MyBrickell Sales Officially Launch; Prices Start at $177,900

Last night’s gala introducing Karim Rashid, the world-acclaimed interior designer behind MyBrickell, marked the official launch of sales for the condo development. MyBrickell is off to a tremendous start with over one-third of the condos already reserved. That is quite an amazing feat given the fact that reservations were not being accepted until just 11 days ago. The level of success that MyBrickell has experienced thus far helps to understand the level of demand that still remains for new condo inventory in Miami.

MyBrickell will have a mix of studio, one bedroom + den, 2 bedroom and 2 bedroom + den units. Prices start at $177,900 which is excellent, in my opinion, given the current availability of Brickell condos in that price range. To put the pricing for studios into perspective, there are currently only 4 studios in Brickell priced under $200,000 for sale on the MLS. Two of those studio condos are located at The Four Ambassadors (built in 1968), one at Brickell Townhouse (built in 1963) and one at Brickell Bay Tower (built in 1964). Furthermore, two of the four listings are short sales. It goes without saying that MyBrickell will be a brand-spanking new condo development when it is completed and delivered in 2013 to those with reservations. I may not have a crystal ball, and cannot tell you with certainty where prices are headed, but I can pretty much guarantee you that there will be less condo inventory in Brickell in 2013 than there is now. Moreover, MyBrickell will be the only Brickell condo development to hit the market that year.

One of our clients attended the MyBrickell sales event last night and reserved a 1 bedroom + den. Her price – only $228,000! With pricing like that, it helps explain the rush by people to reserve condos at MyBrickell.

Below, you will find the price ranges for condos available at MyBrickell. The average price per square foot for MyBrickell hovers around $300.

Now that sales have officially launched at MyBrickell, you are able to receive pricing for specific units and reserve one immediately if you choose to move forward. Please refer to our MyBrickell profile page with renderings, building and unit information and pricing. There, you may also download the MyBrickell e-brochure as well as the reservation agreement and wire instructions. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or an interest in reserving a condo at MyBrickell.

BrickellHouse Floor Plans, Info and Pricing

BrickellHouse is now accepting reservations. The 374-unit condo development will be located directly west of Jade and north of Emerald at Brickell at 1300 Brickell Bay Drive. BrickellHouse has several appealing features but there are two which will also make it rather unique. One, it will allow daily rentals but will not be considered a condo-hotel. The building will have on-site maintenance and housekeeping staffs as well as an in-house management program for owners who wish to rent their units on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Owners will obviously first need to finish and furnish their decorator-ready unit in order to be included in the leasing program. You can read more about this program in the BrickellHouse brochure. The second unique aspect of BrickellHouse is the parking. The building will have a fully-automated parking garage.

The 46-story high-rise will have an array of lavish amenities which include:

• rooftop pool and sundeck
• fully equipped, state-of-the-art fitness center
• luxury health spa with sauna, steam and private treatment rooms
• High-definition theater room with 10-foot screen and theater-style seating
• Private owner’s lounge with event bar, catering kitchen and daily world newspapers
• Resort deck with putting green and summer kitchen
• 50-foot-long lap pool with poolside cabanas and heated Whirlpool spa
• Resident club room with conference and meeting rooms
• 24-hour concierge and security
• 24-hour guest valet parking

Additionally, Meat Market, a steakhouse on Lincoln Road in South Beach, has already signed on to occupy part of the retail space on the ground level of BrickellHouse.

BrickellHouse will be comprised of studio, 1 bedroom/1 bath, 2 bedroom/2 bath and 3 bedroom/3 bath units.  The spreadsheet below will show you the approximate interior and exterior square footage for each.  You can also refer to the BrickellHouse floor plans where you will also be able to view layouts for the BrickellHouse penthouses.

A full price list has not been released but the pricing below will give you a general idea for what one might be able to afford at BrickellHouse. Contact us if you have an interest in purchasing a unit at BrickellHouse and we will be able to get you pricing for other units.

Studios

• Unit 2212 (S3) – $163,900 west view
• Unit 1906 (S1) – $197,900 eat view – (420 sq ft under a/c)

1 bed/1 bath

• Unit 2507 (A7) – $276,400 east view
• Unit 2511 (A5) – $273,900 west view (790 sq ft under a/c)

2 bed/2 bath

• Unit 2507 (B4) – $435,900 east view
• Unit 2002 (B5) – $331,900 west view (1,116 sq ft under a/c)

2 bed + den/2 bath

• Unit 3008 (B1) – $424,900

3 bed/3 bath

• Unit 3002 (C1) – $683,900 (1,451 sq ft under a/c)

Contact us at 305-428-3860 or [email protected] to learn more about BrickellHouse.

Miami Condo Sales Up 58% Year-Over-Year in September; Prices Rise

The Miami real estate recovery continues, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors.  September sales of existing condominiums in Miami rose 58 percent year-over-year while sales of existing single-family homes increased 46 percent in the same time period. Prices were also on the rise in September.  The average sales price for condominiums in Miami-Dade County increased 13 percent, from $187,185 in September 2010 to $211,455 last month while the average sales price for single-family homes increased 29.8 percent, from $264,602 in September 2010 to $343,497 in September 2011.

