Market Stat Monday: Almost $50 Million In Contracts Signed Post-Irma
It has been a few weeks now since the skies have cleared in Greater Downtown Miami after Hurricane Irma’s brush, and despite a little bit of flooding and debris, we were very lucky. Now that cleanup is under way, how have the condo sales fared?
Not too bad, if I must say. Despite having only two functional weeks in September, nearly $50 million in resale contracts were signed on 79 total units.
The least expensive listing to find a buyer was at the Loft II Downtown, where a 770 square foot one bedroom was listed for $175,000. Of the 79 units that went to contract, 50 of them were listed for under $500,000. We will find out the final sales prices once they close.
In the luxury segment, there were a total of 6 properties listed over $1 million that found buyers. Among them was the crown jewel penthouse #1 at Asia on Brickell Key. With nearly 5,000 interior square feet through three levels including a dramatic rooftop terrace with a private pool, the sellers had asked $8.5 million, or $1,715/square foot.
Comparing September of 2017 to September of 2016, you will see that 2016 brought both a higher number of transactions as well as a higher volume of listings sold, but not enough to make it an overall better month considering that September 2017 was short due to people being distracted by the hurricane and Hurricane Matthew didn’t brush South Florida until October of last year. September of 2016 brought just over $60 million of listings sold, with 119 total transactions.
To celebrate the end of a successful yet stressful September, let’s check out some photos of that Asia Penthouse!
La Centrale At Brickell City Centre Set To Open In December
Miami’s first Italian food hall is slated to open in December with over 40,000 square feet of culinary experiences. There will be a series of stops available, each inspired by a different region of Italy.
MERCATO
This is the grab and go section, where you can choose specialty Italian retail items.
STAGIONALE
The second stop is inspired by the Veneto region and offers seasonal fresh produce, risottos and mozzarella.
CHIANTI
Next, you can visit the carne section, a true Italian Macelleria. There you will find the best cuts of meat cooked in a traditional wood-fired grill.
LIGURIIA
This section is a light and airy space that will serve the freshest fish that South Florida and the Mediterranean have to offer.
NAPLES
In the Naples section, you will find a rustic pizza and pasta eatery with authentic Neopolitan pizza cooked in traditional wood-fired ovens found in Naples.
ENOTECA
Lastly is the Enoteca wine cellar. You can sip and savor there amongst friends, or grab a bottle to take home.
Why Panorama Tower And Solitair Will Affect The Brickell Real Estate Market… And Why They Won’t
It is hard to ignore the fact that Panorama Tower and Solitair Brickell are going to throw a wrench into Brickell’s typically lucrative condo market. Panorama Tower is adorned with a huge banner, boasting its status as the tallest tower in the South and Solitair unapologetically sprung out of nowhere, blocking the north-facing views of all of the unsuspecting buyers at Brickell Heights West. But these qualities actually have very little to do with the reason they will disrupt the rental market, at least for awhile.
Miami’s Fascination With “New”
From a marketing perspective, Panorama Tower and Solitaire Brickell have the upper hand since they’re the newest buildings in town… even if they are only a few weeks newer. The process happens quickly in Miami. We are already receiving significantly fewer information requests for buildings like SLS Brickell and The Bond, even though both buildings are effectively brand-new. In their place are people requesting information on 1010 Brickell, ECHO Brickell and SLS Lux… all of which are still preparing to be Brickell’s new newest new building.
Supply vs Demand
It’s the oldest rule in the investor’s handbook… supply vs demand, and we are about to see it in action. Between Solitair Brickell and Panorama Tower, we are going to see over 1,200 new options come available for the same number of new tenants who move to the area each month. That’s a flood.
Pair the flood of new inventory with Miami’s fascination with new things and you’ll start to see the writing on the wall.
Apartment Buildings Hate Vacancy
It is the #1 enemy of any rental investor… VACANCY. Ack! And could you imagine the pain of having an entire vacant building? To be clear, this is not the time to waltz into the rental buildings offering pennies on the dollar for a lease. The rental buildings price their inventory very carefully and offer attractive move-in incentives in lieu of lower rent.
Why This Is Not Horrible News For Rental Investors
Will there be an inventory glut? Yes. Will it pass? Yes.
The beauty of rental buildings is that they seek a rapid initial lease-up, so their investment is operating to the best of its ability. But once they achieve the sought-after initial lease-up, the buildings integrate into the normal neighborhood market, serving the procrastinating crowd (who needs to move in this week and doesn’t mind paying a little extra on a monthly basis in exchange for lower move-in funds). The condo market goes back to normal.
It is my advice that condo owners whose units are coming available should choose a new tenant before these buildings open, else you will have several months of a dry spell. Next year will be more balanced though.
