Miami Ranks Third on Knight Frank’s Q1 2013 Prime Global Cities Index
It is no secret that the Miami luxury real estate market has performed remarkably over the past twelve months. The latest report from Knight Frank confirms this. The Miami luxury real estate market ranked third behind Jakarta and Bangkok on Knight Frank’s Q1 2013 Prime Global Cities Index. Year-over-year, eight cities recorded double digit price growth for luxury homes but Jakarta, Bangkok and Miami led the way, recording annual price growth of 38.1%, 26.1% and 21.1% respectively. Surprisingly, prices for prime property in New York City declined 7.1% in the same time period, according to the same report.
The Future of Real Estate Marketing
In an earlier blog post, I had mentioned that several big changes with my real estate business had taken place over the past couple of months. Well, one of those big changes was transferring my real estate license to a new broker. I now have my real estate license hung with Luxe Living Realty. While many may have never heard the name, those who keep close tabs on the Miami luxury real estate market, and its practitioners, likely will have heard of Dora Puig. She has over 23 years of experience in selling high-end, luxury real estate and, over the past couple of years, has grabbed huge market share from her competitors (ie. other local brokers and agents specializing in Miami luxury real estate). She is the same Dora Puig who sold a penthouse at Icon South Beach last December for $21M. At this time, Dora personally has over $140M worth of real estate listings, including the $39M penthouse listing at Continuum South Beach South Tower, the $18.5M penthouse listing at Ocean House and, recently, a $14.5M combination residence at Continuum South Beach North Tower with just under 5,000 interior square feet. Dora has beat out competitors when interviewing for big listings such as these by continually thinking outside the box and coming up with innovative yet glamorous ways to market her luxury real estate listings. It was a no-brainer for me when presented with the opportunity to work under her new brokerage and learn from one of the best in the industry.
Just a few weeks ago, Dora was one of three finalists for the “Most Innovative Method of Marketing Award – Real Estate Agent” presented by the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce. Her nomination came as a direct result of her social media efforts over the preceding year. In my opinion, when it comes to social media, no one in the local real estate market does it better than Dora Puig. The level of engagement she has with her followers on various social media platforms is quite impressive. These outlets have allowed her to stay connected with past and current clients by keeping them informed of any news affecting the local real estate market. Social media has also allowed her to expand her network and earn new followers who at times later convert into business. In a world where a friend’s referral or public “Like” can mean all the difference, the importance of social media can no longer be ignored.
Unfortunately, Dora did not take home the crown last month for the “Most Innovative Method of Marketing Award – Real Estate Agent”. She did not sulk about it though. Instead, Dora began to question “Is there a better way of doing things?” – not for the sake of winning an award but for the sake of effectively marketing her listings and, therefore, providing an even higher level of service to sellers. I have always been a proponent for using video to market real estate. I suggested that she give it a try. Being open minded and innovative as she is, Dora jumped on it. I wanted her to do real video though. Picture slideshow videos would no longer cut it for these types of listings. Her $10M+ listings deserve true-to-life, HD-quality video tours – something akin to what you would see on Million Dollar Listing. Her video crew delivered in spades. The video below is a guided video tour of her $14.5M combination residence listing at Continuum South Beach North Tower (50 South Pointe Drive #3301-03, Miami Beach, FL 33139). I don’t know of a single other real estate agent in Miami who is doing video quite this way.
There is no doubt in my mind that this is the future of real estate marketing – especially for a market like Miami where the impact of the foreign buyer is so obvious. No one is saying that these luxury real estate videos will entice foreign buyers into purchasing a $10M+ property sight-unseen. However, I am certain that these types of videos stand a far better chance of convincing a potential buyer into booking an airline ticket to Miami to take a look in person than pictures do alone. Take a look for yourself and see what you think. I would love to hear your comments.
Penthouse Floor Plans Released for SLS Brickell Residences
Preliminary floor plans for the penthouses at SLS Brickell Residences have been released. You will see below that there will be a total of seven floor plans on the penthouse level but only five of them will have unique layouts when compared to the other floor plans in the building. The five uniquely designed floor plans will essentially combine one and two bedroom floor plans from other levels to create larger spaces which will range from 1,845 to 2,332 interior square feet. Unfortunately, these units will not have a rooftop terrace or other distinguishing features which are typically associated with penthouses. There will, however, be a rooftop pool but that will be for all residents in the building to enjoy and not just those who own a penthouse. Regardless, if you are excited about SLS Brickell Residences but feel that the floor plans are too small, the penthouses might be a great opportunity to look into. However, being that there are only five combination units in the entire building, I do not expect availability for these to last long.
