The Arts District & Downtown Miami Closed Condo Sales – November 2009

Did you guys notice that Epic sold a flat 309 (or Loft?) in Nov for $658/sf. And the 3 more remaining sales in Epic are all $400+/sf! Wow! I knew Epic is going to do well but did not expect this well. Actually, Having the potential No. 1 Class A1A office building in Miami (Met2) at its door step should have made it very attractive to corporations that have bought/leased in Met 2. Interestingly Met 2 I heard is fully subscribed and set to become the best and most technologically advanced office building in Miami.

Lucas

Thanks for these last three posts – Brickell – Beach – Downtown. Timely information i hope we can get every month.
Lucas – On your last twitter post – it mentions that “Wind’ last week released 100 units with 80 already under contract. Are these inside deals? Where and how could we have have found notice anywhere that these units were released and how in the world can they explain how 80 were contracted for within a weeks time? Can u explain to us how this all went down?

Looks like the five out of 18 Epic sales raised the average $sq ft price. And remember downtown has three premium buildings in this mix with Marquis – 900 and Epic. One Miami with six REO or short sales seems to be in a free fall. Notably – Nothing from Met One or Marina Blue and one each from 50 Biscayne and Ten Museum and 900 Biscayne with two both below $400 per square foot. Great information.

To me, the key number in this post is “18” — as in, there were only 18 sales in downtown Miami in the MLS.

Wow.

Kramer,

I heard about the discounted units at Wind about two weeks ago but didn’t have a chance to get over there until this week. The bank took possession of the building and released 90 units (I was mistaken about the total being 100). The bank discounted the units to a non-negotiable price that averaged around $219 per square foot. Some were sold as low as $175 per square foot. It was all word of mouth. There was no need to spend money on advertising.

Joe,

Why is 18 sales in Downtown Miami a low figure? There’s only 11 condo buildings in Downtown Miami. There were 30 closed sales in Brickell last month and there’s over 30 different buildings there.

Lucas — How many total units are available downtown? 18 sales hardly seems like a booming market.

Answering my own question, the MLS shows 500 downtown Miami condos for sale, hundreds more available for rent, and I’d have to guess there’s at least 250-500 units of shadow inventory. In that context, 18 sales seems like a glacial absorption rate.

Joe
This number does not include developer closings.

Kramer — It doesn’t include ANY developer sales, or just isn’t guaranteed to include ALL developer sales? I’ve seen plenty of developer-owned condos on the MLS.

Either way, that doesn’t alter my point from post #8 above. There are 500 units on MLS, hundreds more for rent, and probably 250-500 in shadow inventory. Only 18 MLS sales last month = a slow absorption rate, with or without developer sales.

Lucas, Thanks for the post (sorry I forgot to do that earlier). The last 3 posts were great. When I first looked at the numbers of closed deals, I thought they must be for the entire quarter. But on second look, these numbers are for just one month, for the month of November and they do not even include developer sales!!! I almost fell off the chair that such rapid exchange of flats is taking place after almost near total freeze in the first 3 months of this year. You also vindicated my earlier utterings that very very quietly all… Read more »

AJ — Do you even read other comments here before posting your own? Look at the info. in comments #8 and #10 above. 18 sales out of 1,000 available units is hardly a “rapid” sales pace. Give us a break.

At 18 units per month, there’s a FIVE-YEAR inventory of condos in downtown Miami.

I stop posting and AJ goes all manic…..can’t someone else keep him in line and honest?!?!?

I think Epic has something like 360 residences. Those units that are closing now are most likely people who got stuck in their contracts and were forced to close.

Classy stuff for $400 a foot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljd26yTj8jo
What and Epic brand image video.

DJ
I want everybody to stop what they’re doing
Now if you know you’re with somebody
You’re gonna take the hotel room tonight,
Make some noise…

Meet me at the hotel room
Meet me at the hotel room
Meet me at the hotel room
Meet me at the hotel room

Renter Tom — I’m trying, but I’m at the point where I think AJ just might be a troll. How AJ could follow my posts #8 and #10 above with his post #11 is a mystery to me. It’s like we’re speaking two different languages.

