Online condo exchange makes way to SW Fla. CEO hopes to establish 'eBay for condominiums'

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Online condo exchange makes way to SW Fla.
CEO hopes to establish 'eBay for condominiums'

By Dick Hogan
Dick Hogan
news-press.com October 30, 2005

A new online condominium exchange - www.uscondex.com - is already making inroads into Southwest Florida and the operators have plans to go national.

But some in the industry are skeptical about the exchange's prospects.

U.S. Condo Exchange, based in Miami, started operating last summer. It brings together buyers, sellers, brokers and developers in a central marketplace where condos can be researched and purchased online.

"We don't release transaction data, but things are going very well, greater than anticipated," said Richard Swerdlow, chief executive officer of the exchange. "We've got close to 25,000 condo listings on the site and we'll continue to add new markets."

At present the exchange has listings around Florida and will soon expand to Las Vegas, he said.

Last week the exchange had one listing in Southwest Florida: a $419,900 canal-front condominium on Southeast Fifth Place in Cape Coral.

Jim Woodard, sales manager for the Fort Myers division of ResortQuest Real Estate, said he'd use caution in buying or selling on any online venue.

"I'll tell you what, if I ever did online commerce with real estate, it'd be subject to real-life inspection," he said. "Buying anything sight unseen, I think, is pretty durn risky and I'd probably have an addendum that it would be subject to visual inspection."

But Swerdlow said the exchange is a valid way to buy condominiums, especially pre-construction. "In pre-construction condos, there's nothing to see. Brokers say you need a broker. Why? It's a commodity. There is no box in the sky, people are buying off floor plans and pretty pictures."

While most of the exchange's listings are now in the major Florida markets such as Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Miami, he hopes to be in major markets around the country within a year.

Still, Woodard said, there will always be problems with online deals. "It's not just the unit but what is around you, what environment are you placed in? You'd want to get the lay of the land."

Swerdlow said the exchange is trying to beat that problem by making alliances with local brokers. "We have our own brokers in-house who manage our Miami-Dade County and Palm Beach markets. In markets where we don't have a physical presence, we're partnering with brokers in that submarket. We're trying to embrace the broker community and not be competitive."

Eventually, he said, "Our objective is to be almost like an eBay for condominiums."