Prices And Deposit Amounts For Panorama Tower And Solitair Brickell
Brickell’s rental market is about to get a lot more interesting. Just as the inventory at the new towers that have opened this year begins to be absorbed, two new rental towers are preparing to open, bringing over 1,200 new apartments to the market. We have fielded questions about Panorama Tower and Solitair Brickell for months, and finally have some solid details about what will be offered…
Panorama Tower
Panorama Tower, the tallest tower in Florida, is slated to open in January, but pre-leasing is already underway. The prices of the 868 foot tower are a bit higher than comparable towers nearby, but the move-in terms are far less expensive.
Deposits are only a half month’s rent, a sharp contrast to the full month that is expected when renting a condo. Approval is also granted within 2 business days rather than the 10-30 days that we commonly see in condo developments.
Prices start at $2,500/month for a one bedroom plus den with 1,100-1,200 square feet. Two bedrooms range from $2,800-$3,000/month and three bedrooms are 2,100 square feet and start at $6,000/month. The developer has been heavily marketing the project already for months with their “Brickellista” campaign, and 80 of the apartments have already been pre-leased.
Solitair Brickell
Seemingly popping up out of nowhere between Brickell Heights West and Brickell City Centre, ZOM’s 50-story/438-unit Solitair Brickell is preparing to open in November. Initially, the monthly prices will be discounted since the building will still be under construction, and the prices are very reasonable!
Studios will range from $1,600/month up to $1,900/month, one bedrooms from $1,850/month to $2,755/month, and two bedrooms from $2,500/month to $3,000/month. This project is also offering a 48 hour approval, and their security deposits are $350 for studios, $500 for one bedrooms and $700 for two bedrooms. They have just released their inventory, so don’t yet have enough pre-leases to give a percentage, but we expect to see the building fill quickly with prices and terms like these.
If you would like more information or a tour of the buildings, just let us know.
First Resales At ECHO Brickell Hit The Market
The project is not slated to open until Spring of 2018 (a delay from the previous estimate we were given), but the first resales have begun to sprinkle the market at ECHO Brickell. It is unclear at this point whether the sellers are unwilling/unable to close on their units, or if they had intended to be resales all along. More than likely, they had always intended to be resales as I had heard whispers of similar deals being offered as pocket listings back in 2014… but here we are.
The project is slated to be among the most luxurious addresses in the neighborhood, joining the ranks of the Jade Residences at Brickell Bay, Santa Maria and the Four Seasons, only with the latest security technology including robotic parking and biometric recognition access in the elevators and amenities. There will also be a 50,000 gallon fish tank to greet guests in the lobby (thankfully not the James Bond Villain-esque shark tank initially proposed). Here are the details of the first three available resales…
Lower Penthouse 4902
On level 49, the floor plates have slimmed down considerably with the architectural curve toward the top of the building and there are only two residences per floor. These are also considered lower penthouses. They each have 3 bedrooms plus a den, 3.5 baths and a gorgeous view of South Brickell, the Biscayne Bay and the sunset over Coral Gables. The view is quite spectacular, I wish that my photos had turned out better when I previewed this plan back in January, but the building was still too much of a construction site on this level.
What I find to be very interesting is that LPH 4902 is being offered as a resale for $4.95 million, yet the developer is offering LPH 5002 for $6.5 million. They have the same layout aside from 5002 being slightly smaller and higher. I have reached out to the developer’s office to see what sorts of customizations they have added to 5002 and will report back once they respond.
Residence 3802
In the middle section of the building, there are four residences per floor and the 02 line in this section is actually my favorite layout of all the units in the building. It is a 2 bedroom, 3 bath layout with a large den near the third bedroom that is large enough to serve as a convertible guest room. The plan has 1,802 interior square feet, a great use of space (in my personal opinion) and is on the southeast corner, offering bay and South Brickell skyline views.
This one is being offered for $3.2 million. The developer is no longer carrying any of these floor plans, but this pricing is not far off from where it was when they were.
Residence 1004
The one bedroom plans at ECHO Brickell sold out almost immediately when they came to the market in late 2013/early 2014. On these floors, there are six units per floor and 1004 is located on the southeast corner. From the 10th floor, the view will be overlooking the treetops and buildings of South Brickell, which gives a park-like feel. It will be especially nice in the summertime, when the Royal Poinciana trees are in full bloom, lighting the street up with a canopy of red flowers. It is being offered for $892,000 and has 804 interior square feet.
Remaining Developer Inventory
As I mentioned before, the developer is still carrying a handful of residences, mainly highly customized plans including duplex lofts, panoramic residences that are combinations of several units and penthouses. The remaining developer inventory ranges in price from $1.9 million for a 2 bedroom on a high floor with sunset views, to $42 million for the opulent Carlos Ott Penthouse.
