Miami Real Estate Investing Podcast With Peter Zalewski

Welcome to Buy, Sell, Hold Miami™ weekly podcast for a no-nonsense perspective on South Florida real estate from a pair of locals with differing opinions.Each week, real estate advisor Daniel Hernandez of Compass Real Estate and longtime analyst Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ break down the housing market headlines, unpack policy changes and provide unfiltered analysis on everything from condo terminations to Vintage unit fire sales, luxury speculative homes to developer strategies.Whether you are a homeowner, investor or real estate professional, Hernandez and Zalewski will give a local perspective on what is really happening across the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach with no fluff, no hype and plenty of data-backed opinions.We call balls and strikes on when to buy, sell and hold.Episode TopicsFor the Nov. 28, 2025, podcast, Hernandez and Zalewski give their take on the following five topics:Miami Dade College Plays Its Trump CardWhat Happens When Constituents Throw Fits?Mana Gets Emoishetional About MiamiEdgewater Getting More Resil-UnitsMiami-Dade County = Wetland SlumlordThanksgiving Bonus: Miami New Times Ranks Local ChickensThis podcast is broadcast live at 4 pm (EST) on the social media accounts of Daniel Hernandez and Peter Zalewski.Episode OverviewIn this Nov. 28, 2025, episode of Buy, Sell, Hold Miami™ podcast, Hernandez and Zalewski cut through the local rhetoric, delivering straight talk on six pivotal market topics of critical importance to South Florida investors.The hosts discuss each topic and then announce whether each of them is a Buy, a Sell or a Hold on the issue. Their verdicts often differ, leading to sharp debate on the issue before moving on to the next topic.The 64-minute episode—recorded on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025, in anticipation of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend—offered a vigorous debate between real estate advisor Daniel Hernandez of Compass Real Estate in Coconut Grove and longtime condo analyst Peter Zalewski.The conversation kicked off with an examination of the Miami-Dade College Board of Trustees’ controversial decision to offer a prime downtown parcel, valued by Zalewski at $368 million, to the Trump Library Foundation at no cost.This issue continues to vex investors, given the site’s generous zoning, which allows for 1,000 units per acre and zero required parking spaces, potentially allowing a sellout north of $5 billion.Both hosts heavily criticized the decision, citing the land’s original purpose—to fund the college’s mission—and the political optics of placing a non-immigration-friendly library across from the historic Freedom Tower.Zalewski opposed the transfer at zero cost, arguing the college must receive the cash value, while Hernandez strongly opposed the free transfer, suggesting a minimum $400 million valuation.

This is a live video from expert Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ recorded in the Brickell Avenue Area of Greater Downtown Miami on Nov. 28, 2025.Real estate consultant and expert witness Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ spent his Black Friday—the day after Thanksgiving when retailers slash prices to spur holiday purchases—traversing the Greater Downtown Miami streets, not for discounted consumer goods, but for distressed condominium deals.Zalewski broadcasted live from the glamorous Brickell Avenue Area neighborhood of Greater Downtown Miami, standing on Southwest 8th Street.This location lies just east of the gritty Little Havana neighborhood, where the same thoroughfare is known as Calle Ocho.Zalewski asserted that Southwest 8th Street represents a tale of two cities in Miami’s real estate narrative.This divide is stark: Brickell Avenue Area rents commence at more than $3,000 per month, yet rentals in Little Havana are available for about $2,000 per month, despite the two areas being separated by only a few blocks.Zalewski offered a straightforward assessment of the South Florida condo market as the symbolic start of the critical 2025-26 Winter Buying Season, which runs from November through April.He noted that the resale inventory is growing, while transactions are shrinking, a troubling divergence that suggests a significant market adjustment may be brewing.“This Summer Buying Season—May through October—we are effectively parallel to where we were in 2007,” said Zalewski, referencing the first year after the 2006 peak of the Great South Florida Condo Boom and Bust of 2002 to 2011 when sales fell and prices, surprisingly, rose. “We saw that again in the summer of 2025.”Amid the concrete canyons of Brickell Avenue, Zalewski noted a proliferation of “for rent” signs, suggesting that many pandemic-era buyers—who had been told they could work from home but have since been ordered back to their New York or Silicon Valley offices—are struggling to offload their units or even cover their carrying costs with rental income.For these owners, the Black Friday discounts are effectively being offered by sellers themselves in the form of deep cuts, or “haircuts,” they will soon have to take.

In this episode of The Peter Zalewski Show™ podcast, we interview Boston Technologist John Moura of BuildReach.com about how AI will change the South Florida real estate industry.The weekly podcast The Peter Zalewski Show features interviews with South Florida business leaders focused on real estate, finance and the economy.The program - hosted by Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ - is broadcast live every Wednesday at 4 pm (Miami time) at MiamiCondo.Club and on social media sites.The objective of the show is to deliver straight talk, share institutional knowledge and provide data-driven analysis on the macro and micro economic forces shaping the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.Episode OverviewIn the Nov. 26, 2025, episode of The Peter Zalewski Show™ podcast, host Peter Zalewski interviews Boston Technologist John Moura of BuildReach.com about the changes coming to the South Florida condo market as a result of AI.This discussion revealed that the relentless advance of artificial intelligence could soon sideline many South Florida real estate brokers and obliterate the high-spending preconstruction condominium sales model.The technology veteran—who has worked for firms including the ride-sharing service Lyft—detailed how AI is rapidly creating new tools that hasten property sales and threaten to replace the human element, much as digital platforms once displaced travel agents and the taxi sector.Zalewski noted that developers frequently burn up to a $1 million on elaborate launch parties—and similar sums on temporary sales centers—to sell the “dream” of preconstruction condos, a practice Moura swiftly labeled a “reckless spend.”The technologist suggested that developers will inevitably abandon these parties and sales centers in favor of using AI to directly profile and target high-likelihood buyers with surgical precision, shifting millions toward data-mining operations.Moura confirmed that the in-house salespeople, who are paid to sell a concept or vision, could be the first layer of the industry to be replaced by these data-driven methods.This acceleration of data access and analysis will push preconstruction pricing toward standardization, eliminating, what Zalewski said, was the arbitrage opportunities that once existed in Miami and turning the process into something akin to the standardized pricing for a Cuban sandwich after the arrival of food delivery services such as Uber Eats.While Moura granted that seasoned local brokers may hold a temporary advantage over a pure computer system—as AI cannot yet drive the confidence needed for a major purchase—he cautioned that this reprieve may be short-lived.He estimated that AI will be “really, really, really rocking” by 2027 or 2028, rapidly enabling consumers to use AI agents to search the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for previously unindexed details like terracotta tile or Vintage condo building characteristics, rendering human filters less necessary.The window for brokers to adapt to this accelerating, AI-powered sales environment is closing quickly, with Moura’s core advice being simple: do not wait to embrace the technology, as any idea not acted upon will be rapidly developed by another competitor.

