The following data was collected on June 27, 2008.  It’s been quite some time since my last Brickell Key Condo Index.  In fact, the last was published in January 2008, or 5 months ago.  What’s interesting is that it has been one year since I started the Brickell Key Condo Index, so in this update we’ll be able to see how prices have fared over the past 12 months.

As many of you might have guessed, the average price per square foot of Brickell Key condos listed in the MLS has continued to go down since the January 2008 update. In fact, average list prices have gone down across the board throughout the 10 Brickell Key condo buildings represented in this index.  I’ll show you the percentage decreases in each building towards the bottom of this post.  In January 2008, the average price per square foot of condos listed in Brickell Key was $486.07. The average now stands at $450.49. That’s about a 7.3% drop in list prices in 5 months. More interesting is the drop since June 2007.  At that time, the average price of condos listed in Brickell Key was at $519.97.  That means list prices in Brickell Key have come down a little over a 13% in 12 months.

Average price per square foot of Brickell Key condos currently listed on the MLS:

• Brickell Key One - 520 Brickell Key Drive | 33131 | $353.45
• Brickell Key Two - 540 Brickell Key Drive | 33131 | $422.52
• Carbonell - 901 Brickell Key Drive | 33131 | $572.35
• Courts Brickell Key - 801 Brickell Key Drive | 33131 | $429.47
• Courvoisier Courts - 701 Brickell Key Drive | 33131 | $402.06
• Isola - 770 Claughton Island Drive | 33131 | $420.22
• One Tequesta Point - 888 Brickell Key Drive | 33131 | $431.74
• St. Louis - 800 Claughton Island Drive | 33131 | $458.38
• Three Tequesta Point - 848 Brickell Key Drive | 33131 | $508.11
• Two Tequesta Point - 808 Brickell Key Drive | 33131 | $506.64

The average price per square foot of condos that have sold within the past five months has gone down as well. This average dropped to $367.19 per square foot from the $416.92 that we saw in January 2008.  This average stood at $445.59 in June 2007. That’s a 11.9% drop within 5 months and a 17.6% drop within 12 months.  The average price per square foot for closed units at St. Louis was not included in this month’s index, however, because there haven’t been any closed sales within the past 6 months.  That’s why you’ll see the absence of a bar for St. Louis in the graph below.  The percentage drop may have been smaller had there been closings at St. Louis but nobody knows for sure since we don’t know where the market clearing value for these condos lies.

The average price per square foot of condos sold within the past six months:

• Brickell Key One - 520 Brickell Key Drive | 33131 | $321.16
• Brickell Key Two - 540 Brickell Key Drive | 33131 | $299.76
• Carbonell - 901 Brickell Key Drive | 33131 | $408.33
• Courts Brickell Key - 801 Brickell Key Drive | 33131 | $360.31
• Courvoisier Courts - 701 Brickell Key Drive | 33131 | $336.01
• Isola - 770 Claughton Island Drive | 33131 | $265.79
• One Tequesta Point - 888 Brickell Key Drive | 33131 | $392.33
• St. Louis - 800 Claughton Island Drive | 33131 | N/A
• Three Tequesta Point - 848 Brickell Key Drive | 33131 | $465.02
• Two Tequesta Point - 808 Brickell Key Drive | 33131 | $455.98

The chart below reveals additional statistics pertaining to the 10 aforementioned condo buildings in Brickell Key:

The first column to the right of each condo development is the difference in the average sales price and list price for this month, expressed as a percentage. As you can see, there is, in some cases, very large discrepancies in the average list price versus the average sales price for condos that have closed within the past six months.  Notice the 36.75% difference in these two averages for Isola and about 29% differences for Brickell Key II and Carbonell.  Wow!  I guess list prices in these buildings still have a ways to go to catch up to price level where there’s actual demand to buy.

