Miami Beach Waterfront Homes Blog

Recently, I received in the mail a very comprehensive market snapshot from a local brokerage firm with a variety of confusing statistics gathered from the MLS comparing 2006 and 2007 Q2 sales for the more prominent buildings South of Fifth Street in Miami Beach. I’m astounded that in today’s real estate market, sales professionals are still sending out confusing statistical reports in an effort to sign up listings. Below is my common sense interpretation of the data.

I’ve compiled the following from the MLS to clearly communicate what is happening with the luxury condo market South of Fifth Street for the following luxury waterfront buildings:

Murano at Portofino

There are 20 units for sale, which makes it the lowest inventory building in the entire area. The average asking price is $2,475,000 at $1,107/S.F. The median sales asking price is $1,660,000 at just over $1,000/S.F. YTD 2007 a total of 3 units have sold, at an average sales price of $1,523,000 at $1,126/S.F.

Although on paper prices do not seem to have been affected thus far, only THREE units have sold for the entire year! Also of note, there are only two â¬S01⬝ or â¬SA⬝ units (which I consider to be among the best floorplans and views in all of SE Florida and Greater Miami) and they are still hard to come by- with only two units on the active market starting at $4,900,000 or $1,456/ S.F. The last two closed sales that have taken place for the â¬S01⬝ units were in March of 2006 for an average of $3,947,000 at $1,172/S.F.

Murano Grande

There are 53 condominium units for sale in this building, obviously an oversupply of sellers (with at least two units in foreclosure/pre-foreclosure). The average asking price is $1,897,000 at $840/S.F. The median asking price is $1,470,000 at just over $838/S.F. For the second half of 2007 (since June 1) a total of 6 units have sold (vs 13 sales for same period last year), at an average sales price of $1,406,000 at $847/S.F. This represents a closed sales slowdown of 53% during the summer/fall months of 2007 vs summer/fall of 2006.

Icon South Beach

There are 43 condominium units actively for sale, with at least four units in foreclosure/pre-foreclosure. The average asking price is $1,860,000 at $895/S.F. The median asking price is $1,600,000 at just over $876/S.F. For the second half of 2007 (since June 1) a total of 6 units have sold (vs 16 sales for same period last year), at an average sales price of $2,676,000 at $931/S.F. This represents a closed sales slowdown of 63% during the summer/fall months of 2007 vs summer/fall of 2006.

Continuum South Beach (South Tower)

There are 50 condominium units actively on the market for sale. The average asking price is $2,983,000 at $1,263/S.F. The median asking price is $2,372,000 at just over $1,225/S.F. For the second half of 2007 (since June 1) a total of 7 units have sold (vs 10 sales for same period last year), at an average sales price of $1,566,000 at $869/S.F. This represents a closed sales slowdown of 30% during the summer/fall months of 2007 vs summer/fall of 2006.

Portofino Tower

There are 37 condominium units actively on the market for sale. The average asking price is $1,955,000 at $881/S.F. The median asking price is $1,699,000 at just under $800/S.F. For the second half of 2007 (since July 1) a total of 3 units have sold (vs 6 sales for same period last year), at an average sales price of $2,983,000 at $972/S.F. The most significant difference over the past year, are that the number of active condominiums for sale has increased, but the ones selling are the premier waterfront Penthouses and â¬S01⬝ high floor lines with unobstructed views (see below)

Apogee

Closings will be commencing in the next few weeks, the 01 and 04 lines are by far the most desireable. For example, one of the better re-sale units is #901 and can be purchased for $4,790,000 at $1,155/S.F. This may seem like a high price, the 01 line and 04 lines at Apogee have been thus far priced in the $7M and $8M range. I believe that these units are most competitive with Murano at Portofino â¬S01⬝ or â¬SA⬝ units. Note that the last two closed sales that have taken place for the â¬S01⬝ units at Murano for an average of $3,947,000 at $1,172/S.F. See comparisons of units â¬SA⬝ from both buildings below:

Vs.

This past week, I had the privilege of working with one of the most skilled and capable real estate attorneys in the business. She delivered one of the smoothest closings that I have ever had, and all parties involved in the transaction were thrilled! To celebrate, we went out to lunch and my team and I were very honored and proud that she also told us that we were the best real estate brokers/salespeople she had ever worked with in her many years of practice.

I’m communicating this here not to stroke my ego, but to inform anyone reading this the importance of working with experienced, detail-oriented, flexible, informed, and skillful Realtors in this challenging real estate environment. In a seller’s market with many buyers and limited inventory, I believe that the Realtors handling of the negotiation and transaction process (from contract execution to closing) is not quite as critical. However, in this market, where we have a growing inventory of unsold property and a scarcity of buyers it is CRUCIAL to work with a real estate salesperson that will use all of their skills, knowledge, relationships, intelligence, professional contacts, and most importantly *experience* to guide a transaction to a successful closing.

In the case of the this week’s sale, I represented the buyer, and it should be noted that the sellers were representing the estate of a deceased (very wealthy) property owner and were very eager to stop the financial losses associated with owning an empty property for over two years. The sellers had to bring almost $250,000 to the closing table, which I am finding the scenario increasingly common among sellers who purchased after 2003.

My team and I are finding our time VERY limited these days, and our commitment is to providing the strongest and most innovative marketing resources and services for our sellers (and finding best deal for buyers). Therefore, we are increasingly having to choose what type of clients and who we work with (especially sellers). I urge anyone looking to buy or sell today, to carefully consider the overall strength, market knowledge, personality, experience, and marketing resources of the Realtor that they choose to work with. Additionally, also consider that in today’s market a top producing Realtor (at the top of his/her game) will also be evaluating a potential client’s ability to work with them.

One of the questions my team and I continually ask ourselves is:

“If I were a buyer/seller today, would I work with me?”