In this episode of the Miami Condo Mondays™ podcast, we discuss why South Florida has nearly an eight year of supply of ultra luxury condos—minimum price of $20 million—listed for resale.Miami Condo Mondays™ is a live podcast hosted by Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ and veteran broker Jenny Huertas of CVRRealty.com providing an in-depth look at the latest residential real estate trends in South Florida.Recorded weekly in Greater Downtown Miami, the podcast offers a one-hour discussion on various real estate topics, including preconstruction condos, market trends and investment strategies.The hosts share their expertise, with Zalewski focusing on macro perspectives and Huertas offering micro insights from her on-the-ground experience.Tune in every Monday at 4 PM (EST) on the social media accounts of Peter Zalewski and Jenny Huertas for insights on the latest trends in the South Florida condo market.Episode OverviewThe South Florida ultra-luxury condo market—defined as units with prices of at least $20 million—is confronting a significant inventory glut at the start of the critical 2025 Winter Buying Season that began this month.This was the central topic of the latest Miami Condo Mondays™ podcast, recorded in Greater Downtown Miami on Nov. 24, 2025.Veteran consultant Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ and co-host Jenny Huertas, the broker-owner of CVR Realty™, detailed the market dynamics, noting that despite the constant media buzz and the perception of scarcity, the data reveals a substantial imbalance between supply and demand in the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.The most recent data indicates that 59 ultra-luxury condos are currently on the market, carrying an average asking price of about $30.6 million or $4,720 per square foot.For context, about 90 percent of South Florida’s ultra-luxury condo listings are located in Miami-Dade County.In contrast, the tricounty’s wider condo market remains relatively accessible, with 57 percent of all available condos priced below $400,000.Huertas—who has been a real estate broker for nearly two decades—highlighted the specialized nature of the ultra-luxury unit, noting that maintenance fees are high.The median maintenance fee for a South Florida ultra-luxury condo is about $1.71 per square foot per month, roughly a 49 percent premium over the Miami-Dade County average of $1.15.During the 12 months ending Oct. 31, 2025, only nine ultra-luxury units traded, equating to a mere 0.8 sales per month.This slow pace has resulted in an alarming supply figure of nearly 79 months, representing over seven years needed to absorb the existing inventory if no new units were to come online and sales continued at their current pace.

Welcome to Buy, Sell, Hold Miami™ weekly podcast for a no-nonsense perspective on South Florida real estate from a pair of locals with differing opinions.Each week, real estate advisor Daniel Hernandez of Compass Real Estate and longtime analyst Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ break down the housing market headlines, unpack policy changes and provide unfiltered analysis on everything from condo terminations to Vintage unit fire sales, luxury speculative homes to developer strategies.Whether you are a homeowner, investor or real estate professional, Hernandez and Zalewski will give a local perspective on what is really happening across the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach with no fluff, no hype and plenty of data-backed opinions.We call balls and strikes on when to buy, sell and hold.If you are looking for more information on the South Florida condo market, Peter Zalewski hosts a daily 4 pm (Miami time) podcast during the workweek on MiamiCondo.Club.The program schedule is: Mondays - Miami Condo Mondays™ (market update), Tuesdays - Miami Condo Exchange™ (data analysis), Wednesdays - The Peter Zalewski Show™ (business leader interview), Thursdays - Condo Capitalism™ (distressed real estate) and Fridays - Buy, Sell, Hold Miami™ (broker debate).Episode TopicsFor the Nov. 21, 2025, podcast, Hernandez and Zalewski give their take on the following five topics:FEMA Numbers Flooded With DiscrepanciesWhy So Blue (Martini)?Courting DevelopersWorried About Watson IslandBillboard Blow UpThis podcast is broadcast live at 4 pm (EST) on the social media accounts of Daniel Hernandez and Peter Zalewski.Episode OverviewIn this Nov. 21, 2025, episode of Buy, Sell, Hold Miami™ real estate podcast, Hernandez and Zalewski cut through the local rhetoric, delivering straight talk on five pivotal market topics of critical importance to South Florida investors.The hosts discuss each topic and then announce whether each of them is a Buy, a Sell, or a Hold on the issue. Their verdicts often differ, leading to sharp debate on the issue before moving on to the next topic.The program began by rigorously examining discrepancies in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood zone maps, a systemic failure that threatens the integrity of local insurance valuations, according to an investigation by the Miami Herald.The conversation noted that current maps often fail to reflect actual flooding incidents, which endangers the insurance system that bases premiums on those inaccurate numbers.This critical lapse in data means property owners cannot necessarily make an informed financial decision regarding their long-term risk exposure.The hosts both agreed with the investigative reporting on this issue, giving a verdict of Buy on its critical importance to property ownership.The discussion quickly shifted to the unexpected financial fragility of the Blue Martini bar, which was recently forced to file for bankruptcy protection, according to the Miami New Times.The popular venue’s meager $77,000 profit against $3 million in revenue demonstrated extremely poor financial performance.This meager operating margin showed that the economics of highend South Florida nightlife are proving immensely challenging.Zalewski noted the bar’s thin margins, questioning the financial viability of the underlying business model.He compared the marginal performance to purchasing a rental property that is simply unable to generate any significant return for the owner.The upcoming auction of the historic Miami-Dade County Courthouse at a $52.3 million reserve price was viewed as an important test of developer appetite for expensive rehabilitation projects.The 1928 structure sits at a premier location in Greater Downtown Miami, at the confluence of the Metrorail station, Government Center, and Brightline rail hub.

