Market Stat Monday: Brickell Sales Statistics By Country Of Buyer’s Origin
Since this is such a patriotic week and it is no secret that our friends from abroad play a big role in the Brickell real estate market, I thought it would be interesting to see which countries are producing the most buyers of condos. The Miami MLS has a new-ish feature that reports the country of origin for the buyers after they close on a listed condo. We still have to rely upon the word of developers in order to report buyer origins of new condos, but resales can now be statistically found.
Out of the 414 total sales that have happened in Brickell since the beginning of the year, about half of the agents have reported the country of origin of their buyers. This represents just under $100 million of Brickell inventory sold out of the $198 million that was sold in total.
Here are our findings:
If you look at the total sales volume of all of the sale transactions in the neighborhood during 2017 so far, you can see that the United States is responsible for the overwhelming majority, followed by Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, and Argentina.
Despite reports of their sales activity in the area, China and Mexico did not spend nearly as much as other countries, and Russia was not even on the list.
The number of transactions was skewed even farther in the United States’ favor, with Venezuela, Argentina, Colombia and Brazil following behind.
For those who prefer a chart rather than a graph, here are the actual figures for each country.
Are you surprised by the findings?
The 8th Street Metromover Station Is Officially Renamed “Brickell City Centre Station”
Photo via Jami Reyes Facebook
The Miami Metromover’s 8th Street Station was formally renamed the “Brickell City Centre Station” this morning in a ribbon cutting celebration with Mayor Gimenez.
During the construction phase of the $1.05 billion mega project, Swire also upgraded the city-owned transit stop and integrated it directly into the third level of the shopping mall, allowing shoppers and residents the ability to come and go from the development without being exposed to the summer showers that Miami is famous for.
For those who are new to the area, the Miami Metromover is a 4.4 mile electrically powered train system that shuttles people around the Greater Downtown area for free. It is automated and air-conditioned, and can drop people in the Brickell Financial District, Miami-Dade College, Bayfront Park, The Frost Museum and PAMM, Omni Mall and now Brickell City Centre.
There are also transfer stations in Downtown and Brickell that allows people to transfer to the Metrorail, accessing the University of Miami, the Jackson Medical Center hospital district, the Miami International Airport and more. “The Mover,” as it is commonly called, is extremely convenient to people in the Downtown area, and even more now that we can access Brickell City Centre directly.
Bravo, Swire!
Inside SLS Lux: June 2017 Construction Update
It has now been 6 months since we got to preview the views from the penthouses at SLS Lux with Carlos Rosso. Since then, they have been hard at work on the finishes and amenities in preparation for the big grand opening later this year.
Here is an update of their progress from Carlos’s Facebook.
This is a bath/shower of one of the suites.
An architectural accent in a hotel suite.
Katsuya and S Bar on the retail level.
Building the form set for the pool on the amenity level.
Brickell Heights’ Retail Space Hits the Market for Rent or Sale
Now that Brickell Heights has opened its doors and Equinox has announced its opening date, let’s talk about the last remaining opportunity in the streetscape of Brickell’s newest project. There is one remaining commercial unit on the South side of the building under the West tower that is available for lease or purchase.
The space is bordered on one side by SoulCycle, which is slated to open toward the end of 2017 (once their interior build-out is complete). It encompasses a total of 8,015 square feet, but is divisible into two units as shown in the floor plan in the property brochure below. Just across the street is Mary Brickell Village, with restaurants, shopping and Publix as the grocery anchor.
Due to its size and location, I foresee a nice restaurant or lounge for the space. It could also be successful for a daycare or preschool concept. The seller is represented by Fabio Faerman from Fortune, who informed us that the asking price is $85/square foot for a 10 year lease, or $10.5 million for purchase.
What concepts do you think would be most successful for the space? To set up a tour for your concept, contact us here.
