One Bal Harbour Condo Closings Appear to be Troubled
Last week, a client called me to let me know that he would be flying into Miami and would specifically like to take a look at One Bal Harbour. He wanted to schedule a showing for Monday afternoon. I contacted a WCI agent today to find out if we could get in to see some units on Monday. I was told that WCI has decided to take a holiday leave until Wednesday. Unfortunately, my client will be flying back to Canada on Monday evening.
After hearing this, I was thinking to myself “Wow! WCI must have closed a lot of condos these past couple of weeks in order to take a vacation”. I was curious to find out what their latest closing rate was since closings began on condos for this Bal Harbour development. I got back to my office and checked it out. The following graph reveals that 33.51% of units have closed at One Bal Harbour. December 8, 2007 I revealed that only 23.24% of units had closed since November 16, 2007, the first day that closings began.
Does this look problematic to anyone else? If I were a developer in this position I would be holding 24/7 open houses and not taking a holiday leave. Oh well…my client will return in a few months when those who do close are really struggling and condos will be much more aggressively priced. We’ll see if WCI can remain afloat until then. It looks like prices at One Bal Harbour will only go down over the next six months.
The most humorous quote to me was a Realtor saying in an article published on August 17, 2007 that she was “very confident that every single unit will close”. I hope she meant eventually every condo will close. If she meant that every contract holder will close then I think she was being way overly optimistic.
The closing rate cited above was obtained from public records. There can be a 2-3 week lag in getting a closing recorded although most closings are records within the first 7 days.
Welcome to One Bal Harbour
Ever wonder what it would feel like to play James Bond for a day? Sneak into a highly secured building suspended by a cable moving along a pulley? How else could I get into One Bal Harbour on a Sunday afternoon? Well actually, I just walked in through the front door.
The lobby was simply amazing! The ceilings looked to be 25-30 feet high. WCI definitely delivered a remarkable product. There has been much speculation by the media, as of late, that One Bal Harbour will be riddled by a large percentage of defaults. That may or may not ultimately be true, but those who can hold for three-plus years will likely be pleased with their decision.
I took a ton of pictures while touring the common areas of One Bal Harbour. Unfortunately, my camcorder was having issues so I wasn’t able to shoot any video.
The picture slideshow below will reveal what I saw yesterday. The final 11 pictures were taken within the hotel aspect of the development. The restaurant looks like it will be amazing.
Best Priced 2 Bedroom at One Bal Harbour
Last week a contract holder contacted me who would like to sell his 2 bedroom/2.5 bath condo residence at One Bal Harbour. The condo is a Residence B floor plan in the 02 line. It has 1,917 square feet of interior space and 535 square feet of terraces. He went to contract on the unit in 2003. He does not want to keep the condo and would like to sell it before closing.
This 2 bedroom condo has beautiful direct ocean views. It also has views of the intracoastal waters to the west.
One Bal Harbour is located on the northeastern tip of Bal Harbour, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Bal Harbour inlet. The neighborhood of Bal Harbour is one square mile of exclusivity with lavish dining and shopping experiences, as well as gorgeous beaches along the coast. One Bal Harbour will compliment this lifestyle by providing a luxurious beachfront residence.
Closings are scheduled to begin within the next couple of months.
