A report from the South Florida Business Journal in Florida. "The majority of new condos in Miami and the beaches that sold so far this year traded at a loss to their original developer sales, according to a study by CondoBlackbook, part of HB Roswell Realty. After identifying 102 units that sold in the first three quarters of 2018, it found that 64 of them, or 63 percent, sold for less than their original purchase price. When considering the cost of broker commissions and other fees associated with selling a condo, it’s likely that 80 sales, or 78 percent, lost money."

"The HB Roswell Realty study shows that this troubling trend has continued. A Business Journal feature story from August 2017 found that a surprising number of condos in new buildings were flipping for a loss. The Porsche Design Tower saw a couple of condos resale for steep losses. Unit 4405 in Porsche Design Tower was originally bought for $11.8 million in 2017, and then sold for $7.4 million in August 2018."

"One reason that it’s been hard for new condo resellers to make a profit is that there’s an oversupply of inventory, said Sepehr Niakan, owner of HB Roswell Realty. Based on the pace of sales over the past six months and the 1,840 new condos listed for sale, there’s a 81-month supply of inventory."

"That number doesn’t even count new condos that developers have completed and are still trying to sell. Niakan said any condo developer looking to launch now should expect an especially long pre-sales period."

"'If you want to make money on a pre-construction property, you should keep waiting until this cycle corrects itself,' Niakan said. 'For the buyer who didn’t want to touch pre-construction a few years ago because it was too expensive, now they can get it for a few percent less and see it [the completed condo] for themselves.'"

The Naples Daily News. "Housing permits are on the rise in Southwest Florida. Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties are on track to see a more than 23 percent increase in residential permits in 2018."

"In 2017 there were 13,603 single-family and multifamily residential permits issued in the three counties. This year that number is projected to hit 16,500, said Randy Thibaut, CEO of Fort Myers-based Land Solutions Inc. The latest permit numbers include new apartments and assisted-living units. Thousands of permits have been issued at about a dozen projects across the region this year."

"'Obviously anyone who is in these markets, or driving in the community, on every corner has seen new apartments and assisted living continue to start,' Thibaut said. 'That skews the numbers. The permits are not two or three at a time. They are 300 at a time.'"

"What he shared at the sold-out event wasn't all positive. The rosy permit numbers came with some warnings, including 'the big elephant in the room.' 'It's time to talk about the big elephant in the room,' Thibaut said. 'It's clear that the development, building and housing industry is aware that there is a correction to the market at hand now — and likely could be some corrections in the market leading up into 2019 and 2020.'"

"Thibaut isn't the only one who sees signs of a market correction. Asked his thoughts, Gary Tasman, founder, CEO of Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Property Southwest Florida, said, 'It's starting to happen.'"

"'I think it's being baked in the market right now,' he said. 'I think because of that you are going to see a lower velocity of home sales. But I don't think you can say it's already happened.'"

"He blames it on three factors: labor, material and land costs, which are all rising. 'Wages and purchasing power aren't keeping up with the cost to produce a new home,' Tasman said. While home prices have been rising an average of 7.5 percent a year in Southwest Florida, wages have increased only 3.4 percent on average, he said. 'That's the disconnect. That's probably the best way to explain it,' Tasman said."