Great Artwork in Miami Condo Buildings

Another very interesting piece of art work worth mentioning would be the snippets of the Painted Berlin Wall replicated in glass (or framed in glass?) in the Lobby of the 1800 Club.

Lucas, the artwork looks great, the green parks look real green but could we please stick to the main topic. Where are the best deals, which buildings are suffering the most pain. Which are buildings worth buying into and which buildings are probably best to avoid. Save the fluff for the lovely models at the sales office in the building.

Lucas, keep doing what you’re doing. The references to the parks and the art, etc etc, are so informative to your followers outside of the market. If doc T wants additional building info, let him sign a buyer contract with you.

Why is there a flurry of news today (Not withstanding the stock market tanking by 358 points) that we might have reached the bottom in housing in May? (CNN, NY Times, Yahoo News etc.). May or may not apply to Miami, Phoenix and Vegas immediately but looks like the slide has stopped or significantly slowed down. Probably the great flat line has started which might last a few years, not as much as Japan in the 90’s but a shorter one. A line that neither dips nor rises. I am of the opinion that the flat line will be short… Read more »

Retirees buying up real estate? Maybe…

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/greathomesanddestinations/27retiree.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin

AJ – No disrespect, but every one of your arguments (and so many more) have been used by discredited reatlors and investors. Real estate never goes down, right? But ah, you must be an owner. So I understand. Gotta tell you though, citing worldwide population statistics and the price of crude oil doesn’t convince me. Lucas, like Bill said, keep doing exactly what you’re doing. If people want to know where the deals are, they can hit up your (very) helpful listing on the right side of the page, or hire you. Geez, you provide a free public service and… Read more »

DOES ANYONE HAVE PICS OF 1800 FROM WHAT I SEE ON SOME WEBPAGES IT LOOKS REALLY NICE. WITH GOOD ARTWORK THERE. MAYBE WORTH A LOOK ON THIS THREAD TOPIC.

AJ,
It’s called inflation and unfortunately that may be how we dig ourselves out from all the debt.

When the average unit is going for $1500 per square foot, the fees will be $10,000 per month.

My building’s fees are going up 10% this summer, with no foreclosures or capital improvement projects in sight.

Hi JR56.
Here are the pics I took of the 1800, my 2/2 and also the views from my unit. You can click on the slide show option on top left to see the largest size pics. You can reduce the default display time setting also (currently set at 4 seconds):
http://picasaweb.google.com/biscaynebay/1800MoonriseOverTheAtlantic

Beautiful pics, AJ. What floor are these from?

Thank you for sharing.

Hi Bill, These views are in the 30’s. But from 25th floor to 42nd floor (the highest), there is not much of a difference in the view. You will just see a bit more ocean as you go up higher.

More Troops, I understand what you and some others are saying. But there is a paradox here. I will get to it in a minute. First let me clarify; Yes the realtors used the population explosion theory and so many other things to scare up the people in the 04, 05. They told them, if you do not get in the bus right now, you never will. There is a difference in what I am saying. I am predicting a flat line for a while. A period of uncertainity during which neither there is a rise or a fall. An… Read more »

The pictures of 1800 are nice but I am left wondering: are you an extreme minimalist decorator or is that you do not live there full time? I like everything about 1800 except the pass through kitchen. They should have just made it an island. On your bull v bear comments: Frankly life is short and if owning a waterfront condo is your dream and you will not mortgage your soul to own it then buy and don’t look back. If you are stretching to buy now because someone tells you it will be out of your range in the… Read more »

Comment 13 are directed to AJ. Sorry for the omission:-)

doc t, lucas can write about what he wants, it’s his blog for God’s sake.

I want to know where the hell the developers bought these nice paintings. Especially that last one, i love it. Lucas, you say that they were all local artists. I cant tell you the number of galleries and shows I’ve gone to and have not found anything half decent. I guess I’m looking in the wrong places, can someone please direct me?

Beautiful updates, truly awesome! It’s not just about the facts and figures of where to buy, it’s about the neighborhoods they’re in the, the parks, schools, museums, etc. Great job Lucas! 🙂

I like what I heard Barbara Corcoran say on the Today show- You can’t sharpshoot a bad market. It’s bad now, if you want to buy, buy. And yes, you can’t predict when a recession has flatlined, etc, so just buy with the intent to hold on to it for a long time. I also heard, and I don’t remember where, that when we do recover, it will be a “V” and appreciate rapidly again..I’m sure everybody is sick of hearing my “urban planning” hubbaloo, but in that aspect, I think it will be somewhat true. But hey, I always… Read more »

You can’t predict the bottom!

Prices will increase from now on!

These price declines are irrational!

Construction costs!!!!

