New Web site claims corner on South Fla. condo market

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The Palm Beach Post - 6.27.2005 New Web site claims corner on South Fla. condo market A new Web site that bills itself as the "eBay of the condominium market" has been launched with about $5 billion in South Florida inventory, including listings in West Palm Beach and Riviera Beach. BY LINDA RAWLS linda_rawls@pbpost.com

A new Web site that bills itself as the "eBay of the condominium market" has been launched with about $5 billion in South Florida inventory, including listings in West Palm Beach and Riviera Beach. The U.S. Condo Exchange at www.uscondex.com is operated by Coconut Grove developer Swerdlow Group and New York-based Pacific Alliance, a merchant bank that specializes in technology. Listings include more than 100 condo units for sale in Palm Beach County, from a $50,000 one-bedroom one-bath unit in Century Village to luxury waterfront condos costing millions of dollars. The Web site intends to be "disruptive to existing real estate channels," company execs say, by giving individual buyers and sellers access to each other without an intermediary. The site lets buyers search by city, ZIP code or condominium name, and will add rentals soon. Other parts of the site let developers market entire properties. Fees are based on a sliding scale, with individual condo listings costing under $500 and entire buildings costing about $10 per unit. The exchange plans to expand to Las Vegas soon, followed by 10 other U.S. markets, including New York and Southern California. The Condo Exchange also is looking for partners in Europe, Asia and Latin America, Chief Executive Richard Swerdlow said. View The Article