Vultures Circling

Real estate “vultures” are circling — eager to swoop down and buy portfolios of bargain-priced condos — but despite the desperation of developers, investors have been blocked from getting deals done...

Several investors say they expect federal regulators will force banks and developers to lower their prices with tighter rules on the industry that will pressure lenders to write off assets.

...

“We have dealt with the developers but we find that they really don’t have any equity in the project so there is not much to talk about,” Wells said. “Most of the developers [with large unsold inventories] have been wiped out and the lenders are the real stakeholders, so we go to them.”

But lenders, who have millions of dollars tied up in acquisition and development loans for condo projects, aren’t ready to sell at the discount bulk investors are seeking, he said.

...

Matt Martinez, who represents a Connecticut-based private equity group with $200 million to invest in South Florida condos, also deals directly with lenders. Martinez has made offers on 32 condominium properties across South Florida in the past few months with little success. About 95 percent of his offers have been rejected, he said.