In this episode of the Condo Capitalism™ podcast, Kevin Tacher of Independence Title warns that AI-driven property theft and deep-fake scams are targeting South Florida property owners.Condo Capitalism™ is the weekly podcast hosted by Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ that provides data-driven analysis on distressed real estate—foreclosures, shortsales and bank-owned REOs—in the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.The program dissects players and trends, focusing on the escalating Florida Condo Association Financial Cliff, which is now fully underway as cash-strapped unit owners face rising maintenance fees, hefty special assessments and pricey insurance.On the show, experts analyze how the national “two-sided risk”—rising inflation and falling employment—magnifies the growing crisis in Florida, revealing where high post-Surfside condo fees clash with a softening resale market to expose the potential for a capitulation by unit owners who can no longer afford condo living.Episode OverviewIn the Nov. 20, 2025, episode of Condo Capitalism - A Miami Distressed Real Estate Market Podcast, host Peter Zalewski interviewed Kevin Tacher, the founder and CEO of Independence Title in Fort Lauderdale, about the growing threats of property fraud in South Florida as a result of technological advancements being embraced by scammers.A surge in illicit activity is now pressuring the industry throughout the tricounty region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.Criminals have dramatically evolved their tactics, moving away from simple physical forgery toward modern digital interception.Tacher said that fraud is a constant, escalating threat with hundreds of scams occurring each day.While deed fraud involving vacant lots remains a threat, the more lucrative enterprise is wire fraud.Tacher detailed a specific phishing technique where hackers compromise email accounts and monitor correspondence between realtors, buyers and title agents.At the critical moment before closing, the perpetrators send modified wiring instructions from a spoofed address, often changing a single letter in the domain name.Even Tacher’s own firm was targeted, suffering a $275,000 loss due to a sophisticated email compromise, though most of the funds were eventually recovered through aggressive intervention.This alarming incident is chronicled in Tacher’s book, Intercepted: A True Story of Wire Fraud And The Race to Recover, which details the relentless, multi-agency race involving the FBI and Secret Service to freeze the fraudulent account.In one cited case, a buyer named Patricia Verlino lost about $63,000 to scammers after sending funds to a fraudulent account.Ultimately, Verlino was made whole with donations to an online fund raising website and money that was clawed back by law enfocement.The executive emphasized that federal agencies, including the FBI and Secret Service, often move too slowly to intercept stolen funds once wire transfers are executed.The next frontier of illicit activity involves deep-fake technology.Remote Online Notarization (RON), a digital closing process popularized during the pandemic, is now vulnerable to AI-generated impersonations.Criminals can potentially use voice cloning and video synthesis to mimic a seller, bypassing traditional identity verification protocols.Independence Title has countered this by requiring its own vetted notaries to physically or digitally oversee transactions, refusing to accept outside acknowledgments which are often the weak link in the chain of custody.For owners of mortgage-free property, particularly vacant land or Vintage condos that are at least 30 years old, the risk of title theft is acute.Tacher recommended a low-cost, high-efficacy defense strategy: recording a small lien against the property.

In this episode of The Peter Zalewski Show™ podcast, host Peter Zalewski interviews financier Jim Fried of Sandstone Realty Advisors about the condo construction financing environment in South Florida.The weekly podcast The Peter Zalewski Show features interviews with South Florida business leaders focused on real estate, finance and the economy.The program - hosted by Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ - is broadcast live every Wednesday at 4 pm (Miami time) at MiamiCondo.Club and on social media sites.The objective of the show is to deliver straight talk, share institutional knowledge and provide data-driven analysis on the macro and micro economic forces shaping the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.Tune in every Wednesday at 4 PM (EST) at MiamiCondo.Club or on Peter Zalewski’s social media accounts to watch the free live broadcasts.Episode OverviewIn the Nov. 19, 2025, episode of “The Peter Zalewski Show” podcast, host Peter Zalewski interviewed Jim Fried, the founder and president of Sandstone Realty Advisors who hosts the FriedOnBusiness podcast, about the condo construction financing environment in South Florida.Despite a reported slowdown in condo presales—the essential driver for new projects—the financing spigot for new development remains open across the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.“The money’s out there,” said Fried, a veteran financier with more than 30 years of experience in South Florida. “You have to be an experienced developer. You have to have some of your own skin in the game.”Beneath this financing availability lies a tougher reality: the market appears to have entered a new phase of the real estate cycle marked by stricter lending standards, rising costs and heightened lender scrutiny.Topping it off, condo investor sentiment has pulled back from the buying frenzy of the last few years that was fueled by the post-pandemic world.Preconstruction condo sales—which require buyers to prepay deposits of 50 percent for units that will not be completed for months or even years from now—have slowed noticeably.This shift follows a dramatic reversal from 2021 when work-from-home policies triggered an in-migration wave to South Florida from high-cost states such as California, Illinois and New York.The allure of tax breaks, attractive weather and comparatively affordable real estate sent buyers flooding into the South Florida condo market.Buyers came rushing in and snapped up existing condo inventory, pushing prices to record highs.This phenomenon prompted developers to launch new projects to capitalize on the strong demand.The developers seeking financing now are those who entered the market during the later stages of this building boom.Many of the initial wave of projects successfully moved from presales to completion, with another generation of developments now launching presales.But that momentum slowed sharply, as rising interest rates and economic headwinds took hold.By 2025, factors including tariff impacts from Liberation Day, a new U.S. immigration policy and a weakening job market added enough strain to the market that even a couple of recent interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve have had minimal effect on the South Florida condo market.Compounding the challenges, many companies rescinded remote work policies, calling employees back to offices in Silicon Valley, Wall Street and beyond.This created an overhang of condo supply just as the buyer pool thinned.The South Florida developers who are trying to build glass towers on prime waterfront sites now face tougher lending hurdles amid a growing inventory of resale condos that has pushed the tricounty region into a buyers market.The lenders that are willing to finance new condo towers require clear evidence of condo development expertise and a significant personal financial commitment before approving loans.