A $100,000 deposit is required to reserve a penthouse at SLS Brickell Residences. The balance of 20% will be required at contract, which should take place sometime between May and July. Contact me if you have an interest in reserving one (or heck, all five) penthouses at SLS Brickell Residences.
Latest Renderings of SLS Brickell Residences
I have to admit, until just hours ago, I hadn’t been overly excited about the recently announced SLS Brickell Residences. The first rendering, which was released to the public about a month ago, was rather boring. Being a foodie, the only thing that really excited me about the development was the fact that three amazing restaurants would be on-site: Bazaar by Jose Andres , Katsuya by Starck and a restaurant by Michael Schwartz. I’m a big fan of Michael’s Genuine so to have a brand new restaurant by Michael Schwartz only an elevator ride away sounded very appealing to me. Oh, and having a 250-foot long elevated pool – which I’m sure will be surrounded by some of Miami’s most beautiful women – didn’t sound so bad either. However, I just couldn’t get my mind off that very unexciting rendering of the development that made its way into my inbox last month.
That was the past though. With the latest rendering above, I’m back on board and am very excited about SLS Brickell Residences. It looks visually stunning and whoever created it did an outstanding job! Street-level, the rendering gives off a sense of activity and energy, which I have no doubt will be delivered true to life given the inclusion of the SLS Hotel, the three aforementioned restaurants and on-site Jazz bar. Mark my words, this is going to be the “in” place to be and live in Brickell once this development is completed. The party starts here!
As I had previously posted, reservations for condos at SLS Brickell Residences are now being accepted. Prices are expected to average around $500 per square foot. I had previously been advising clients to stay away from the west-facing units because they will look straight into units at Infinity at Brickell. However, the rendering above shows that the west-facing units will also have the privilege of checking out the activity down below at the pool deck. If you are planning to buy a west-facing unit, my advice is to go for a low floor. There is no point in buying a high floor on the west side of the building when the action will be down below. The price per square foot will be much lower as well.
Contact me if you have an interest in learning more about this exciting pre-construction condo and hotel development which will be located at 1300 South Miami Avenue in Brickell. You can find the brochure, floor plans, video and other information regarding this development on my SLS Brickell Residences page.
SLS Brickell Residences Now Accepting Reservations
The wait is over. SLS Brickell Residences is now accepting reservations. The recently announced pre-construction condo and hotel development will be located at 1300 South Miami Avenue, within walking distance to the shops and restaurants at Mary Brickell Village and upcoming Brickell CityCentre. The luxury tower, which has been designed by Arquitectonica, will rise 51 stories and be comprised of 450 condo residences and 133 hotel rooms. The SLS branded hotel component will take up the first nine floors. The residential units will be located on floors 10 through 51 with 11 units per floor. The ninth floor will house most of the amenities such as a 200-foot long elevated pool, spa deck, HYDE Bar and Lounge and CIEL Spa. The building will also have an 8,000 square foot ballroom, state-of-the-art fitness center, screening rooms and 3,000 square foot business center with private meeting rooms. A residents-only rooftop pool and lounge will encompass the entire top floor. On the ground-level, there will be three incredible restaurants, including Katsuya by Starck, Bazaar by Jose Andres and a restaurant by Michael Schwartz of Michael Genuine. Each unit will come with one assigned parking space.
Please refer to my SLS Brickell Residences page for more information. There, I have a full-color brochure, floor plans and video for the development.
To purchase a condo at SLS Brickell Residences, the payment structure is as follows:
10% at reservation – NOW!
10% at contract – June 2013
10% at ground-breaking – Fall 2013
10% at 25th floor slab – Mid-2014
10% at top-off – Mid-2015
50% at closing – Summer 2016
Contact me if you have an interest in reserving a unit at SLS Brickell Residences. You may reach me on my cell at 786-247-6332 or via email at [email protected].
