Miami's current condo boom, the story goes, began humbly enough with the 2010 start of sales for two projects: Apogee Beach in Hollywood Beach and MyBrickell in Miami. Some were shocked that the developer, Related Group of Florida, was moving ahead in the midst of the Great Recession as foreclosures were souring the national mood and lenders were hardly willing to fund condo construction.
But that lack of lending was precisely why Related was making its bold move to sell buyers on the idea of dishing out most of the cash up front. Though the all-cash model is relatively uncommon in the U.S., the Miami-based company knew that South Americans, for instance, were familiar with it. And with some good pricing—which it could demand in 2010—and its well-known marketing savvy, Related figured it could woo them to buy U.S. real estate.