Thank Heavens, RT you are back. Joe has been struggling to fill your shoes but they are a few sizes too big for him!

test 1

Wild Bill: Thanks for the video link! So this is what you do with soon-to-be defunct condo developments: use them as sets for filming music videos and episodes of Burn Notice. (I’m a fan of Burn Notice, by-the-by – – new season begins in January.) I confess that Epic is my FAVORITE building. (Smell that? Yep. That’s sarcasm!) My favorite unit in the building has to be the one bedroom (I am only guessing that it is a one bedroom as I have not and never will see it) unit along Brickel Avenue. You can see it every time you… Read more »

Developer sales do not show up as sales…BUT…developer inventory doesn’t show up as “available” either. Icon Brickell has what….over 1,000+ units literally for sale?

Developer sales go all over Brickell /Downtown/Arts district. Resale prices are not as attractive as developer prices (all depends on the bulduings). To deal with developer sales is much easier because if you agrre on the price the deal is done. Brand new apartments vs the ones where someone occupied already even for a short period of time. I suspect there were hundreds of the developer sales in the past month. You can catch some of them on craigslist and probably other local websites. This is why there were just 18 resales. No need to deal with them when you… Read more »

Scriv

Oh Dang. I never thought of that with the Epic Condo/Hotel bells and whistles haha when the bridge goes up. That bridge must go up n down at least 10-15 times a day. Maybe they can change the tune on the bridge bell. U know something that fits the season like jingle bells at Christmas time haha.

But Epic is finished out really first rate if u get a chance just walk in the lobby or visit the restaurants. This building will rank up near Marquis. Reminds of what Setai on the Beach should have looked like. And at half the price or less.

How do you guys figure that music video was filmed at Epic — approved by the developer and/or the condo board?

“Burn Notice” is one thing, but I’m not sure some rap video is good for a high-end condo building’s image, especially during the sales/opening period. (I know this is Miami and everything, but still …)

Lara, very smart observation. I did not look at it that way. Even though 18 is a pretty good number for just one month in the Downtown area, that number would skyrocket if there were no developer direct sales in a discount retail to the man on the street. And sooner or later all the developer units will be gone. My guess is in the next 1 to 2 years.

Wild Bill, Thanks for the video. But I see it everyday ad nauseum as it is the most popular video for the parties up here. I play the Push the Feeling by Night crawlers (Remember that back from the 90’s. That is the music, Pitbull sampled for this song) and then slide into Hotel Room Service. It drives people crazy. But I have not realized that it was shot in Epic with downtown Miami in the background until you pointed out. Keen Observation! Now I look at that video differently.

Kramer,

Artech in Aventura is another building that sold out recently and did so by word of mouth. I think they only have 20 units that are under contract but still haven’t closed. The rest have closed. I was told that 95% of the buyers were cash buyers.

AJ is like Baghdad Bob with his misinformation.

What matches with Miami?

AJ = Miami ____ ??

Miami Manny? Miami Mike?

SEC orders Miami to turn over its financial books.

EPIC should be in the news shortly. Not real estate related, but interesting story nonetheless.

If you go to CondoReports.com and go to any particular building and the Ownership Info section, it will show you for any building in Miami how many units are still owned by the developer or any other bulk buyers and the ownership of each unit in the building and what they paid and when- for example, for Artech,
http://www.condoreports.com/real-estate-reports/artech_miami_condo_ownership_9073

or Wind,
http://www.condoreports.com/real-estate-reports/wind_miami_condo_ownership_9011

there is generall about a two week lag for recording of sales

One dead, two sick after stays at downtown Hotel

A foreign visitor has died and at least two other people have become sick after staying at a downtown Miami luxury hotel, and health officials are blaming an unusual type of pneumonia called Legionnaire’s Disease.

Guests at the Epic Hotel have been relocated to nearby hotels to prevent further contact with the water, according to the Miami-Dade County Health Department.

Another thing that helps to sell new apartments so quickly is that when developer lowers prices 50% all people that invested 20% at pre construction have a chance to buy at new prices. It means that a lot of them have already 40% of the purchase price in the deal. If the building is FHA approved the they can either obtain financing at very attractive rates or pay all cash.

Kramer:

Jingle bells as the bridge goes up? I LOVE IT! BRILLIANT.

10 points for Kramer!

Hey, I got it. The owner of that one bedroom unit I like so much (as you head north across the bridge, look left – – the balcony it right there staring at ya) could pass out egg nog and xmas cookies to those waiting for the bridge on Christmas eve. Call it, community out-reach.

scriv

Sorry….I meant “look right”!

scriv

Kramer:

Better yet: what about Feliz Navidad? José Felician, rock on!

scriv

NEWS FLASH: Epic Hotel shuttered, Legionnaire’s suspected

http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2009/12/14/daily3.html

Unbelievable!

scriv

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