In this episode of the Miami Condo Mondays™ podcast, we discuss how the 2025 Summer Buying Season is statistically similar to the South Florida condo market back in 2007 before the Great Recession.Miami Condo Mondays™ is a live podcast hosted by Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ and veteran broker Jenny Huertas of CVRRealty.com providing an in-depth look at the latest residential real estate trends in South Florida.Recorded weekly in Greater Downtown Miami, the podcast offers a one-hour discussion on various real estate topics, including preconstruction condos, market trends and investment strategies.The hosts share their expertise, with Zalewski focusing on macro perspectives and Huertas offering micro insights from her on-the-ground experience.Tune in every Monday at 4 PM (EST) on the social media accounts of Peter Zalewski and Jenny Huertas for insights on the latest trends in the South Florida condo market.Episode OverviewThe 2025-26 Winter Buying Season has officially arrived in South Florida, bringing with it balmy weather, numerous events and the Carnival-like atmosphere that typically fuels real estate sales to second-home buyers.Beneath this vibrant surface, however, the condo market in the tricounty region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach is flashing warning signs that eerily mirror the onset of the 2008 Great Recession financial crisis.During the latest episode of the Miami Condo Mondays™ podcast on Nov. 17, 2025, co-host Jenny Huertas, broker-owner of CVR Realty, argued that the current psychological climate reminds her of 2007.Huertas’ observation was independently verified by Gemini AI, which analyzed historical condo sales data to confirm that the region is currently in a state of “Denial” where pricing remains artificially high despite a catastrophic collapse in transaction volume.Statistics pulled by veteran consultant Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ from the recently concluded 2025 Summer Buying Season—that stretched from May through October—paint a stark picture of deteriorating demand.During those six months, the tricounty South Florida region recorded less than 12,200 condo transactions, a figure that stands in sharp contrast to the 28,150 sales during the 2021 peak, according to a recent report.This represents a 57 percent decline from the post-pandemic condo buying frenzy when out of towners flooded into the state to work remotely from South Florida for corporations based in high-wage locations, including California, Illinois and New York.Even more concerning is the comparison to the 2019 condo sales volume baseline of normalcy, as current transaction activity trails pre-pandemic levels by 33 percent.The average monthly deal count has dropped to 2,032, falling well below the 20-year historical pace of more than 2,800 units.A proprietary analysis of Zalewski’s data by Gemini AI suggests that volume always collapses first, serving as a leading indicator that buyer demand is evaporating.In 2007, sales during the Summer Buying Season fell to roughly 8,800 units while pricing peaked at nearly $315,000 per residence, creating a temporary illusion of stability before the eventual crash.Today, South Florida is experiencing an almost identical structural setup where sellers cling to 2021 valuations despite the total disappearance of buyers.The primary difference in today’s market compared 2008 is the catalyst.The previous bust was driven by easily obtainable mortgages and low 20-percent deposits—compared to 50 percent deposits today—on preconstruction condo units.This downturn is fueled by stubbornly high mortgage rates, slowing employment and growing regulatory fear by cash-strapped unit owners related to the Florida Condo Association Financial Cliff.

Welcome to Buy, Sell, Hold Miami™ weekly podcast for a no-nonsense perspective on South Florida real estate from a pair of locals with differing opinions.Each week, real estate advisor Daniel Hernandez of Compass Real Estate and longtime analyst Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ break down the housing market headlines, unpack policy changes and provide unfiltered analysis on everything from condo terminations to Vintage unit fire sales, luxury speculative homes to developer strategies.Whether you are a homeowner, investor or real estate professional, Hernandez and Zalewski will give a local perspective on what is really happening across the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach with no fluff, no hype and plenty of data-backed opinions.We call balls and strikes on when to buy, sell and hold.Episode TopicsFor the Nov. 14, 2025, podcast, Hernandez and Zalewski give their take on the following five topics:Distressed DowntownStatehouse SillinessMiami Real Estate Myth Bustin’Brickell Key Seawall ShenanigansKen Billions Swings For FencesThis podcast is broadcast live at 4 pm (EST) on the social media accounts of Daniel Hernandez and Peter Zalewski.Episode OverviewIn this Nov. 14, 2025, episode of Buy, Sell, Hold Miami™ podcast, Hernandez and Zalewski cut through the local rhetoric, delivering straight talk on five pivotal market topics of critical importance to South Florida investors.The hosts discuss each topic and then announce whether each of them is a Buy, a Sell, or a Hold on the issue. Their verdicts often differ, leading to sharp debate on the issue before moving on to the next topic.The conversation kicked off with the looming auction of a prime site in Greater Downtown Miami on Biscayne Boulevard, which currently houses a tired tower with a Holiday Inn hotel.This piece of land was originally slated for the World Trade Center Miami project—a development that was an ideological legacy of the early 2000s with the push for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).The FTAA was to create a free-trade zone from Alaska south to Argentina.At the time, the project embodied the vision of Miami as the potential home of the FTAA secretariat headquarters, officially making it a hub for international commerce and trade to substantiate the region’s self-described role as the Gateway to Latin America.Zalewski detailed how two decades of political and trade shifts—from the ultimate collapse of the FTAA to modern protectionism and the implementation of tariffs—have effectively ended that initial grand vision.The site, which was envisioned to symbolize global trade ambition, is now set to hit auction with a reported reserve price of $101 million against a distressed debt note.Hernandez questioned why the fully permitted site isn’t penciling for developers at its initial asking price of $175 million, suggesting that excessive condo inventory in Greater Downtown Miami might be the root cause.Zalewski countered that the true reason for the fire sale is purely economic.Development dirt rapidly sees capitulation in a sideways or slowing market because the expensive land cannot generate a return, rendering it Uninvestable at high values.Despite the distress, both hosts agreed the auction represents a strong opportunity, with a bullish outlook on acquiring the dirt at a lower price point.The co-hosts then pivoted to the ongoing political circus in Florida’s capital of Tallahassee, dissecting the “silly” political showmanship of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ moonshot attempt to eliminate property taxes for homesteaded properties.The Florida legislature has responded with a series of fragmented and politically motivated resolutions designed to eliminate or drastically reduce property taxes for homesteaders.

