The Sail on Brickell Penthouse 2 Bedroom/2 Bath Foreclosure – $299,900
In September of last year, I revealed a very compelling piece about the apparent mortgage fraud at The Sail on Brickell. At the time, a 2 bedroom/2 bath at The Sail on Brickell had recently sold for $670,000!!! Now, there’s a bank-owned 2 bedroom/2 bath Penthouse condo at The Sail on Brickell that is listed at $299,900. Was I right about the apparent mortgage fraud or was I right?
I urge everyone to read my post in September. It will provide much insight as to how prevalent the mortgage fraud was back then in Miami. I actually reread my post and I was like “Damn! That was a great post”. Back then I didn’t have many readers. My readership was made up of just around one hundred people.
Currently, there are two 2 bedroom/2 bath short-sales at The Sail on Brickell listed for $599,000. Both short-sales are the condos that I discussed in my July and September posts that had recently closed. This makes it apparent to me that the buyers never had the intention to hold these condos but rather defraud our U.S. banking system. Our banking system in this country has enough problems. I’m very upset about my findings. Very!
Here are the two condos that were sold at The Sail on Brickell in July and September:
- Unit 2504 was listed at $670,000 and sold for $670,000
- Unit 2204 was listed at $670,000 and sold for $670,000
Both were sold by the same broker. <<<<<<<<<<<<<
Where is the mortgage fraud task force when you need them?
Two Multi-Million Dollar Condos Recently Go Pending in Brickell
Two multi-million dollar condos in Brickell recently went pending within the past 30 days. The first was a 5 bedroom/6.5 bath Penthouse condo at Santa Maria with 6,300 square feet that went pending on March 3, 2008. The list price was $5.29M, or $840 per square foot. The views from this Penthouse condo at Santa Maria are simply amazing, as you can see from the above picture. The MLS listing description and photos of this Penthouse condo at Santa Maria will show you just how amazing this condo truly is.
What’s interesting to note is that the current owner purchased this Penthouse condo at Santa Maria for $3.9M in the latter half of 2005, when many would say the Miami condo market peaked. This just goes to show that the ultra-luxury condo market in Miami has continued to hold up well. Despite the potential profit that the current owner makes, anything under $840 per square foot for this unit is a freakin’ bargain. In my opinion, Santa Maria is the best condo building in Brickell and is in a complete league of their own. No foreclosures or short-sales that I’ve ever come across, and a comparatively very low maintenance fee, despite the world-class amenities that Santa Maria has to offer.
The second multi-million dollar condo in Brickell to go pending within the past 30 days is the Penthouse condo at Epic located on the Miami River near the inlet into Biscayne Bay which went pending on Febuary 27, 2008. It’s a 4 bedroom/5.5 bath two-story Penthouse with 4,522 interior square feet and an amazing 7,488 total square feet, including balconies. The list price on this bad boy is $5M. Epic is currently still under construction but should be completed by the end of this year.
What is not a coincidence is that the developer behind both condo buildings is Ugo Columbo. He is well-known for delivering some of the most high-quality condo products to Miami. His reputation definitely supersedes him. I can’t wait to get inside Epic to see how it compares to his previous condo developments such as Santa Maria, Bristol Tower and Grovenor House.
Here are some multi-million dollar condos in Dade County that have actually resold and closed in 2008:
- Villa del Mare #7274 – $12,360,000
- Porto Vita #1104 – $3,600,000
- Continuum #TH-7 – $3,100,000
- Bellini Condo #1102 – $2,900,000
- Santa Maria #3005 – $2,680,000
- The Setai #3106 – $2,600,000
- One Bal Harbour #707E – $2,550,000
- Grovernor House #1902 – $2,525,000
- Continuum #TH-9 – $2,350,000
Emerald at Brickell 2 Bedroom Tower Suite Short-Sale – $499,000
This 2 bedroom/2 bath tower suite short-sale at Emerald at Brickell slipped through my radar since the middle of February because the listing agent failed to include the correct zip code with the listing. This short-sale condo is listed at $499,000, or about $395 per square foot. It has direct views of Biscayne Bay and Key Biscayne.
The next best priced tower suite condo at Emerald at Brickell is listed at $699,00. It is slightly bigger but is still listed at over $140 per square foot more. If the correct zip code (and correct spelling of the development) had been included, I suspect that this condo would have been under contract by now. It fell off my radar and I’m guessing that it fell off the radar of many other Realtors and buyers.
Vue at Brickell – Are Prices Finally Bottoming?
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.
Coming Soon: Sushi Siam at Plaza on Brickell
Last week I noticed the above sign, “Coming Soon: Sushi Siam,” as I drove by Plaza on Brickell. This is great news not only for Plaza on Brickell but also the entire neighborhood of Brickell.
Sushi Siam is a very well known sushi restaurant located on Lincoln Road in South Beach. I find it very interesting that more and more establishments are deciding to expand their operation from South Beach into Brickell. A few years ago, Novecento, a restaurant and bar, made the expansion move and recently we saw Segafredo Cafe, a restaurant and lounge, make the move as well. It shows me that these establishments are quite confident that Brickell already has enough year-round residents to justify such an expansion. (I just wish Lime Fresh Mexican Grill would make the jump as well. I heard a while back that they committed to opening their third restaurant at Midtown Miami though.)
Eventually the commercial spaces found on the ground level of the new condo buildings in Brickell, such as Plaza on Brickell, will be a natural extension of Mary Brickell Village, with new retail stores and restaurants. That’s when we’ll really start to see the foot traffic in Brickell.
By the way, I was digging through some old pictures that I took in July 2005. Remember what Plaza on Brickell consisted of back then?
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.
