Venetian Islands Real Estate: November 2015 Market Report
Each week, Miami Beach Realtors host a progressive open house of listings in the area. This week’s focus was the Venetian Islands, with an impressive 23 properties on the tour! This is a great time for the Venetian Islands as the roads and infrastructure are in the last months of a $12.4 million restoration project. The Venetian Causeway is expected to reopen by the Spring of 2016, offering residents new roads as well as utilities. The construction project has not slowed the bustling real estate market in the neighborhood. Here are some highlights of the market as we draw an end to 2015:
Highest Price Listing: 610 W Dilido Island
$15,500,000 for 5 bedrooms, 6 baths in a 5,210 square foot home on a waterfront lot.
Lowest Price Listing: 211 S Rivo Alto Drive $1,595,000 for 4 bedrooms, 3 baths in a 2,194 square foot home on an interior lot.
Contracts Signed There are 4 properties that are currently under contract, ranging in price from $5,900,000 down to $929,000.
Recent Closings Over the last 3 months, we have seen 9 properties trade hands for $12,500,000 down to $1,525,000. Waterfront properties averaged $1,450/square foot in price vs $811/square foot for interior lots.
Featured Property: 300 W Rivo Alto Drive
Of the actively marketed properties in the neighborhood, we made special note of the home at 300 W Rivo Alto Drive, offered at $12,750,000.
This Venetian Island home was built in 1938 on a waterfront lot, but recently remodeled beautifully. It offers 5 bedrooms, 5 1/2 baths and 90 feet of bayfront views with an infinity lounge pool and boat dock. There is an outdoor living room with summer kitchen, garden and even a koi pond with waterfall. The interior design is tasteful yet dramatic with zebrawood walls, calcutta gold marble, top of the line appliances and Crestron security system.
Here are some additional photos of 300 W Rivo Alto Drive:
A Tour of the Malibu-style Beach House located at 222 Ocean Drive in South Beach – Asking $14,995,000
Tuesday afternoon, I had the pleasure to drop by an open house that my broker, Dora Puig, was holding, so I could see first-hand the amazing new luxury listing she recently landed – a 7,000 square foot, Malibu-style beach house located at 222 Ocean Drive in the South Beach neighborhood known as South of Fifth. It’s not often that you get the chance to visit a single-family home in that neighborhood. In fact, there are only two other single family homes that exist in all of South of Fifth, and this is the only one that is located across the street from the beach, right smack on Ocean Drive. In terms of location, it doesn’t get much better than this. Fortunately, location isn’t the property’s only strong suit. It’s also incredibly sexy. The moment you walk into the recently renovated, three-story home, you are greeted with soaring 20-foot ceilings and an elegantly appointed, white spiral staircase. The luxury home for sale consists of 4 bedrooms, 4 full baths, 2 half baths, and includes a theater room and bar; a custom wine cellar; 11-inch wide plank Oscar Ono rustic wood floors; a custom kitchen with best-in-class appliances by Viking, Miele, and Sub-Zero; a private, rooftop deck with pool and summer kitchen; and an air-conditioned 2-car garage to boot. This is the type of property that will appeal to a special kind of buyer – one who fully appreciates its uniqueness and location, and, of course, has close to $15M to indulge. As for the rest of you, the accompanying photos will have to do.
Don Peebles Discusses His Favorite Real Estate Markets in America
High-profile developer and real estate mogul Don Peebles was interviewed yesterday by Fox News to get his take on the various real estate markets throughout the United States. He quickly named New York City as his favorite with Miami being a close second. In regards to Miami, Peebles distinguished between the Miami Beach and Downtown Miami sub-markets. He finds both to be very attractive but compared Miami Beach to Manhattan with having a huge barriers of entry and very little available land while he feels that Downtown Miami is well on its way to becoming a premier global city.
