South Beach Condos Blog

Stopped over at Apogee South Beach the other day to see how the building was coming along.  I overheard a buyer compaining to their agent that they didn’t like their unit, and wished they had picked a corner unit. Uh…DUH!  Of course the corner unit is better than the flow-through unit.

Flow through units have been “all the rage” in Miami Beach condo floor plans in the last four or five years.  I would describe these units as typically having exposure on the ‘prime’ side of the building and exposure on the street-side as well.  When a building goes up for sale in the pre-construction phase, these are usually the best selling units in the building for a couple of reasons:

1.  they are less expensive $ psf than compared to units which enjoy more exposure on the “prime” side of the building

2.  the developer “highlights” the fact that you have “both views”, thus making you feel like these units are steals compared to the corner units.

APOGEE SOUTH BEACH FLOOR PLATE

The problem with flow-through units is that they look great on paper, but in reality they are not.  Though they do have two exposures, the units tend to be narrow and dark.  Whenever one of my clients thinks something looks really great…on paper..I try to take them to a similar unit in an existing building.  This way they get a chance to see what I already know:  some things look a whole lot better on paper than they do when they are completed.

Lots to report on Miami Beach real estate, so I will get right to it! Surprisingly, there has been an abundance of real estate activity in ultra-high-end Miami Beach condos and Fisher Island this year.

I was a bit surprised to see how many of the $5M+ condo sales this year were on Fisher Island. Five units went for more than $5M; that is one a month! And if you think that’s pricey, then consider the $250K equity membership you must purchase just to use any of the Fisher Island’s amenities!

The Setai came in with the highest $ psf for non-pre-construction at just over $2300.

And get this—W South Beach sold a 2,700 sq. ft., south-facing PH for a cool $7.3M. Impressive, considering W South Beach just commenced construction and isn’t slated for completion until mid-2009!

Fontainebleau II sold an incredible PH for $6.4M. The view from this 4,500 sq. ft. residence with rooftop Jacuzzi is amazing.

SPECTACULAR MIAMI BEACH REAL ESTATE:

NEW TO MARKET

MIAMI BEACH PENTHOUSES

Il Villaggio - Spectacular PH in one of Miami Beach’s finest and most desirable buildings, Il Villaggio. $17,500,000. This Penthouse is a stellar piece of real estate. The unit has A LOT of millwork, so you better like wood-EVERYTHING!


1500 Ocean Drive- Largest condominium residence ever to hit the Miami Beach real estate market! 11,940 sq. ft. + 9,824 sq. ft. balcony/rooftop; 10 parking spaces (that’s right, 10!). Taxes: $107,246; monthly maintenance: $10,817. $18,500,000. 1500 Ocean Drive was built in 2000 and designed by architect Michael Graves.


Continuum- Tri- level, 40th floor Penthouse in SoFi’s exclusive Continuum I. Breathtaking direct ocean, South Beach and Fisher Island views! 7,400 sq. ft. with 6,000 sq. ft. of terrace with pool. Oh yeah, a paltry $25,000,000 for this pied-a-terre.  [Update: off market]


Continuum- While this is not a TRUE Penthouse, this one rates! This unit was in the BIG hit movie Miami Vice (joke). This condo is the epitome of over the top drama. It is basically a sexy bachelor pad. I love this unit– ALL FANTASY, NO REALITY! $18,000,000…chump change!  [Update: off market]

Setai-This isn’t the TRUE Penthouse in Setai, but it has received a lot of play by throwing that PH “thing” around. PH Villa B is a single-story unit in the uber-fab Setai, which basically is a deluxe hotel room which they “say” commands $25K per night. Madonna and Mariah have slept there; out of Britney’s and Lindsay’s league! I wonder if David Hasselhoff has dined on the master bathroom floor? Hmmmm….

I was saving today for taking the pictures for the brise-soleil article. Well, as you may or may not know, we got hit with a lot of rain. Since Miami Beach is below sea level, it doesn’t take much rain for us to flood. I’ll let the pictures do the talking on this one.

This is where I start my day, EVERY DAY. If you can’t get a hold of me, come here between 9-11 AM and you will find me here. I was extra cranky today because I couldn’t have my plain double toasted bagel.

This is WHY I couldn’t have my bagel!

This is 14th & Alton, right near my gym. Couldn’t work out today.

Another leisurely stroll to the market.

Just hangin’ out on a Sunday morning.

Oh, by the way, hurricane season is ten days away. Are you ready? Do you have a plan?

Whenever I go to my doctor’s office, I sit in the exam room waiting for him. I always notice these funky metal shades that cover the windows and I decided to do some research and find out what these ‘things’ are called. I obviously knew that it was for some kind of sun protection but I wanted to know more. They are called brise-soleil. I see them mainly on late 50’s and early 60’s era buildings but lately I have seen on NEW buildings too. Lets take a tour!

This is the Mellon Bank building which is ‘kitty corner’ from my doctor’s office. In the older buildings brise-soleil, from what I have observed, were only put on the east, south and west exposures.

This is a photo of the Montclair Lofts. This building was built in 2005. This building is located at the corner of 17th & Meridian Avenue and is across the street from my doctor’s office. The brise-soleil on this building is used for privacy as well as an architectural element. As you can see the metal is not aging well. The building was designed by haute architect Chad Oppenheim , he has done a lot edgy stuff (condos & homes) here in the Miami area.

This is the Gorlin building at AQUA Allison Island. This building was built in 2004 and has brise-soleil on the east, south and west sides of the building. Obviously, the building did not need sun-shading today!