Originally listed for $27M in April of 2010, this 5,803 sf residence was owned by Netscape Founder Jim Clark.  Clark originally purchased the unit in 2004 in “decorator ready” condition (raw) for $9,000,000.  The Penthouse has 4 bedroom and 4 baths.  The buyer is not a celebrity and said to be a private businessperson

Two records were shattered not only in South Florida but all the way up to New York City.  To my knowledge, there has not been a single condo unit South of New York City that has traded for over $16,500,000 ($2300 psf) which was in Apogee South Beach ‘PH C’ ; additionally, I’m certain that no unit ever has obtained in excess of $3700 psf.

Setai PH ‘A’ sits atop of the 40-story world-famous Setai Resort known for its luxury and celebrity clientele.  The Setai South Beach is serviced by Singapore-based, five star hotel management company GHM Hotels.  There is also a Setai outpost in New York City.

More pictures of the Record Breaking Miami Beach Real Estate Sale at Setai South Beach

The last PH that sold in Setai South Beach was a lower PH, which sold in 2010 for $15M.  There has been intense activity in the ultra-high end homes and condos here in Miami Beach this year.  Apogee PH ‘A’ sold for what I believe was an unremarkable number of $11.5M, earlier in the year.  So far this year there have been four properties that have sold at or about $20M in Miami Beach:

• 1736 W. 28 -Sold for $19.8M in July*
• 4570 & 4580 North Bay Road- Sold for $20 in September*
• 13 Star Island Drive- Sold for $25.5M in April
• 101 20th Street PH ‘A’ -Sold for $21.5M in December*

*denotes ONE Sotheby’s International Realty’s involvement in sale

Related Reading:

• Miami’s Million Dollar Real Estate Boom [Florida Trend]
• The New Global City [WSJ]
• Condo Inventory Detailed in New Report [Miami Herald]

I knew this was a really good year, but it wasn’t until I started to pull the stats that I realized HOW good a year it’s been – and continues to be.  We regularly track nine condos in South Beach’s South of Fifth (SoFi) neighborhood for a few reasons:

• Location
• Types of buildings
• Buyer profile

These to me are the most important factors for really gauging the luxury condo market here in Miami Beach.

South Beach-South of Fifth Condos We Track

• Apogee South Beach
• Continuum South Tower
• Continuum North Tower
• ICON South Beach
• Murano at Portofino
• Murano Grande
• Portofino Tower
• South Pointe Tower
• Yacht Club at Portofino

“I Have a Friend, and He Told Me…”

I’ve had many (oodles) clients during the last few years who wanted “deals.”  Of course, because I do these stats regularly, I know the numbers in my sleep.  (For the record, I’ve encouraged them ALL to pull the trigger.)  I’ve had to explain, ad nauseam, that Miami proper is NOT Miami Beach/South Beach.  I would liken Miami proper to Los Angeles and the Miami Beach/South Beach luxury condo market to, say, Beverly Hills.

You Want a “Deal?” It May Be Too Late.

Some bought, some didn’t.  It was ALWAYS their choice.  I must admit, I do get a certain sense of satisfaction knowing that my clients are making smart moves.

Okay… on to the stats.

Number of Miami Beach/South Beach Condos Sold

• 2008: 153
• 2009: 129
• 2010: 149
• 2011: 128 thru June 30

A few notes on the graph above.  The Apogee Penthouse closed in Q2 for $11.5M.  I thought it was a very unremarkable price for the property, but I’ll leave it at that.  Apogee South Beach tends to sell in waves.  One wave was May-July of 2010.  The last wave started in March 2011.  The current all-time high PPSF sold is Apogee unit #1404 at $1,769.  I’m particularly proud of this because #1404 was my listing.  The penthouse sold for $1,678/SF.  Ahem.

Continuum South has really impressed this year with 17 sales, and unit #3603/04 traded for $10.576M for a PPSF of $1,643!

Well, it’s clear that we are on track to get back to pre-2008 numbers.  Madoff and that whole economic “bizness” affected SoFi, and Miami Beach luxury real estate in general, more than that “other” stuff (sub-prime loans, jobs losses, etc.).

The Miami Beach/South Beach real estate market is a cash market.  There were a few peeps who had to do a short sale or foreclosure, but those deals were the exception, not the rule.  I would venture to guess that 80% of the 2,000+ units in this index were purchased with cash. (I’m so not doing THAT research.)