The second column is the number of active listings in each development currently in the MLS. The third column shows the percentage that these listings represent over the total number of condo units in each development. If you compare this month’s chart to the one published in January 2008, you’ll notice that the majority of the Brickell Key condo buildings have had a slight increase in the number of available listings.  The cells highlighted in green reveal those developments that have active listings that represent less than 10 percent of the the overall units in the building. As I’ve stated before, I find this to be a very healthy number. The ones highlighted in red reveal those developments that have active listings that represent over 20 percent of the overall units in the building. Proceed with caution if you’re buying in a condo building where the available listings represents over 20 percent of the total number of units. Condo developments with active listings representing less than 10 percent of the overall condos are considered very safe, in my opinion, and anything in the 10-15 percent range is considered normal, even in a healthy market.

The fourth column shows the number of pending sales while the fifth column displays the number of closed sales within the past six months in the MLS. All of the buildings have had at least 3 closed sales within the past six months except St. Louis, which laid a fat goose egg.  Two Tequesta Point experienced the most closings in that time frame with 9.

The sixth column shows the difference in the average list prices from January 2008 and this month, expressed a percentage. Those highlighted in red reveal those condo developments which have had a drop in their average list price.  As you can see, each of the 10 buildings in Brickell Key, represented in this index, have experienced a drop in their average list prices within the past five months.

The seventh column reveals the difference in average sales prices from January 2008 and this month, expressed as a percentage. Only Two Tequesta Point and Three Tequesta Point have had increases in their average price per square foot for units sold within the past six months.  With 9 and 6 closed sales, respectively, within the past six months, perhaps these two buildings have established a floor?  I guess time will tell.

It’ll be interesting to see where prices for Brickell Key condos will reside in another 12 months.  My take is that about 4 or 5 of these condo buildings are close to reaching their bottoms while the other half still needs at least another 4-6 months to reach that point.

…at least for the time being.  The “Miami Today News” reported last week that the Villa Magna project is still pushing forward.  I guess we can all scrap the inkling of a dream that the land would become a public park.  I don’t think any of us actually thought it would be turned into a park but rather just wishful thinking that the city wanted a nice green space for the residents of Brickell.  The Villa Magna project will reside on the last bayfront lot in Brickell.  Now, we can all move on to hoping that the Brickell CitiCentre land will become a public park.

The same issue of the “Miami Today News ” also discussed the relocation of the Camillus House.  For those not local to Miami, the Camillus House is a homeless shelter located in the neighborhood of Park West, a few blocks west of new luxury condo high-rise buildings such as Ten Museum Park, 900 Biscayne Bay, Marquis and Marina Blue.  The good news is that the relocation of the homeless shelter is still going to happen.  The bad news is that the move won’t happen until 2010.  I think residents of these condo buildings are highly anticipating that day to arrive.  The neighborhood will see a dramatic improvement and, as the article mentions, commercial developers will be more prone to open retail space in the neighborhood.  2010 will be a great year!  The Super Bowl will be returning to Miami and Camillus House will be heading west!

Update: I do plan to update this blog on a more frequent basis like you had enjoyed in the past.  I took some time off but now I’m back in full blogging mode.  The new “Condo Deals” page is coming along nicely and should be rolled out by the end of next week.  I’m looking forward to that as well as a few other changes that I think you’ll all enjoy.

The one above is my favorite. It looks so much better in person though. This piece can be found at 900 Biscayne Bay on the 15th floor between the club room and spa. The building is full of art and the developer has chosen the pieces from local art galleries. I’ve visited 900 Biscayne Bay over the previous 5 days in a row showing units to various clients. The more I visit this building the more I LOVE it. Of all the new condo buildings completed within the past 2 years, this is hands down the BEST. The quality of the building and units is impeccable. The views are fabulous as well. When I show clients units in various buildings, I usually leave 900 Biscayne Bay last on the agenda. It’s on a completely different level.

I found the piece above to be quite interesting as well. It can be found on the rooftop lounge room at 500 Brickell. The building has lots of artwork throughout the common areas. You’ll definitely find more artwork at 500 Brickell than other Related Group condo developments in Miami. I wonder if Icon Brickell will have as much eye candy when it is completed.

I heard that there’s going to be an art show at Quantum on the Bay next week. I saw various art pieces throughout the lobby on Monday or Tuesday that I found appealing. Does anyone know the date and time that this art exhibit will occur?