His assessment of the sub-markets in Miami and Miami Beach is right on point. The recovery that both markets have seen over the past five years is simply astounding, and for good reason. Miami, for a number of reasons, is an alluring city which attracts buyers from all over the world. That has, and likely will continue to be, the driving force behind each sub-market’s rebound; a force which, in all likelihood, will push values well beyond those last seen at the peak of the market during the first quarter of 2007.
Miami Featured on “Today” Show This Morning
This morning, Miami was once again in the national spotlight. The young, vibrant and beautiful city was featured on the “Today” show for its Friday Field Trips series. The three minute video clip above will give you a gist of the praise that Miami received during the morning show’s coverage of the city. Miami is no longer seen as just a winter playground. It has seen tremendous growth over the past four decades and has exploded onto the international scene. Miami has become a cultural mecca for travelers from all around the world and now competes with some of the highly acclaimed international cities for their attention. I must say, Miami was captured quite beautifully in this piece. Great job!
Alex Rodgriguez Lists Miami Beach Mansion for $38M
After moving into the property less than a year ago, Alex Rodriguez looks to part ways with his ultra-chic Miami Beach mansion. The New York Yankees All-Star recently listed the 20,000 square foot, waterfront home for $39M. The modern North Bay Road estate is situated on a 1.07-acre lot and has 9 bedrooms, 11 full baths and 2 half baths. The completely-gated property features 275 feet of water frontage, 2 boat docks, a 3,000 square foot sports room with batting cage, commercial-sized elevator, heated pool, gourmet open kitchen, home theater, outdoor kitchen area, guest house, Crestron lighting, 16 security cameras, surround sound system throughout, seamless indoor/outdoor living spaces, rooftop deck, separate gym building with steam room, covered terraces and a 2,200 square foot Master Suite with atrium, sitting area, his and hers baths and over-sized closets.
Alex Rodriguez purchased the property for a reported $24M in 2010 while it was still under construction.
$47M Sale of 3 Indian Creek Drive Shatters Previous Record Set in March
Records were made to be broken. Sometimes, however, records are shattered. The recent sale of 3 Indian Creek Island for $47M shatters the previous record-breaking sale for single-family homes in Miami-Dade County set earlier this year by 22%. Edward Lampert, Sears Holdings Corp.’s chairman and hedge fund billionaire, purchased a waterfront estate, also located on Indian Creek Island, in March for $38.4M.
3 Indian Creek Drive is paradise-living at its finest. The 30,000 square foot, waterfront home is situated on an 80,000 square foot lot and has 10 bedrooms, 10 full baths, 4 half baths, a 100-foot resort-style pool, a full catering kitchen, certified greenhouse, rooftop lawn and Jacuzzi, panic room, wine cellar, servant room, chromotherapy spa and massage room, library, elevator and a 7-limo-sized car garage.
No word yet on who the buyer of 3 Indian Creek Drive might be. There are currently two single-family homes available for sale which could potentially eclipse the record-breaking sale of 3 Indian Creek: 12 Indian Creek Drive, listed for $45M, and the former Versace mansion, located at 1116 Ocean Drive, which has an astonishing asking price of $125M.
Miami Beach Mansion Bequeathed to Pet Chihuahua Sells For $8.4M
Gail Posner, daughter of billionaire business magnate Victor Posner, made national headlines in 2010 when it was discovered that her Miami Beach mansion was bequeathed to her pet Chihuahua Conchita and two of her other dogs along with a $3M trust fund. According to her will, the dogs were to be taken care of by her staff which was to receive a grand total of $27M upon her death. Conchita, who was considered to be the “world’s most pampered dog” by Gail’s own accord, had her own bedroom and bathroom in the waterfront mansion, a $15,000 Cartier necklace and weekly spa treatments. Posner’s son Bret Carr was left only $1M. To no one’s surprise, Carr quickly contested the will. The hotly debated Miami Beach home sold last Friday for $8.4M. The 7 bedroom, 8 bath, 2 half bath waterfront estate had 9,700 interior square feet and featured a center courtyard, elevator, 2 fireplaces, enormous master suite, separate gym and staff quarters resting on 156 square feet of waterfront. According to public records, Gail Posner purchased the luxury home for $8.3M in September 2005. No word on where Conchita and the other two poochies will now reside.
