Brickell Condo Tour and Construction Update [VIDEO] – February 14, 2015
It has been about four months since my last video tour covering the fast-paced development taking place in Brickell. Since then, a lot has happened, so I figured it was time to get back out on the road and provide everyone with another update. As you will see, this video is much more comprehensive, covering not only current and future construction, but also existing condo developments for those who may be unfamiliar or newly acquainted with the Brickell condo market. In the video, I even highlighted two, large commercial properties in Brickell which recently traded hands – the SunTrust building located at 777 Brickell Avenue, which sold earlier this week for $140M, and the former Capital at Brickell site located at 1420 South Miami Avenue, which was acquired this past December for $74.74M by CCCC International USA LLC, a subsidiary of Beijing’s China City Construction and American Da Tang Group of New York.
The rental market is a very interesting segment of the real estate market, not only for potential tenants on the prowl for a new pad but also current landlords and would-be investors trying to assess the demand for rentals across various neighborhoods and, more specifically, across various condo developments. Only a few years ago, the supply of rentals in Miami far outpaced demand. As a result, rental prices plunged and renters ruled the day. Fast forward to the present and an entirely different rental market is upon us in Miami. Nowadays, rental inventory is being absorbed quickly and overall rental prices are on the rise. For those living in Miami, I’m sure this a message that you have not only read in the local paper but have also heard directly from friends and family who have experienced it firsthand.
Obviously, not all neighborhoods and condo developments are created equal. Factors such as price, location, views, quality and recommendations from peers help determine rental demand. As a result, one would assume that demand can vary greatly from building to building and even neighborhood to neighborhood. Which condo developments are the leaders when it comes to rental demand and which are the laggards? More importantly, which buildings should we expect to see prices climb in the near future?
In this first segment, I decided to analyze the Brickell rental market to answer the above questions. Below, you will find a spreadsheet containing rental data for various condo developments in Brickell. Click the link below the spreadsheet to view it in its entirety.
Brickell Rental Market as of March 01, 2011
Columns C through G show the number of available rentals pertaining to each condo development grouped by number of bedrooms. Column I displays the total number of rentals available in each condo development while column J shows the total number of units within that development. I debated whether or not to include column K, the number of available rentals over the total number of units in the development expressed as a percentage, because the figure can be deceiving in buildings where developer inventory remains which has neither been sold nor rented. This is the case in buildings such as Icon Brickell and Infinity at Brickell. Regardless, I decided to include the figure because it can provide additional insight in buildings where this is not the case.
The main objective in creating this spreadsheet was to calculate months of inventory for each condo development. This can be seen in column M. Months of inventory was calculated by dividing total units available for rent by the monthly average number of units rented over a 3-month period from November 16, 2010 to February 15, 2011. You may be wondering why I did not include closed rental data from the past two weeks in determining the monthly average. I have noticed that it can take real estate agents days, and even weeks, to change the status of a rental in the MLS from pending to rented. As a result, I felt that the average would be skewed to the downside and not be an accurate representation of the Brickell rental market. Furthermore, if I had to venture a guess, I would also say that it is highly likely that around 10 percent of the total number of units available for rent are in fact no longer available. In this case, the listing agent has yet to change the status from available to pending.
Regardless, a lot can be ascertained from the spreadsheet above. In my opinion, any building with 1.5 months of inventory or less has a solid rental market. 1060 Brickell, The Plaza on Brickell and Vue at Brickell are standouts with absorption rates hovering around one month. I expect rentals prices in these developments to continue to rise in the near future. For those in the market to lease a condo in one of these developments, I advise that you act quickly and put your best foot forward when making an offer.
According to the spreadsheet, there is currently 2.29 months of rental inventory available in Brickell. Some may expect this number to increase as more units from Icon Brickell and Infinity at Brickell hit the rental market. Of course, this will all depend on how quickly the units become available and at what pace demand absorbs them. Only time will tell, but I plan to watch Brickell rental market closely and post updates on a monthly basis.
I would love to hear your thoughts and comments.
1060 Brickell 1 Bedroom/1.5 Bath Loft Reduced for Quick Sale
We currently have an exclusive listing for a beautiful 1 bedroom/1.5 bath bi-level loft at 1060 Brickell. The unit has 1,128 square feet of interior, polished porcelain tile throughout, stainless steel appliances, stackable washer/dryer, an upgraded full bathroom and a balcony facing west overlooking Mary Brickell Village.