• Margaret Pace Park - Of the public green spaces mentioned in this post, Margaret Pace is my favorite. It is located in the Arts District of Miami within walking distance to Quantum on the Bay, 1800 Club, Cite on the Bay and the future Paramount Bay. Margaret Pace Park offers a number of activities such as tennis, volleyball, basketball and soccer. It’s typical to see volleyball and basketball games continue well until the sun goes down. You’ll also see runners dashing around the parameter of the park and dog owners playing with their pets and mingling with other dog owners. Those with small children will also appreciate the children’s park at Margaret Pace park.

• Museum Park (formerly Bicentennial Park) - This public green space was recently renamed Museum Park. It will be a collaborative effort by the Miami Museum of Science and the Miami Art Museum. Museum Park is located just south of the I-395 expressway and just north of the American Airlines Arena. It is walking distance to Ten Museum Park, 900 Biscayne Bay, Marina Blue and the future Marquis in the neighborhood of Park West. Currently, this is probably the most underutilized public green space by locals throughout Miami. You’ll occasionally see soccer games taking place, as you do in the picture above, but that’s about it. Museum Park is home to a variety of music events, with the largest being Ultra Music Festival held in March. It’ll be nice to see the transformation of Museum Park within the next 1-2 years.

• Bayfront Park - This public green space has a children’s park, an amphitheater (not seen in the picture above) and a helium balloon ride, called Miami SkyLift, that unfortunately hasn’t taken off in quite a while. Bayfront Park is also home to the Flying Trapeze School and offers yoga classes three times per week. Bayfront Park is located in Downtown Miami just south of Bayfront Marketplace and just north of the Intercontinental Hotel. It is walking distance to condominium buildings such as 50 Biscayne, Loft I, Loft 2, One Miami, Met 1 and the future Everglades on the Bay.

There are a variety of other public green spaces throughout Miami not mentioned in this post. However, these are the ones located near many of the new condo buildings in Miami. Unfortunately, there currently aren’t any public green spaces in Brickell.

To the south, you can see Brickell Key and Key Biscayne from the Penthouse at Quantum on the Bay.

You can also see the Venetian Islands, Fisher Island, South Beach and Star, Hibiscus and Palm Islands.

Here you see the rest of Miami Beach from the Penthouse at Quantum on the Bay.

To the north, you can see Surfside, Bal Harbour and Sunny Isles Beach in the distance.

Villa Regina Amenities and Common Areas:

Here’s the video, with a narrative voiceover, of the 5 bedroom/5 bath condo with 4,100 interior square feet listed for $1,499,900 at Villa Regina:

Nonlocal buyers represent a large share of the percentage of people buying in Miami right now. My hope is that these videos will help these types of buyers to familiarize themselves with the various condo buildings throughout Miami.

Below you will find the date that each condo development began closings:

• Ten Museum Park - June 14, 2007
• Star Lofts on the Bay - June 20, 2007
• Latitude on the River - July 27, 2007
• Onyx on the Bay - July 31, 2007
• Loft Downtown 2 - September 26, 2007
• 50 Biscayne - October 1, 2007

Even with the overstatement of closed units corrected, Loft Downtown 2 still has the best closing rate of any condo development located in Miami included in this post, and the second best overall. Loft Downtown 2 isn’t as close to hitting the 100 percent mark as I had previously thought, but it’s doing comparatively quite well. The overall closing rate at 50 Biscayne increased slightly over 6 points while the rest, in the group above, increased 2.52 points or less, since the last update.

As over half of this group approaches the one year mark since their closings began, a few interesting questions come to mind. What is happening to the defaulted condos? Are developer’s leasing them and holding until the market gets better or are they hoping for onesy and twosy buyers to come along to slowly deplete their inventory? Are any of these developers feeling the pain yet? I’ve heard that at least one of these condo developers has been for a few months. If that’s true, then when, if ever, are we going to see some bulk sales?

