The fate of one of the last unsold condo towers in the Downtown Fort Lauderdale and Beach coastal market from the South Florida real estate boom is scheduled to be determined in the next three weeks.   

Nearly 24 months after the original foreclosure action was filed in March 2010, the vacant 24-story condo-hotel project formerly known as the Trump International Hotel and Tower on Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard in South Florida is headed to a court-ordered auction on March 14, 2012, according to the South Florida Business Journal.

The lender of record - Corus Construction Venture LLC - obtained a "final judgment of foreclosure" in the amount of nearly $165.7 million - $140.6 million in principal and more than $25.1 in accrued interest - against the developer SB Hotel Associates LLC in an order signed by Broward Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey E. Streitfeld on Feb. 3, 2012, according to Broward County records.  

Bidding for foreclosure auctions customarily starts at $100 but must surpass the "final judgment of foreclosure" amount in order for an unrelated party to have a chance to secure the right to purchase a property of this magnitude.

The 298-unit former Trump International tower on the west side of Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard has a 2012 assessed value of $46.1 million, according to Broward County Property Appraiser records.

Originally slated to be the Trump International Hotel & Tower, New York real estate developer Donald J. Trump has since withdrawn his name from the Fort Lauderdale Beach project that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  

CondoVultures.com is scheduled to profile the latest condo trends in 2011 in the seven largest coastal markets in the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.
 
Since the week of Jan. 16, the Condo Vultures® Market Intelligence Report™ has been publishing a seven-part weekly series analyzing new condo sales trends in Greater Downtown Miami, South Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, Hollywood / Hallandale Beach, Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach, Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach, and Downtown West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Island.       
The Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach market stretches from Sunrise Boulevard south to State Road 84, and the Atlantic Ocean west to Northwest 7th / Southwest 4th avenues, according to the Condo Vultures® Official Condo Buyers Guide To Downtown Fort Lauderdale And The Beach™.

As the two-year battle for ownership of the former Trump International project progressed in the court, the Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach condo market experienced a surge in sales of new units created since 2003, according to an analysis based on the Condo Vultures® Official Condo Buyers Guide To Downtown Fort Lauderdale And The Beach™.

As of Dec. 31, 2011, less than 50 developer condos out of a total of nearly 5,100 units created during the boom era in the Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach market are unsold, according to a recent CondoVultures.com report.  
The new condo total does not include the former Trump International Hotel and Tower inventory as the "condominium documents" for the project have not been filed as of Feb. 22, 2012, according to Broward County records.

Also excluded from the Downtown Fort Lauderdale and Beach coastal condo market total is the 172-unit Fort Lauderdale Residences project - known as the W Fort Lauderdale - on Bayshore Drive that was formally converted into a condo-hotel in less than a year ago in March 2011.  

On the resale market in Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach, there are currently nearly 220 units created since 2003 available for purchase as of Feb. 22, 2012, according to an analysis by the licensed Florida real estate brokerage CVR Realty™.
 
In the 2011, buyers purchased an average of 33 condo per month on the resale market that were created during the boom, according to Florida Association of Realtors data.
 
In previous years, buyers purchased an average of 35 units per month in 2010 and an average of 24 units per month in 2009.  
 
Demand for condos is coming from foreign investors who are attempting to capitalize on the current price discounts coupled with the stronger rental rates being achieved in the Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach market, industry watchers said.
 
The Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach condo market has about a month of boom-era condo inventory available for rent at the current leasing pace, according to the report.
 
As of Feb. 22, 2012, there are 35 condos created during the boom that are available for lease in Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach, according to an analysis by the Rental Division of the licensed Florida brokerage Condo Vultures® Realty LLC.
 
In 2011, renters leased an average of 34 condos per month at a median price $1.60 per square foot monthly, according to the report based on Florida Realtors association data.  
 
In 2010, the median rental price for a condo in the Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach market was $1.53 per square foot per month. A year earlier in 2009, the median rental price for a condo was $1.60 per square foot per month, according to the report.  
 
Overall, buyers have purchased more than 99 percent of 5,010 developer units that were created since 2003. The overall purchase price is more than $2.3 billion for more than 6.5 million square feet of space, according to an analysis of Broward County records.
 
Developer condos from the boom have sold for an average of nearly $360 per square foot, according to an analysis of the Broward County Property Appraiser records.
 
Since 2003, developers constructed and converted 47 projects of 15 units or more in the Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach market to increase the existing inventory by 66 percent in less than a decade, according to the report.
It is important to note there are various stages to a residential real estate transaction in South Florida.  

A transaction begins when a property is made available for sale and ends when a title is conveyed from one party to another party as a result of the recording of a deed with the local government.

As part of the process, a property typically goes under contract and into a due diligence phase by which a deal can be canceled.  

The CondoVultures.com new condo sales report is based on completed transactions where a deed is recorded and taxes paid as a result of the sale.  

Condo Vultures® LLC is a real estate consultancy and marketing company based at 1005 Kane Concourse, Suite 205, Bal Harbour, Florida, 33154. You can reach Condo Vultures® LLC at 800-750-0517.
Don't forget to sign up for our weekly Market Intelligence Report™ for detailed condo reports to stay informed on the latest market trends and to find out about our various Condo Vultures® Seminars. Looking for a property at a deep discount? Take a peek at the Vultures Database™ or view our Video Library. Looking for bulk projects direct from developers or lenders? Visit the Condo Vultures® Bulk Deals Database™. Our new books, the Official Condo Buyers Guide to Miami™, Official Condo Buyers Guide To South Beach™, Official Condo Buyers Guide to Sunny Isles Beach™, Official Condo Buyers Guide to Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach™, Official Condo Buyers Guide to Hollywood / Hallandale Beach™, Official Condo Buyers Guide to Downtown West Palm Beach™, and Official Condo Buyers Guide to Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach™, are now available. Want to see every foreclosure filed in South Florida since 2007? Check out our Foreclosure Database™.

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