Investment in Brickell Causing Value Increases
Brickell was one of the hardest hit from the Financial Crisis of 2008. Values saw a tremendous decrease and the market was flooded with distressed assets. But is it on the mend? Some opinions are mixed, but most Real Estate Brokers remain optimistic about the future of the area. Miami Today interviewed real estate brokers that primarily serve the area. Among them was EWM’s very own, Patrick O’Connell, the interim manager of EWM’s Mary Brickell Village Location. His research showed that back in 2009 when the peak of the crisis was being dealt with, prices were at about $246 per square foot. The numbers for the last quarter of 2011 show that the price per square foot has jumped to nearly $285. That is a 16.41% increase.
The Reason? A huge interest in Brickell by both domestic and foreign investors. For investors, according to Lisa Thompson from Coldwell Banker, investors see Brickell as a good place to vacation for the time being until things get better. The other route that investors are taking is leasing their units. Currently rent prices in Brickell are also on the rise and the demand for rentals is only increasing. However, the increase in rent prices has caused some tenants to consider purchasing because of the savings.
Although the signs are optimistic, there is still a tremendous amount of distressed assets that will have to be dealt with. It is likely that the price icreaseses will continue over the next year, however, it is unclear what affect new REO properties will have on the burgeoning Brickell market once they are released. For now, prices are steadily increasing and that could mean great returns for many Brickell investors.
GROVE UPDATE – 2/3/2012
There Are Some Grand Changes in Coconut Grove’s Future
In an article written by Patricia Hoyos at Miami Today an announcement was made that the six-block stretch on Grand Avenue in Coconut Grove would be experiencing a huge revitalization. The Pointe Group is the company that will be handling the development of the six-block complex that, when completed, will feature over 200 residential rental units, over 80,000 adj sf of retial space and several hundred parking spaces. It is believed that the project will revitalize the area and create and continuous flow from Downtown Coconut Grove all along the six-block Grand Avenue stretch. They are anticipating for groundbreaking to begin towards the end of 2012 and hope to have the first phase done by 2014. The entire project is projected to be completed within five years.
Grove residents played an active role in the design of the complex by giving The Pointe Group critical feedback that helped them tailor the architecture to be cosistent with the residents’ wants as well as keeping to the classic Bohemian feel of the Grove. Although the project would be good for the area and help increase property values, some residents are not entirely content with the need for relocating all of the current residents on that stretch of Grand Avenue.
The project has received the green light from the city and they are ready to commence with ground breaking later on in the year. This redevelopment is expected to bring a fresh boost of activity and prosperity to the Grove, a community that is increasingly growing in popularity due to its laid back nature. Coconut Grove has some of the most saught after real estate in the county and it is clear that that trend will continue long into the future. A revitalization of this area would increase traffic, property values and the general positive sentiment about the Grove.
This article was brought to you by Jo-Ann Forster, Top Producer – EWM Realtors.
*Information in this article was derived from “Work to Being on Six-Block Grove Village Near Year’s End” by Patricia Hoyos at Miami Today. Any opinions or facts presented here do not reflect on the opinion of Miami Today, its affliates or subsidiaries.
“Miami-Dade’s Luxury Condo Resale Market Surges” As Seen in The Miami Herald Business Monday Section Page 9G – January 23, 2012
Miami-Dade’s Luxury Condo Resale Market Surges
January 23, 2012
By Peter Zalewski
Special to the Miami Herald
As difficult as it may seem to fathom, given the current macroeconomic data plaguing South Florida, indications are growing that the luxury condo resale marketin Miami-Dade County is back —at least for the time being.
Foreign buyers with strong currencies complemented by a scattering of wealthy domestic purchasers acquired more $1 million condos in 2011 than in the last year of the South Florida real estate boom in 2006, according to an analysis of data from the Southeast Florida Shared Multiple Listing Service Database.
Buyers purchased nearly 590 condos for at least $1 million each in 2011 after acquiring less than 500 high-priced units in 2006.
On a year-over-year basis, the 2011 luxury condo resale activity represents a 29 percent increase from 2010 when fewer than 460 units were purchased for at least $1 million each in Miami-Dade.
Weeks into 2012, an additional 100 luxury units are already under contract waiting to transact.
