Related Group Announces Casa Bella Tower with Sales Beginning Soon
The Related Group is on the verge of launching sales for their newest tower in downtown Miami; Casa Bella. This residential tower will be built at 1400 Biscayne Blvd in the Miami Arts and Entertainment District and is on the same site where Auberge Residences was originally planned.
According to the renderings, it appears Related is continuing with the same design and specifications that were planned for Auberge. Those designs include full glass exteriors in a wave-like pattern, as well as the unit floor plans. According to The Real Deal, the Related Group is likely reusing them since they have already been approved and to fast-track construction.
Casa Bella will feature 3 towers and 2 will rise 60 stories while 1 will rise 50. The first tower will feature 300 luxury units although 1,430 residential units have been approved for the site. The towers will have 1,629 parking spaces and will be connected by a podium.
The newest tower will feature 1 to 5 bedroom floor plans with only 6 units per floor. Interiors will be designed by Pierro Lissoni with landscape architecture by Enzo Ena. The double-height lobby will also be designed by Lissoni and will feature a mixture of sophistication and modern designs with a permanent collection of museum-quality art located throughout.
The location of this tower places residences near the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts and the Miami Internation University of Art and Design. The Omni Station Bus Loop is also 1 block away.
With the reopening of borders and the lifting of the pandemic restrictions as of November 8, 2021, we will likely see an increase in international buyers, especially for the new construction towers. Currently, international buyers are representing around 50% of new construction developments when earlier in the year, they were only representing 20%.
Construction for the development is estimated for spring of 2022 with an anticipated completion date of 2024. If you or someone you know have an interest in purchasing at Casa Bella, please contact Lucas Lechuga via email at [email protected] or by phone at (786)247-6332.
U.S. Lifts Restrictions for International Travelers November 8th-Will this Change the Miami Real Estate Market?
Since the pandemic, the Miami condo market has flourished with record-breaking sales, massive tech companies making moves to Miami, and new developments being announced every day. One of the biggest variables that South Florida has always counted on was the international buyers, but due to travel regulations, foreign buyers have dwindled.
In the past 12 months, homes sales for international buyers have dipped to 31% making it the lowest since 2011, with Florida having the most sales to foreign buyers. Although Miami has seen a surge in condo sales this past year, the majority were domestic buyers.
With President Biden’s announcement of lifting travel restrictions for foreign travelers from certain areas in Canada and Countries in South America, this is big news for the real estate market itself. Beginning November 8th, vaccinated travelers can resume travel into the United States. With this, we can expect to have an increase in international buyers.
According to the Miami Chairman of the Board (MIAMI Association of Realtors), Jennifer Wollmann, with international travel resuming in the United States in November, the expectation is that foreign home buying will grow in the coming months.
According to Biz Journals, elections in Peru and Colombia are soon and South Florida may see an influx in buyers from those areas. The Senior Vice President of the Related Group, Eric Fordin has stated that he was surprised at the number of international buyers taking an interest in the District 225 project. According to Fordin, the new construction tower has over 100 buyers that are from Colombia.
Even with the increase in new construction towers, inventory remains at an all-time low for single-family homes and condominiums. Currently, there are only 631 condos in new or under construction remaining unsold.
According to The White House press release, there will be a second phase to requirements for all inbound foreign travelers in January 2022.
Miami Dade County Breaks More Records for Home Sales in September 2021
Home sale records continue to be crushed month over month for Miami-Dade, marking its best September sales in history and setting the bar for the most condos sold in a year’s time. The previous annual record was 17,142 in 2013, while the current condo sales have equaled 17,942 with only 3 months to go!
According to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), homes sales for Miami Dade have risen 20.2% at 3,031 transactions. This is up from the 2,521 transactions that occurred in 2020. Simultaneously, we saw a dip in single-family home sales at 3.6% at 1,241. This may be due to the lack of single-family home inventory. Condo sales have exponentially increased at 45.2% at 1,790 for September.
According to the Miami Chairman of the Board Jennifer Wollmann, with international travel resuming in the United States in November, the expectation is that foreign home buying will grow in the coming months.
Miami is also on track to have its best year ever for single-family home sales. For September, single-family home sales have increased by 35.3% at 3,031 total transactions.