Three months ago when we took the listing, the initial asking price of the loft was $335,000. Yesterday, we were contacted by the owner and he requested that we lower the price to $259,000 for a quick sale. $230 per square foot is an amazing deal for a unit at 1060 Brickell. In fact, our listing is currently the lowest price per square foot of any unit at 1060 Brickell.
For those not familiar with 1060 Brickell, it is centrally located in Brickell just a block away from the shops, restaurants and bars at Mary Brickell Village. Additionally, the building is within walking distance of two Publix grocery stores. 1060 Brickell has a number of great amenities such as 24-hour security and valet, swimming pool, hot tub, state-of-the-art fitness center, yoga room, steam rooms, game room with billiard table and a virtual golf room.
Below, you’ll find a video tour which shows the view and interior features of the loft. For additional information and pictures click on the following link to view the MLS property listing for unit 2216 at 1060 Brickell. Contact us at 305-428-3860 if you have any questions or have an interest in viewing the unit in person.
Brickell Condo Index – August 2010
The Brickell Condo Index is back! It has been a year and a half since I last published the Brickell Condo Index. Fortunately, eighteen months is a good reference point and definitely enough time where one would expect a lot to have changed with the condo market. For those of you who haven’t followed this blog that long, the Brickell Condo Index is an in-depth look at the various condo buildings in Brickell with various statistics included to illustrate the health or weakness of each building.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but this will be the last Brickell Condo Index to appear on this blog. From here on out, the Brickell Condo Index, as well as other neighborhood indexes, will only be made available via email. Early next week, I will unveil a new version of the Miami Condo Investments website. The new website will be much easier to navigate, have a lot more content, load considerably faster and, most importantly, allow you to register to our Miami Condo Investments weekly newsletter. The weekly newsletter will contain the best condo deals of the week, relevant news stories and exclusive market data such as the neighborhood condo indexes. The neighborhood condo indexes will be emailed the Sunday following the 15th of each month, the day that I have chosen to collect and compile the data. Each neighborhood will be represented every six months as follows: Brickell this month, Brickell Key next month, Downtown Miami in October, the Edgewater in November, South Beach in December and the Miami River area in January. The cycle will then start all over so a neighborhood update is provided twice per year. In the meantime, if you’d like to be included on the newsletter list then simply send us an email at [email protected] and convey your interest to be placed on the list. The blog will not change and will continue to be updated but the market data reports will only be made available via our newsletter.
Before we get into this month’s numbers, let me discuss a few changes that I made to the Brickell Condo Index since the last update in February 2009. First, I excluded One Miami from the index. One Miami will be included in the Downtown Miami Condo Index in October. Second, Latitude on the River and Neo Vertika were also excluded. Both will appear in the Miami River Condo Index in January 2010. Third, I decided to include 1060 Brickell, 500 Brickell, Brickell on the River South and The Plaza on Brickell. Each has had enough closed resales to warrant their inclusion in the Brickell Condo Index. Fourth, I decided to bring back The Sail on Brickell. As of late, I’ve seen much more interest in the building due to its price point and it is much healthier than it was in October 2007 when I dropped it from the index. I guess you can say that it’s officially off the pink sheets. There are now a total of twenty buildings in the Brickell Condo Index whereas before there were eighteen. Last, but not least, I decided to round the price per square foot calculations. I think it makes everything easier to read and I honestly don’t think excluding the two decimal points makes the figures any less insightful.
As per the MLS, the average of the asking prices of the twenty condo buildings that now represent the Brickell Condo Index is $376 per square foot. The average asking price per square foot for each Brickell condo building individually can be found below:
1060 Brickell – 1050 & 1060 Brickell Ave – $375
500 Brickell – 500 Brickell Ave & 55 SE 6 St – $362
Atlantis on Brickell – 2025 Brickell Ave – $255
Brickell on the River North – 31 SE 5 St – $268
Brickell on the River South – 41 SE 5 St – $276
Bristol Tower – 2127 Brickell Ave – $471
Emerald at Brickell – 218 SE 14 St – $348
Four Seasons Residences – 1425 Brickell Ave – $954
Imperial at Brickell – 1627 Brickell Ave – $285
Jade Brickell – 1331 Brickell Bay Dr – $532
Santa Maria – 1643 Brickell Ave – $691
Skyline on Brickell – 2101 Brickell Ave – $352
Solaris at Brickell – 186 SE 12 Ter – $189
The Club at Brickell Bay – 1200 Brickell Bay Dr – $285
The Mark on Brickell – 1155 Brickell Bay Dr – $313
The Palace – 1541 Brickell Ave – $298
The Plaza on Brickell – 951 Brickell Ave & 950 Brickell Bay Dr – $394
The Sail on Brickell – 170 SE 14 St – $299
Villa Regina – 1581 Brickell Ave – $350
Vue at Brickell – 1250 S Miami Ave – $214
At the bottom of this post, I included a chart that shows how each of the above figures compares with those published in February 2009. Solaris at Brickell experienced the largest drop with average asking prices there falling slightly over 40 percent. Three of the buildings saw a slight increase in their average asking price per square foot within the past eighteen months. These were Bristol Tower, Four Seasons Residences and Villa Regina.