• 1800 Club - November 27, 2007
• Brickell on the River 2 - December 17, 2007
• Opera Tower - December 28, 2007
• Quantum on the Bay - January 3, 2008
• Plaza on Brickell - January 7, 2008
• Apogee South Beach - January 16, 2008

I’m sure glad he’s proving me wrong. Those were my first thoughts when looking at the chart above. My second thoughts are that Apogee South Beach has continued to make great strides in closing its condos. Apogee has improved almost 15 points since my last update. Quantum on the Bay and 1800 Club, the only other two condo developments in the group above the 50 percent mark, each continued to show nice progress as well.

Below you will find the date that each condo development began closings:

• Avenue at Brickell - January 23, 2008
• Midtown 4 - February 15, 2008
• Marina Blue - February 27, 2008
• Wind - February 28, 2008
• Asia - April 4, 2008

Marina Blue is off to a very good start. Pretty impressive from a condo development that started closings so late in the game. Asia is doing relatively well given that it had its first closing less than two months ago. However, Asia has only 123 total units. I’m expecting that we’ll some good progress in Asia’s closing rate next month. I guess we’ll have to wait for the next update, however, to find out.

Disclaimer: The above closing rate information was derived from public County records. There can be a 2-3 week delay from the time that a closing occurs and the time that the closing is recorded.

About a month ago, I shared a bunch of pictures that I shot while touring Marina Blue. Someone left a comment remarking that my amateur eye didn’t fully encompass Marina Blue in all its glory. I think you will all agree, after viewing this post. Fortunately, the people at Posh Condos were nice enough to share with me some professionally shot photos that they had someone shoot for them. They agreed that I could share these amazing pictures of Marina Blue with my readers, so enjoy!

The lobby seating area at Marina Blue.

The hallway to elevator core 3 and the beautiful orange round-chair at the end.

A shot of elevator core 1 at Marina Blue.

The entrance to the Sky Beach Fitness Center on the 14th floor at Marina Blue.

This amazing view should inspire quite a few to get their cardio workout in each day.

The two hot tubs at Marina Blue.

The sunrise pool at Marina Blue and the Downtown Miami view.

The poolside eating area off the club room. The barbecue grills aren’t installed yet but they will be.

The poolside lounge area at Marina Blue.

The rock garden at Marina Blue. I never knew rocks could look so beautiful.

The putting green. I think there’s about 5 holes in all.

A shot of the circular beds off the sunset pool at Marina Blue.

The sunset pool. You can work on your tan all day until the sun fades into the horizon. The sand volleyball court was being set up the last time I was on the pool deck at Marina Blue.

Most people hate to see an unfinished unit with concrete floors. Above, you’ll find a finished condo at Marina Blue with painted walls, flooring, baseboards and window treatments. The view is killer even from this condo on a relatively low floor. Last week, I got a rental listing on the 5th floor and received an offer that was accepted after just one showing. Every condo unit at Marina Blue has a direct water view.

This is the kitchen at Marina Blue from a 12 line unit with tiled floors. The 12 line is a 2 bedroom/2 bath corner unit with direct views of Biscayne Bay and Miami Beach from the living room and master bedroom and views to the north and west from the kitchen and second bedroom.

A sick view to the east at Marina Blue.

A view down Biscayne Boulevard. Yes, the traffic may be congested at times, although you don’t see it in this shot, but isn’t that what urban life is all about? I honestly can’t wait for there to be more traffic in Park West, Brickell and the Arts District. The infrastructure will follow.

I’m originally from Chicago. A few years before I left Chicago, nobody wanted to live south of Congress. The infrastructure wasn’t in place at the time because there wasn’t much interest to live there from young professionals. Now, it’s a totally different situation. Development has pushed more south with each passing year and what was formally known as the “hood” has become a place that young professionals actually enjoy living.

There’s no doubt that the same will happen with Miami. Six months ago, I used to show condos at Loft 2 and 50 Biscayne and hardly anybody lived there. Now, the foot traffic that goes through the lobby of each building each hour is incredible. I showed a condo for sale at Loft 2 this evening and I couldn’t believe how many people actually live there now. It was a sight to see! It’ll definitely take some time for the market to digest the new inventory but, when it does, Miami will be hot again!!!

