opportunities, you just
have to be more focused at the moment because there is very limited
supply. Days on the market are down to 50 days when usually it's 120 days.”
That gives professional investors a
definite advantage. Armed with cash and wealthy clients, they can pull the
trigger quickly, while average Miamians like Lacamoire are left behind, still
searching for a home and hoping for a break.
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