Pour me another drink. This is tiresome.

aj

well said i agree with your last comment. cost of construction is #1 in the rise of housing prices again. even building a nice highrise in a non waterfront parcel will still need to be priced above $280 a sq ft, or it will not get built.

1. Population Explosion. The most rapid increase of population at any time in our history. People are actually net leaving Florida and that trend will likely worsen as the job market declines. State, County & Civic financial troubles will lead to more population/employment contraction. 2. The economy cannot be in recession for ever. Infact most recessions are only a fraction of the time of expansions. 5-7 Year bubble leads to 10-12 year depression like environment in housing. Way early to even attempt to call a bottom. 3. Lending will come back to market and the credit squeeze will soon be… Read more »

everyone here has valid points about their views whether bullish or bearish. there is one and only way things will stabilize. the access to credit in the country across the board is GONE. until it thaws (and there are signs of thawing…some of the 330 bil stuck in auction rate securities, for example, is being refinanced and redeemed back to holders, etc)…things will not liquify…and it won’t liquify like it was from 2000-05. so that’s over. prices won’t go up for 5-10 yrs…there’s just too much inventory still to come online. having said that, based on what your goals of… Read more »

don’t think AJ understands economics.
Typical of south floriduh!
better suited as tantra guest, i presume.

Hi Storm, Yes, I am a minimalist but not an extreme minimalist. The pics are taken just after putting the tiles and painting the house. I agree with you about the island kitchen though. It is a very simple conversion process. I will do it in a couple of years. Thanks. Swiss Luxury, Yes, everyone has a point of view and we can argue ad nauseum. I still do not claim that the bear or bull arguments have an edge over each other. I said that the bear variables are very fluid and diminishing with time and eventually dissipate. The… Read more »

REDC is auctioning various Brickell condos and others of interest. I got a chance to see some and here are my observations: Vue, 1250 S. Miami Ave – 3 units were available, this place has uninviting enterances, hallways are dark, and not particularly clean, A/C was only working on some floors. units are very basic; on the positive side, it is close to the brickell nightlife, pool area seems Ok, gym overlooking pool is ok. Jade, 1331 Brickell Bay dr., unit 502 – impressive enterance, lobby; semi-private elevator takes you to this designer ready 2/2; large balcony of street view,… Read more »

perez said: “Mirador, 1000 West Ave, #202, lots of action around this place, nice lobby, and large pool area with great bayviews with downtown in the distance. Lots of eye candy. ”

1. The “eye candy” are mostly all renters.

2. Be careful. I have heard the City of Miami Beach isn’t “done” with them. (For that reason, AVOID South Bay Club at all costs!)

Un-Related,
See my post under 500 Brickell. I would appreciate if you can contact me. Thanks.

Sam,

I will e-mail you Sunday

I am not a big fan of the REDC auctions most of the REO’s that go there have been sitting on the market with no bids and the fact that they have a reserve and charge you a premium if you do win I just think I would rather just get a regular Bank Owned Listing. Now if they make the starting bid a bit higher and don’t place a reserve then I would definitely buy in auction. As of now I wont go through the trouble of getting a cashiers check, inspecting and doing all the due diligence so… Read more »

Hi AJ! Appreciate your point of view and passion for Miami….We owned a 3 Bedroom unit at JADE and loved living there…..Originally bought in 2003 at 1.1…then of course had to put big $$$ building the unit out…..thought we would stay for a very long time but as a businessman felt the Miami real estate market was getting way out of hand….put the unit up for sale in mid 2005 and got VERY lucky and sold it for around 2 million! The unit went into foreclosure about 3 months ago and just sold a week ago for $950K. Someone, or… Read more »

Anyone else annoyed with the short sale listed prices. The listed price is totally meaningless unless the bank agrees after looking at offer for 3 weeks–its like the car dealers you have to read the small print.

Another end of the world prediction just like so many other here. LOL. If you love Astro-Physics, you will love this piece. Spiderman kind of stuff.

Hi Swiss, Congratulations on your good fortune of getting out of Jade with your shirt on your back and a little bit more. Having said that, 1. Jade is a wrong example, what with such severe mortgage fraud etc. in that building. 2. Yes foreclosures are selling at a rate much lower than the 2003-2004 base figure I expect the prices to settle down. So how is it a big news? When I expected prices to stabilize at 03-04 levels, it is accross the board, not just isolated foreclosures. If the prices in the United States accross the board crash… Read more »

Swiss, Can you elaborate on how the Bramans are stalling a project and what project are you talking about?

SwissLuxury the Last Comparable 3 bedroom at Jade was $880K, what 3 bedroom at Jade are you refering to that sold for$ 950k?