Market Stat Monday: How Is The Rental Market At Brickell Heights?
It has now been almost 3 months since this photo was taken, just as Brickell Heights was preparing to open. The closings have gone down at a harried pace, Equinox is open and buzzing with activity and moving trucks are filling the loading docks daily. The project was a resounding success for The Related Group, and it is too soon to tell how the resale market will fare, but we have had enough time and activity to check the pulse of the rental market.
Between the active/available rental options, the ones whose tenants have already moved in and the ones whose tenants are awaiting association approval, it appears that 99 of the tower’s 358 units are operating as rentals. That amounts to 28% of the building as of today, not bad! I’ve come to expect to see an investor ratio of 60%-75% in most of the Brickell condo towers, after seeing the condo questionnaires that banks use to determine financing availability.
In the last 3 months, 26 landlords have moved their tenants in and have accepted $2.73 per square foot on average. One bedrooms range from $2,000 per month up to $2,750 per month, and two bedrooms are renting for $3,000 per month up to $3,900 per month. Nine units are currently pending, but I expect to see the final pricing stay in line with the previous numbers.
With 64 active/available listings, it looks like we’re operating with right about 2 months of inventory (great news!). The pricing of the available options is also more or less in line with the rented units. One bedrooms are available for between $2,000 per month up to $3,000 per month, two bedrooms range from $2,700 to $3,700 per month and three bedrooms are between $5,500 to $5,950 per month (there are only two of these currently available).
Just as we have seen in past buildings, the landlords are not budging much on their pricing. The ones who already rented their units did so for an average of 97% of their asking price.
Originally slated to be a rental-only tower that turned back into a condo tower when the pre-construction market took off, the West tower is still shaping up to be mainly rentals. There are currently 90 available units for lease, ranging in price from $1,950-$3,000 for one bedrooms, $2,800-$4,500 for two bedrooms and $4,950-$5,250 for three bedrooms.
Aside from those 90 available listings, 16 have rented and 26 more are awaiting association approval. With that many pending leases, I imagine there is quite a bit of backlog in the management office. For the next couple of months, it is probably a good idea to lease here only if you have a flexible move-in date or 3+weeks to wait for approval. Otherwise, you could find yourself in a hotel while you wait for approval.
The 16 units that did rent garnered 96% of their asking price and range from $1,950-$2,200 per month for one bedrooms and $2,700-$3,250/month for two bedrooms. The tenants are paying $2.66/square foot on average.
Looking Ahead
It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months at Brickell Heights with the new competition from Solitaire and Panorama Tower, both of which are slated to open soon. Do you think the prices will dip a bit during the wave of inventory of the first lease-up and then level off at a higher value due to continued demand and less inventory like SLS Brickell, or do you think Panorama Tower and Solitaire’s wave of inventory will hold the prices lower?
La Casa Reposada To Villa Leone: The Story Behind 2100 South Miami Avenue
Along South Miami Avenue at 21st Street is a vacant lot the size of the entire block that is surrounded by a coral rock wall and majestic statues of lions covered by foliage. It is evident that there is an interesting story behind the land, although after thirty years of sitting vacant, new construction has commenced. For today’s Throwback Thursday, I want to share the story and then admire what is coming next.
According to the Miami History archives, the lot was originally purchased by a businessman for use as his family’s summer home in the 1935. The design was meant to emphasize the sun and fresh air of the area, and it was a grand home! The grounds included a rock garden with a fish pond, an island with a cypress bridge for access, a rose garden, reflection pool and a marble statue. The swimming pool was able to be electrically filled with either salt water or fresh water. Of course, the interior of the home was just as grandiose and designed for entertaining. The owner named it “La Casa Reposada,” since the family intended for it to be a haven of rest and tranquility.
La Casa Reposada Around 1955 From Miami History Archives
Shortly after his retirement in 1940, the owner died suddenly and his wife sold the property at an enormous loss, for just $50,000. The son of the owner recalls finding a listening device under one of the staircases, and presumed that the original owner had used it to eavesdrop on his guests in order to obtain the upper hand in business dealings. Savage!
After a few years, the family received an unsolicited offer for purchase from then Cuban President Carlos Prio Socarras, the last democratically elected president of Cuba. The son again recollects that the closing took forever. Prio’s representatives arrived at the house with suitcases filled with cash and it took from first thing in the morning until after lunchtime to count as armed guards stood by. Prio ended up spending much of the time he was exiled at La Casa Reposada before returning to Cuba in attempt to influence change.