Brickell Heights Retail Space by Sarah Elles Boggs on Scribd
Market Stat Monday: The Plaza on Brickell
Happy Monday! We’re back! After a two week hiatus for Memorial Day and the opening of Brickell Heights, we are resuming #MarketStatMonday with one of Related Group’s top projects from the last building cycle (2004-2008), The Plaza on Brickell. Typically, when I run a market statistics report for a project with more than one tower, I would separate them into two reports. Since The Plaza on Brickell East and The Plaza on Brickell West are largely similar, I’m going to combine them into one overall project report today.
Between the two towers, The Plaza on Brickell has 1,000 apartments that share a common amenity space above the parking garage. It is pet-friendly and family-friendly. While it is not as trendy or flashy as many other buildings in the area, it is very well-kept, has all of the amenities people ask for in the area, the layouts are nice and it remains a popular choice for our clients.
One thing that we have to watch for at Plaza is that the majority of the apartments were delivered with carpet and the majority of original buyers were investors. At this point, most people have changed the carpet, but we still see the occasional listing pop up with the original 9 year old berber rug that nobody wants. Even though it’s an easy fix, we can see a direct effect in the transaction value on those listings, both for rentals and for sales.
Sales Market
So far in 2017, there have been 15 closed sales that were unfurnished non-penthouse apartments. For those who are new to Market Stat Monday, I leave out the “outliers” on our market report. That would be penthouses, town homes, or apartments that have been combined. Buyers are paying on average $438/square foot for their Plaza condos and sellers are negotiating to 95% of their asking price.
One bedrooms sold for between $278,000-$357,000 and two bedrooms sold for between $400,000-$487,000. Yes, the least expensive units sold with carpet. The lowest priced sale of an apartment with hard flooring (tile, wood, laminate) sold for $320,000…. so there you go.
Looking at what is available, there are 83 active listings of non-penthouse/non-townhouse/non-combined units. The average listing price is $497/square foot. Given the fact that sellers are negotiating on average 95% of their asking price, it looks like eager sellers need to amend their price in order to see results.
The part that I once saw as alarming but now come to expect is that at the current rate of sales, we have 33 months’ of inventory waiting to be sold at Plaza. They don’t have any internal drama or litigation that I have heard of. Their HOA dues are lower than the competing buildings in the area, and the design isn’t so trendy that it alienates a portion of the market… quite the contrary. That brings us back to price. If people want to sell, there is a tremendous competition right now for buyers. The apartments need to be shined up, professionally photographed in their Sunday best, and priced properly. No more 9 year old carpet. That doesn’t fly in this market.
As of today, one bedrooms start at $285,000 for a unit with a Brickell Avenue view and original carpet. We are offering a one bedroom with wood laminate floors and a view of the meditation area near the pool for $330,000. If you’re looking for a two bedroom plan, options start at $399,000 for a carpeted unit with a view of Brickell.
I also saw a two bedroom plan with carpeted floors and a South partial-bay view that was listed for $389,452. It was The Plaza East 950 Brickell Bay Drive #2507. Just when I was writing about what a great deal that was for a buyer, the status changed to pending. Congratulations to that buyer!
Rental Market
As we have seen in other buildings during recent weeks, the rental market is much healthier than the sales market. With 30 active unfurnished listings and 99 closed rentals this year, we have almost 2 months’ of inventory in the market right now.
Although the rental market is healthier, the marketing time is on average 78 days, including the time a prospective tenant undergoes their background checks. The apartments that found tenants accepted 96% of their asking price, so again… this is not a fire sale opportunity for tenants who are interested in over-negotiating.
Just like in the sales market, we are seeing the lowest priced listings still have that original 2008 berber carpet that has seen as many as 10 tenants. Even with shampoo, nine year old carpet is beyond its’ intended life span and should be changed. One bedrooms rented between $1,700-$2,200 per month and two bedrooms garner between $2,400-$3,616 per month, with the more expensive rentals being larger plans with hard floors and superior views.
My biggest takeaway for today’s look into The Plaza is that if you are looking to increase your return, whether it be on the rental or the sales market, the first thing you should do is CHANGE THE CARPET! What is your biggest takeaway from The Plaza?
