The Miami condo sector has for decades been fueled by steady demand from Latin American and other foreign buyers, but experts say a strengthening greenback and falling foreign currencies have forced some developers to start to relax requirements for preconstruction deposits.
While purchasers of Miami condos must still pay high deposits relative to what was required before the 2008 market crash, lawyers and brokers say some developers are now coming down slightly from the 50 percent required deposit that had been standard for the last several years.
And while charging a lower deposit may stimulate more demand amid what some say may be a bubble, developers in turn could encounter difficulties bringing their projects to fruition with the reduction in deposit income at the early stages of development.
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In 2005 and 2006, deposits for Miami condos might have had 20 percent as the standard, said Gary A. Saul of Greenberg Traurig LLP.
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