Congress Unanimously Agrees To Make FHA Financing Easier For Condo Buyers
In a rare moment of solidarity, Congress unanimously agreed to pass the proposed changes to the FHA approval guidelines for condo purchases, opening the way for middle-income buyers to participate in the condo market once more.
Over recent years, the FHA has imposed nearly impossible guidelines for condo purchases that have left a large segment of buyers out of the market, particularly first time homebuyers. The problem has been that in order to secure an FHA loan for a property, the buyers must qualify (relatively easy), AND the building must qualify (almost impossible). The approval process was expensive and the costs were not refunded in the event that the project was rejected. The approvals had to be renewed every couple of years as well. Most condo associations opted to forego the application and just not have FHA as an option for purchasers in the building. With the new guidelines, the projects no longer need to go through the approval process. Buyers can now apply for a spot-approval on individual units and the owner-occupant vs investor ratios have been lowered. Bravo!
This is going to be a big help for actual residents of the Downtown Miami area who are ready to buy a condo, but maybe don’t have the 20%-35% down payment that is currently required to buy a property. You can read more about the new guidelines here.
Palazzo Del Sol Condos Drone Video
Delivered earlier this year, Palazzo Del Sol is Fisher Island’s newest and most luxurious condo development. Designed by acclaimed architect Kobi Karp, Palazzo Del Sol rises 10 stories and has just 47 condo residences, each with spacious floor plans and floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Below is our latest drone video showcasing the Mediterranean-inspired splendor of Palazzo Del Sol. Prices at Palazzo Del Sol range from $6.4M for a 3,800 square foot condo residence to $26.4M for Penthouse 1 – a massive two-story penthouse with 6,600 interior square feet, 18-foot high ceilings, and rooftop terrace.
Great news, Downtowners! The People Mover, Metromover, Mover, or whatever you want to call it now moves until 2am on the weekends according to a press release by the Miami-Dade Transit System. They are also extending service for Metrorail effective this weekend. The press release reads:
“Starting Friday, Oct. 28, 2016, Miami-Dade County’s Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) will extend its Metrorail and Metromover service until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.
The time adjustment was recently approved by the Board of County Commissioners during the September 22 budget meeting and will go into effect starting the last Friday and Saturday in October – just in time for the Halloween weekend.
Riders can now enjoy weekend nights on the town without having to worry about catching the last midnight train. Stay for that extra hour or two and let us take you home safely.
“Many of the businesses and residences that connect to our transit system are growing, in particular in the downtown Miami and Brickell areas,” said Alice N. Bravo, P.E., Director of DTPW.
“By extending our service hours, we are supporting this significant economic growth, and are providing a clean, safe, and convenient transit option for the hundreds of residents who live, work and play near our Metrorail and Metromover stations.”
Bravo, Miami!
Who Is Going To Buy Trey Songz’ Brickell Key Condo So He Can Move To Brickell Heights?
Photo Courtesy Miami MLS
Now that he has a new apartment under construction at Brickell Heights, R&B superstar Trey Songz is more motivated to sell his first Brickell condo. He has owned this 1,626 square foot 2 bedroom 2 bath residence at Courts on Brickell Key since 2010, when he purchased it for $437,000. Initially he was seeking just over $1M for the water-view apartment, but wasn’t able to find a buyer. As of today, the price has been lowered to $795,000.
With the new price, he is just slightly over the average closed sales price per foot in the building for the last 3 months. At $795,000, he is asking $488/square foot and over the last 3 months, two bedroom apartments in the building have been trading at an average of $472/square foot. It seems we have a realistic and eager seller. Hopefully the market will give him more love than other celebrities recently. Pharrell Williams had a wretched time getting rid of his Bristol Tower penthouse, ultimately selling at a loss. Just over the last few weeks, we have seen Andy Murray’s apartment at Jade Residences on Brickell Bay and Mario Chalmers enormous pad in Marquis Residences. Lil Wayne is having an impossible time as well. He can’t sell his house on Miami Beach but also can’t peacefully live there thanks to the trolls who keep swatting him (calling the cops so that the place gets swarmed, only to realize it was a prank). Even just today Calvin Klein reduced the price on his house by a full million dollars to $15 million.
Let’s take a look at Mr. Songz’ MLS listing photos and see what we think:
The living room looks nice, not overly decorated, but not completely bare either. The tile floors are pretty and you can see some upgraded tile on the kitchen counter.
The bedroom is also furnished just enough to appeal to buyers, but without being too cluttered and personal.