Inside Brickell Heights Part 3: The Mural and Streetscape
One of the goals behind the development of Brickell Heights was to activate the urban atmosphere and make South Miami Avenue a complete, pedestrian-friendly, lively environment, according to Carlos Rosso. The minds behind the project envisioned a well-lit atmosphere where people could be working out in a top-of-the-line gym, or sitting in a lounge at a happy hour below. Once you add in a colorful and lively mural by famed Argentinian artist, Fabián Burgos, you have Brickell Heights.
Watch this video where Fabián speaks about his mural and its effect on our neighborhood:
Under the curtain of the bright and colorful mural, there are several retail spaces that seamlessly connect Mary Brickell Village to Brickell City Centre, making one continuous shopping, wellness and entertainment area. The lights also serve a double purpose, making a safe walking environment for residents.
Directly below Brickell Heights East, residents will enjoy a French Cafe, the lobby of the Equinox Fitness, the elevator lobby for the offices above, and a large new Capital One Bank location with a cafe inside. As the building curves around the corner onto 9th Street, pedestrians will see the East lobby, the motorcourt, the West lobby, and under Brickell Heights West, there will be a large SoulCycle location that is scheduled to open later this year, and an 8,000 square foot restaurant space. Concepts are still being reviewed for the restaurant space (which I will go into more detail on in a separate post).
Once everything is open for business, the vibe of South Miami Avenue will be forever transformed. No longer will we have the bustling financial center by day/quiet residential area by night vibe. Mary Brickell Village was dwarfed by Brickell City Centre, and Brickell Heights is tying the strip together. I cannot wait to take a followup photo to this one below, that was shared by Carlos Rosso to show the lighting of the mural. It is very beautiful, and will be even more beautiful after the building is lit up and people are home.
Tomorrow is the big day!!!
Inside Brickell Heights Part 2: The Amenities
As workers were scurrying around, putting the final touches on the Brickell Heights amenities in preparation for Wednesday’s big grand opening, we were able to take a full tour of everything the building has to offer. Despite the fact that today wasn’t the sunniest or prettiest day in Miami history, you can tell that the building came together beautifully.
Pictured above is the view from the rooftop swimming pool in Brickell Heights East. Even though I admit to being a bit jaded when it comes to Miami views, my jaw dropped when I stepped out of the elevator lobby. On this level, there is also a summer kitchen and dining area. Here are some additional shots. Again, please excuse the dust. They were getting ready for the party.
After we finished on the 50th floor pool area, we went down to the 9th floor to tour the other amenities starting in the East tower and working our way West.
First was the conference room. It also has wifi and docking stations with a view of Mary Brickell Village.
The party room in the East tower also has a polished concrete billiard table and matching ping pong table. All of the design was put together by David Rockwell.
This sculpture is called “Frozen Fire”. It was created especially for this party room.
I am a big fan of the foliage walls. They were found throughout the amenity area. The plants pictured are not plastic either (thank goodness). The real plants are more upkeep (especially if you’re like me and don’t have a green thumb), but they really add a nice touch to the ambiance.
The plant wall theme was carried into the fitness center, that has a nice mix of machines and lots of space for a condo gym workout. For a “kid in Disneyworld” level workout, residents do receive a complimentary membership for a limited time.
As a mother to a toddler, I almost imploded with envy at the play room. Just this alone was nearly enough for me to pack up my apartment in Infinity and move across the neighborhood. The play room is so perfect, I almost feel like someone is baiting me, like a mosquito to a light bulb.
While the kids are tearing down their play palace, the moms can go in the spa and relax.
… or get a massage.
Want to invite your 30 closest friends over for a movie, but don’t want people in your apartment? No problem.
Brickell Heights’ West tower also has its own enormous party room.
Behind the West party room, the building also has a vegetable garden. Botanists are going to pick the fresh herbs and veggies each week and leave them in the lobbies for the residents to take.
The main pool deck has a putting green for those who want to work on their short game.
And finally, the main pool! It was difficult to get a good shot of the pool today, since it was mostly covered. They covered the pool in clear plexiglass to make a dance floor for Wednesday’s grand opening. Each side of the pool has a concrete arch like the one pictured below. When turned on, the arch becomes a water wall.
