Brickell Condo Tour and Construction Update [VIDEO] – February 14, 2015
It has been about four months since my last video tour covering the fast-paced development taking place in Brickell. Since then, a lot has happened, so I figured it was time to get back out on the road and provide everyone with another update. As you will see, this video is much more comprehensive, covering not only current and future construction, but also existing condo developments for those who may be unfamiliar or newly acquainted with the Brickell condo market. In the video, I even highlighted two, large commercial properties in Brickell which recently traded hands – the SunTrust building located at 777 Brickell Avenue, which sold earlier this week for $140M, and the former Capital at Brickell site located at 1420 South Miami Avenue, which was acquired this past December for $74.74M by CCCC International USA LLC, a subsidiary of Beijing’s China City Construction and American Da Tang Group of New York.
Miami Condo Investments is pleased to announce the launch of two new building-specific websites – one covering condo sales and rentals at Icon Brickell and the other for those located at Ten Museum Park. The former is a completely new website packed with many unique features that you will not find anywhere else. For example, the website provides users with the ability to filter inventory by flooring type (e.g. wood, marble, carpet, ceramic, etc.) – such a simple yet powerful way to conduct a property search. It also provides users with the ability to filter inventory by number of parking spaces, whether the property comes furnished and/or unfurnished, as well as the usual ways to filter such as by price, number of bedrooms, and square footage. In creating this website, my main objective was to deliver an enhanced user experience, one that allows buyers/renters to quickly arrive at the properties best suited for them. Once you’ve had a chance to take the website for a spin, I am sure you will agree that my objective was accomplished. Also included is data for pending and closed inventory.
The second website – the one for Ten Museum Park condos – is a complete makeover of a website I previously had for that condo development. The design for the new version was carried over from the one created for Icon Brickell. Also included are the same, powerful search capabilities. Additional websites are well underway, including complete makeovers for my Miami Condo Investments, Marinablue, 900 Biscayne Bay, Marquis, and Paramount Bay websites, as well as a completely new website covering the Miami luxury homes for sale niche market. I look forward to providing you with the best website experience when searching for Miami real estate.
New Exclusive Listing – 2 Bedroom with 16-foot Ceilings at Icon Brickell III (Viceroy Tower) – $760,000
Brand new listing at Icon Brickell Tower 3 (Viceroy Tower). I likely won’t have the listing up on the MLS until early next week because I first want to have it professionally photographed. Yesterday evening, however, I used Google Glass to record a walk-through of the unit so I could give a few of my clients a special preview. The video is at the bottom of this post.
The 2 bedroom, 2 bath corner unit has 16-foot ceilings, glass tiled floors and a fabulous view of Biscayne Bay and the city. The condo is being sold fully furnished. Tower 3 is the only tower at Icon Brickell that allows short-term rentals. That’s great for investors. The owner does not have the unit in the hotel program but recently started using an outside company to handle the short-term rentals on her behalf. To give you an idea as to the kind of income you can expect during high-season, the unit got rented for $7,000 for three weeks from the end of December to mid-January. The owner gets to keep 80% of it.
Asking price for the condo, including the furniture, is $760,000. Please contact me if you or someone you know has an interest in learning more about this spectacular residence. I can be reached on my cell at 786-247-6332 or via email at [email protected].
Update: I have since had a professional photographer take pictures of the unit. Below you will find a slideshow with those pictures.
Once again, foreign buyers have what seems like an unrelenting appetite for Miami real estate. Perhaps nobody knows this better than Related Group. Since mid-last year, they have been on a massive land hunt in Miami. This past Friday, they were back at it again when they paid $100M for a 4-acre site located at 444 Brickell Avenue.
$100M is a hefty sum by any means, but how does it compare to other land acquisitions in the past? Most notably, how does it compare to the price paid for the land directly across the street at the Icon Brickell site? Icon Brickell, also developed by Related Group, resides on a 5-acre parcel of land that was acquired in 2004 for $94M. Besides their size, the key difference between to the two parcels of land is that 444 Brickell resides along one body of water, the Miami River, while the Icon Brickell site resides along two bodies of water, the Miami River and Biscayne Bay. To put it simply, this past Friday, Related Group paid $6M more for a piece of land that was one acre smaller and positioned with less water frontage. This comparison goes to show just how much real estate values in Miami have bounced back since the boom and bust cycle of yesteryear.
There is no word yet as to what will be constructed at the 444 Brickell site, but, given the $100M price paid for the land, one would think that it will be just as monstrous as the 1,800 unit development across the street. Expect to see at least 1,600 luxury units along with high profile commercial space at the base.
Fully Furnished 2 Bedroom + Den with 16-foot Ceilings at Icon Brickell II – $5,400/mo
Within the next month, a client of mine will be closing on a 2 bedroom + den at Icon Brickell Tower 2. The unit is very unique because it features soaring 16-foot ceilings from the 41st floor. This is the highest floor in the building that has high ceilings. The unit also includes motorized shades in both bedrooms, three crystal chandeliers, TUI furniture package and a state-of-the-art electronics package. Electronics package includes: Blu-ray 3D player, 3D TV and 3D surround sound system. Wake up each morning to a breathtaking view of Biscayne Bay from the 41st floor. 1 assigned parking space. Rent includes basic cable TV, Internet & water. Asking price is $5,400 per month. If you have an interest please contact me at 786-247-6332.
Case Study: Determining the Value-added for Having High Ceilings
A high ceiling is a feature which is typically associated with a penthouse. It can be difficult in these situations, however, to ascertain the value that is attributed solely to having higher ceilings. This is because a penthouse typically also has other value-added features such as one or more of the following:
an upgraded master bathroom
an upgraded kitchen
the best view in the building
an unusually large floor plan in relation to other floor plans in the building
additional parking spaces
Most importantly, a penthouse is rare and therefore commands a higher premium than the rest of the floor plans in the building that are in greater supply.