Miami condos sales have increased by 45.2% in September with major increases in pricing for properties over $250,000.
Luxury sales have also been in the records spotlight with a 31.4% increase with 209 sales for September. For properties $1 million and up, sales have increased 96.5% at 167 transactions. Currently, there is a 3.9 month of supply for luxury single-family homes and a 9.4 month supply for luxury condos.
Single-family home pricing falls between $400,000 to $600,000 increasing by 27.4% higher than September 2020. Condo sales also saw a heavy rise at 161.1% with sale prices between $400,000 to $600,000.
Inventory has decreased for both single-family homes as well as condominiums. Inventory single-family homes decreased by 42.1% since 2019. Condominiums have decreased from 68.8% since 2019 as well.
Single-family home median prices have increased by 11.5% from $435,000 to $485,000. Condo median prices have increased by 24.5% from $265,000 to $330,000
Miami-Dade cash sales are up by 62.2% and represent 37.3% of Miami’s closed sales in September. According to statistics from the National Association of Realtors, almost 23% of all United States home sales are cash. Cash sales count for 45.9% of Miami condo sales with 24.9% for single-family sales.
You Can Now Buy Two Arte Surfside Condos for 560 Bitcoin
Bitcoin has become one of the ultimate currencies in Miami. Now more than ever, consumers are able to utilize crypto for food purchases, nightclubs, and real estate. Arte Surfside completely revolutionized the real estate market by being one of the first developments in Miami to begin accepting Bitcoin for their luxury condos.
The developers for Arte Surfside currently have two luxury units for sale for a combined price of $31 million or 560 bitcoin. According to the developers, Alex Sapir and Giovanni Fasciano have stated that offers can be made in either bitcoin or ethereum.
According to Sapir, “We were overwhelmed by the amount of calls we received from qualified buyers just after announcing our ability to facilitate cryptocurrency transactions for the condominiums at Arte. Real-world crypto transactions haven’t made their way fully into the mainstream yet, so it’s clear that top holders around the world pay attention when new opportunities to transact open up.”
One of the crypto units at Arte is listed at $18.95 million and features 6,982 square feet of living space. The second unit is listed at $11.9 million and is around 3,500 square feet. These incredible units boast oceanfront views, wraparound terraces, large walk-in closets, and high-tech entry access.
Photo Credit: Dina Goldentayer
Building amenities include an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, full-size tennis court, state-of-the-art gym, yoga studio, sauna, catering kitchen, and white-glove butlers.
Arte Surfside Amenities:
A 75-foot indoor swimming pool
An outdoor swimming pool, sundeck, and poolside cabanas
Rooftop tennis court
State-of-the-art fitness center and yoga studio
Sauna and steam room
Tranquil meditation pond
Children’s playroom
Residents’ lounge with billiards and catering kitchen
Temperature-controlled parking spaces
Arte Residence Features:
Expansive terraces clad in travertine with ipe decking
Gracious kitchens featuring Poliform cabinetry, Italian marble countertops, and Gaggenau appliances
Sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean
In June, a penthouse in Arte sold for a record-breaking $22.5 million in crypto. The type of cryptocurrency for this sale was not released. With more developers jumping on the crypto train, we can expect in the future that digital currency will eventually play a larger role in the real estate market and potentially affect how we make offers for our buyers and negotiate for our sellers.
Champlain Towers South Site Under Contract for $120 Million
After the devastating Champlain Towers South Condocollapse that occurred on June 24th and all search efforts ceased, demolition and clearing of the site began. As of August 30th, the site located at 8777 Collins Avenue, Surfside was cleared and listed for sale at $95.6 million.
Right after the property was listed, billionaire real estate developer Hussain Sajwani offered $120 million with the stipulation that he would obtain possession by the spring of 2022 to begin construction on a luxury high-rise.
The sale for the 2-acre waterfront property has been officially and is now under contract. Now that the property is under contract, Sajwani has to pay a $16 million deposit. Judge Michael Hanzman approved the agreement with timeline outlines for inspections and deadlines for other bidders. This would include the $16 million deposit as non-refundable following a 60-day inspection period.
With the sale of this site, there has been a lot of pushback among the survivors and the victim’s families. As part of a class-action lawsuit, the judge that is selling the property has tried to expedite the sale in order to get the families compensated.