The doors open this week!
Overall, I feel Related Group and David Rockwell nailed it with Brickell Heights. The building has a great mix of usability with an edge of the cool factor. I predict this will be one of the more successful buildings long-term that comes from their portfolio.
Now, the streetscape!
Inside Brickell Heights Part 1: The Condos
We are going to take a break from #MarketStatMonday this week, because I have a ton of photos to share! Brickell Heights and Brickell Heights 02 are opening this week, and we got a preview tour of the project. There are so many photos, I will break them up into three posts. First, we’ll look at the units themselves, then we’ll tour the amenities and the new streetscape, curtained by the mural from famed artist, Fabián Burgos.
When we arrived in the East lobby, Jorge Perez, Carlos Rosso and Jon Paul Perez were finishing up a walk through to get ready for their big opening celebration on Wednesday night. They were followed by a swarm of people, an art curator, a landscape architect, and several others.
You can see by Mr. Perez and Mr. Rosso’s faces that the project is almost there, but not quite perfect yet. The lobby needed more trees, but not just any trees… there is a specific look they are going for. The trees needed to be tall, decorative trees to highlight the art. I was pleased to see them involved in this level of detail of the project. So, let’s get going…
Brickell Heights’ East Lobby
After finishing up his appointment, Carlos took us on a thorough tour of the building. Here he is, getting into the elevator to get started.
We toured the units on level 10, and the amenities are on level 9. Here is the branded elevator panel.
I like how the new kitchen designs allow more storage. Even in the galley kitchen of the two bedroom corner layouts, there is a large wall next to the kitchen that allows for custom cabinetry.
Kitchen in 1 Bedroom Unit
Kitchen In 2 Bedroom Corner Unit
Master Bath Double Vanity
Master Bath Soaking Tub
Guest Bath
This is the view from the lowest residential level of the building. On the North side, residents look into Brickell City Centre, which is 4 stories. On the East, they look onto the pool deck of SLS Lux. On the South, they look over Mary Brickell Village.
10th Floor City View
View of SLS Lux’s pool deck from the 10th floor of Brickell Heights
For those interested in renting in the building, we are keeping a list of people who want to be among the first residents. Let us know if you would like to be included.
Stay tuned for the amenities’ tour, including rooftop view photos and news about the streetscape.
Market Stat Monday: Which Brickell Buildings Are The Most Popular For Buyers?
During our Market Stat Monday series, I’ve started to notice a trend that there is an increasing amount of competition between condo listings for a smaller amount of buyers in the market. This led me to become curious if there are any buildings in the that are more popular among the active buyers, and some of the results are surprising!
First, we have to acknowledge the harsh reality that we have seen only 175 closed sales in the neighborhood this year. With 1,413 active listings, that amounts to over 40 months of inventory on the market JUST in the Brickell resale market. When pulling my data, I only looked at resales, not developer inventory. If you add in the developer inventory, there will be even more months of inventory.
The sellers who were able to sell did so for a neighborhood average of $389/square foot.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that IconBrickell’s Tower 3 has been a stand-out so far this year. They have seen 13 closed sales despite losing their hotel program (which I think creates an opportunity for owners). Seven of those sales took place in April, telling me that the investors agree.
Another popular option has been The Club at Brickell Bay, who saw 12 closings with an average price per square foot of $299/square foot. I am not aware of anything out of the ordinary that would cause The Club to be such a good buy right now, aside from the fact that the layouts and location are good and the price is right.
1060 Brickell has also had a good year. There have been 11 total closed sales at a rate of $346/square foot. Our statistics page only reports 9 sales, but that is because we have separated the project into the east and west tower.
I was not surprised to see Icon Brickell’s Tower 1 on the list. Buyers nearly always ask about IconBrickell, despite fears regarding their pool construction. Also, Tower 1 is one of the densest towers in town, with 712 total apartments, so it makes sense that there should be more transactions.