Topping the list for the most expensive condo resale in the year 2011 is a penthouse in the Setai Resort & Residences in Miami Beach that sold for $21.5 million.
A pair of units in towers on South Pointe Drive in Miami Beach’s South of Fifth neighborhood rounded out the top three rankings for the highest priced resales for 2011.
In separate transactions, buyers paid $11.5 million for a penthouse in the Apogee condominium and $10.6 million for a high-floor unit in the Continuum On South Beach, respectively.
The resurgence in the luxury resale market has inspired an increasing number of owners – who had previously been unwilling to accept lower prices during the last five years of the real estate crash – to put nearly 1,000 condos on the resale market with an asking price of at least $1 Million each.
Nearly 20 ultra-luxury condominium units are on the resale market for at least $10 million each with one unit asking as much as $38 million in the wealthy enclave of Bal Harbour.
Developers are also taking notice of the resurgence in the luxury condo market.
At least five new luxury condo towers – ranging from the one-unit-per-floor Regalia to the drive-the-car-to-the-unit Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles Beach – are planned or under construction in Miami-Dade County where the proposed sales prices are expected to surpass $1 million each.
The luxury condo revival in Miami-Dade County is not occurring at the same pace in Broward County where foreign buyers play a somewhat more limited role in transactions.
Buyers purchased less than 70 luxury condo resales in Broward County in 2011 compared to 100 high-priced units at the top of the market in 2006.
On a year-over-year basis, 2011 luxury condo resales in Broward County are up 11 percent from 2010 when 61 condos traded at a price of at least $1 million each.
Going forward, it is unclear if the Miami-Dade luxury condo market can maintain the resale pace given the current economic challenges in the European Union with the erosion of the Euro currency, the adoption of unpopular austerity measures and a series of downgrades by at least one influential rating agency.
Western European buyers from counties such as France, Germany, and Italy represent 19 percent of the estimated $318 million in monthly sales in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach market attributed to foreign investors, according to an August 2011 report by the National Association of Realtors.
After buyers from Venezuela, the Western European buyers are the second largest concentration of $1 million buyers of any international group purchasing in Florida, according to the report.
An estimated 12 percent of Venezuelan buyers spend at least $1 million while six percent of Western Europeans are purchasing in that high-priced category.
By comparison, an estimated two percent of buyers from Brazil spend $1 million and one percent of buyers from Canada are in the high-end price range, according to the study.
Another issue facing the Miami-Dade County luxury condo market is the growing number of units available for purchase on the resale market aside from the unsold developer units remaining from the last real estate boom.
Even at the strong 2011 resale pace of an average of nearly 50 units per month, Miami-Dade County has about 20 months worth of high-priced condos currently available for purchase.
Many industry watchers consider a healthy market to have about a six-month supply of inventory.
Reinvigorated sellers with optimistic pricing expectations are another issue facing the luxury condo market.
Sellers of luxury condos are currently seeking a median price of more than $1.75 million in 2012 compared to median transaction prices of $1.6 million in 2011, $1.5 million in 2010, and $1.51million in 2006.
Given the emerging economic and psychology issues combined with continuing challenges associated with obtaining financing, it is unknown if the Miami-Dade County luxury condo market can maintain the 2011 sales momentum into the latter half of the year once the winter tourism season ends in the second quarter.
Peter Zalewski is a principal with the Bal Harbour-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures. Zalewski, who has had a Florida real estate license since 1995, works as a consultant for private equity groups and institutional investors
Historic House Tour Coming December 3
Each year, The Villagers present to the Miami community a tour of exceptional homes that are of outstanding architectural or historic value. The first week in December is a special time when these homes are opened by their owners for viewing by the guests of The Villagers. The house tour has a well-established history of only providing the most extraordinary homes of carefully selected neighborhoods.
The Villagers is a group established to promote an appreciation of history through the acquisition, restoration and preservation of structure, sites, buildings and objects having special historical or architectural significance.
Save the Date! Historic House Tour • December 3, 2010
For more information visit http://www.thevillagersinc.org.
In Today’s Market…Results Matter!
Coming Soon To Your Mailbox! Take a look at some of our recently produced direct mail pieces which will be mailed to residents in the area featuring homes on the market and recent sales in Coconut Grove and Pinecrest. You may click to zoom.