Condo Capitalism™ is the weekly podcast hosted by Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ that provides data-driven analysis on distressed real estate—foreclosures, shortsales and bank-owned REOs—in the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.The program dissects players and trends, focusing on the escalating Florida Condo Association Financial Cliff, which is now fully underway as cash-strapped unit owners face rising maintenance fees, hefty special assessments and pricey insurance.On the show, experts analyze how the national “two-sided risk”—rising inflation and falling employment—magnifies the growing crisis in Florida, revealing where high post-Surfside condo fees clash with a softening resale market to expose the potential for a capitulation by unit owners who can no longer afford condo living.Join Peter Zalewski live every weekday at 4 pm (Miami time) on MiamiCondo.Club for the full schedule: Miami Condo Mondays™ (market overview), Miami Condo Exchange™ (data discussion) on Tuesdays, The Peter Zalewski Show™ (interview) on Wednesdays, Condo Capitalism™ (distressed market) on Thursdays, and Buy, Sell, Hold Miami™ (debate) on Fridays. On-demand recordings of all shows are available here.Episode OverviewIn the Nov. 13, 2025, episode of Condo Capitalism - A Miami Distressed Real Estate Market Podcast, host Peter Zalewski interviews David Dweck, a veteran investor, private money lender and the founder of the Boca Real Estate Investment Club at the start of the 2025-26 Winter Buying Season.The veteran investor, who has lent out more than $1 billion for residential real estate transactions, wasted no time establishing the core lesson of his more than 30-year career: to be successful in South Florida’s volatile real estate market, buyers must put unwavering fundamentals ahead of emotional impulses if they want to be successful for the duration of their careers.The 73-minute discussion, which covered everything from private lending practices to the looming threat of the Florida Condo Association Financial Cliff, repeatedly returned to the need for quantitative discipline to survive cycles of appreciation and decline.The core of Dweck’s philosophy rests on two simple, non-negotiable rules for acquisitions: the “1% Rule” and a minimum capitalization rate—or cap rate—of 10 percent.The 1% Rule dictates that a property’s monthly gross rent must equal at least one percent of the property’s total purchase price. For example, a $100,000 condo should generate rent of at least $1,000 per month.For the cap rate, investors first calculate the Net Operating Income (NOI)—the gross annual rental income minus all annual operating expenses, but excluding any debt service.This resulting NOI is then divided by the property’s purchase price to produce the capitalization rate, which represents the property’s unleveraged rate of return.The discipline behind this rule is supported by the current distress signals in the market, particularly within the bank-owned real estate (REO) sector.Live data analyzed during the broadcast showed that Vintage REO condos—those at least 30 years that require Milestone Inspections—are currently trading at a median price of just $215,000 per unit in South Florida.

In this episode of The Peter Zalewski Show podcast, host Peter Zalewski interviews case manager Ketty Urbay of Gomez Law about advocating for individual unit owners who sue their condo associations.Episode OverviewIn the Nov. 12, 2025, episode of “The Peter Zalewski Show” podcast, host Peter Zalewski interviews Ketty Urbay, a case manager for the litigation firm Gomez Law in Coral Gables, about her role in advocating for individual unit owners when they sue their Miami condo associations.Urbay’s professional background includes a real estate broker license and a Community Association Manager (CAM) certification, making her well-equipped to investigate condo situations that have “gone sideways.”Urbay, who has lived in Miami since the age of three, described her unexpected entry into the industry.She spent 10 years managing over 600 residential units before launching her own boutique property management company focused on commercial and residential condos.Her transition to case management was personal, stemming from her own “very bad situation” as a condo unit owner where she had to fight her “big, bad board,” an experience that led her to join attorney Eduardo Gomez to focus on “helping the little guy.”Zalewski provided the historical context for South Florida’s volatile condo market, noting the period before the Great Recession when developers required only a 20-percent deposit.This high-risk era, characterized by flippers and websites like CondoFlip.com, ultimately stalled after Hurricane Wilma hit South Florida in late 2005 and ultimately collapsed after the 2008 Lehman Brothers failure.Following the South Florida condo market’s freefall, the rules tightened, demanding a 50-percent deposit for new construction to ensure a more legitimate pool of buyers and reduce the risk of buyers walking away at closing.Urbay recounted the severe financial stress she managed during the foreclosure crisis, having taken on associations with crippling delinquency rates that, in some cases, reached 50 percent.During this time, condo associations—especially apartment complexes that had recently been converted—struggled to decide whether to pay for basics like water or critical needs like insurance.She recalled the widespread mentality of condo association boards to constantly “vote down reserves,” a practice she actively pushed back against.Urbay tried to educate her clients on the dangers of deferred maintenance and would often persuade boards to implement a “partial reserve” payment as a starting point.Developers of condo conversions typically made only minimal, cosmetic upgrades to these older structures before selling.Zalewski noted that these converted condos often saw a massive price drop during the downturn, citing an example in Greater Downtown Miami where units plummeted from the $500,000 per unit range to less than $100,000.Urbay confirmed the chaos of the time, observing that many buyers and Realtors failed to understand the financial reality of their purchase, neglecting to read key documents like budgets, financials and the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sheet.Zalewski described the extreme cost-cutting measures during the downturn, including buildings unscrewing every other light bulb and shutting down security cameras, and recalled the unprofessional scene of a real estate agent sleeping on a mattress in an bank-owned unit.Urbay shared her parallel experiences from the “wild, wild West” period, dealing with abandoned units used for illicit activities and older buildings that were plagued with constant plumbing backups and chronic maintenance issues.She noted a persistent problem with the industry’s management structure, distinguishing between onsite management for highrises and portfolio management for smaller communities.