Below, you’ll find the average price per square foot for Brickell condos sold in the MLS within the six month period from February 1, 2010 to July 31, 2010. I decided to do it this way because I’ve noted that oftentimes it takes agents a few weeks to change the status of a listing in the MLS from pending to closed. The neighborhood as a whole sold at an average price per square foot of $285 during that time period.
The biggest surprise in the figures above when compared to those in February 2009 is Jade Brickell. The average price per square foot for closed sales during the previous six months increased a little over 14 percent when compared to the figures published eighteen months ago. Other buildings that experienced an increase are Skyline on Brickell, The Mark on Brickell, Villa Regina and Vue at Brickell. With the exception of Villa Regina, these buildings were some of the hardest hit in Brickell when the market collapsed mainly due to the large amount of mortgage fraud that took place in these buildings. The Club at Brickell Bay and Solaris at Brickell are two other buildings in Brickell that were heavily victimized by mortgage fraud. The Club at Brickell Bay saw about a 1 percent decrease in average closed sales prices while prices at Solaris at Brickell fell slightly over 9 percent. This actually makes sense since the fallout at Solaris at Brickell didn’t take place until about a year after the others. Also worth mentioning, prices at Santa Maria fell a little over 4 percent within the past eighteen months but the numbers were a bit skewed due to Penthouse 4901 recently selling for $1,100 per square foot. The average for the past six months would have been much lower had it not been for that sale.
Below you will find some additional statistics. Click on the image to enlarge it.
The first column to the right of each condo development name is the difference in the average sales price and list price for this month, expressed as a percentage. 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. In other words, many of the sellers in these buildings are delusional and are in need of a reality check. For example, 1060 Brickell has a very large discrepancy because there are quite a few units asking over $400 per square foot and even some asking over $560 per square foot while closed sales have averaged around $208 per square foot within the past six months.
The second column shows the number of active listings currently in the MLS for each condo development. 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 that represent less than 10 percent of the overall units in the building. This is typically one indication of a sound condo building. When I first started doing the Brickell Condo Index in 2007 many of the cells in this column were highlighted in red, indicating that active listings represented over 20 percent of the building. This was always a good indication that prices would fall further in these buildings. For example, in February 2009, active listings at Solaris at Brickell represented slightly over 20 percent of the building. That was the largest percentage of listings at that time and it is not a coincidence that eighteen months later prices fell the most at Solaris at Brickell of all the buildings represented in the Brickell Condo Index.
The fourth column reveals the number of condos currently pending sale in each building. The Club at Brickell Bay has a whopping 42 pending sales at this time and there are a total of 155 pending sales in all of the buildings combined. In February 2009, there were only 81 pending sales although a total of twenty buildings are now present in the Brickell Condo Index rather than eighteen. The fifth column displays the number of closed sales from February 1, 2010 to July 31, 2010. Once again, The Club at Brickell Bay leads the way with a total of 38 closed sales in that time period. It’s interesting to note that there were 20 more closed sales in the six months prior to February 2009 when compared to the current closing numbers even though the index now has two additional buildings.
The sixth column shows the difference in the average list prices from this month’s and February 2009’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 experienced an increase.
The seventh column reveals the difference in average sales prices from this month’s and February 2009’s, expressed a percentage. Once again, those highlighted in green represent an increase while those highlighted in red represent a decrease.
Well, that’s all for today. Have fun with the numbers. Time for me to get back to work on the new website.