Proceeds from the sale are still unknown. The attorney for this transaction stated that the appraised value of the property is $95.6 million. The total for the insurance coverage held by the condo association is $48 million. There is also $30 million in property damage and $18 million for personal injury. The decision is whether to award the families all of the $120 million and the $30 million property insurance payout or award the appraised value of $95.6 million.
Some families have also petitioned for a memorial to be built on the property rather than another tower. Families have sent letters to state and federal lawmakers asking to assist in purchasing the land for a memorial. The families have asked the Surfside Commission to add a referendum on the upcoming ballot for voters to approve a land-swap proposal to build the memorial and a community center. Press conferences have also played a role but with no such luck.
Sajwani has an extensive portfolio with establishments of his company DAMAC Properties in global cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Amman, Baghdad, and London. Sajwani has heavily invested in luxury fashion, real estate, hospitality, and manufacturing.
Miami Real Estate Breaks Another Record for August 2021
The Miami-Dade real estate market keeps smashing records over and over! For August 2021, a new record was set for the most homes sold in a quarter for Q2 in 2021. In April alone, we saw the best sales month in the history of Miami Dade county. Now, another record was set with the best August sales month in history!
There are multiple reasons for these records breaking, which include companies and executives moving their businesses to Florida in the masses, lower taxes than other states, record-low mortgage rates, and reduced covid restrictions.
Total homes sales surged 30.6% for August 2021 with an increase to 3,299 from 2,527 properties in 2020. There was a slight decrease in sales for single-family homes at 3.5% sliding from 1,357 to 1,309 from August of last year. However, we did see a 70.1% increase in condo sales from 1,170 to 1,990 compared to last year.
All price ranges have also increased for August 2021, especially in the $300,000 and higher range. The median sales price for single-family homes is up 20.3%, placing the average price at $500,500. Condo median prices are also up from the previous year from $265,000 to $335,000.
Insufficient inventory has also impacted sales. We have seen less inventory specifically for single-family homes which has decreased by 27.4% for August 2021 and 41.9% for condominiums.
Single-family luxury homes have also increased by 68.8% with 258 sales than 2020. Luxury condo sales increased by 217.1% with 222 sales.
Total volume for Miami-Dade real estate reached $2.5 billion in August 2021, with single-family homes increasing from 37.4% at $1.4 billion. Condo volume also increased from $490.8 million to $1.1 billion, at 129.2%.
Cash sales have also played a huge role in transactions. Buyers are paying cash at asking or over asking prices for listings. Cash sales represented 38.9% of all closed transactions for August. Cash sales accounted for 47.6% of condo sales and 25.8% of single-family sales.
Miami is on track to have its best year in sales for condos and single-family transactions ever. Within 8 months, total sales have already surpassed 2020’s numbers at 26,931 from 26,345 (2020). The highest year for sales in Miami was in 2013 at 30,041 total transactions.
Total Number of Transactions Increased for this Week’s Miami Dade Condo Sales
Over the past few weeks, we have seen a steady incline in overall condo sales including volume and number of sales. This is of no surprise with the increase of companies, execs, and people taking up residency in Miami-Dade County.
Coming in at $123 million, this week’s condo sales volume increased from $85.3 million in the week prior. The total number of sales has risen to 198 for this week, up from 128.
The average price for condo sales reached $622,000 which has actually decreased from $666,000 then the week prior.
Leading this week’s condo sales in a luxury unit at Continuum South Beach that sold for $8 million or $2,708 per square foot. This luxury property located at 100 S Pointe Dr. Unit #3507 was sold to tech entrepreneur Hari Ravichandran, who is the CEO of Jump Ventures and Aura.
Last week’s highest condo sale was lead by Lucas Lechuga (Luxe Living Realty-Miami Condo Investments) with the sale of a Setai Miami Beach condo that sold for $12.3 million.
The sale coming in second includes a luxury unit at Palazzo Della Luna on Fisher Island. The property sold for $7.5 million or $2,045 per square foot and was on the market for 324 days. Luxe Living Realty’s Dora Puig represented the seller.