Expert Peter Zalewski discusses the latest South Florida Overall Condo Cliff Index™ results for the week ending Nov. 11, 2025, on the premiere episode of the Miami Condo Exchange™ podcast.The Miami Condo Exchange™ is a newly launched live podcast at 4 pm (Miami time) on Tuesdays about the latest South Florida condo stats, metrics and trends hosted by expert Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™.Recorded weekly in Greater Downtown Miami, the program’s core premise is to analyze condos as commodities, no different than pork bellies, oil or salty snacks.The weekly show intends to cut through the marketing hype to focus strictly on the numbers, offering an intelligence perspective aimed at investors, real estate professionals and anyone seeking clarity about the latest condo trends in the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.The podcast will challenge the “marketing hype” that often surrounds new developments, such as the involvement of famous architects or brand-name affiliations with exclusive restaurants, luxury clothing lines and automobile manufacturers.Zalewski contends that, ultimately, condos trade as commodities based on a price-per-square-foot basis, not on a per unit valuation.The goal of the Miami Condo Exchange™ is to “wipe out all the hype” and drill down to the basics, emphasizing that the fundamentals of cement and rebar are what define a unit’s value in the resale market.A regular feature of the Tuesday show will be the Miami Condo Cliff Index™.This proprietary Index is designed to track market activity in realtime by analyzing active listings and pending sales, offering a forward-looking perspective.Zalewski notes that this index “foreshadows” official closed sales data, which often lags by 30 to 120 days.This timely statistical analysis treats the coastal South Florida market, particularly east of Interstate 95, as a dynamic “trading pit” for condo commodities.As part of a full weekday lineup of podcasts from the Club, the Miami Condo Exchange™ is dedicated to data and transparency.Drawing on his background as a former financial journalist, a Wall Street consultant, an expert witness and the founder of the buyside advisory Condo Vultures® LLC,Zalewski will provide insights to counter the “rosy” narratives common in the industry.The show will be broadcast live weekly, with on-demand access available to Club members, ensuring listeners can access hard data to make informed decisions.Tune in every Tuesday at 4 PM (EST) at MiamiCondo.Club or on the social media account of Peter Zalewski to watch the live broadcasts are free.To view the podcast on demand, please consider joining the Miami Condo Investing Club™ here.Episode OverviewThe South Florida Overall Condo Cliff Index™ rose for the fourth time in five weeks, increasing by 0.96 percent on a Week-over-Week (WoW) basis to 7.12 points as of Nov. 11, 2025, at the start of the 2025-26 Winter Buying Season.This upward movement for Overall condos in the last month comes at the beginning of the traditionally busy period—stretching from November through April—despite growing headwinds.The Winter Buying Season is a six-month period when visitors are drawn to the region for the favorable weather, numerous events and Carnival-like atmosphere.For many visitors, their experiences often lead many of them to begin searching for a condo as a second home.Typically, these visitors end up closing on their transactions sometime during the subsequent Summer Buying Season that stretches between May and October.As a result, the Winter Buying Season has become an important time—or pipeline—for prospective buyers to condo shop while the Summer Buying Season is when many of those transactions are completed.

Miami Condo Mondays™ is a live podcast hosted by Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ and veteran broker Jenny Huertas of CVRRealty.com providing an in-depth look at the latest residential real estate trends in South Florida.Recorded weekly in Greater Downtown Miami, the podcast offers a one-hour discussion on various real estate topics, including preconstruction condos, market trends and investment strategies.The hosts share their expertise, with Zalewski focusing on macro perspectives and Huertas offering micro insights from her on-the-ground experience.Tune in every Monday at 4 PM (EST) on the social media accounts of Peter Zalewski and Jenny Huertas for insights on the latest trends in the South Florida condo market.Episode OverviewThe South Florida condo market has entered the 2025-26 Winter Buying Season with 13 months of supply, signaling a Deteriorating Buyers Market where unit owners are capitulating and cutting asking prices, according to a recent report.This data-driven analysis was the focus of the Nov. 10, 2025, episode of the Miami Condo Mondays™ podcast, hosted by consultant Peter Zalewski and broker Jenny Huertas.The podcast’s analysis was framed as a critical outlook for condo buyers preparing to visit South Florida for the 2025-26 Winter Buying Season.The hosts focused on what buyers can expect as they arrive for the traditionally busy period, which runs from November through April, and how to navigate the current market conditions.Zalewski introduced a new Miami Condo Supply Tracker™ to classify the market, defining 0.0 to 5.9 months of resale supply as a Sellers Market, 6.0 to 6.9 months as Equilibrium and 7.0 to 12.9 months as a Buyers Market.The new Tracker classifies 13.0 to 18.9 months of supply as a Deteriorating Buyers Market, which is where the South Florida Overall condo market currently sits.The overall market has 26,100 active listings at an average asking price of nearly $902,000, according to the data.These active listings have been on the market for an average of 190 days, while units that successfully sold over the past year did so in an average of 114 days.A significant trend is the downward pressure on pricing.The 12-month average sale price for an Overall condo was nearly $777,400, but the average sale price during the 2025 South Florida Summer Buying Season—stretching from May through October—fell sharply to less than $571,000.The Vintage condo market—defined as units at least 30 years old—is performing slightly better with 11.8 months of supply, which constitutes a Buyers Market.The data reveals a clear downward price trend in the Vintage market.The average 12-month sale price was about $379,000, but the average Summber Buying Season sale price was about $336,900.Critically, the current average $343,500 asking price for a Vintage condo is 9.38 percent less than the average sale price from the last 12 months, signaling sellers are lowering expectations.This price pressure is linked to cap rates—defined gross annual rent minus basic expenses (property taxes and maintenance fees)—that are defined as Uninvestable, according to the newly launched Miami Condo Investability Barometer™.That analysis showed bellwether markets like Greater Downtown Miami Overall condos and Miami Beach Vintage units have cap rates of 0.80 percent and 0.70 percent, respectively.Huertas noted that the current market vibe “feels like 2007,” just before the last crash, with prices high but not falling fast enough to motivate buyers.Despite low cap rates on listed properties, distressed deals are emerging.Zalewski cited recent examples of Vintage units in western suburbs being acquired for 20 cents to 27 cents on the dollar, according to a recent report.Zalewski cautioned that these distressed deals come with significant risk, referencing one condo that was purchased from a hoarder and required extensive work to clean out the unit to make it rentable.

