There’s a Big Difference Between Gossip and Good Information

An exclusive here,  I first reported that the five lots on the tip on Sunset Island #2 in Miami Beach were under contract;  what wasn’t known was the price or the buyer.  Ask and you shall receive:

• Closing Date:  10/2/2008
• Price: $22,500,000
• Buyer:  Frenchmen & Women, L.L.C.  No info known as of tonight on the buyer(s) (see update below for buyer).  It seems that the new owner may be from the Philadelphia area.

Not much more to say except, 2nd highest price ever-recorded for residential real estate in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.

Purchased in August, 2006 for $16,212,500, it is speculated that the seller of the property may have actually LOST money on the deal.  Hmmmm……………..

UPDATE:  Buyer:  Robert I. Toll, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Toll Brothers Inc.

UPDATE:  This highest price ever paid for any real estate in Dade & Broward Counties is 10 & 11 W. Star Island Drive in Miami Beach.  In April, 2006 the parcel containing 120,000 sf of land closed for $27,000,000.

Browse Miami Beach and South Beach Real Estate, Here

….#1?

For everything I have read, and I read A LOT, you would think that Miami real estate is down for the count.

Lately, there have been some articles and reports that suggest that the Miami real estate market MAY be starting to bottom out. I haven’t hypothesized on any of them because I believe it’s probably near-impossible to “sharp-shoot” the bottom.

The Miami real estate market is doing, what I believe, to be remarkably well considering that we were, along with every other city in the USA, plagued with the sub-prime mess ALONG with over-development.  Note to developers:  They are called FEASABILITY STUDIES!

Miami was an easy target:  our real estate stardom was the envy of all.  Record numbers, incredible profit.  All those condos downtown.  Easy, easy, easy.  I even read a thread on a blog where some “bubble heads” were speculating the scrap value of a brand-new building on Biscayne Blvd.  That’s what I’ve had to deal with for the last three years.  That’s right:  PEOPLE SPECULATING ON THE PROBABLE VALUE OF A BUILDING; KNOCKED-DOWN AND SOLD AS SCRAP!

So when I read the Forbes article that doesn’t pin Miami to the wall, forgive me if it still feels a bit odd.

I don’t blog to make money.  I blog because I enjoy sharing the insights and anecdotes I’ve gathered over my years of selling Miami Beach condos. Hopefully you pick up some useful knowledge and even a few laughs along the way.
This is the first time I’ve written about my own listing. Even if the Apogee South Beach Penthouse wasn’t my listing (and obviously I’m glad it is), I would still write about it.

Kevin Tomlinson

I share this listing with my esteemed colleague, Esther Percal. We were interviewed earlier this week by South Florida’s CBS4 about the penthouse.  I think the TV video is the perfect means to introduce this magnificent piece of South Beach real estate to you. This way, I don’t have to do all the talking — or all the writing — in typical broker fashion.

When you click on the video above, you’ll see that the station does an incredible job of showing the incomparable Apogee Penthouse. CBS4 reporter and blogger Dave Sutta did a fun, tongue-in-cheek post on the property, too.

What has really been surprising is the local, national, AND international coverage that this Penthouse has garnered over the last few days.  Some of the biggest publications, blogs, and networks in the world have either already done a story on the Apogee Penthouse or are planning to do one.

What makes the Apogee Penthouse so special?

Let’s start with the basics:
Apogee is located at 800 South Pointe Drive in South Beach. For those familiar with the area, that says enough, but let me illustrate my point further. South Pointe Drive in South Beach is the equivalent of Park Avenue in New York.

There are six buildings on South Pointe Drive: Continuum North, Continuum South, Portofino Tower, South Pointe Tower, Apogee South Beach, and Murano at Portofino.

Apogee is located not only in South Beach BUT in South Beach’s most exclusive and expensive neighborhood, SoFi.  SoFi is an acronym for “South of 5th,” which means the area south of 5th Street in Miami Beach.

Here’s what makes Apogee “all that.” This tower has only 67 residences. The least expensive unit in the building is $4M.  By comparison, the units at Continuum South start at just under $1M, and the bulk of the 318 units are less than $4M. In reality, every one of Apogee’s units are “penthouse quality.”  Here are some other interesting facts about Apogee:

• All staff, luggage, and packages MUST enter and exit through the service entrance. This is a FIRST for a condominium in South Florida. Even we Realtors® must use the side door. (Now, do you really think that I have ever used the side door?).
• Each unit has a private, air-conditioned garage.
• Apogee is NOT an oceanfront building. It is considered a bayfront building. It overlooks Government Cut, Fisher Island, and the ocean, but it still, according to recent statistics, has the highest sales and $PSF of all buildings in the SoFi neighborhood, including the oceanfront ones.
• About 10% of the owners at Apogee are from Fisher Island.

For complete information on The Apogee Penthouse, click here

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