Call me today to add your home to the growing list of sale success stories. I can be reached at 305.778.5555 or email joann@uniquehomesofmiami.com.
Million Dollar Plus Market is Alive and Well!
The million dollar plus real estate market in Miami-Dade County is quite active. Last month there were 29 Closed Sales of Single Family Homes in Miami-Dade County, which happens to be the same as last year during the same period. Last month 32 Single Family Homes in Miami-Dade County went in Pending Status (Under Contract). Two of the Ten Pending Sales over $2 million during that time period are my listings.
Condominium sales in the million dollar plus price range are also selling, interestingly almost at the same rate as Single Family Homes. Last month there were 27 Closed Sales of Condominiums in Miami-Dade County and 20 in Pending Status.
My office is busy with showings, second showings and offers! Call me today to add your home to the growing list of sale success stories. I can be reached at 305.778.5555 or email joann@uniquehomesofmiami.com.
Real Estate Reinvention – Extreme Makeover for 2011
On Thursday, November 18, 2010 I am moderating a panel of top producers for the MIAMI Association of Realtors. Take a look at the invite below and click here to reserve a seat.
Real Estate Reinvention -
Extreme Makeover for 2011
Thursday, November 18, 2010 from 9:15 – 11
“What we know for sure……”
Join us for a conversation with some of the top agents in Miami. The good, the bad, and what lessons they have learned. Technology, Marketing, Listing, Selling and balance in life.
Elks Lodge in South Miami
6304 SW 78 Street · Miami 33143
(one block off U.S 1 and 63 Avenue
behind the BP Gas Station)
Presented by your Panel of Top Producers:
Carlos Garcia
Bill Meyersohn
Mayi de la Vega
Toni Schrager
Jo-Ann Forster, Moderator
Coconut Grove is Miami’s safest neighborhood
Source: South Florida Business Journal. Monday, November 8, 2010
Coconut Grove is the safest neighborhood in Miami, according to a report from WalletPop.
The ranking is based on data from NeighborhoodScout.com and the FBI.
The report finds that the Grove is safer than 70 percent of all U.S. neighborhoods, with the crime rate at 11.39 per 1,000 people.
A person’s chances of becoming a victim are one in 88.
“Some big cities contain neighborhoods that are among the safest of any place in the nation, hopefully breaking stereotypes,” WalletPop notes
Read more: Coconut Grove is Miami’s safest neighborhood | South Florida Business Journal
My Office Is Busy!
Summer is over and my office is humming with activity! Within the last week we have received several offers and my two Snapper Creek Listings on the canal 10950 Snapper Creek Drive and 11100 Snapper Creek Road are now pending.
If you are looking to buy or list your home for sale contact me today! Ready and able buyers are out on the market.
Call me today to add your home to the growing list of sale success stories. I can be reached at 305.778.5555 or email joann@uniquehomesofmiami.com.
Snapper Creek Lakes Market Snapshot
The last 7 months have been booming with activity in Snapper Creek Lakes with an average of 1 closed sale a month. This is following a 10 month period of no sales which ended March of 2010. The subsequent months brought an increase in the amount of sales, sales price, and sold price per square foot in Snapper Creek Lakes as shown below. The highest sale in over a year was my sale which closed April 14, 2010 at 5295 Fairchild Way. This home was custom built in 2005 with 7,243 sqft with 5 bedrooms and a guest house all on over 58,000 square feet of land. This home sold at $3,443,500 or $475/sqft. It was only on the market for 13 days and received 3 offers in only the first week on the market.
Today, the market is still strong at Snapper Creek Lakes with Pending Sales and reduced prices incentivizing buyers to purchase property in one of Coral Gables’ top waterfront gated communities. There are two pending sales and both are my listings on the canal at 10950 Snapper Creek Road and 11100 Snapper Creek Road.
I am proud to report that EWM is the leader in Snapper Creek Lakes listing and sales. Myself and other EWM agents were involved in the listing of 6 of the 7 closed sales and EWM agents were involved in both listing and sale side on 3 of the 7 closed sales.
Call me today to add your home to the growing list of sale success stories in Snapper Creek Lakes. I can be reached at 305.778.5555 or email joann@uniquehomesofmiami.com.
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