Check out this clip from the latest episode of the Condo Capitalism™ - A Miami Distressed Real Estate Podcast featuring veteran investor Jose Suarez of Global Inventory Liquidators who has purchased three condos valued at about $825,000 for a combined $230,000.Report: https://peterzalewski.substack.com/p/meet-miami-investor-buying-vintage

Check out this clip from the latest episode of "The Peter Zalewski Show" podcast featuring Eric Kalis, senior vice president of BoardroomPR.com, in a discussion about how South Florida condo developers should recalibrate their marketing efforts given the current market volatility.Watch full episode: https://peterzalewski.substack.com/p/south-florida-condo-developers-face

Check out the clip from the latest episode of Buy, Sell, Hold Miami real estate podcast featuring local real estate advisor Daniel Hernandez of Compass Real Estate and market analyst Peter Zalewski of MiamiCondo.Club. Watch full episode: https://peterzalewski.substack.com/p/buy-sell-hold-miami-real-estate-podcast-41d

Check out a clip from the latest episode of the Miami Condo Mondays™ podcast hosted by Peter Zalewski of the MiamiCondo.Club and veteran broker Jenny Huertas of CVRRealty.comThe podcast is broadcast live on Mondays at 4 PM EST on MiamiCondo.ClubWatch full episode: https://peterzalewski.substack.com/p/are-condo-cap-rates-below-1-making

Welcome to Buy, Sell, Hold Miami weekly podcast for a no-nonsense perspective on South Florida real estate from a pair of locals with differing opinions.Each week, real estate advisor Daniel Hernandez of Compass Real Estate and longtime analyst Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ break down the housing market headlines, unpack policy changes and provide unfiltered analysis on everything from condo terminations to Vintage unit fire sales, luxury speculative homes to developer strategies.Whether you are a homeowner, investor or real estate professional, Hernandez and Zalewski will give a local perspective on what is really happening across the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach with no fluff, no hype and plenty of data-backed opinions.We call balls and strikes on when to buy, sell and hold.Episode OverviewIn this Nov. 7, 2025, episode of Buy, Sell, Hold Miami podcast, Hernandez and Zalewski analyzed structural risks impacting the South Florida real estate market.This 70-minute discussion focused on developers pushing new projects before an anticipated market downturn and the political undercurrents affecting local governance.The hosts noted that a flurry of development announcements and groundbreakings—including major projects from habitual offenders—suggests developers are trying to launch their projects now before the market cycle turns.This suggests a “make-it-or-break-it” mentality.The latest economic signals support this caution.The Federal Reserve actions, led by Chairman Jerome Powell, are pivoting from inflation concerns to job market weakness, which is impacting consumer confidence.One new project discussed is a Nobu-branded residential tower in the Brickell Avenue Area of Greater Downtown Miami, planned by 13th Floor Investments.The project is slated for 74 stories and 300 units.Zalewski questioned the logic of food-related branded condos, such as Nobu, suggesting that the main appeal is the association with Japanese culture and celebrity owner Robert De Niro, rather than a quantifiable increase in quality.In Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood, the new Four Seasons Residences are reportedly 50 percent sold and moving toward groundbreaking.The development is taking over the site of the former Kaufman Rossin building.Zalewski noted that the Ritz-Carlton, located across the street from the new Four Seasons site, is aging and carries very high maintenance fees.Developers must navigate the demands of residents in Coconut Grove, a community known to be sensitive to new development.The new Four Seasons units are starting below $6 million and aiming for completion in early 2028.A significant market trend is the continuation of developer buyouts. A developer—identified as the builder of the Continuum in Miami Beach—purchased the Mariner’s Bay condo project in North Miami for $48.5 million.The buyout price translated to about $1 million per unit, representing a 300 percent to 400 percent premium over the last recorded sales prices in the old building.This high price is characteristic of a land play rather than a market investment.The discussion shifted to Fisher Island, the nation’s wealthiest ZIP code, where Florida’s largest vertical condo developer—Related Group—bought a lot for $180 million to develop a project.This site, however, contained bunker fuel tanks essential for supplying PortMiami’s cruise and container ships.PortMiami uses the Fisher Island site for fuel storage due to the lack of available space on Dodge Island (the main port land), which is entirely manmade from dredging the bay.The county and the port are pushing back, arguing that the fuel terminals are necessary for commerce.This creates a potential confrontation where Related may be forced to sell the land back to the county, possibly through eminent domain.Fisher Island itself contains a lot of Vintage units that are at least 30 years old.