Most Expensive Condo for Sale in Miami Beach

• 50 S. Pointe Drive, PH 1, South Beach-South of Fifth (Continuum North)

Average Days on Market [DOM]

2008: 148

2009: 188

2010: 193

2011: 161 thru June 30th

Wow. Wow. Wow.  A market is considered “normal” when approximately 10% of its total inventory is available for sale at any given time.  It is definitely a sellers’ market.  Continuum North has fairly substantial inventory available because the developer held back and dumped about 40 units on the market at one time.  Although it seems like there are plenty of units left in this condo — the oceanside of the building is basically sold out.  Now, let’s take a look at available units in the rest of the South of Fifth buildings:  all hover around 5% of inventory.  That’s nothing.

Apogee is clearly the most expensive condominium in South Florida on a PPSF basis.  In six months, the average PPSF rose from $1,303 to $1,659.  All buildings are enjoying a nice increase in PPSF from 2010′s numbers.  I’ll end my post with one little nugget: low inventory and high demand only mean ONE thing.  Draw your own conclusions.

Related Reading:

• Nearly Three Years Later, Apogee South Beach Penthouse Sells for About Half Its Original List Price
• Miami Beach Real Estate: 2010 Condo Market Index
• Miami Beach Real Estate: A Six-Year Retrospective of the Miami Beach Condo Market
• Miami Beach Real Estate Statistics:  Distressed Properties & Diana Olick

Search Miami Beach Condos Here

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After lingering on the market for almost three years, the Apogee Penthouse in South Beach closed for $11.5M yesterday (April 14). Originally listed for $22M in July 2008, owner Peter Fine paid $15M for the ultra-luxury condo property in February 2008.

The buyer is Yulia Solodova for Apogee 702, LLC.

Fine produced the Tony Award-winning musical “In The Heights” and is a prominent New York developer of affordable housing. He also owns a home on Miami Beach’s celebrity-studded North Bay Road, which he purchased from the then-developer of Canyon Ranch Miami Beach, Eric Sheppard.

The Apogee Penthouse is comprised of the top two floors of the east corner of the condominium building. It also has a large rooftop “palazzo” with a private pool and summer kitchen.

The Penthouse has 6,853 interior SF and more than 11,000 SF of terrace space. On the inside, that amounts to $1,678/PSF, which is an unremarkable number, considering the real estate involved.

The condo has five main bedrooms, a housekeeper’s room, elevator and a 2.5-car, air-conditioned garage.

Apogee South Beach Penthouse – The Real Estate

The main drawback to the Apogee Penthouse is that the Murano at Portofino tower hovers over the pool area (you can’t tell from this photo.). The pool area is not very private. Ahem.

More Info on the Apogee Penthouse

• Apogee South Beach Penthouse Lists for $22M
• Apogee South Beach Features and Amenities

Related Reading

• Miami Beach Real Estate: 2010 South Beach Condo Market Index

Luxury real estate statistics for condos in the SoFi neighborhood of South Beach

It’s very clear that the days on market [DOM] for all the condominiums has increased.  2009: 188; 2008: 148.

Toward the end of 2009, Miami Beach condo sellers started to hear what the market was telling them.  Many reduced prices and real estate sales really picked up toward the end of the year.

SoFi Condos–Some insight

• This was probably the LEAST affected real estate sector of any market in the United States.
• A vast majority of these luxury South Beach condos were purchased cash
• Most of these condos are 3rd, 4th, & 5th homes.
• A very, very small amount of distress sales.  The majority of distress sales/foreclosures were a result of mortgage fraud.

The amount of condos on the market 2009 vs. 2008 has decreased in condominiums.  The general rule of thumb is that “healthy amount” ( approximately 10% of the total number of units in the condo) could be on the market for sale  at a time.

Apogee clearly wins, again.  But Apogee is down about $100 psf, or 7.8%, on average from 2008.  ICON South Beach had the biggest decrease, 27.7%, from 2008.  Portofino Tower had the third largest decrease with a 26.3% drop in $ psf from 2008.  Here are the rest of the results:

Miami Beach Luxury Statistics for South Beach Condos

Check out the nifty little graph below to see how the market has performed over the last three years.   I’d like to say that there was something really interesting to point out–but that’s not the case.  There are some ups and downs, but nothing to raise an eyebrow. Weathering the storm quite well.

South Beach Deals

Continuum North, 50 S. Pointe Drive, #3402, Miami Beach, FL 33139. This condo has three exposures: east, south and west. It priced very, very well at $3.6M.

Continue Browsing Miami Beach Luxury Real Estate Here

Related Reading

• Miami Beach Real Estate:  2008 South Beach Condo Market Index

Venetian Islands: Whaaa?

