Miami Real Estate Investing Podcast With Peter Zalewski

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.com

The podcast is broadcast live on Mondays at 4 PM EST on MiamiCondo.Club

Watch 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 Overview

In 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 Overview

In 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 Overview

Key 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.

The 2025-26 South Florida Winter Buying Season, the condo market’s high-stakes period running from November through April, has commenced with a major strategic shift from the Miami Condo Investing Club™.

Founder and condo consultant Peter Zalewski announced the Club will move decisively away from lengthy, exhaustive written reports toward a rapid-fire, daily video and podcast format, a change driven by club members who prefer real-time analysis over extensive documentation.

This structural pivot is essential as the Club transitions from the “build” phase of the South Florida Summer Buying Season to the “fasten the seatbelt and hold on” strategy required for the critical winter months.

The new content schedule establishes a commanding presence in the market, with Zalewski dedicating his mornings to data analysis and concept formation, and his afternoons to live broadcasts.

The centerpiece of this new strategy is a slate of five distinct, one-hour podcasts broadcast live every weekday at 4 PM.

Kicking off the week on Mondays is Miami Condo Mondays™, a comprehensive market overview and discussion with partner Jenny Huertas of CVR Realty™, providing a crucial start to the investor week.

Wednesdays feature The Peter Zalewski Show™, where Zalewski conducts in-depth interviews with a revolving roster of South Florida economy and real estate leaders, including lenders, title companies, city planners, and property management experts.

Wrapping up the week on Fridays is Buy, Sell, Hold Miami™ real estate podcast, a dynamic debate with Daniel Hernandez of Compass Real Estate, where the two assess five weekly topics to offer a balanced “ying and a yang” perspective on market concepts.

Two specialized programs round out the weekly content: Thursdays introduce the new podcast Condo Capitalism™, a program dedicated to exploring opportunities in the distress condo market and bulk deals, leveraging Zalewski’s experience from his earlier “condo vulture” days.

Most notably, the Tuesday slot is reserved for a deep dive into statistics and trends, specifically featuring the Miami Condo Cliff Index™, an internal metric tracking the real-world impact of the 2025 condo cliff and Surfside-inspired legislation on older condo associations.

While free subscribers can watch these broadcasts live, paid club members gain immediate, on-demand access to the full video archive, which is approaching one thousand reports since the club’s 2024 launch.

The Club’s value proposition is built on providing a crucial buy-side, investor perspective in a market often dominated by “rosy” sales narratives, offering straight talk and institutional knowledge that cuts through market noise.

Zalewski, drawing on over three decades of experience that began in 1993, highlights the danger of working with professionals who arrived post-Great Recession and lack the “battle scars” to navigate the market’s eventual “elevator down” movements.

This veteran perspective is crucial, especially as the current climate is seeing potential improvement with the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates twice in two months, raising the stakes for correct pricing and building selection.

The Club provides the critical counterweight needed to understand the condo ecosystem, citing average monthly maintenance fees of $1.15 per square foot in Miami-Dade County and $1.02 per square foot in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

In-person instruction remains a vital element of the Club’s offerings, with the hands-on Condo Correction Tours scheduled every Saturday.

These three-hour excursions, which include both walking tours (three times a month) and bus tours (first Saturday of the month), are designed to shift the investor’s focus to analyzing the condo building first—assessing financials, rules, and potential special assessments—before committing to a unit.

Check out 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-f2f

Starting in November, I’ll be doing a weekly live podcast at 4 pm (Miami Time) on Thursdays where I discuss the South Florida distressed condo market.

The show will be available live and on-demand at MiamiCondo.Club.

I want to send a huge Thank You to John Moura of BuildReach.com for creating this excellent song.

Anyone looking for customized music should seriously consider talking to John. He is a master.

I’ll be having him on The Peter Zalewski Show podcast in late November.