Shrinking Rental Inventory in Brickell and Downtown
In this episode, we discuss the shrinking rental inventory of condos in Brickell and Downtown Miami. In recent months, it has become increasingly more difficult to find a rental in these neighborhoods than it has since the peak of the market. For example, at this time The Plaza on Brickell, which has 1,000 total units, only has two unfurnished one bedrooms available while 1060 Brickell has zero. We highlight eight other well known condo buildings in these areas and provide an overview of the rental availability within them.
New Miami Condos – Closings Rates for July 2008
The last closing rate update was published on May 28, 2008. I collected the data for this month’s update this past Sunday, July 6, 2008. This month, I also included the number of closed units below each graph in parentheses.
Below you will find the date that each condo development began closings followed by the number of closed units in each condo development:
Not much has changed with this first group of condo developments since the May update except with 50 Biscayne. It went from having around a 67% closing rate to about a 75% closing rate since the last update. However, I took a close look at the numbers and noticed that 26 of the 43 newly closed condos were deeded to TRG 50 Bisc Suites LLC. All 26 units were suite units. It appears as though The Related Group transferred these 26 units to another one of its own entities. I’m not exactly sure though. Even without these 26 units, 50 Biscayne would have had 17 newly closed units. Onyx on the Bay had 5 newly closed units.
Plaza on Brickell saw the most improvement in the group of condo developments above since the last update with a 13 point increase in closings. It now shows that 52% of the overall 1,000 units have closed. You’ll also find slight to moderate improvements in the other condo developments in this group. According to public records, Apogee South Beach now only needs 6 more condo units to close in order to reach 100%.
Marina Blue continued to show good improvement in this update with around a 14 point increase in closings. Marina Blue now has nearly 60 percent of its condos closed. Wind had an increase of around 11 points, Asia around 10 points and Avenue at Brickell slightly over 7 points.
Above is the newest batch of condo developments that recently began closings. I must say that I’m pretty impressed with 900 Biscayne Bay having 79 closed units within the past 2 months. It probably actually has 100 or more closed units by now since there can be a 2-3 week delay in the time that a condo closes and the time that the deed is recorded. It’s still too early to judge the other three condo developments in this group. The next update should shed a little more light. I did have a chance to tour Axis today for the first time. I’ll try to share some pictures with everyone towards the end of the week. By the way, I wasn’t able to find Met 1 which is why it wasn’t included in this update.
Disclaimer: The above closing rate information was derived from public County records. There can be a 2-3 week delay from the time that a closing occurs and the time that the closing is recorded.
New Miami Condos – Closing Rates for April 2008
It has been a while since my last post regarding the closing rate of various Miami condo developments. The last update was provided on February 20, 2008. As with the February post, the first graph below reveals the closing rate of those Miami condo developments that began closings prior to November 1, 2007. The condo developments are ordered, from left to right, according to when closings began.
Below you will find the date that each condo development began closings:
I’m quite impressed with the closing rate of Loft 2. Their closing rate has improved roughly 13.5 percentage points since the last update and is within 6 percentage points of reaching the 100 percent mark. Great job!
The rest of the condo developments in this group have not changed much since the February update. The closing rate of 50 Biscayne has improved about 6 percent while the closing rate of Onyx on the Bay has improved a little more than 4 percent. The rest of the condo developments have improved 1.5 percent or less. You may notice that the closing rate of Star Lofts on the Bay has actually gone down since the February update. Well, obviously, two closings weren’t rescinded. I discovered two deeds that were re-recorded. I hadn’t caught these in the February post. No additional units have closed at Star Lofts on the Bay since November 8, 2007.
The following graph shows the closing rate of various condo developments in Miami that began closings after November 1, 2007.
Below you will find the date that each condo development began closings:
For the most part, a lot has changed with this group since the February closing rate update. Of this group of condo developments, I must say that Apogee South Beach has done a remarkable job! Apogee was the second to last condo development in this group to begin closings, yet it has far surpassed the success of the others. The high closing rate of condos at Apogee proves once again that the ultra-luxury condo market in Miami Beach is still doing quite well.
The 1800 Club has pushed well through the 50 percent mark and has improved roughly 16 points. Quantum on the Bay is hovering right at 50 percent which is good considering that they received the TCO on the second tower around the beginning of March. I can definitely see it hitting the 75 percent mark within the next two months. I also want to note that Plaza on Brickell and 1060 Brickell are both comprised of two towers. I’ve heard that closings for condos in the 851 tower of Plaza on Brickell recently began. The condo units in the 851 tower represent 60 percent of the overall development. I also know a few people who have contracts on condos in the 901 tower who are still waiting to receive a closing date. I’m not sure if only one or both of the towers at 1060 Brickell have begun closings yet.