What really raised my eyebrow was the lack of sales on the Venetian Islands for the first half of the year.  During the first half of 2008, there were 15 sales on the Venetian Islands, and only four sales for the same time period this year, for a total of nine sales for Q3 2009.

Miami Beach Waterfront Sales Statistics for 1/1/2009-9/30/2009

Blech.  In Q3 there was a spectacularly low sale on North Bay Road.  I would classify this one as the ‘deal of the year.’

Looking forward to Q4 stats expect a few more sales on the Venetian Islands, one more shocker on North Bay Road; and a huge estate on Pinetree Drive that has been on the market for years and years (and mired in innuendo) finally closed last week.

Best Buys for Miami Beach Waterfront Estates

• 4766 North Bay Road, Miami Beach.  $4.4M.  Great lot, great views.  Owner paid $5.7M in 2006
• 303 E. Rivo Alto Drive, Rivo Alto Island, Miami Beach.  $1.990M.  Great buy on a cute little home.  Next waterfront home on the Venetians is $2.485M

Browse Miami Beach real estate

This has been a very interesting year.  I’ve said before that the SoFi neighborhood in South Beach has weathered the real estate storm like a champ.  Our busiest time of the year begins with Art Basel at the beginning of December and continues well into June.

For the previous few years, the week of Art Basel has been incredible.  Last year was the year of NO action; and it only got worse from there.  While inventory languished on the market for the first half of the year, sellers seemed to hear the message.  List prices dropped, and dropped fast.

Between May and September six condominiums sold at Apogee South Beach representing over $30M worth of real estate.  In that same time period, over $35M in sales were closed at Continuum North.

Miami Beach Real Estate Heats Up Just as the Season Ends

Average Days on Market 1/1/2009 – 9/30/2009

I don’t feel that the days on market stats are all that reliable for a few reasons:

• it can’t take into account how accurately a property is priced
• it can’t judge how motivated a seller is
• Days on Market, or DOM, is easily manipulated by agents/brokers

Even in the recent market, I still see some properties sell within days of being listed.

An industry benchmark is that approximately 10% of the total amount of units should be on the market at one time.  The exceptions are for newly-opened condos because typically 30-40% of the units come back to market from investors/flippers when the building opens; and it usually takes about 2+ years for the market to absorb that extra inventory.

The building that’s been affected the most (and therefore has the best deals) is Murano Grande.  A high amount of investors purchased in the building and it was hit hard by mortgage fraud which really played havoc with the real estate values.  Of late, the distress sales/foreclosures are selling and the Q4 stats should really begin to head in the right direction.  I’ve sold a couple of units in Murano Grande lately and the condo association is in good shape and handling the hiccups as well as could be expected.

South Beach Condos Sales Prices

I’ve compared the numbers from the last quarter and to last year, and there is really not much to report.  Some are up a little, some are down a little.  I can’t spot any specific trends.  All-in-all, not so bad.

Best Buys in South Beach Condos

• Apogee South Beach- 800 S. Pointe Drive #602, Miami Beach.  This one’s gonna be a great deal, trust me.
• Continuum North-50 S. Pointe Drive #601, Miami Beach.  An oceanfront one-bedroom with peek-a-boo oceanviews.
• Murano Grande:  400 Alton Road #2007, Miami Beach.  Approx. 1700 sf.  Great floor plan.  Short sale.
• ICON South Beach:  450 Alton Road #3003, Miami Beach. 3 bedroom on high floor.  Spectacular southern exposure with expansive east and west views.  This one should be the next to sell.

Additional Resources

• Check out statistics for all Miami Beach condos
• Browse Miami Beach real estate

So now we get to pin ’08 against ’09–and REALLY get a good look at where these ultra-luxury condo prices in Miami Beach are headed.

Miami Beach Condo Sales Thru 6/30/2009

2008 Miami Beach Condos Sales thru 6/30/2008

• Apogee: 4
• Continuum South: 13
• Continuum North: 4
• ICON South Beach: 19
• Murano at Portofino: 4
• Murano Grande: 13
• Portofino: 7
• South Pointe Tower: 7
• Yacht Club at Portofino: 17

Average Days of Market 1/1/2009 – 6/30/2009

• Apogee: 58
• Continuum South: 187
• Continuum North: 101
• ICON South Beach: 201
• Murano at Portofino: 175
• Murano Grande: 150
• Portofino: 220
• South Pointe Tower: 126
• Yacht Club at Portofino: 155

2008 Percent of Total Miami Beach Condos on the Market

• Apogee: 19
• Continuum South: 12
• Continuum North: 21
• ICON South Beach: 12
• Murano at Portofino: 10
• Murano Grande: 19
• Portofino: 12
• South Pointe Tower: 7
• Yacht Club at Portofino: 8

2008 Average $/Square Foot – List Price/Sale Price

• Apogee: $1,340.23/$1,239.02
• Continuum South: $1,187.76/$1,078.11
• Continuum North: $1,121.08/$1,073.63
• ICON South Beach: $811.63/$733.72
• Murano at Portofino: $1,057.21/$865.09
• Murano Grande: $780.57/$674.19
• Portofino: $736.53/$660.82
• South Pointe Tower: $697.95/$616.89
• Yacht Club at Portofino: $604.35/$552.91

What Does This Mean to You?