Proposed Bill Would Incentivize Foreign Buyers of Real Estate

It’s no secret that the Miami real estate market has experienced a dramatic turnaround over the past two years due in large part to an overwhelming interest from foreigner buyers. A bipartisan bill introduced into the Senate earlier today would provide an additional incentive for foreigners to pour further capital into the U.S real estate market. The bill, the Wall Street Journal reported, would grant residence visas to foreign buyers who make a cash investment of at least $500,000 on residential real estate located throughout the U.S. The residence visa would allow a foreign buyer to bring a spouse and any children under the age of 18 into the country but would not allow them to work unless a regular work visa is obtained. Furthermore, once the property is sold, they would no longer be able to legally stay in the country.

If passed into law, this would be a tremendous boon for the South Florida real estate market. While a visa incentive likely won’t encourage further investment by most foreign buyers, it would encourage wealthy foreigners living in countries with political instability to purchase here. With that thought, two countries immediately come to mind – Venezuela and Argentina. This would be an almost ideal solution for the wealthy there.  It should go without saying that a disproportionately high number of people from those two countries would choose a city like Miami – “the gateway to the Americas” – if they were to take advantage of the visa incentive.

Mybrickell Renderings

The development site for MyBrickell is located at 30 SE 6 St, directly west of 500 Brickell and south of Brickell on the River South.  Below, are the various development renderings for MyBrickell currently made available to the public.

MyBrickell is a 28-story condo development with 192 total units.

Two New Brickell Condo Developments to Launch Preconstruction Sales By Year’s

Miami continues to buck the trend.  While other U.S. cities are dealing with a depressed real estate market, Miami has growing concerns over a lack of inventory.  Two new Brickell condo developments hope to help alleviate those concerns, however, with the launch of preconstruction sales by year’s end.  MyBrickell, to be located at 30 SE 6 St, will add 192 condo units while BrickellHouse, to be located at 1300 Brickell Bay Dr, will add an additional 374 condo units.

MyBrickell will be developed by The Related Group which has vast experience in developing condominiums, especially in South Florida.  Their portfolio of past developments includes Icon Brickell, The Plaza on Brickell, 500 Brickell and 50 Biscayne.  Arquitectonica, an internationally acclaimed architectural firm, has been selected to design MyBrickell with Karim Rashid to design the interiors.  Studios will start from $164,900, 1 bedroom + den units from $219,900, 2 bedroom units from $249,900 and 2 bedroom + den units from $299,900.

BrickellHouse is to be developed by Newgard Development Group, a relatively new name in development.  The Sieger Suarez team will be the architects behind BrickellHouse and Yabu Pushelberg has been selected to design the interiors.  Pricing information for condos has not yet been released but I was told that the average price per square foot will approximate $375.

Reservations are now being accepted for condos at MyBrickell with an initial reservation deposit.  The reservation, however, will not entitle you to a specific unit.  The developer will offer a unit to the prospective buyer given their price range and unit preferences.  The prospective purchaser will then have 24 hours to accept the unit offered and the balance of a 10% deposit will be due upon acceptance.  Those who reject the offering or do not respond within the 24-hour time period will have their initial reservation deposit returned to them.  BrickellHouse plans to accept reservations early next week and will actually allow you to choose a specific unit with a 10% initial deposit.  Another 10% will then be due upon execution of the contract, 10% at groundbreaking, 20% when construction reaches your floor and a final 20% when construction is topped off – for a total of 70% due prior to closing.

Contact us at 305-428-3860 or [email protected] if you have an interest in reserving a unit at MyBrickell and/or BrickellHouse, Miami’s two newest preconstruction condo developments.

Just How Hot is the Miami Condo Market?

Two Fridays ago, we received a new sales listing at Icon Brickell.  It was for a 1 bedroom/1 bath condo located on the 9th floor with 726 square feet of interior, the smallest 1 bedroom floor plan at Icon Brickell.  The owner wanted to aggressively price the unit so we decided to list it for $315,000, or $434 per square foot.  This made it the lowest priced 1 bedroom at Icon Brickell by about $10K.  The next lowest priced unit was only 6 square feet bigger but located 14 floors higher. We expected the condo to sell quickly but we were blown away by just how quickly we got it under contract.

Our new listing was tenant-occupied and we weren’t able to get in to take pictures until the following Tuesday.  Later that same night, we had two showings scheduled.  Within an hour of the second showing, we received a verbal offer close to asking price.  The next morning, we had a written contract waiting in our inbox and, after negotiating a few minor details, we had an executed contract within the next 24 hours.

Anyway you slice it, the Miami condo market is hot.  With each passing month, I am more and more surprised by how limited people’s options for condos has become.  I learned last week that less than 37 developer units remain at Icon Brickell.  That’s remarkable considering that Icon Brickell has 1,796 total units.