Brickell on the River’s South tower made the list with 10 sales, and that sort of makes sense to me. The building is well-run and the loft-layouts are unique. I typically advise investors to purchase a 1 bedroom in the South tower, but if they are looking for a 2 bedroom, to buy in the North tower. This is because the 1 bedroom plans rent far easier in the South tower because of their loft layout, but the 2 bedroom loft layouts lose a lot of potential tenants because of the lack of privacy from the bedrooms. Since there is competition from newer buildings these days for tenants, you want your investment to appeal to as many people as possible and the 2 bedroom lofts don’t work well for roommate situations or families. The price is also right, averaging $297/square foot.
Speaking of loft layouts, Infinity at Brickell is also on the list with 8 sales at an average of $319/square foot. I remember back in the day when people would complain about the developer selling apartments at Infinity for $255/square foot. Those were the days. A lot of people are under the misconception that Infinity no longer has views because of the construction of SLS Brickell next door. While it is true that SLS blocked some views, most of the units still have at least some bay views and the 00 and 02 lines still have a lot of bay views. Infinity is still one of my favorite buildings, the staff is very friendly and professional, the layouts are nice and since the building is so well-maintained, it does not look like it is about to be 10 years old. At $319/square foot, that is a great bargain for what you get.
One building that really surprised me was BrickellHouse. It didn’t make it into the top 10, but there were 5 sales this year averaging $474/square foot! That is a lot lower than the $600/foot price the original buyers paid, but is still a great number for a building that is probably about to have a special assessment that will make you do a double take and recount those zeros. On the bright side, they did finally find a solution to their parking debacle, so at least we’re moving forward.
Here is the full top10 list of Brickell buildings by transaction count:
Icon Brickell Tower 3 – 13 sales – $412/square foot average
The Club at Brickell Bay – 12 sales – $299/square foot average
1060 Brickell – 11 sales – $346/square foot average
Icon Brickell Tower 1 – 10 sales – $517/square foot average
Brickell on the River South Tower – 10 sales – $297/square foot average
Infinity at Brickell – 8 sales – $319/square foot average
VUE at Brickell – 7 sales – $289/square foot average
Plaza at Brickell East – 6 sales – $462/square foot average
Plaza at Brickell West – 6 sales – $411/square foot average
Neo Vertika – 6 sales – $317/square foot average
Are you surprised by any of the findings?
Brickell City Centre Receives Final Certificate Of Occupancy
Today is May 12, 2017. This is the day that Swire’s Brickell City Centre mega-project, the one that changes the Brickell neighborhood forever, is effectively complete.
The final certificate of occupancy for the whole project was received today. This means that all floors of both office towers, all floors of Reach, Rise, the East Hotel AND the full retail portion are ready to go. Now, before everyone gets all up in arms about the stores in the retail portion not being 100% open yet, be patient. The stores are not able to even begin their build-out until the certificate of occupancy is delivered, but everything is now complete on Swire’s part.
This project has been a tremendous success not just for Swire, but for the Brickell neighborhood and the people behind the 6,000+ jobs that the project created as well. Swire took a 9 acre assemblage of land that was once vacant lots and a tennis center and turned it into a catalyst that not only changed the neighborhood, it changed the market as well.
Brickell City Centre features over 5.4 million square feet overall, with 500,000+ square feet of retail, 130,000 square feet of class A office space, a 5 star hotel and 780 luxury condominium units in two towers. Reach tower opened in April of 2016, and Rise tower in the fall. The condos have been consistently selling at a rate of $650/square foot. There have been 4 resales so far at an average rate of $667/square foot.
One of the things that I find especially endearing from Brickell City Centre is their eagerness to contribute to the community. Not only did they donate $600,000 to the Underline, the 10 mile linear park underneath the MetroRail line, but they are also eager to host events for the area. Each week, there is a Saturday afternoon farmer’s market under the MetroMover line, regular events are held for their retailers and they have also been open & excited to host events for the public to get better acquainted with the new space.
We offer Swire 5.4 million congratulations for 5.4 million square feet of success! Thank you very much for this contribution to our community!