7,400 Square Foot Penthouse at Villa Regina Sells for $1,925,000
Last week, a 7,400 square foot penthouse at Villa Regina traded hands for $1,925,000, or $260 per square foot. The 6 bedroom, 6.5 bath condo also included 1,600 square feet of balcony and a remarkable six assigned parking spaces! The residence has 10-foot high ceilings and offers spectacular views of Biscayne Bay, Key Biscayne and Brickell. There is no doubt that this penthouse was sold at an amazing price but – before anyone gets all worked up about how they missed out on the deal of the century – let it be known that this property needed a lot of work. I had the opportunity to tour the penthouse about a month ago. Conservatively, I felt that it would require at least $100 per square foot to turn it into a penthouse-quality residence by today’s standards. Regardless, even after forking over close to three-quarters of a million dollars (or more) in renovations alone, it would be well worth it. A condo this large, and at this price point, just doesn’t exist in Brickell.
One Thousand Museum Condos
To those not in the know, The Wall Street Journal article last week regarding One Thousand Museum helped to shed a lot of light on the closely guarded ultra-luxury pre-construction development before its formal unveiling later this month. Although an image taken from a cell phone of the proposed residential high-rise had recently surfaced, the renderings which accompanied the article were the first to be made public by way of the developer.
The Wall Street Journal article is a great read, and I highly recommend it, but for those who like to get right to the point, here’s a quick rundown of what was shared regarding One Thousand Museum in the article:
One Thousand Museum will cost $300M to construct.
It will rise 706 feet and have an “exoskeleton” to eliminate the need for interior columns.
According to the developers, the duplex penthouse at One Thousand Museum will likely be priced between $30M-$50M.
Half-floor residences will have around 4,500 interior square feet.
Full-floor residences will have around 9,900 interior square feet.
Prices will range from $4M to $15M, or $900 to $1,400 per square foot.
The average price per square foot for oceanfront units in Miami Beach that are currently under construction is $1,000 to $1,250.
New construction prices for Downtown Miami is typically around $450 to $500 per square foot.
One Thousand Museum “will be financed with a combination of developer equity, a loan from a nonbank investment fund and deposits of 60% from buyers”.
By the way, you can view the renderings which accompanied the article on my One Thousand Museum condos page. Check them out there!
New Record: Buyer Pays $34M for Side-By-Side Penthouses in Miami Beach
Looks like this will be an amazing year for the Miami luxury real estate market. Yesterday afternoon, Forbes reported that an undisclosed American buyer purchased side-by-side penthouses at The Residences at the Miami Beach Edition for $34M, breaking the previous sales record for condominiums in Miami-Dade County set just two months ago. The Edition, a luxury beachfront hotel-condo variation, is currently under construction and is scheduled for completion in April 2014. Hotelier, Ian Schrager, and world-renowned architect, John Pawson, have teamed up on The Editions project to deliver 26 of the most amazing condos in Miami Beach. The Editions sales office opened less than four weeks ago and half of the development, yet to be completed, has already sold.
Brand New, 25-unit Waterfront Development on Bay Harbor Islands
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to tour a brand new, 25-unit waterfront development in Bay Harbor Islands called Riva Bay Harbor. It is so brand new that sales will not launch until later this month. The common areas are being designed by esteemed interior designer Sam Robin. Yes, the same Sam Robin who designed the common areas at 900 Biscayne Bay. Anyone who has toured 900 Biscayne Bay can tell you that her work is brilliant. She will be in charge of outfitting the lobby, fitness center and rooftop pool deck of Riva Bay Harbor. Those areas have yet to be completed but below you will find renderings for the lobby and pool deck.
Riva Bay Harbor will have a total of 25 units comprised of three and four bedroom condos ranging in size from 2,347 to 3,425 interior square feet. Four units, which have been designed and furnished by distinguished interior designers Steven G, Artefacto and SoJo Design, will serve as model units. The rest of the units will be delivered decorator-ready. Prices start at $1,060,000, or $452 per square foot. Each of the two penthouses have 3,425 interior square feet plus an amazing 2,800 square foot rooftop terrace with direct access to the pool. 2 parking spaces come with each unit. The development also has seven boat slips but prices have not yet been determined for those.
Riva Bay Harbor is within walking distance to the beach and the luxury Bal Harbour Shops. Directly across the street is Ruth K. Broad K-8 Center which is one of the best elementary schools in the state.
Below are some pictures that I took while on my tour. Contact me if you have an interest in learning more about this beautiful waterfront development before it opens to the public later this month.