Next month, I plan to include Marina Blue, Wind and Midtown 4, which each began closings recently.
Disclaimer: The above closing rate information was derived from public County records. There can be a 2-3 week delay from the time that a closing occurs and the time that the closing is recorded.
New Miami Condos – Closing Rates for February 2008
This month, I decided to make two separate graphs to show the percentage of total units that each development has closed since closings began. The first graph, found immediately below, reveals the closing rates for Miami condos which had their first closing prior to November 1 2007. The condo developments are also now ordered according to when closings began, with the first to the left.
Below you will find the date that each condo development in the graph above began closings:
Not much has changed with this group of condos since the last update was provided in January. Ten Museum Park and Latitude on the River inched up about 2-3 percentage points. Star Lofts on the Bay remained the exact same and Onyx on the Bay was able to close one additional condo. The Loft Downtown 2 moved up a little over 5 percentage points and 50 Biscayne moved up almost 7 percentage points. A few different sources have told me that there have been about 200 defaulted condos at 50 Biscayne. This is in line with the 239 condos that are currently unaccounted for according to public records. Several people have left comments here stating that the developer has chosen to lease many of the defaulted condos and ride out the storm rather than sell to a bulk buyer. I’m sure other developers will follow suit, which will decrease the expected inventory levels for a few years.
Below you will find the date that each condo development in the graph above began closings:
The graph above includes a group of condos which began closings within the past three months. I was surprised to see that 1800 Club has fared the best, although it should be noted that it did begin closings first amongst this group. Brickell on the River 2 has made much progress since the end of January when closed condos represented about 4 1/2 percent. Quantum on the Bay has done well considering that it has only received a TCO on the first of its two towers. Driving by a few times within the last couple of weeks, I did notice more lights on at night than one would expect from a condo development that just started closings about a month and a half ago. Same goes with 1800 Club. With a closing rate of about 20 percent, Apogee South Beach is off to a good start. Prices there start at about $2.5M. Plaza on Brickell has also only received a TCO on the first of its two towers. We should see much improvement from most of the condo buildings in the above group within the next month or two.
You may have noticed that One Bal Harbour and Midtown 2 are not found in this month’s update. I chose not to include One Bal Harbour because the Regent condo-hotel units have now begun closings and I did not want to intermingle the two. I do know, however, that WCI Communities has been quite successful in closing units at One Bal Harbour. They’ve closed around 150-155 condos out of a total of 185. I also know that several have been reassigned and are currently under contract. I expect WCI to have only a couple developer units left at One Bal Harbour by the end of March.
I didn’t include 2 Midtown because I noticed that a bunch of deeds have been re-recorded there. It would have taken me forever to sort through that mess. The following was written along the left-hand side of the re-recorded deeds: “This deed is being re-recorded to correct vesting on title”.
Disclaimer: The above closing rate information was derived from public County records. There can be a 2-3 week delay from the time that a closing occurs and the time that the closing gets recorded.
Plaza on Brickell vs. 1060 Brickell
Closings began within weeks of each other. The location is about the same, with Plaza on Brickell and 1060 Brickell each residing just across the street from one another on Brickell Avenue. So, which condo development represents a better buying opportunity? Plaza on Brickell or 1060 Brickell?
About a month ago, I stepped foot into each condo development and was able to take a tour through both Plaza on Brickell and 1060 Brickell. Below are my thoughts. I’d love to hear the opinions of others who also have been able to tour each condo development.
Layouts & Functional Space – I felt that the closet space in the units at 1060 Brickell were much too small. I’ve heard this complaint from several others who have toured condo units at 1060 Brickell. A year-round resident likely won’t have enough closet space in a condo at 1060 Brickell. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the large walk-in closets in condos at Plaza on Brickell. Several of the 2 bedroom units at Plaza on Brickell actually have large closets in both of the bedrooms. I also really like the floor-to-ceiling glass windows in the corner units at Plaza on Brickell because lots of natural sunlight shines through.
Views – The views are about the same since neither are waterfront condo buildings. However, condos located on high floors looking east at Plaza on Brickell have fantastic direct bay views with views of Biscayne Bay, South Beach, Fisher Island and the Atlantic Ocean. I’d have to give the edge to Plaza on Brickell on views.