SwissLuxury also what was at the time the real market for 3 bedrooms at jade, where the people that were looking to pay 2Million real buyers that were buying the places for themselves or where they asking you to sell it to them for a higher price and asking for seller contributions in the contract? where they and/or assigned contract offers? I have seen so many double closings on the property records at Jade I am assuming the offers were placed as an and or assigned buyer. If the market was really $2 Million for 3 bedrooms at Jade then… Read more »

Plaza on Brickell is doing great! some building in miami are just doing well.
i have a friend living at plaza and he told me people from all over the world bouth a second home and it is very easy to rent it out

Hi AJ, 3 Bedrooms at JADE were all asking 1.750 to 2.1 mil in late 2005 and there wasn’t a single foreclosure in the building…..Currently the listings are from 1.045 to 1.625 & most are around 1.3….but they are not selling so we should see lower prices if/when these units sell……We wanted to take a look at the old unit but it says “pending” sale as of 6/23 and was listed at 950K……If we go back to 1998-99 prices it might not be the end of the world as it makes downtown Miami more afforable for regular folks and true… Read more »

Aj,
I googled Braman and this is what I found. I hope this helps answering your question..

You can smell another leg down coming centered around the high end of the economy, particularly in South FL. The Non-Bears were still floating the idea that the high end was immune up to 6 months ago, but now you see evidence everywhere that the yacht market is in trouble – probably the best indicator of true wealth in South FL ( it’s common for people with $1million homes to get rejected on a $300K yacht loan, the financing requirements are infinitely more stringent, and thus the wealth is a lot more real in Yachting than in RE.)-. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-flznewriverbox0628sbjun28,0,3799184.story Housing… Read more »

That will be the day when you can walk into a Ferrari Dealer and purchase a 430 or a 599 at sticker and none of this waiting list nonsense and 50K over sticker asking prices for used 430Spiders. On boat terms if you go on Boattraderonline.com and search for boat listings more and more listings are Bank Repos and the listing broker is National Liquidators I have even seen MarineMax Listings that when I called to go see the boat I was told it is no longer available because it was repossed. It is starting to feel like the MLX… Read more »

What was the MLS price of Jade unit #502 being auctioned? Bidding starts at $289. They’ll be lucky if they get up to half of the last sales price of $1.5M.

Alejandro, you mentioned REO might be the way to go. Are you seeing any attractive Jade REO?

That unit for auction at Jade is horrible. The view sucks and most of it will prob be obstructed in the future once they figure out what to do with the Villa Mana parcel. The unit is retarted….it’s decorator ready!!! Why did it take the bank so long to foreclose on a unit… no one has ever lived there. Wasn’t Jade completed years ago!! also with a Maintence fee of $1100 – $1200 a month I don’t see that unit sellin no more than $350 – $375 if it’s lucky. Frankly at $300k it’ still not worth it. Nothing special… Read more »

Barbara Corcoran is a blow hard and makes the best KOOL AID..

Perez This is the Way I see Jade Prices Going (all variying by floor height, finishes, flooring,etc) 1 bedrooms $190-230K 2bedroom 1500SqFt $400-450K 2/3 Direct Ocean 1730 $550-625k 2/2.5 Direct Ocean 1878SqFt $575-650K 3/3 2130 SqFt $720-820K 4/4 3415 SqFt $1.3-1.6M Or an overall 60-75% drop in price in Jade from where they were selling at the top. Please Note that the 4/4’s are rare in Brickell so there is a higher demand for those as 4 bedroom apartments are rare in Brickell and this is the closest thing to a higher end 4 bedroom at the Santa Maria. I… Read more »

I found an interesting thread on a blog about Miami that is not real estate realted…but the topic is on real estate. Here is a link:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/miami/362046-empty.html

Once again, the view is primarily a city view from a large balcony, which is nice, and it doesn’t look like Villa M. is going to be built anytime soon, so water view from other balcony will be good for years to come. In addition to the high maintenance, the taxes were $20,569 last year; it’s tax assessed at $928K. Zillow still has this unit estimated at $1,145,000; it looks like previous list price was $654,900, even though last unreliable sale last year was for $1.5M. What a joke, a million less in one year! I wonder if the bank… Read more »

Thanks DLJ.

Yeah and to add to that I don’t think the Miami Dade Tax assesment is looking forward to asessing these lower cause they lose more revenue. This is another thing that needs oversight is to make sure the assessments are right and not bumped up cause the county nows they are gonna take a huge hit on revenues if properly assesed. Either way that unit @ Jade is doomed along with others. Also ALejandro i think your outlook on prices there is still a bit off. I think we’ll see 2/2 @ Jade in the low to mid 3’s. Look… Read more »

axis and infinity are going to be very interesting projects. they were both rebel projects in that they’re west of the main drag i.e., brickell avenue.

axis looks nice. still overpriced when you consider that the vue gives you more bang for the buck.