What if, however, we could hold all else constant in order to better determine the added value that is associated with having high ceilings? In this regard, Icon Brickell presents itself as an interesting case study. The penthouses at Icon Brickell do NOT have higher ceilings than the rest of the units. However, certain floors do have higher ceilings. In Tower 1 of Icon Brickell, floors 14, 15, 22, 28 and 41 have 16-foot ceilings. In Tower 2, floors 14, 15, 22 and 41 have 16-foot ceilings. The rest of the floors, including the penthouse levels, have 9-foot ceilings. As a result, it is very possible, and highly likely, that a unit located on the 41st floor will sell at a premium to a comparable unit that is located on the 42nd floor. Furthermore, the situation also presents the possibility that a unit located on the 41st floor will sell at a higher price per square foot than one located on the penthouse level.
Due to the lack of resales, there is no evidence to validate my assumption but I think we can all agree that a high ceiling is a feature that should indeed command a premium. Of course, there are going to be those who would argue that they would never pay a premium for having higher ceilings due to the higher energy costs that would be associated but, then again, those are the type of people who likely wouldn’t pay a premium for just about anything. I’m not here to provide everyone with an all-knowing answer as to what that premium should be. The answer will be provided to us by way of our free market economy. However, it makes for an interesting story to follow.
Which would you rather have, a penthouse located on the 57th floor with a 9-foot ceiling or a unit located on the 41st floor with a 16-foot ceiling?
Grand Opening of the Brickell Bazaar & Fresh Farmer’s Market
Don’t miss the grand opening of the Brickell Bazaar & Fresh Farmer’s Market this Saturday, March 17th, from 8am to 4pm. The event is hosted by the Downtown Miami & Brickell Chamber of Commerce and will be located just south of Icon Brickell at the historic First Presbyterian Church of Miami at 609 Brickell Avenue. If you can’t make it out this weekend, the Brickell Bazaar & Fresh Farmer’s Market will return every other Saturday.
Apogee Beach Renderings
As many of you already know, Apogee Beach is a luxury beachfront condo development which will be located in Hallandale Beach. Pre-construction sales recently began and 40% of the total 49 units at Apogee Beach have already been sold. The developer behind the project is The Related Group which of course also developed Apogee South Beach, one of South Florida’s most exclusive condo developments. Apogee South Beach set the bar extremely high when it comes to quality and attention to detail. Name recognition and reputation go a long way in this business and perhaps there’s no better name for a new condo development to be associated with than “Apogee”.
After reviewing the renderings for Apogee Beach, however, I could not help but think that it bears an uncanny resemblance to two Miami condo developments – 50 Biscayne and Icon Brickell. The lobby for Apogee Beach appears to be a clone of the lobby at 50 Biscayne while the kitchen and bathroom are glaringly similar to those at Icon Brickell. What do you all think?
Apogee Beach rendering
50 Biscayne’s lobby
50 Biscayne’s lobby
Apogee Beach rendering
Icon Brickell’s bathroom
Apogee Beach rendering
Icon Brickell’s kitchen
Miami Condo Glut is Coming to an End – reports The Wall Street Journal
In an article entitled “Miami Condos on Upswing,” The Wall Street Journal reported late Tuesday night that the Miami condo glut may soon be over as evidenced by recent sales activity. The article points to a 539-unit bulk deal at Midtown Miami which recently sold for $110M, or $183 per square foot. More importantly, the “acquisition represents one of the last remaining 100-plus unit bulk condominium opportunities in all of South Florida”.
The article also states that Icon Brickell, with 1,796 total units, now has fewer than 20 units remaining as of October and is expected to sell out in November. In my opinion, the sell-out of Icon Brickell will ultimately be heralded as the true end of the Miami condo glut. Icon Brickell was depicted, by the media and everyone alike, as the poster child of condominium over-development in Miami and, to me, is as symbolic as it gets. Once the last unit at Icon Brickell closes, those with real estate interests in Miami might as well bust out their vuvuzelas and make some noise because the biggest hurdle will have been overcome for the Miami real estate market.
The recent launch of sales at Paramount Bay is mentioned as well in the article. Paramount Bay launched sales around mid-October. I was recently told that 70 units at Paramount Bay have now either closed or are under contract. More surprising, is the fact that only 4 of the 11 total penthouses remain. None of the penthouses at Paramount Bay with the large terraces (1945 square feet to 2949 square feet) remain available. Given that terraces of that size are rather unique in Miami, there was a mad rush by buyers to grab those. Prices for penthouses at Paramount Bay with the large terraces were priced around $2.1M to $2.9M – a good indication that the luxury market in Miami is also performing stupendously.
Marquis Residences, a 292-unit luxury condo development located in Downtown Miami which was not mentioned in The Wall Street Journal article, hit an important sales milestone recently. I was informed last week that Marquis Residences is now over 75% sold. Remaining 2 bedroom condos start at $590,000 while remaining 3 bedroom condos start at $860,900. A few penthouse condos at Marquis Residences also remain available for sale.
Vizcayne, another condo development in Downtown Miami with remaining inventory, is now over 50% sold. Earlier this week, it was announced that no-doc seller financing is now available with 30% down to qualified buyers. That should make Vizcayne a very popular option among investors once this news is disseminated. Vizcayne prices range from $200K to $2M.
Inventory of new construction condos in Miami continues to dwindle with each successive month. By all accounts, it very well seems that 2011 will go down as the year that the Miami condo glut came to an end. With the worst behind us, I see 2012 filled with announcements of additional pre-construction condo developments throughout Miami. It will be the year that construction cranes will once again grace our skyline to fulfill the future demand for condos in Miami.