In short, the number of sales have fallen by 39% Y-o-Y; and average $/psf has fallen 20% Y-o-Y, to $735 psf.

Data is based on information from the Southeast Florida Regional (SEFR) MLS or from the associations participating in the SEFR: for the period of 1/1/2009-6/30/2009

Casa Casuarina was built in 1930 and modeled after the Alcazar de Colonin Santo Domingo, a residence built in 1510 by the son of Christopher Columbus and reputedly the oldest existing house in the western hemisphere.

Gianni Versace purchased the building in 1992 for $2.9 million. After receiving city approval, he demolished the hotel next door, and a two-story, 6,100-foot addition was built, transforming it into Versace’s Miami Beach house. [Miami Beach 411]

Photo: Me

UPDATE:  Here’s a photo of Casa Casuarina fka “Amsterdam Palace” before Versace renovated the property.  Question is: was it better now, or then?

A little warning:  since the following links are about the early days of South Beach, some of the material and goings-ons in the posts may be considered objectionable.  Ok, now click away!

Related Posts

• South Beach: Is It Really That Fabulous
• Discovering South Beach In the Beginning

The prize is described as follows:

The winning prize is a stunning 1-bedroom waterfront condominium on Miami Beach, Florida. This 850 sq. ft. condo has been exquisitely renovated and comes equipped with travertine marble floors, granite counters, stainless steel appliance and custom built-in cabinetry. Veterans Retreat will pay for all local property taxes and monthly condominium maintenance fees through December of 2009. This condo is in the heart of South Beach

I don’t know what building it is in, but for one-hundred bucks, it doesn’t really matter.

South Beach Condo Blog is so NOT responsible for anything, good or bad, that transpires from the raffle.  I’m just postin’ a link!

In my last post on real estate statistics for Miami Beach condos in South Beach, A LOT was revealed by comparing 2007 to 2008 data for condos in the South of 5th / SoFi neighborhood. And now, here’s more information from the Southeast Florida Regional MLS that indicates this area has performed amazingly, especially considering the market.

In the stats below, you’ll notice two sets of numbers for 2008. The first set shows the year-over-year increase in sales and condo transactions for the same eight SoFi properties. The second set reflects the addition of two buildings opened in 2008 (Continuum North and Apogee South Beach) that weren’t part of the 07 South Beach-South of 5th condo index. That index is now comprised of ten luxury, waterfront high-rises.

I believe that, even without the two new buildings, a high percentage of 2008 buyers would likely have purchased a condo in one of the other SoFi buildings. With this in mind, I consider the second set of stats a truer reflection of the overall activity last year in this South Beach neighborhood.

2007-2008 Sales Volume for South Beach-SoFi Condos

• 2007: $171,743,350 – eight South of 5th condos
• 2008: $177,844,388 – same eight condos / 3.6% increase
• 2008: $243,668,138 - two new condos makes ten / 41.9% increase

2007-2008 Number of Transactions for South Beach-SoFi Condos

• 2007: 106 – eight South of 5th condos
• 2008: 131 – same eight condos / 23.6% increase
• 2008: 153 - ten condos / 44.3% increase

The increase in sales and number of units sold for the same eight South of 5th condos is surprising. But with the addition of Continuum North and Apogee South Beach, the respective 41.9% and 44.3% leap in total SoFi real estate activity is a big shock, at least to me.

2007-2008 Average Price Per Unit for a South Beach-SoFi Condo

• 2007: $1,620,000
• 2008: $1,582,261 / 2.3% decrease

It isn’t a surprise that the average price per unit or dollar per square foot went down, but the fact that it decreased 2.3% could stun many – even some local agents. Miami Beach real estate has suffered like every other market, but South Beach’s SoFi neighborhood has weathered the storm handily. I’m unsure, though, about what may be on the horizon as the current supply clearly outweighs the demand.

SoFi’s success has not been random, but to avoid fueling the high winds of the low economy, it’s better to stick to facts than emotions.