It looks like the second bedroom has been turned into a home office. Not a full recording studio, but maybe a spot where a singer on the come-up could edit and practice some tracks. You can see a controller on the wall next to the breaker box (that I think should be hidden), possibly for motorized shades?
I’m not rightly sure what this is. It’s sort of dark, so maybe he turned the second room into a den of iniquity where he can entertain guests and get the inspiration for his next hit track? It could also be a trophy closet for all of his awards and platinum records, or maybe there is nothing in the room at all. Not sure, we’ll just call it an upgrade and leave it at that.
Here are three shots of the kitchen, which has been fully renovated. It’s nice and doesn’t seem overdone. I would say it is an appropriate upgrade with the new cabinets, appliances and backsplash. You can also see a little of the home office that we spoke about above, so he traded his dining area for the office area instead of trading the second bedroom as I initially believed.
Here is a panorama of the view. It is a really beautiful view. You can see the bay as well as the river, and also the Brickell Key jogging trail, IconBrickell pool, etc. There’s plenty to look at even if the photo is awkward.
All in all, I would say that Mr. Songz is a sincere seller. We know he is getting ready to move as soon as Brickell Heights is completed, he has his price set accordingly with the market, the apartment is more-or-less staged and tastefully upgraded, he could use some better photos to entice more potential buyers but I anticipate he will sell his apartment before his Brickell Heights move-in day and even come away with a handsome profit. What do you think?
Is Aston Martin Residences’ Developer Insane, Reckless or Brilliant For Launching His Project Now?
After 2 years of anticipation, waiting to hear what Argentinian supermarket czar turned Miami condo developer German Coto had planned for his new $125 million lot along the Miami River, he has answered the call. Today he released initial renderings for the Aston Martin Residences.
It will be a 66 story tower with 390 apartments averaging over $1,000 per square foot and international brand-name appeal. In a season where the news is inundated with reports of a rapidly declining real estate market and frightening oversupply, is he crazy for releasing the ultra-luxury project?
On one hand, the preconstruction projects that are already on the market are reportedly struggling to find buyers. Echo Brickell still has around 10 residences left after four years of marketing and Faena Versailles was cancelled last week due to slow sales. That project will now likely become another hotel. Projects with a lower price point are faring better, but still not selling at the rapid pace of two years ago.
Personally, I believe the project will end up a success as long as the quality and level of luxury remains par to the Aston Martin brand. The brand is extremely strong with a loyal following and the buyer for this project will be someone who is passionate about the brand and level of quality. I do not believe that potential buyers of Aston Martin residences will shop around in competing projects. They will not lose buyers to One River Point, a similarly-priced project that is nearby. These buyers will sign up for the condo because they want to have an Aston Martin condo, the same way that the buyers of Porsche Design Tower signed up because they are passionate about their Porsche and want it to be parked at their doorstep in the sky. This is also not the project for speculative investors or for rental investors. This is the project for ultra-luxe vacation homes or primary residences.
It is possible to have a successful project that is launched in a not-so-hot market. One example would be Faena House. It was launched in 2012, while we were in the throes of absorbing the oversupply from the Great Recession and was delivered as a successful project thanks to Faena’s design prowess. I believe that Aston Martin Residences could be another beacon of better times just like Faena. By the time it is scheduled to be delivered in 2021, we will likely be on the upswing again in the real estate world and Aston Martin Residences could be the first successful delivery of the next cycle. (Let’s not pretend that another cycle is not coming. Be real.) Mr. Coto seems confident and patient enough to see the project through, so it could happen.
On the other hand, the project could fall into the failed project graveyard with Island Gardens, Empire World Towers, and countless others that made us say a collective, “WOW!” on launch day, only to be cancelled after sales faltered. Do you think that Aston Martin Residences has what it takes to survive their sales cycle in this market climate? We would love to hear!
Marquis Residents Will Soon Have a Poolside Bar & Lounge
After a lengthy overhaul and rebranding, the hotel component at Marquis Residences will be adding a poolside bar and lounge to their 14th floor pool deck. The two pools have recently reopened, along with an STK steakhouse on the ground level.
Bella’s bar is set to open this winter and will serve cocktails and dishes from STK Miami with entertainment from a variety of resident DJ’s. Also under construction now is a new spa, ‘ME time’ at SKIN C.
Melia Hotels has a very strong presence in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, but the Miami location is its first in the United States. In 2017, they are set to open a location in Dubai that was designed by Zaha Hadid.
One Miami Is Getting a Face Lift
After 10 years at the point of the Biscayne Bay and Miami River, One Miami is starting to show its age. In a letter to the owners of the two towers, the condominium association announced a planned repainting as well as a complete exterior renovation.
