South Beach Condos Blog

I was watching Channel 7 News last week when a special segment about real estate foreclosures in South Florida aired.  I felt badly for the people in this story that are losing their homes but there are two messages in the video segment below which I feel may be beneficial to some.

It is my feeling that foreclosures in general ARE NOT the best buys for one reason:  the majority of the foreclosures that are available were originally purchased at or near the “peak” of the market—and the banks have lent too much money on these properties.  Since the banks are owed so much money on a typical foreclosed property, they don’t have the ability to sell it at today’s market price.  From WSVN’s Foreclosure Forced Out

Auctioneer: “Welcome to the mortgage foreclosure sale.”

Each week, hundreds of properties in foreclosure are auctioned off.

Auctioneer: ”Home Equity Mortgage Corp. vs. Butler.”

On this day, for the first time in 21 years, not a single property sold, the banks had to keep them all.

Luis Valdeon: “The banks lent too much money. They did first mortgage and second mortgages, and they’re completely off of what the price really are, and that’s why everything is so high; you can’t sell them.”

And the foreclosed properties are piling up.

Click Above to Play Video

Why The Miami Beach Real Estate Market Isn’t That Bad

This is a five year history for the South Beach condo market for area code 33139.  The dark green bar represents condo sales and the light green bar represents condo units on the market.

I know that some of the numbers are a bit hard to read but they really don’t matter anyway.  What matters is the incredible amout of inventory (light green bar) that started to accumulate in May 2005.  The number of sales are off from the peak, but nothing alarming.  The real story here is the amount of inventory on the market.  People have not stopped buying here and Miami Beach real estate continues to sell if it is priced right.  If you need to sell your Miami Beach condo, PRICE IT RIGHT.  If you don’t need to sell your condo, now is NOT the time to sell and you should take it off the market until some of the inventory gets absorbed.  More from Foreclosure Forced Out

Barry Habib: “There’s no simple solution.”

Barry Habib is a nationally known mortgage expert. His advice? Get out before you get in trouble.

Barry Habib: “If they have equity in it, they’ve got to find a way to protect that equity. Put the house up for sale. Don’t be greedy. Don’t try and put it up at an unrealistic number. Homes sell, and they sell very quickly if they’re priced right in every market.”

When I was interviewed last month by The New York Times for a piece Miami Beach real estate, specifically luxury condos, I was asked to research the condo market going back two years. 

 What I decided to do, since SO many people have asked me, was to do a three year snapshot of the market, specifically for the SoFi neighborhood in South Beach, which includes Continuum South Beach, Murano at Portofino, Murano Grande, ICON South Beach, Portofino Tower, Yacht Club at Portofino, and South Pointe Tower.  When doing this type of analysis, I really like using this neighborhood because it has a high concentration of units, which provides accurate insight into the luxury condo market activity of Miami Beach condos. 

I used one time period: January 1st-October 3^rd of three years (2005, 2006, and 2007).  It is very interesting to see how the market has progressed during the last three years.  Here is a great Miami Beach neighborhood map

The graph above represents number of sales for each building in the SoFi neighborhood.  Most would think that the number of sales would be highest in 2004–2005.  Even though 2007 is down from 2006, in ALL cases the number of sales are higher than in 2005.

This graph shows the issue for condos in general—with the exception of Continuum South Beach, the average days on market have all substantially increased from 2005.

The graph above shows a three year history of average $ p.s.f.  SOLD prices for all the condos in the South of Fifth neighborhood.  Continuum South Beach continues to climb without any fluctuations.  Overall,  each building is holding its own and the neighborhood in general continues to do well.

This graph represents the list price ($ p.s.f.) to the sold price ($ p.s.f.) for each year.  It basically tracks the list price to sale price ratio for each building for all three years.  The blue bar is the list price (in $ p.s.f.) and the green bar represents the sold price (in $ p.s.f.).  Things to note from this graph:  ICON South Beach peaked in 2006 and Continuum South Beach continues to march onward and upward. 

I have to admit I was not surprised by the numbers.  Most of what I see here only re-inforces my recommendations from my South Beach Luxury Condo Outlook 2008 post.

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One Bal Harbour is Bal Harbour’s newest condominium since 2004.  One Bal Harbour started closings on Thursday and here is a first look in and around the condominium.

This is the lobby for the condominium of One Bal Harbour.  It is very traditional.

Here we have the oceanfront social room.  The room resonates with sophistication.

One Bal Harbour offers a theater for building residents which is equipped with surround sound.

An elegant bar within the oceanfront social room.

Oceanfront pool for residents of One Bal Harbour.

One Bal Harbour’s location is arguably one of the two best locations in Miami, at 10295 Collins Avenue in Bal Harbour, Florida.  The condominium has 185 residences and is combined with a five-star-quality Regent Bal Harbour condo-hotel which has 124 units. 

This is a great example of why One Bal Harbour’s location is considered so priveleged.  The north side of the building overlooks the Haulover Inlet which provides breathtaking, expansive and unobstructed northern views. By the way, this photo WAS NOT provided by the developer and is not a rendering.  I took this photo from the 25^th floor of the condominium.

The developer of One Bal Harbour Condominium and The Regent Bal Harbour condo-hotel is WCI Communities.

One Bal Harbour provides the amenities of a 5–star hotel to its owners including fine dining and a 10,000 s.f. world-class spa managed by the famous L’ Institut de Guerlain Paris offering massage, skin treatments, hand and foot therapies as well as nutritional and anti-aging treatments (woo hoo!). 

For more information on One Bal Harbour Condominiums click here

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First reported here on the SBCB, A-Rod, who was under contract on the “major” estate located at 26 Star Island Drive, excercised his right to “walk” from the deal on Shaq’s property on Star Island in Miami Beach, according to the Miami Herald

Alex ”A-Rod” Rodriguez, who signed a contract to buy Shaquille O’Neal’s mansion on Miami Beach’s Star Island, took an intentional walk from the deal. The house, which Shaq bought for $18.8 million in ‘04, is listed at $32 million.

A-Rod’s wife Cynthia is expecting a baby in April and wants to remain near her folks, John and Evangeline Scurtis, who live in Coconut Grove. That’s why Rodriguez exercised a 30-day termination clause.

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