Miami Condo Index – Brickell – November 2008

November 22, 2008

It’s been three months since I last released the Brickell Condo Index.  The last update for Brickell condos was published in August 2008.   The data used to create the statistics below was collected on November 18, 2008 from the MLS.  You may want to also compare the statistics below to those published a year ago in November 2007. It really helps to put into perspective how inflated prices were a year ago in some of the condo developments in Brickell.

The Brickell Condo Index now stands at an average price of $429.52 per square foot.  This represents a 2.28 percent drop in the average asking prices of the 18 condo developments that comprise the Brickell Condo Index over the past three months.

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

• Atlantis on Brickell – 2025 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $305.86
• Brickell on the River North – 31 SE 5 St | 33131 | $338.44
• Bristol Tower – 2127 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $461.51
• Emerald at Brickell – 218 SE 14 St | 33131 | $395.61
• Four Seasons Residences – 1425 Brickell Ave | 33131 | $931.23
• Imperial at Brickell – 1627 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $375.31
• Jade at Brickell – 1331 Brickell Bay Dr | 33131 | $609.25
• Latitude on the River – 185 SW 7 St | 331310 | $366.44
• Neo Vertika – 690 SW 1 Ct | 33130 | $314.18
• One Miami – 325 & 335 S Biscayne Blvd | 33131 | $376.38
• Santa Maria – 1643 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $729.24
• Skyline on Brickell – 2101 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $407.49
• Solaris at Brickell – 186 SE 12 Ter | 33131 | $370.35
• The Club at Brickell Bay – 1200 Brickell Bay Dr | 33131 | $339.33
• The Mark on Brickell – 1155 Brickell Bay Dr | 33131 | $389.33
• The Palace – 1541 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $371.22
• Villa Regina – 1581 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $384.06
• Vue at Brickell – 1250 S Miami Ave | 33131 | $266.16

The average price of Brickell condos sold over the past six months has dropped 7.13 percent to $291.59 per square foot from August’s average of $313.97.  As with the last update, the average would normally be higher had a sale occurred in the MLS within the past six months at Four Seasons Residences, which sells at the highest price per square foot of the 18 condo developments comprising the Brickell Condo Index.

Average price per square foot of Brickell condos sold in the MLS within the past six months:

• Atlantis – 2025 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $250.71
• Brickell on the River – 31 SE 5 St | 33131 | $264.63
• Bristol Tower – 2127 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $364.86
• Emerald at Brickell – 218 SE 14 St | 33131 | $238.88
• Four Seasons Residences – 1425 Brickell Ave | 33131 | N/A
• Imperial at Brickell – 1627 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $316.83
• Jade – 1331 Brickell Bay Dr | 33131 | $385.81
• Latitude on the River – 185 SW 7 St | 33130 | N/A
• Neo Vertika – 690 SW 1 Ct | 33130 | $228.00
• One Miami – 325 & 335 S Biscayne Blvd | 33131 | $296.13
• Santa Maria – 1643 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $661.70
• Skyline on Brickell – 2101 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $298.68
• Solaris at Brickell – 186 SE 12 Ter | 33131 | $200.00
• The Club at Brickell Bay – 1200 Brickell Bay Dr | 33131 | $201.44
• The Mark on Brickell – 1155 Brickell Bay Dr | 33131 | $289.18
• The Palace – 1541 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $260.14
• Villa Regina – 1581 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $249.88
• Vue at Brickell – 1250 S Miami Ave | 33131 | $158.55

Below you will find some additional statistics:

The first column to the right of each condo development’s name is the difference in the average sales price and list price for this month, expressed as a percentage. An “N/A” is found next to Four Seasons Residences and Latitude on the River since this percentage could not be computed as each building failed to have a closed sale within the past six months through the MLS.  A high percentage indicates that there is a large discrepancy between the average asking price for condos currently on the market and what has actually sold within the past six months.

The second column is the number of active listings in each condo 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. The cells highlighted in green reveal those condo developments that have active listings that represent less than 10 percent of the the overall units in the building. To me, this is one indication of a sound condo development. Atlantis, Bristol Tower, Four Seasons Residences, Imperial at Brickell, The Palace and Villa Regina are the condo buildings highlighted in green.  The ones highlighted in red reveal those condo developments that have active listings that represent over 20 percent of the overall units in the building. There’s definitely underlying risk in buying in these condo developments and I’d only advise buying in one of these if the price justifies the risk. This month, Solaris at Brickell is the only condo developments highlighted in red.  This is usually a good indication that prices will fall further in future months. The condo developments with active listings less than 10 percent are considered 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. There are a total of 94 total pending sales in the 18 condo buildings represented in the Brickell Condo Index. In August, there were a total of 79 pending sales at the time. Once again, The Club at Brickell Bay, Vue at Brickell and Jade each have pending sales in the double digits. The same goes for closed sales within the past six months in each of these condo developments.  Skyline on Brickell also hit the double digit mark with a totla of 13 closed sales in the MLS within the past six months.  In August, there were a total of 123 closed sales within the past six months.  This figure has gone up almost 32 percent since the August update.  The 18 Brickell condo developments had a total of 164 closed sales within the past six months.The vast majority of these closings occurred in just a handful of the condo developments, however.  8 of the condo developments had three or less closings within the past six months.

The sixth column shows the difference in the average list prices from this month’s and August’s, expressed as a percentage. Those highlighted in red reveal those condo developments which had a drop in their average list price while those highlighted in green show those that had an increase. Emerald at Brickell saw asking prices drop a little over 10.5 percent while Solaris at Brickell shed about 9.8 percent from its average asking price in August. An increase in average asking prices occurred in 8 of the condo developments in the Brickell Condo Index.

The seventh column reveals the difference in average sales prices from this month’s and August’s, expressed as a percentage. Vue at Brickell saw the largest drop with a 15.94 percent decline. Jade, Neo Vertika, The Club at Brickell Bay and Villa Regina also had double digits drops.  It should be noted that Villa Regina only had one closed sale within the past six months to calculate its new average. Atlantis, Santa Maria, Skyline on Brickell and The Palace each experienced an increase in their average sales prices for the previous six months.

Vue at Brickell is very, very close to hitting the $150 average per square foot mark for closed sales over the previous six months. In August, the condos available on the market at Vue at Brickell represented about 28 percent of the overall units in the building.  This figure now resides at around 17 percent.  It will be interesting to see how much lower the average price per square foot of condos sold at Vue at Brickell will go if inventory levels continue to improve.  As I mentioned earlier, the 10-15 percent range is normal even in a healthy market.  Perhaps some sort of stability is right around the corner for Vue at Brickell.  The same can be said for Jade and The Club at Brickell which have also continued to show progress in reaching normal inventory levels.