13 Star Island Drive Sells for $25.5M – Record Breaking Sale
13 Star Island Drive in Miami Beach recently sold for $25.5M, making it the highest priced sale in Miami-Dade County history. The sale closed late last month but wasn’t updated in the MLS until yesterday afternoon. The 8 bedroom/8 full bath/2 half bath waterfront home resides on a 40,000 square foot lot and has 15,008 square feet of living space, a bayfront infinity edge pool and a fitness center. The Star Island waterfront estate sold in 50 days at a 20.3% discount from its initial asking price of $32M. The property was previously purchased in 2000 for $3.7M.
To put this sale into perspective, let’s compare it to another recent sale on Star Island. As you may recall, 27 Star Island sold earlier this month for $10.75M. That property also sat on a 40,000 square foot lot and had 15,000 square feet of living space. My initial reaction is that there is A LOT that can be done with $14.75M. An argument can be made that the west side of Star Island is preferable over the east side because you get a gorgeous view of the sunset and Downtown Miami skyline but you’d be hard pressed to find someone who would say that justifies the price. Nonetheless, 13 Star Island Drive is a beautiful property. There’s no denying that the luxury real estate market has performed remarkably well this year, especially given the state of the economy. There have now been four home sales this year of $10M or more, two of which have been properties located on Star Island.
Yet Another Luxury Sale! 27 Star Island Drive Sells For $10.75M
This has been quite a week for the luxury real estate market in Miami. Tuesday a condo at Continuum South Beach sold for $6.5M; Wednesday a luxury, waterfront home on Hibiscus Island closed for $9.35M and today I discovered that a waterfront home on Star Island sold for $10.75M. The sale closed Monday but the status in the MLS wasn’t changed until earlier this afternoon. The 12 bedroom/13.5 bath waterfront estate for sale in Miami resides on a 40,000 square foot lot and has 15,000 square feet of living space, a bayfront swimming pool and a boat dock with 100 feet of water frontage. The property sold in 300 days at a 17 percent discount from its initial asking price of $12.95M. The estate was previously purchased in 1999 for $5.9M.
40 S Hibiscus Sells For $9.35M
Earlier this afternoon, the ultra-modern, waterfront home located at 40 South Hibiscus Drive in Miami Beach sold for $9.35M, or $1,169 per square foot. The 8,000 square foot mansion has 8 bedrooms, 8 baths, 2 half baths and resides on a 24,000 square foot lot with 120 feet of prime waterfront and a boat dock. The luxury home sold in 329 days at roughly a 33 percent discount from its initial asking price of $13,995,000. For more information and pictures regarding the luxury home located at 40 South Hibiscus Drive, refer to the piece I wrote about it in October 2010.
40 South Hibiscus Drive in Miami Beach
I’ve had my eye on 40 South Hibiscus Drive in Miami Beach for quite some time. It’s a modern, ultra-chic, waterfront luxury home on Hibiscus Island. The 8 bedroom/8 bath/2 half bath mansion was designed by international award winning architect Chad Oppenheim, well known for his work on Ten Museum Park which is located in Park West. The 8,000 square foot home resides on a 24,000 square foot lot with 120 feet of prime waterfront and a boat dock. 40 S Hibiscus Dr, completed earlier this year, comes equipped with 82 feet of pool spanning two sides of the property, a covered outdoor kitchen and BBQ area, Miele kitchen appliances, floor to ceiling impact-resistant windows and doors, Kreon low voltage lighting, a 80kW generator and a fully integrated Crestron electronics system that gives you full control of the home from anywhere in the world.
Yesterday, the asking price of the home was reduced by over $1M from $13,995,000 to $12,900,000. My prediction is that 40 S Hibiscus Dr will be the next $10M+ home in Miami Beach to go under contract and will do so by year’s end. Luxury real estate in Miami Beach is doing quite well and there’s no reason for this prime piece of real estate not to be scooped up soon.
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade Make Their Decision
In today’s Miami Real Estate Review episode, we discuss a report released by The Palm Beach Post stating that LeBron James of the Miami Heat has recently placed a tri-level home in Coconut Grove under contract. We also reveal inside information that was disclosed to us last week that Dwayne Wade has signed a one-year lease on a 59th floor penthouse at 900 Biscayne Bay. We close the show by highlighting a few housing statistics.
Chris Bosh Buys Luxury Home on North Bay Road
Yesterday, the Miami Herald reported that Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat recently purchased a 7 bedroom/8 bath waterfront home on North Bay Road for $12.5M. Chris Bosh, along with LeBron James, joined the Miami Heat this past summer through free agency. Since that time, both basketball stars have been busy house hunting and it appears that Bosh has decided to acquire the 12,000 square foot home located at 6396 North Bay Road in Miami Beach. The waterfront home was built in 2009 and comes equipped with a gourmet kitchen, gym, elevator, Infinity-edge pool, boat dock and covered summer kitchen and BBQ area. The Miami Luxury Homes market is getting hot!
It’s Not About the Money…It’s About the Sun, the Fun and the Rings!!!