Record Set for Miami-Dade for Most Home Sales in a Quarter for Q2 2021
According to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), Miami-Dade real estate has set a new record for most home sales in a quarter. This new record is of no surprise due to the multiple records that have been set in Miami this year alone. In July, a waterfront mansion sold as the highest-priced home sale ever in all of Miami-Dade. Bay Harbor Islands also had a record-breaking sale of $12 million on a recent waterfront home, making it the highest-priced sale in all of Bay Harbor.
Total home sales for Miami-Dade County rose 142.4% from 4,766 to 11,553 sales. Single-family homes sales also rose from 66.9% from 2,688 to 4,486. Existing condo sales increased from 2,078 to 7,067 making it 240.1%.
Comparing to quarter 2 2019 to quarter 2 of 2021, total home sales rose 46.9% overall from 7,861 to 11,553 total transactions. As for condo sales, which are up by 76.3% from 2019 to 2021 and single-family homes sales up 16.4%. These numbers make this quarter the best-selling quarter for all of Miami-Dade since 1993.
Luxury sales have also rose 346.4% for this quarter. With an influx of buyers from the West Coast as well as remote workers, $1 million-plus homes are not staying on the market long. Condo luxury sales have increased by 651.6% for this quarter as well.
Single-family median home prices rose 31.6% from $380,000 to $500,000. Condo sales saw an increase as well at 25.8% from $262,250 to $330,000. The total home sale volume for Miami is $9.3 billion.
One of the drawbacks for sales is the lack of inventory for both condo and single-family homes. Active listing total 11,262 for this quarter at 41.8%, which is a large decrease from 19,358 from 2020. Condo inventory showed a substantial decrease of 41.7% from 4,926 to 2,853. With the interest rates maintaining a low rate and sellers wanting to take advantage of the market, we hope to see an increase in supply in the future.
Volume for Condo Sales Rose more than $60 Million for June
According to the Miami-Dade MLS (Multiple Listing Service), condo sales for Miami rose more than $60 million, while the number of units remained steady. As of last week, 273 units sold, which is very similar to the previous week with a dollar amount totaling just over $210 million, with the previous week at $149.3 million.
The average sell price for condos from June 13 to June 19 is up to $770,000 with the previous week at $541,000. The most expensive sale for this week included a penthouse at Miami Beach’s Faena House for $11.2 million equaling $2,628 per square foot. The unit was on the market for 267 days.
Faena House condominium is located at 3315 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. It is an ultra-luxury tower with 47 units rising 18 stories tall. This building offers 1 to 4 bedroom floor plans with 1,307 to 8,273 interior square feet of living space. Residence features include; Miele appliances, Dornbracht bathroom finishes, marble flooring, and Crestron Automated Systems. Residents enjoy exclusive amenities including a 24-hour doorman, valet, spa, fitness center, beach club, and direct ocean views.
The second most expensive sale was at the Surf Club Four Seasons in Surfside selling for $6 million at $3,409 per square foot. This property was on the market for 126 days.
Surf Club Four Seasons located at 9001 Collins Avenue and 9111 Collins Avenue in Surfside was designed by architect Richard Meier who brilliantly blinded the historical Surf Club and the new 12-story development. The Surf Club Four Season features 150 residences and 77 hotel rooms. The residences feature 1 to 5 bedroom units with staff quarters ranging from 1,411 to 7,500 square feet of living space with floor-to-ceiling glass walls, expansive balconies, and unobstructed views of the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay.
Market Watch-Condo Sales Surge First Week of June in Miami
Condo sales and volume have surged for the for Miami-Dade county for first week of June. From May 30th to June 5th, 299 condo units sold for $233.2 million. This is up from the previous week in May at 274 units for a total of $183.1 million.
The average price for the units is $780,000, which is up from the last week of May at $668,000. Price per square footage is at an average of $447, with an increase of $31 price per square foot from the previous week.
The week’s most expensive sale is tennis star Carolina Wozniacki and NBA player David Lee for a penthouse at Palazzo Del Sol at Fisher Island. The condo closed for $18.7 million at $2,670 price per square foot. The property was on the market for 472 days and listed by Dora Puig at Luxe Living Realty.
Coming in second is a condo at the Santa Maria Brickell in Miami at $13 million with $1,300 per square foot. This property was on the market for 1 day.
The 3rd most expensive sale was located at One Ocean 402, sold for $3.1 million at $1,516 price per square feet with 57 days on the market.