Condo Finishes – I was actually very impressed with the finishes of condo units at Plaza on Brickell. The kitchen finishes were especially great. I prefer the dark cabinets but everyone has their own preference. I thought I’d like the finishes at 1060 Brickell equally, if not more than the finishes at Plaza on Brickell, but this was not the case.
Miami – I’m Baaaack
I arrived back into Miami last night. NYC was awesome and I was actually contemplating extending my stay until Sunday but I’m happy to be home. Being in Chicago and NYC for the past couple of weeks reminded me just how many people are in this world. Walking (or driving) the streets of Miami you kind of lose site of that after a while. Walking one city block of Chicago or NYC though and you regain that perspective.
The Real Estate Connect Conference was a good experience. I met a lot of great and insightful people and listened to some very intelligent keynote speakers. I’m not sure if the conference was completely worth the price to me but it was still a great experience and I have no regrets. I’m a very tech-savvy person though, so for a Realtor who isn’t tech-savvy this conference would pay for itself in spades.
I decided to install the “Recent Comments” plug-in onto my sidebar. (You’ll find it down the right-hand side of the screen). I’ve known about this plug-in since I began this blog but I never really liked the look of it. I’ve decided to install it regardless because I know that you all enjoy participating in the latest conversations. I’ll often receive comments on a blog post that I wrote 4-6 months ago. Unless you periodically check that post or happen to stumble upon it via a search engine, then you’ll likely never know about the latest comment on that post. The “Recent Comments” plug-in will reveal the latest conversations occurring on this blog.
Here are a few tid-bits of information:
Plaza on Brickell will begin closings in the 901 tower within the next week. I think Plaza on Brickell is the most affordable new condo development on Brickell Avenue. About three weeks ago, one bedrooms started at $210,000. I’ve mentioned before that I feel that Plaza on Brickell will act as the buoy for the Brickell condo market. If any of you are strongly considering purchasing in Plaza on Brickell then let me know because I can now get you inside so you can preview the development and walk inside condos that you may have an interest in buying.
Avenue on Brickell (1060 Brickell condos) will begin closings within the next 7-10 days. This means big competition between Avenue on Brickell and Plaza on Brickell since closings will begin around the same time. They are basically right across the street from one another. It will be interesting to see which offers a better product.
As most of you already know, Bank of America purchased Countrywide Financial Corp. yesterday morning for $4B in stock (a total investment of $6B when considering its $2B investment in Countrywide in 2007). With this acquisition, Bank of America will overnight become the largest mortgage originator and servicer. BOA is acquiring a HUGE customer base from Countrywide. Countrywide, however, will have huge losses as a result of bad loans and their credit risk will now be passed along to Bank of America. On the bright side, as a few financial articles have pointed out, Bank of America will enjoy huge tax savings because of this acquisition. Bank of America, which has large annual profits will be able to offset these profits with big write-offs from Countrywide. Wall Street, however, didn’t particularly like the details of the acquisition as Countrywide lost a little over 18 percent of its value on Friday.
The Brickell and Brickell Key Condo Indexes will likely return later this month. I have a million things to get done before that but I should be able to make the time to get that done. It’ll be interesting to see if anything has changed now that we’re a few months into our peak season in Miami.
I plan to hire a professional videographer/editor within the next couple of weeks. Up to this point, I’ve done all the video work on my own. I’m just an amateur videographer though. Every listing that I get from here on out (and the ones that I currently have) will have a professionally made video tour. The quality will be much better than I could ever do. About 80% of the buyer leads that I get from this blog are from non-locals. I think video will help these out-of-state or out-of-country buyers tremendously when previewing properties. Many brokers may not agree, but virtual tours are a thing of the past. Video may be cost prohibitive to most Realtors when compared to virtual tours but I think the investment for me will separate me from the rest. I’m trying to find a reputable videographer/editor in the Miami area. If any of you know of one then please let me know. I don’t need a production studio but rather an individual who knows what they’re doing and can deliver great Internet-quality video. Also, if any of you developers that read this blog are interested in having your development showcased then let me know because I would love to get inside with a camera crew to tour the common areas and various units. It’s all about eyeballs these days. Get more eyeballs to view your development and you’ll get more closed sales. Miami real estate has become an international market. You’ll also gain insightful comments from visitors of this blog. You may hear someone comment “The lobby looks amazing!” or “The closets are way too small”. This is the feedback that you need to hear, even if you may not want to.
