Vue at Brickell – Are Prices Finally Bottoming?

March 8, 2008

On May 24, 2007, I wrote a blog post entitled “Vue at Brickell – Overpriced or Insanely Overpriced?“. At the time, the average list price of condos available at Vue at Brickell was over $550 per square foot. As many of you now know, and as the blog post explains, the inflated list prices were a direct result of the rampant mortgage fraud that occurred in the building. Since that time, as more and more people became aware of the situation and as a large number of foreclosures in the building hit the market, prices at Vue at Brickell have come down like a ton of bricks.

There are now indications, however, that prices at Vue at Brickell may be close to reaching the bottom. Buyers are finally stepping in. Since the last week of January, there have been 7 condos at Vue at Brickell that went pending. With list prices of $190,000-$199,900 for 1 bedroom condos and $220,000-$249,900 for 2 bedroom condos, it makes sense that buyers are now beginning to accept the risks associated with buying a condo in a building that has a high number of foreclosures. It will be interesting to see the sales prices of these condos at Vue at Brickell once they close. It’ll give us a better indication as to the level of motivation of some of these banks.

Below you’ll find the best deals at Vue at Brickell:

• 1 Bedrooms
  • Unit 2111 – short-sale – $162,500
  • Unit 1710 – short-sale – $162,500
  • Unit 1211 – short-sale – $162,500
  • Unit 1413 – short-sale – $162,500
  • Unit 2307 – foreclosure – $205,000
• 2 Bedrooms
  • Unit 1303 – short-sale – $229,900
  • Unit 1505 – short-sale – $250,000
  • Unit 1304 – short-sale – $279,900
• 3 Bedrooms
  • Unit 3006 – short-sale – $357,000
  • Unit 3606 – foreclosure – $379,900

The mortgages of three of the four short-sale one bedroom units listed for $162,500 are held with the same lender. This may be an opportunity for an investor to grab all three for a bargain-basement price. There are currently only 8 condos available for rent at Vue at Brickell. Within the past 12 months, the lowest that a one bedroom has ever rented was $1,300 per month. The lowest that a 2 bedroom rented was $1,550 while 3 bedrooms condos bottomed at $2,500 per month.