Introducing the new weekly podcast The Peter Zalewski Show that features interviews with South Florida business leaders focused on real estate, finance and the economy.The program - hosted by Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ - is broadcast live every Wednesday at 4 pm (Miami time) at MiamiCondo.Club and on social media sites.The objective of the show is to deliver straight talk, share institutional knowledge and provide data-driven analysis on the macro and micro economic forces shaping the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.Episode OverviewIn the Nov. 5, 2025, episode of “The Peter Zalewski Show” podcast, host Peter Zalewski interviews Josh Joffe, an environmental engineer, aspiring author, real estate broker and urban planner who is running for mayor of the City of Boca Raton in the upcoming March 2026 election.The discussion opened with Joffe detailing his unexpected role as a self-described condo whistleblower following his personal experiences living and working within the condominium industry in Miami-Dade County and Boca Raton in southern Palm Beach County.Joffe detailed a systemic problem stemming from Florida law, which mandates that condominium executive boards must be comprised of volunteer board members.He argued that forcing volunteers to manage multimillion dollar facilities—often worth $50 million to $75 million or more—creates a fundamental problem and invites mismanagement.Joffe used the analogy that highly sensitive facilities, such as nuclear power plants, are run by experts, not volunteers, underscoring the challenges of the current statutory requirement.Zalewski noted that this is a significant issue in South Florida, where approximately half of Florida’s 1.2 million condo units are located in the tricounty region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.Joffe’s solution, detailed in a white paper on condowhistleblower.org, proposes a four-point plan to eliminate corruption, starting with mandating professional fiduciaries to run serious condo facilities.He suggested these professionals be experts such as an engineer, architect, lawyer or accountant who would carry personal liability plans for work associated with their profession in the condo.Joffe also proposed mandating a resident policy to balance the heavy liability insurance policies typically held by boards and property management.Addressing more serious offenses, Joffe suggested ways to pierce the mutual indemnification codes common between boards and property management companies, similar to a RICO statute at the state level, to combat instances of conspiracy and serious crime.Zalewski questioned the efficacy of relying solely on simple, broad brush regulations like the Milestone Inspection at the 30-year mark and Structural Integrity Reserve Studies (SIRS) every 10 years.Joffe argued that these regulations, while intended to address the Surfside condo collapse, are not optimal solutions; rather, they require deeper professional interaction and accountability, such as engineers having personal liability directly locked into their risk assessments.Joffe introduced the emerging industry of environmental actuarial services, which provides insurance parameters for environmental risk, such as soil health deterioration and drainage issues, to help stabilize assets against depreciation and shock.The discussion pivoted to economics, where Joffe questioned Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s proposal to eliminate property taxes, arguing it would create economic inefficiency by taxing assets away from their point of use.Zalewski provided market context, noting that the severe insurance issues and lack of transparency have driven cap rates in high-density areas like Greater Downtown Miami and Miami Beach to less than 1 percent, rendering the market virtually Uninvestible for traditional investors.

Miami Condo Mondays™ is a live podcast hosted by Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ and veteran broker Jenny Huertas of CVRRealty.com providing an in-depth look at the latest residential real estate trends in South Florida.Recorded weekly in Greater Downtown Miami, the podcast offers a one-hour discussion on various real estate topics, including preconstruction condos, market trends and investment strategies.The hosts share their expertise, with Zalewski focusing on macro perspectives and Huertas offering micro insights from her on-the-ground experience.Tune in every Monday at 4 PM (EST) on the social media accounts of Peter Zalewski and Jenny Huertas for insights on the latest trends in the South Florida condo market.Episode OverviewKey South Florida condo submarkets are “Uninvestable“ at current asking prices, with bellwether areas in Greater Downtown Miami and Miami Beach showing cap rates below 1 percent, according to a new report.This data-driven analysis was the focus of the Nov. 3, 2025, episode of the Miami Condo Mondays™ podcast, hosted by consultant Peter Zalewski and broker Jenny Huertas.As South Florida enters the 2025-26 Winter Buying Season, the disconnect between high asking prices and median rents makes it financially unviable for most investors to achieve a positive cash-on-cash return.Zalewski introduced a new metric, the Miami Condo Investability Barometer™, to simplify cap rate analysis and provide clarity for “do-it-yourself” (DIY) buyers.The Barometer provides a five-tier scale for classifying investments based on simplified cap rates, which are calculated by subtracting annual property taxes and maintenance fees from gross annual rent.This “back of the napkin” calculation intentionally excludes other carrying costs, such as mortgages, individual unit insurance, vacancies and repairs, to establish a baseline for investability.Based on the new Barometer, a cap rate of 0.00 percent to 1.99 percent is deemed “Uninvestable,” and 2 percent to 3.99 percent is “Unattractive.”The core “Investable“ threshold is a cap rate between 4.00 percent and 5.99 percent, a rate that would compete with other baseline investments, such as high-yield CDs.A cap rate of 6.00 to 7.99 percent is classified as “Attractive,” while 8.00 percent or higher is a “Pound The Table“ signal for an exceptional opportunity.The analysis of the Greater Downtown Miami Overall condo market—a bellwether for high-density product—showed an average asking price of about $1.3 million per unit.With a median monthly rent of $3,600, or $43,200 annually, the gross income is quickly consumed by carrying costs.A median unit in the area carried annual expenses of about $32,000 for property taxes and maintenance fees, leaving a net income of about $10,569.Based on these figures, the resulting cap rate for Greater Downtown Miami Overall condos is 0.80 percent, falling deep into the “Uninvestable“ category.To reach the 4.00 percent “Investable“ threshold, the average asking price in Greater Downtown Miami would need to be cut by 80 percent to about $264,225.The analysis of the Miami Beach “Vintage” condo market—properties 30 years or older—showed similarly dire figures.The average asking price for a Vintage condo in Miami Beach is nearly $702,000, with a median monthly rent of about $2,350, or about $28,200 annually.After subtracting median annual taxes and maintenance fees of approximately $23,300, the net income for this property type is only about $4,900.This results in a 0.70 percent cap rate, also classified as “Uninvestable.” To reach a 4.00 percent “Investable“ cap rate, the price would need to fall 82 percent to less than $124,000.Huertas noted that the current market “feels like 2007,” just before the last South Florida condo crash, with prices high and not falling fast enough to motivate buyers.