Marina Blue Condos For Sale

Marina Blue Condos For Rent

Last Thursday night, I attended the brokers preview party for 500 Brickell. It was great to be in the company of the one or two Realtors left in Miami. Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit. The place was actually pretty packed. The wine was flowing and the hors d’oeuvres were everywhere. The picture above was taken from the rooftop pool on the 42nd floor.

Jorge Perez attended the party. Jorge gave free copies of his newly published book “Powerhouse Principles” and stayed around to sign books. Above, Jorge is doing his rendition of “Love Me Tender” by Elvis Presley. I’m joking. Actually, he was thanking his staff and everyone involved in the 500 Brickell project.

I was actually very impressed with the amenities at 500 Brickell. It’s definitely a very “hip” building. That’s the word that kept coming to mind for me at least. Here you see the lobby of the east tower at 500 Brickell.

This is a shot of the Sports Bar room at 500 Brickell. The room also has a billiards table and a bar with flat-screen TVs which you’ll see below.

Another shot of the Sports Bar.

The spa was very nice, complete with a steam room and sauna.

A shot of the hot tub in the men’s spa room.

I’m kicking back in one of the reclining seats at the back of theater room watching “Bourne Ultimatum”.

Above is a shot of the fitness center. This is one amenity area that didn’t quite impress me. I found it to be rather small to accommodate the residents of the east and west towers at 500 Brickell.

The all-famous halo at 500 Brickell. I was laying back in a lounge chair as I took this shot. It was kind of trippy. I felt like I would be beamed up to the Related Group mother-ship at any moment. I spoke with an architect who worked on 500 Brickell who mentioned that the scattered windows running down the sides of each tower were to resemble water running down. I thought that was pretty interesting.

The kitchens were nice but they’re identical to the kitchens that you’ll find in the “Sky Residences” at Plaza on Brickell, so they were nothing new to me. Each of the condos at 500 Brickell comes with a Jacuzzi tub in the master bath that are the same, or at least resemble, the ones found in the “Sky Residences” at Plaza on Brickell as well.

The floor plans were pretty spacious and the bathrooms in most of the lines were rather large. However, the group I was with did find a major flaw in the 00 line of the east tower. The shot above is of the shower. Take note of how narrow it is. A slender lady in our group entered the shower and pretended to wash her hair. She couldn’t lift her elbows without hitting the glass. The 00 line does have the best views of all the 1 bedrooms at 500 Brickell but anyone looking to buy a condo in the 00 line should take note of the shower. You’ll definitely need to open up the space somehow. The showers in the other lines didn’t seem to have this problem.

The view to the south of Brickell at dusk was pretty killer. However, there is an office building currently under construction that will block much of this view. If you look closely, you can see the construction cranes in the foreground of the picture above.

A view to the northeast. The view of the Bank of America building directly to the north was also a nice sight, although you can’t see it in this picture. Personally, I much prefer the northern view at 500 Brickell over the southern view.

Here’s a shot of the east view. I thought Icon Brickell would block most of the views to the east at 500 Brickell but, as you can see, you still get nice views of Biscayne Bay and Brickell Key. Obviously, you do see Icon Brickell to the side but the visual distraction isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

By the way, a few of you mentioned that the illuminating halo in the middle of the two towers might shed unwanted light into the condos residing on the interior of the condo development at 500 Brickell. I made sure to take a look at one of those condos to see if that was true. The halo didn’t shine a bit into the unit that I was in that night. There might be a few units where this might be a problem but I’m sure it’s nothing that some blackout shades can’t resolve.

Some of you may have noticed the bus stop ad above for Brickell on the River South Tower throughout various locations in Brickell. I must have driven past it a dozen times without noticing it. However, a friend of mine mentioned the ad to me over lunch this past weekend, so I had to take a look for myself.

It looks like the developer of Brickell on the River South Tower, Groupe Pacific, has decided to discount the condos it recently got back. This is the first major condo development that I know of in Brickell that has decided to discount prices below initial preconstruction prices.

This is great news for young professionals looking to live in Brickell in a new building at bargain prices. The marketing material on their website promoting the developer closeout mentions that one bedrooms start from $199,000. It also mentions that flooring and paint are included in the price. On the flip-side, this is awful news for those who recently closed on a condo in Brickell on the River South Tower. Ouch!