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 Overview

In the Oct. 29, 2025, episode of “The Peter Zalewski Show” podcast, host Peter Zalewski interviews Eric Kalis, a Senior Vice President with BoardroomPR, about what could be the most consequential South Florida Winter Buying Season in five years.

On the eve of 2025-26 Winter Buying Season, Kalis - a former real estate journalist for publications including The Real Deal and Miami Today - sits down with Zalewski to spell out how he is advising residential developers and real estate firms to navigate the volatile market conditions.

The central theme of the discussion was market uncertainty, which Kalis described as the “only thing certain about the market right now.”

The day of the recording coincided with the Federal Reserve’s pivot away from controlling inflation to focusing on bolstering the job market, resulting in another 25 basis point interest rate cut on Oct. 29, 2025, moving the federal funds rate to 4 percent.

Wall Street, however, immediately reacted negatively, sending the stock market down and raising the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 6.27 percent following the Fed chairman’s warning against expecting further rate cuts in December.

Zalewski and Kalis emphasized that this lack of predictability is handcuffing real estate decisions across the spectrum, from large developers planning multiyear projects to individual buyers and condo associations budgeting for the next year.

Kalis noted that developers are particularly vulnerable to the current environment, citing volatile tariffs - which Morgan Stanley said increased from 4 percent to an average more than 17 percent since Liberation Day on April 2, 2025 - that can suddenly double the cost of materials and compromise the feasibility of projects already underway.

The experts agreed that the pandemic-era buying frenzy caused the market to enter a “summer of paralysis by analysis,” as investors wait for the 30-year fixed rate to fall into the “five handle” range before pulling the trigger.

Kalis, whose firm works with publicly traded clients, confirmed that developers are exercising “incredible patience” and discipline, accepting that project sellouts may be delayed into the 2026 season rather than slashing prices prematurely.

Zalewski detailed the evolution of the market’s security structure: following the Great Recession, developers shifted from the vulnerable 20 percent deposit model to a robust 50 percent tiered deposit structure, giving current projects greater financial stability.

The discussion shifted to the horizontal market, where single-family homebuilders are more sensitive to interest rate volatility and are focusing on acquiring land and developing projects west of I-95 in areas like Western Palm Beach County and Port St. Lucie in Florida’s Treasure Coast region.

Kalis confirmed that unlike the vertical market, the horizontal market has seen softer sales, though demand remains steady wherever land is available.

Zalewski questioned the long-term firepower of legacy development firms, noting that even titans like Related Group and Swire are experiencing leadership changes or actively liquidating assets, suggesting a need for increased liquidity.

The experts agreed that this period will cause a shakeout, rewarding well-capitalized, seasoned players who have “dry powder” and are waiting to acquire distressed or stalled shovel-ready sites.

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 Overview

The Fort Lauderdale - Palm Beach highrise condo market spends the largest share of its monthly maintenance fees on insurance of any market in North America, with 25 percent of all fees allocated to coverage, according to a new report.

This finding comes from the new “Benchmark 2025 Highrise Edition” report from FirstService Residential, which was analyzed on the Oct. 27, 2025, episode of the Miami Condo Mondays™ podcast.

The report, discussed by co-hosts Peter Zalewski and Jenny Huertas, also found that Miami and Tampa were tied for second-highest, with 20 percent of their maintenance fees going to insurance.

The hosts noted that this heavy insurance burden, a direct result of new state legislation following the June 2021 Surfside condo collapse, is the primary driver for South Florida’s high overall condo fees.

Despite having the highest insurance share, the Fort Lauderdale-Palm Beach market’s overall average monthly fee of $1.02 per square foot is third-highest in North America, trailing only New York City at $1.55 per square foot monthly and Miami’s $1.15 per square foot monthly.

For context, the median monthly fee for North America, represented by Tampa - St. Petersburg, was $0.86 per square foot. The cheapest markets in the study were Las Vegas - Reno at $0.47 per square foot, Vancouver at $0.56 per square foot and the combined Los Angeles - San Diego - San Francisco market at $0.63 per square foot.

