Two Fridays ago, we received a new sales listing at Icon Brickell. It was for a 1 bedroom/1 bath condo located on the 9th floor with 726 square feet of interior, the smallest 1 bedroom floor plan at Icon Brickell. The owner wanted to aggressively price the unit so we decided to list it for $315,000, or $434 per square foot. This made it the lowest priced 1 bedroom at Icon Brickell by about $10K. The next lowest priced unit was only 6 square feet bigger but located 14 floors higher. We expected the condo to sell quickly but we were blown away by just how quickly we got it under contract.
Our new listing was tenant-occupied and we weren’t able to get in to take pictures until the following Tuesday. Later that same night, we had two showings scheduled. Within an hour of the second showing, we received a verbal offer close to asking price. The next morning, we had a written contract waiting in our inbox and, after negotiating a few minor details, we had an executed contract within the next 24 hours.
Anyway you slice it, the Miami condo market is hot. With each passing month, I am more and more surprised by how limited people’s options for condos has become. I learned last week that less than 37 developer units remain at Icon Brickell. That’s remarkable considering that Icon Brickell has 1,796 total units.
CBS4 Reports on the Downtown Miami Condo Market Turnaround
For those who missed it earlier this evening, CBS4 aired a segment entitled “Is Downtown Miami’s Condo Market on the Rebound?“. CBS4 reporter, David Sutta, highlighted the recent sellout of the Viceroy Tower at Icon Brickell and interviewed our very own, of the Miami Condo Investments team, to get his perspective regarding the dwindling condo inventory in Downtown Miami. He compares the condo inventory at the peak of the market to the inventory that now exists. Over the past year, prices have begun to rebound in Downtown Miami as inventory has been swallowed up predominantly by foreign buyers. There is no reason to believe that the market turnaround will reverse course anytime soon as new condo inventory in Downtown Miami is years away from hitting the market.
Going, Going, Gone! Viceroy Tower at Icon Brickell Now Completely Sold Out
I just learned that the Viceroy Tower at Icon Brickell is now completely sold out of developer inventory. This is a great news for the Miami real estate market and shows that the glut of condos created during the recent construction boom is almost behind us. At this point, there are roughly 3,000 unsold condos in the Greater Downtown Miami area. Foreign buyers played a critical role in helping to sell out the Viceroy Tower just as they have with every other new condo development in Miami.
Viceroy Tower, located at 485 Brickell Avenue, consists of 527 condo-hotel units and stands 53 stories. Sales of condos at the other two towers at Icon Brickell have also been faring tremendously well. It’ll be great once all 1,795 condos are sold and we can look back and recollect the days when the glistening towers once sat empty.
The Brickell Rental Market Under a Microscope
The rental market is a very interesting segment of the real estate market, not only for potential tenants on the prowl for a new pad but also current landlords and would-be investors trying to assess the demand for rentals across various neighborhoods and, more specifically, across various condo developments. Only a few years ago, the supply of rentals in Miami far outpaced demand. As a result, rental prices plunged and renters ruled the day. Fast forward to the present and an entirely different rental market is upon us in Miami. Nowadays, rental inventory is being absorbed quickly and overall rental prices are on the rise. For those living in Miami, I’m sure this a message that you have not only read in the local paper but have also heard directly from friends and family who have experienced it firsthand.
Obviously, not all neighborhoods and condo developments are created equal. Factors such as price, location, views, quality and recommendations from peers help determine rental demand. As a result, one would assume that demand can vary greatly from building to building and even neighborhood to neighborhood. Which condo developments are the leaders when it comes to rental demand and which are the laggards? More importantly, which buildings should we expect to see prices climb in the near future?
In this first segment, I decided to analyze the Brickell rental market to answer the above questions. Below, you will find a spreadsheet containing rental data for various condo developments in Brickell. Click the link below the spreadsheet to view it in its entirety.