They say Rome was not built in a day. I tell you tonight that the Three Wise Men of Miami have built Downtown Miami within a night. The Three Wise Men offer not gold, frankincense and myrrh but instead development, commerce and beer. The drinks will flow in Downtown Miami. The crowds will cheer, the people will spend and those who might be fortunate enough to witness NBA’s greatest team will be merry. This is an era of Miami basketball that will be long remembered, but never forgotten.
As I sit in Downtown Miami listening to the sounds of car horns filling the sky, I can only think of one thing. This is the single greatest moment for the City of Miami. Bigger than the movie Scarface, which put Miami on the map. Bigger than Miami Vice. Bigger than all of the rock stars, models and paparazzi who followed the celebrities in the 1980s to their paradise enclave. That was their Miami. Today, I present to you the new Miami. This is the beginning of something bigger and better than any developer or city official had ever envisioned for the city. This is Miami Bitch! And Miami’s Three Wise Men will proliferate an era within Downtown Miami within two years that could never be achieved within two decades.
Miami was the hotbed of the recent national real estate crisis. The epicenter of investor speculation. The Godfather of mortgage fraud. Prices tumbled here 50-70 percent from the peak. It was ripe for the picking. Miami was where real estate investment dreams were made. This was it. This was the moment where five years from now everyone who was fortunate enough to be connected to the City of Miami could say, “Damn…I coulda, shoulda, woulda”. Tonight was the moment where In one fell swoop, that was all washed away. Long forgotten.
LeBron and his crew, made up of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, made the statement that it’s not about the money…it’s about the sun, the fun, the glitz, the glamour, the neon lights and the championships. The three perennial athletes proved tonight that it’s more about their legacy than it is about the benjamins. It has been written that Benjamin Franklin once started off his day by asking the question, “What good shall I do this day?” and ending it with “What good have I done this day?”. There’s no question that the newly crowned Kings of Miami have done very much good for the City of Miami and ohhhh so much good for Downtown Miami. It’s not about the money. It’s about the good of the city and, as I’ve said for weeks, LeBron James joining the Miami Heat, will do more good for the city than ten condo developers building ten glitzy high-rises could ever do for the city.
Rumor: LeBron James Makes Offer on $49.5M Gables Estates Home
Rumors swirled earlier this afternoon that LeBron James had made an offer on a $40M waterfront home in Coral Gables. My sources tell me that the offer was made on a 20,862 square foot mansion located at 11 Casuarina Concourse in the Gables Estates neighborhood of Coral Gables. The 8 bedroom/11 bath/2 half bath palace sits on a 3.6 acre lot with 880 feet of water frontage and comes with a dock to accommodate a 150-foot yacht. The Miami luxury home was previously listed for $49.5M before the listing expired on May 31, 2010. The Gables Estates waterfront home, which was purchased in July 1987 for 2,018,000, is currently owned by luxury auto dealer Alan Potamkin of Potamkin Auto Gallery.
Homes Fit for a King – Top 5 Coral Gables Homes That LeBron James May Have in Mind
If the rumors are true, and LeBron James did in fact make an offer on a luxury waterfront home in Coral Gables earlier today, then chances are that he made an offer on one of the following luxury homes located in Coral Gables:
620 Arvida Parkway – Asking Price $24.5M. 7 Bedroom/7 Bath/3 Half Bath with 16,435 square feet of interior sitting on a 46,609 square foot lot. This luxury mansion comes with 2 staff rooms, formal living room, formal dining room, 4-car garage, generator and swimming pool. While this may be the most expensive home currently available in Coral Gables, it is unlikely that LeBron James would make an offer on it simply because it will not be completed for another year and a half. That is unless, of course, he doesn’t mind being put up in LeBron’s Future Miami Penthouse across the street from the American Airlines Arena at Marina Blue for the next year and a half.
400 Arvida Parkway – Asking Price $20.5M. 8 Bedroom/9 Bath/4 Half Bath luxury home with 13,469 interior square feet sitting on a 41,382 lot. This waterfront mansion has 180 feet of water frontage and includes a dining room, wine cellar, media room, library/music room, garden room, 2 staff rooms, gym, Infinity-edge pool and spa and Chihuly chandelier.
181 Leucadendra Drive – Asking Price $17.9M. 7 Bedroom/7 Bath/1 Half Bath with 14,946 interior square feet sitting on a 48,274 square foot lot. This Mediterranean-style home was completed in 2004 and has 270 feet of water frontage.
5 Tahiti Beach Road – Asking Price $16.9M. 10 Bedroom/9 Bath/0 Half Bath waterfront mansion with 11,533 interior square feet sitting on a 37,374 square foot lot. This Tahiti Beach luxury home has a private beach overlooking Biscayne Bay. My vote is that LeBron James decided to go with this home in Coral Gables. Tahiti Beach is known for having spectacular security. It may not be the most expensive home of the five but security must be at the top of King James’ list when weighing out his options.
200 Edgewater Drive – Asking Price $13.9M. 7 Bedroom/5 Bath/1 Half Bath home with 11,865 interior square feet sitting on a massive 130,680 square foot lot. This historically designated estate has a tennis court, swimming pool, 4-car garage and staff quarters. The lot may be huge but the water frontage is very small.