This analysis comes as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate sits at 6.19 percent and the Federal Reserve meets this week to decide on interest rates amid 3 percent inflation.

The South Florida condo market remains sluggish, characterized by high supply, low transaction volume and falling prices, despite positive narratives from real estate trade groups.

The high fees are largely driven by new state legislation that introduced two mandatory requirements for condo associations: a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) to be conducted every 10 years and a Milestone Inspection Report at a building’s 30-year mark based on its certificate of occupancy.

This marks a significant change, as all Florida condo associations must now complete mandatory inspections and collect reserves to pay for fixes. Critically, the new laws will no longer permit condo boards to defer necessary maintenance.

Zalewski likened the SIRS to a regular doctor’s checkup, while describing the more invasive Milestone Inspection as a “colonoscopy” for a building.

Zalewski argued that these new requirements make a building’s age and its maintenance fees more critical factors for a buyer than its location, a reversal of the traditional real estate mantra.

Huertas noted that these new laws are forcing associations to approve special assessments, which are separate, one-time fees for major repairs that were not budgeted.

Zalewski offered a guesstimate that these assessments could average $25,000 for lowrise buildings, $65,000 for midrise towers, and $100,000 for highrise towers.

Huertas added that owners must also account for contents insurance, which she noted is now “almost mandatory” and can cost an additional $150 to $300 per month.

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 Topics

For the Oct. 24, 2025, podcast, Hernandez and Zalewski give their take on the following four topics:

1. SB 180: Restrictive And Burdensome

2. Inflation Indicators Indicating…?

1. Super Cool Super Talls

2. Is “Signature Bridge” Spicy For No Reason?

1. A New Frontier For Condo Sales?

This podcast is broadcast live at 4 pm (EST) on the social media accounts of Daniel Hernandez and Peter Zalewski.

Episode Overview

In this episode of Buy, Sell, Hold Miami podcast, Hernandez and Zalewski provided an extensive analysis of current South Florida real estate and economic trends. The 72-minute discussion covered a range of topics, from state legislation to major infrastructure and global capital flows.

The hosts began by reviewing Florida State Bill 180, signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis on about June 26, 2025. This bill limits local governments from enacting new, restrictive zoning or development regulations following a federal disaster declaration.

The bill’s key text prohibits adopting “more restrictive or burdensome amendments” to land development regulations. This language is being challenged in lawsuits filed by several municipalities, including Homestead, Miami Shores and Pinecrest.

Analysts suggested that developers are attempting to retroactively nullify zoning regulations enacted since 2024, effectively stripping local power. This push aligns with an overall state theme of shifting regulatory authority away from local municipalities to the state capital in Tallahassee.

A contentious point of the bill is its perceived threat to natural protections, such as mangroves. Though mangroves can smell and attract mosquitoes, they serve as a critical first-line defense against erosion and rising seas.

The discussion referenced a past incident in Coconut Grove where a prominent architect and his wife were cited for illegally cutting mangroves after Hurricane Irma in 2017. They were ordered to replant the trees.

The final settlement for the illegal removal, according to one report, was $18,500. This low fee suggested to the hosts that financial penalties are insufficient to deter illegal acts that dramatically increase property valuation by clearing water views.

The conversation shifted to the tricounty development scene and the rise of super-tall residential buildings. Miami International Airport’s flight path imposes a height limit of more than 1,000 feet on construction in the downtown district.

The Waldorf Astoria Residences Miami is set to become the first 100-story tower in the city, with about 390 condo units and 205 hotel rooms. The hosts noted that developers often eliminate floors on the elevator - like the 13th - or service floors from elevator panels to artificially inflate floor numbering.

Concerns were raised about the future of new Class A-plus office towers. Two new buildings—the Santander building on Brickell Avenue and One Biscayne Plaza project on Biscayne Boulevard in Greater Downtown Miami - are expected to deliver their space before Citadel CEO Ken Griffin breaks ground on his trophy asset.