Billy Joel’s Miami Beach Mansion on the Market for $14.75M
According to several sources, Billy Joel listed for sale his Miami Beach mansion this past Monday for $14.75M. The 8,881 square foot home offers 7 bedrooms, 8.5 baths, a luxurious bar with wine cellar, gourmet chef kitchen, a formal living and dining room, outdoor summer kitchen and expansive views of Biscayne Bay with over 150 feet of waterfront. The Mediterranean-style estate resides on La Gorce Island, an exclusive neighborhood that has seen its fair share of celebrity-residents such as Shakira and Lil Wayne.
Joel purchased the property in 2006 for $13.5M, according to public record. Below are the photos of his former palatial pad.
Ricky Martin Sells Miami Beach Home; Jay-Z and Beyonce Possible Buyers
Pop singer Ricky Martin has sold his Miami Beach luxury home for $10.6M, as reported this morning by The Miami Herald. The 9,491 square foot waterfront mansion features 7 bedrooms, adjoining guest quarters, 8 full baths, 2 half baths, a fully wired media room, Jacuzzi, pool and elevator. The Mediterranean home resides on 150 feet of waterfrontage along the prominent, star-studded neighborhood of North Bay Road.
The property was purchased by Ricky Martin for $10M in May 2005. No definitive word on who the buyer might be but the Herald article states that Jay-Z and Beyonce took a long, hard look at the home in December.
Exceptional North Bay Road homes currently on the market include:
3114 N Bay Rd – asking $17.95M
2040 N Bay Rd – asking $16.5M
2156 N Bay Rd – asking $8.95M
27 Star Island Drive (Casa Di Paolo) Hits the Market for $21M
It may not be particularly noteworthy when a Star Island home hits the market for $20M+. After all, there are currently two Star Island homes with asking prices of $35M. What does make this new listing particularly noteworthy, however, is that 27 Star Island Drive, also known as Casa Di Paolo, was purchased last May for $10.75M. The home was relisted earlier today with an asking price of $21M. The listing makes no mention of any upgrades or additions made to the home since last May and the pictures included with the listing are the exact same which accompanied the listing last year.
Here’s an excerpt from a blog post I wrote about the sale of 27 Star Island Drive last year:
The 12 bedroom/13.5 bath mansion 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.
There’s no denying that the luxury real estate market in Miami is hot right now. In fact, several major publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Huffington Post reported last week about an Indian Creek home that was recently placed under contract for $40M by Sears Holdings Corp.’s chairman and hedge fund billionaire, Edward Lampert. But just how hot is the luxury real estate market in Miami? How much has the luxury real estate market improved over the past year? 27 Star Island Drive may help to shed some light on these questions if and when it sells. I’ll be sure to keep an eye on it and report any property status updates
Gail Posner, daughter of billionaire business magnate Victor Posner, made national headlines in 2010 when it was discovered that her Miami Beach mansion was bequeathed to her pet Chihuahua Conchita and two of her other dogs along with a $3M trust fund. According to her will, the dogs were to be taken care of by her staff which was to receive a grand total of $27M upon her death. Conchita, who was considered to be the “world’s most pampered dog” by Gail’s own accord, had her own bedroom and bathroom in the waterfront mansion, a $15,000 Cartier necklace and weekly spa treatments. Posner’s son Bret Carr was left only $1M. To no one’s surprise, Carr quickly contested the will. 
The hotly debated Miami Beach home sold last Friday for $8.4M. The 7 bedroom, 8 bath, 2 half bath waterfront estate had 9,700 interior square feet and featured a center courtyard, elevator, 2 fireplaces, enormous master suite, separate gym and staff quarters resting on 156 square feet of waterfront. According to public records, Gail Posner purchased the 
