High demand for high-rises gives way to a new finance model, new risks to buyers

With demand for high-end residential condominiums quickly outpacing supply, developers are moving fast to introduce new inventory to the market by proposing more than 150 new condo towers with nearly 20,000 units in each of the counties of South Florida. Recovery is certainly underway, but financing challenges continue. Lenders, for the most part, are still reluctant to make large construction loans, opting to only fund projects that bring a significant amount of hard equity and credible ownersh...