“It has been more than a decade since the first residents of One Miami moved in. It has also been that long since our buildings have been painted – and it shows. Towards that end, your Boards of Directors feel that it is time not only for a fresh paint job, but also for an update to enhance the look of our buildings at the same time.”
The letter goes on to say that the Board of Directors has spent months reviewing renderings from different companies before ultimately returning to Arquitectonica, the architecture firm that designed the building in the first place. Since the renovation is planned, no special assessment is going to be required. They are requesting all of the owners to vote on the proposed change. If the owners do not approve the upgrade with their votes, the building will be repainted as it s now.
What do you think of the proposal? Do you like the new design, or do you think they should leave it as it is? See below for the proposed renderings.
Jade Signature Tops Off at 636 Feet Tall With 57 Floors Plus 3-Story Underground Parking Garage
Photo courtesy of Fortune International
Jade Signature has topped off at 57 stories and 636 feet tall. The construction has progressed at around one floor per week and also boasts a 3 story underground parking garage that is only 40 feet from the coastline…something that has never been achieved.
The tower is on track for completion in late 2017 with 192 residences designed by Herzog & de Meuron, Parisian interior design firm PYR led by Pierre-Yves Rochon and landscape architect Raymond Jungles.
Now that the external structure is in place, you can see the exterior columns that allow for true flow-through interiors. That makes sure each residence has an ocean view. The large overhangs reach out to provide adequate shade from the sun, resulting in an expanded living area of 30% more than the interior space.
Once completed, the building will feature three floors of common spaces for all ages. There will be an entertainment center with billiards, beach bar and grill, a spa featuring a co-ed hamam, cold rain shower, oceanfront massage beds, a yoga deck surrounded by a Zen garden, teen tech lounge, and a toddler sensory and reading center.
Currently there are a few apartments remaining including a selection of three to five bedroom residences as well as double-height sky villas and the penthouses. The residences span from 3,465 to 11,661 square feet and are offered for $4.8 million to $33 million for the upper penthouse. Check out the penthouse views below as well as the drone video we made.
Harem-Inspired MarinaBlue Party Pad Gives Us a Lesson in Over Improvements
Buckle up, my friends. We’re about to go on a tawdry real estate magic carpet ride! If you’ve ever been curious about the idea of over improvements in real estate, here is a prime example. The listing agent of this 1,208 square foot 2 bedroom condo at Marina Blue describes it as ‘exotic’… and indeed it is!
The idea of over improvement is when someone spends a ton of money on renovations, hoping to increase the value of a property. The only problem is that in the process of overdoing it they alienate most of their target market and end up having to settle for a lesser amount when a deal is finally made. An example would be paying to remove a marble floor and replacing it with another marble floor that is far more expensive but not that much different. You won’t get your money back on that upgrade. Another example would be knocking down all the walls in the apartment, removing the kitchen to make way for an enormous wet bar, building a jacuzzi in your living room and then adorning it all with silk and mother of pearl… which is what happened here.
To be fair, I don’t have a problem with Moroccan design. It can be pretty when done right. However, when you are selling or leasing a property, you want that property to fit the tastes of as many people as possible so that you can find a deal more quickly and be able to negotiate more money from the deal. Alienating all of those people who may not like Moroccan design is not the way to do it. Finding that one person who wants a step-up jacuzzi in their living room might take a bit longer. I’m all for cocktail hour, but still need a kitchen and I think most of Miami agrees.
I just want to tell this apartment to settle down, and I certainly don’t want to think about what has gone on inside. It has been on the market now for almost 4 months, in a building where it typically takes less than 2 months to find a tenant and get them qualified/approved/moved-in. Originally the landlord was asking $4,500/month, but it has recently been reduced to $3,800/month. What do you think it will end up trading for? Which feature sticks out most to you? Every time I look at the photos, I find something else to gawk at.
The staircase to the living room bathtub
Close-up of the living room bathtub
Kitchen turned full bar
Master bath with ALL of the tile and scenescape wallpaper
Another bathroom with more mother of pearl
Proof that this apartment is in MarinaBlue
Aria On The Bay Reduces Required Deposit Amount To 35% On Select Plans
Now that they are over 70% sold, Aria on the Bay has lowered their required minimum deposit amount to 35% of the purchase price on their A line plans. These are the large 2,365 square foot plans with 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a den and a direct bay view. Prices start at $1,419,900.
Aria on the Bay is Melo Group’s first luxury tower. Construction has surpassed the 20th floor and will reach up to 53 floors before completion. It will have over 21,000 square feet of bayfront recreational facilities. Completion is anticipated for the fall of 2017.