From that point, the house changed hands several more times before being razed in the late 70’s or early 80’s. Aside from a cement-filled pool (that I had always assumed was the foundation of the previous structure) and the signature stone wall with lions, the property sat vacant for more than 30 years… until now.
Vertical construction has recently begun on a collection of 5 homes called “Villa Leone,” I imagine paying homage to the stone lions that looked over the property for the last 80 years. The homes have a contemporary design by Borges & Associates, who have been responsible for the designs of other popular buildings including Infinity at Brickell, The Carillon on Miami Beach and even the American Airlines Arena.
The designs maximize the buildable space, including underground garages and rooftop terraces with summer kitchens and pools. Sadly, it does not appear there is room on the lot to preserve the lions. Prices are available by request.
Which Miami Condo Developments Are On Highest Ground?
The threat that climate change presents to Miami is as hot of a topic as it is a polarizing one. With increasingly frequent flooding due to storms and the moon/tide cycles, many of the locals have grown familiar with the low-lying hazards in the neighborhood. A summer storm wouldn’t be complete without the dramatic shot of a newscaster standing outside the Publix in Mary Brickell Village with water up to their knees, gawking at drivers who splash by, many of whom end up with water damage to their pricey rides. The intersection of Brickell and 13th Street is another spot that overflows quickly.
After the storm we went through last week that flooded the underground parking garages at Brickell City Centre plus all of Mary Brickell Village, forcing shops to close for a day and a half, I started to wonder which buildings in the area are on higher ground? Some may be surprised to learn that the Downtown area is not flat. There are small, but valuable hills that make certain buildings more secure from the floodwaters. I did a little bit of research and found this very interesting topographical map that is fully interactive and mapped the buildings in our area. The vast majority of the buildings sit between 0-3 feet above sea level, but here are the ones on higher ground…
Simpson Park Area
On the south end of the Brickell Financial District but on the north side of South Brickell is Simpson Park. It is situated on a small hill that crests at the intersection of SW 1st Avenue and I95 at 30 feet above sea level. Le Parc at Brickell is the highest condo development in our service area at 20 feet above sea level. Nearby, Infinity at Brickell also takes advantage of this hill at 10 feet above sea level, but it drops off quickly. SLS Brickell measured 3 feet above sea level.
Because of the contour of the elevation, Vue at Brickell and Axis at Brickell were all showing up as 7 feet above sea level, leaving Millecento and the rest of the surrounding buildings at 3 feet.
North Brickell
All of the other buildings in Brickell are between 0-3 feet except for one small incline at 5th Street that puts 500 Brickell’s East Tower on slightly higher ground (7 feet).
Downtown Miami
The wall of towering skyscrapers along Biscayne Boulevard in Downtown has been affectionately dubbed the “Biscayne Wall” in real estate and architecture groups for some time now, but there could be another reason for it. There is a small increase in altitude along Biscayne Boulevard, leaving Bayfront Park at 3 feet above sea level and all of the condo developments from 50 Biscayne to Marquis Residences at 7 feet above sea level. This includes Vizayne North and South, MarinaBlue, 900 Biscayne Bay, One Thousand Museum, and Ten Museum Park.
Edgewater / Arts & Entertainment District / Midtown
As can likely be expected, none of the buildings in Edgewater are higher than 3 feet above sea level… but the grade increases relatively quickly as you go farther west (by Miami standards anyway). The Arts & Entertainment District’s new project, Canvas, is 7 feet above sea level, and industrial loft or live/work space fans will be pleased to hear that Parc Lofts and Filling Station Lofts are both built 10 feet above sea level.
Midtown fans will also be pleased to know that the entire neighborhood, including Midtown 2, Midtown 4, Midblock and the new Hyde at Midtown are all 10 feet above sea level.
Final Thoughts
If you would like to play with the interactive map on your own, you can do so here. Do the findings make you feel better or worse about our situation?
Record-Breaking Sale at Jade at Brickell Bay
After dozens of showings and nearly six months on the market, I’m pleased to announce that Jade at Brickell Bay #4107 has sold for $1.85M, the highest priced sale ever for a 3 bedroom condo in the building (excluding penthouses and bay lofts). The record-breaking sale amounts to $869 per square foot. To put this sales price into perspective, last month, tennis sensation Andy Murray sold his 4 bedroom condo, located on 45th floor of Jade at Brickell Bay, for $703 per foot.
Unit 4107, a flow-through residence with 2,130 interior square feet, was recently updated with new tiled flooring in the living areas and balconies, new kitchen counter top, refaced kitchen cabinets, soffit lighting in the living room, and motorized shades on all windows. The sellers purchased the property in 2012 for $1.39M.
