The Magic City vs. Sin City

Las Vegas and Miami could both be classified as party cities, but the happening locales share more in common than just a reputation for debauchery. It seems their condo markets have shared similar paths as well. In Miami, the static cranes throughout downtown and Brickell certainly told a story of stalled development in 2009. But Las Vegas buyers share similar stories of depreciation as Miamians. Kathy Riggle told the Miami Herald that she bought a condo conversion for $180,000 during the boom, but has watched in disbelief as values have dropped by more than half. In her particular case, the unit, which is in foreclosure because she couldn’t collect enough rent to cover the mortgage, is valued at $49,000.

The Herald goes on to report, “Las Vegas analysts and builders blame South Florida developers, as well as other out-of-market players, for helping whip up the condo mania in the nation’s gambling mecca. During the boom, Miami development companies launched full-scale assaults on the Vegas market — complete with cocktail parties (hosted by gorgeous models) and million-dollar sales centers.

With predictions that the markets will be back on the rise soon, the race is now on to see which city will recover faster.

Via The Miami Herald