Miami Condo Construction Update
Super Bowl Sunday afternoon, I decided to walk around Brickell, Downtown Miami and Park West to provide those who reside outside of Miami a construction update for various condo developments. Below, you’ll find various pictures that I took during my walk:
500 Brickell looks to be about 2-3 months away from being finished.
Epic Miami looks to be almost topped off.
Icon Brickell appears to have topped off one of its towers and close to topping off the other two.
Met 2 will be comprised of two towers. One will be a 47-story high-rise comprised of Class A office space. The second will be a 42-story signature hotel called Marquis, a JW Marriott Collection Hotel.
Asia is located in Brickell Key. Probably another 2-3 months until this luxury high-rise is ready to begin closings.
Met 1 is the white tower located in the center with the Wachovia building hovering directly behind it. Met 1 is complete but I’ve yet to hear for when the first closing is scheduled. Has anyone heard anything?
Marina Blue, 900 Biscayne Bay, Ten Museum Park and Marquis. Marina Blue is just about done and should begin closings very soon. Gotta love the architecture and glass on Marina Blue! 900 Biscayne Bay will probably begin closings sometime within the next 2-3 months. Although closings at Ten Museum Park began in the Summer of 2007, the amenities and spa are far from being 100 percent complete. Hopefully by July we can file it away as being completely finished. Marquis still has quite a ways to go before being topped off.
Click on the following link to view a slideshow of other pictures that I took during my short walk in Miami:
Assessing the Neighborhoods and Condo Buildings of Miami
A great comment was made this morning asking me for my take on the various neighborhoods in Miami. Excellent topic and one that I’m sure my non-local readers would appreciate.
The map above is a portion of a larger map that was created by the Miami Downtown Development Authority. It is a great resource for people to see where various condo buildings throughout Miami are located. I realize that it is very difficult to view the above image. I do, however, have a PDF of the map on my file sharing page. Click on the file called “Miami Developments Map Aug07”. You may also want to view the file called “Miami Developments Report Aug07”. There you will find profile pages for several condo developments in Miami.
The map does not encompass all of Miami, however. It basically covers just those neighborhoods in Miami that had the most condo development during our recent boom. It also doesn’t show every condo development on the map. I’m not sure how far back it goes but my guess is that it only includes developments built since 2004.
The Neighborhoods of Miami
- Brickell – Brickell is also known as the financial district of Miami. A lot of large international banks are located in Brickell. Also, the majority of Miami’s condos are located in Brickell. When you see a picture of the Miami skyline you are most likely looking at the various condo buildings in Brickell.This is considered by most to be an affluent neighborhood. There are some very high-end condo buildings located in this neighborhood such as Four Seasons Residences and Santa Maria.However, there is a large supply of condos that has recently begun to hit the market in Brickell. Buyers will definitely have good opportunities and a lot of options within the next couple of years. You really need to research these buildings considerably if you intend to buy. There are some condo developments in Brickell that I feel are overpriced and will likely come down over the next 2-3 years. There are others that I feel are appealing to end-users. I also wanted to note that there is only one waterfront lot left in Brickell.
- Brickell Key – Many would say that Brickell Key is viewed as an exclusive neighborhood with its gated entry into the neighborhood and its paved brick roads. There isn’t much new inventory in Brickell Key that will hit the market within the next year. In fact, only 123 new condos will hit the market once Asia closes its units. Other than the small piece of land behind the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, there is no room left to build in Brickell Key which means that there probably won’t be any new supply there for many years. Many might argue that the large supply of condos in Brickell will have an effect on prices of condos located in Brickell Key. However, some would tell you that they only want to live in Brickell Key.
- Downtown Miami – In my opinion, Downtown Miami needs more infrastructure before it can become a great neighborhood. It’ll take some time but will eventually become a great place to live. My opinion is that until this becomes a realization current prices will be difficult to justify. Long-term though, I think Downtown Miami will be a very happening place to live.
- Park West – Park West is a small area of Miami that is located directly south of the MacArthur Causeway. It is currently comprised of four buildings. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I believe this neighborhood has the greatest long-term potential for various reasons that I’ve mentioned in other posts. In the short-run, however, I feel that prices won’t go up until grocery stores, pharmacies, coffee shops, etc. become available in Park West. I’ve heard from various people that Gardener’s Market is negotiating a lease to open a store at the base of 900 Biscayne. Park West needs more of this.
- Arts District and Edgewater – The Arts District is a fairly large area. I typically regard it as beginning at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts and ending on NE 36 Street, although everyone has their own definition. In my opinion, this will be the last neighborhood to turn around. There is still a lot of room to build on waterfront lots because there are a lot of run-down buildings that could easily be knocked down. It does have Margaret Pace Park though which is a fantastic park. I think opportunities for investors to buy in bulk will become available in some of the new buildings in the Arts District. I currently know of one.
I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts and input.
Brickell on the River South Tower Closings Off to a Slow Start
Closings in the South Tower of Brickell on the River are off to a very slow start. According to public record, there have been a total of 15 closed sales at Brickell on the River South Tower since closings began on December 21, 2007. The end of this week will mark the fifth week. However, as I’ve mentioned before, there can be delays in having closings recorded with the county.
According to the management office of Brickell on the River South Tower, there are a total of 334 units. This means that Brickell on the River South Tower has been able to close about 4 1/2 percent of their overall units within the first 5 weeks. Not a good sign!
To put this in better perspective, below you’ll see what percentage of units the following buildings were able to close within the first five weeks after closings began:
- Latitude on the River – 47%
- 2 Midtown – 15%
- Onyx on the Bay – 26%
- Ten Museum Park – 15%
What do you think about Brickell on the River South Tower’s 4 1/2 percent closing rate? Paraphrasing the words from the Coffee Talk with Linda Richman skit on Saturday Night Live, discuss amongst yourselves.