Brickell Rental Market as of March 01, 2011
Columns C through G show the number of available rentals pertaining to each condo development grouped by number of bedrooms. Column I displays the total number of rentals available in each condo development while column J shows the total number of units within that development. I debated whether or not to include column K, the number of available rentals over the total number of units in the development expressed as a percentage, because the figure can be deceiving in buildings where developer inventory remains which has neither been sold nor rented. This is the case in buildings such as Icon Brickell and Infinity at Brickell. Regardless, I decided to include the figure because it can provide additional insight in buildings where this is not the case.
The main objective in creating this spreadsheet was to calculate months of inventory for each condo development. This can be seen in column M. Months of inventory was calculated by dividing total units available for rent by the monthly average number of units rented over a 3-month period from November 16, 2010 to February 15, 2011. You may be wondering why I did not include closed rental data from the past two weeks in determining the monthly average. I have noticed that it can take real estate agents days, and even weeks, to change the status of a rental in the MLS from pending to rented. As a result, I felt that the average would be skewed to the downside and not be an accurate representation of the Brickell rental market. Furthermore, if I had to venture a guess, I would also say that it is highly likely that around 10 percent of the total number of units available for rent are in fact no longer available. In this case, the listing agent has yet to change the status from available to pending.
Regardless, a lot can be ascertained from the spreadsheet above. In my opinion, any building with 1.5 months of inventory or less has a solid rental market. 1060 Brickell, The Plaza on Brickell and Vue at Brickell are standouts with absorption rates hovering around one month. I expect rentals prices in these developments to continue to rise in the near future. For those in the market to lease a condo in one of these developments, I advise that you act quickly and put your best foot forward when making an offer.
According to the spreadsheet, there is currently 2.29 months of rental inventory available in Brickell. Some may expect this number to increase as more units from Icon Brickell and Infinity at Brickell hit the rental market. Of course, this will all depend on how quickly the units become available and at what pace demand absorbs them. Only time will tell, but I plan to watch Brickell rental market closely and post updates on a monthly basis.
I would love to hear your thoughts and comments.
Closings at Icon Brickell Picking Up Steam
Closings at Icon Brickell began in December 2008. Since that time, Icon Brickell has been covered by local and national media alike. Some news articles marveled at the sheer size of the development while others predicted its impending doom. Closings at Icon Brickell started tremendously slow with many buyers choosing to wait for the development to revert back to the conglomerate of banks providing the financing for construction in hopes that price reductions would soon follow. This past May, Towers 1 and 2 of Icon Brickell were handed back to its lenders and prices were once again reduced. It appears that the latest price reduction has peaked the interest of buyers who had been sitting on the sidelines. Seems unbelievable but Tower 1 has now sold around 85 percent of its condos while about 90 percent of the units in Tower 3 have sold. Tower 2 was the most recent to become available and has already sold around 25 percent of its condos. Those are very impressive numbers. In my opinion, Tower 2 offers the best views of the three towers and should have no problem selling its remaining units.
While walking the parameter of Icon Brickell yesterday, I noticed that construction on Miami Circle Park had already begun. For those of you who don’t know, Miami Circle Park is located directly north of Icon Brickell along the Miami River. The purpose of the park is to preserve a 2,000 year old Tequesta Indian site that was discovered in 1998. Brickell is in dire need for green space and this will be a welcome addition to the neighborhood.
Prices Slashed at Icon Brickell
Late last Friday afternoon prices were slashed at Icon Brickell. In the video below, we provide an overview of the Icon Brickell price reduction and end the show with the morning-breaking news that Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will sign with the Miami Heat tomorrow.
Miami Real Estate Review – Episode 7
In this episode, we provide an update regarding the developer blowout sale at The Plaza on Brickell that started last Thursday. We also touch upon pricing at Icon Brickell and discuss news regarding Marquis. We end the show by highlighting four noteworthy foreclosures that came onto the market since last Friday.
Icon Brickell Developer Agrees to "Friendly Foreclosure"
Yesterday, The Related Group and its lenders agreed to a “friendly foreclosure” for Towers 1 and 2 of Icon Brickell. This video provides our commentary as well as the details pertaining to the agreement.
