Miami Beach Real Estate Blog

Over the past month, my team and I have witnessed a significant increase in buyer activity for what I consider to be “A” real estate properties.  These can be quickly defined as:

- Miami Beach waterfront condos in buildings such as The Murano, Murano Grande, Icon South Beach, Portofino Tower, Continuum, and more affordable buildings such as The Waverly and The Floridian along West Avenue.

- The more popular luxury waterfront single family homes located on island communities such as The Venetian, Palm, Hibiscus, and Sunset Islands.

Whether it’s a single family home or condominium, an additional requirement for an “A” property in this Buyer’s market is that it be turnkey, or completely remodeled and updated.  In other words, the only additional expense a buyer has to be concerned with is moving in with their furniture and personal belongings.

It’s been our experience recently that single family homes and condos, when priced RIGHT, are bombarded with buyer interest and generally receive multiple offers.  We are witnessing a new surge of buyer interest in these “A” location properties in the South Beach and the greater Miami Beach real estate market.  Our real estate websites are also seeing a dramatic increase in traffic, with local cooperating brokers calling with inquiries and sending us multiple sales contracts.

All of these signs are indicators that the bottom is very close to being reached, and sales are beginning to come back, with prices to GRADUALLY follow as the “A” inventory diminishes.

A few examples of “A” real estate properties currently on the market:

Venetian Island – Greatly Reduced Waterfront Home

Rivo Alto home in Venetian Islands Miami Beach

Romance is felt throughout this Mediterranean waterfront home situated on 10,500 sf of land, spanning 60 feet of wide bay waterfront facing the Miami skyline. This timeless residence with unique architectural features contains over 4,117 sf of living area, with 5 bedrooms, 6 full and 2 half baths.

Current Asking Price: $3,199,000
Original Asking Price : $4,250,000
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 8
House S.F.: 4,117
Land S.F.: 10,500
Waterfront:  60 ft. with Dock

San Marino Island- Significantly Reduced Turnkey Waterfront Home

San Marino Waterfront Home in Venetian Islands

A fantastic opportunity to own an oversized waterfront lot.  This Mediterranean waterfront estate has 90 feet on the water, located on the Venetian Island causeway between Miami and Miami Beach.  Beautifully redone with gourmet kitchen, brazilian cherry hard wood flooring, fireplace, office/library, and award winning landscaping!

Current Asking Price: $2,950,000
Original Asking Price : $4,599,000
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 5
House S.F.: 3,370
Land S.F.: 15,750
Waterfront:  90 ft. with Dock

Portofino Tower Condo- Spectacular Atlantic Ocean, Fisher Island, and Miami Beach Skyline Views

View from the Miami Beach Portofino Tower Condo Unit #3402

This high floor condominium is a real flow through floorplan with two expansive and very private terraces with the most stunning views of Fisher Island, Downtown Miami, Miami Beach and the Ocean.   A Grand Foyer entrance, floor to ceiling  windows, a unique floorplan, and the most exquisite upgrades make this condomimium one of a kind.

Current Asking Price: $1,500,000
Original Asking Price : $1,795,000
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 3
Condo S.F.: 1,960

The current status of the real estate sales industry, especially those working the Miami Beach market, is in a state of change and consolidation.  I started my Real Estate career in 1998 with much success, and that success has grown each year both during the “boom” market of 2002-2006 and the current “bubble burst” market.  During those “boom” years, it seemed as if everyone and their friends had a real estate license.  Real Estate became the “in” topic of discussion- due both to the lucrative commissions and also the cultural and social appeal of shows such as House Hunters, HGTV, etc.  It seemed as if everyone wanted to be a part of the real estate phenomenon, and this was easily attainable via easy mortgages and equity lines of credit.

The “easy” money in earning a real estate commission from the sale of a property is long gone.  Today’s market requires Agents and Brokers who have strong organizational skills, attention to detail, intimate knowledge of realistic market values, a close relationships with lenders, patience, and most importantly strong negotiation skills.  The task of taking a buyer around and showing him some good “deals” is just the beginning of a successful real estate transaction.  In this market, the key is to provide a strong value-added service to the customer (both to buyers and sellers).

My professional strategy for the last few years has been to focus on investing in both the people who comprise my team and in marketing resources for our clients.  This involves such mundane but important tasks as maintaining meticulous files and a system for following up with pending offers and contracts, as well as investing in new marketing resources that allow us to promote our clients properties to influential Brokers around the world.  My highest priority, however, has been to build and retain a trained, motivated, knowledgeable, and honest team of agents that are committed to the business.

A few of the latest successfully CLOSED sales of Miami Beach single family homes that are worthy of note:

Palm Island Luxury Home

Palm Island Luxury. Granite kitchen counters w/stainless viking equipment. Marble floors and terrace with hard wood in bedrooms. Large master with walk in closets & balcony. Infinity set river rock pool w/paver deck and wet bar. Seperate maid quarters. Full emergency generator and Gated entry to prestigious Palm Island.

Sales Price: $690,000
Previous Asking Price : $1,150,000
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 4
House S.F.: 2,694
Land S.F.: 6,000

South Beach Home

Rare single family home in South Beach by renowned 1930s architect. $325k+ renovation incl new: tile roof, PGT impact windows, HVAC, elec, plumbing, lighting, heated salt pool, marble paver deck, prof landscape. New in 2008: sleek custom kitchen w/ Sub-Zero/Thermador/Bosch, exotic stone; 3 new marble baths – Hansgrohe/Duravit/Toto fixts, body sprays, wenge vanities. Original wood floors, 11′ ceiling in sunny rotunda Living Room w/ honed coral-rock fireplace, Moorish detail arches. Corner lot in Flamingo Park neighborhood of Miami Beach.

Sales Price: $1,139,750
Previous Asking Price : $1,350,000
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 3
House S.F.: 2,142
Land S.F.: 7,500

Venetian Island Waterfront Home

Prime Venetian Island property, 60 x 175 waterfront lot with 10,500 Sq. Ft.  Minutes from South Beach, The Performing Arts center, and Downtown Miami.  Panoramic Bay views of Downtown Miami, the cruise ships, and Palm Island.  This home offers Miami Beach waterfront living at its finest!

Sales Price: $1,970,000
Previous Asking Price : $3,350,000
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 5
House S.F.: 3,268
Land S.F.: 10,500
60 ft. of waterfront