Advice to Miami Condo Sellers

I mentioned last week in the July Brickell condo index that only 9 closed condo sales occurred from June 19, 2007 to July 18, 2007, in the 18 buildings that comprise the Brickell Condo Index. A question was left for me in the comments section of the post about whether I felt that the lack of sales activity was a reflection of an overpriced condo market in Miami. A great conversation enfolded and I wanted to expand on that conversation with a post that will hopefully find its way to condo sellers throughout Miami.

In a nutshell, yes, prices do need to come in significantly in order for buyers to be enticed to buy. There are a lot of “motivated” condo sellers right now who have their units listed with a Realtor who are having a very difficult time selling their condo. However, sellers need to realize that their situation will become progressively worse as time goes by and more condo units come onto the market throughout the overdeveloped areas of Miami that stretch from Brickell to the Arts District. Your condition can easily turn from “motivated” to “desperate” within a six month time period.

I will let the numbers do the talking. Within the next 7 months there will be five new condo developments that will be completed in Brickell. These five developments are: 500 Brickell (633 units), The Plaza on Brickell (1,000 units), 1060 Brickell (582 units), Brickell on the River South (322 units) and Latitude on the River (455 units). These five condo developments will bring 2,992 new condo units to the Brickell condo market within 7 months. 12 months after that, another four developments will be completed in Brickell. These developments are: Infinity (459 units), Axis (718 units), Icon Brickell (1,816 units) and Epic Miami (966 units). These four developments will add another 3,959 new condo units to the Brickell condo market. That is a total of 6,951 new condo units within 19 months from now.

Over 6,900 new condo units within the next 19 months in Brickell! If this sentence alone doesn’t make a seller see the light then maybe the following sentences will. The Brickell condo index is currently comprised of 18 condo buildings throughout Brickell which consists of a total of 5,348 condo units. This means that within 19 months we’ll see a 130% increase in the number of units that comprise the index. The total number of condo units represented in the Brickell condo index will increase from 5,348 condo units to 12,299 condo units within a 19 month period.

That is just within Brickell. Include the developments below that are within 4 miles north of the southern tip of Brickell and conditions become far worse. These developments should be completed within the same time period. A few of these buildings such as Onyx on the Bay, Platinum Condos, Midtown 2 and Ten Museum Park have already begun closings. The 23 buildings below will add another 9,119 new condo units residing within 4 miles of Brickell within the next 19 months.

This means that within the next 19 months there will a total of 16,070 new condo units that will come onto the market in the neighborhoods of Brickell, Brickell Key, Downtown Miami, Park West and the Performing Arts District. The bulk of the problems will be in Brickell, Downtown Miami, Park West and the Performing Arts District since Brickell Key will only add 123 units once Asia is built.

Let’s assume that 30% of the condo units in the five new developments that will be completed in Brickell within the next 7 months were purchased by speculators. That is a very conservative number. I have heard people suggest that this number could be as high as 70%. Let’s use 30% though to illustrate a point in a conservative manner. That means that of the 2,992 new condo units to come onto the market in Brickell, 898 of these will be listed for sale. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, there were a total of 9 closed condo sales that occurred in Brickell from June 19, 2007 to July 18, 2007. This means that if market conditions remain the same, and this absorption rate continues, then it will take 100 months, or 8.33 years to absorb the new inventory in Brickell. This doesn’t take into account the existing inventory of 1,550 condo units on the market at this time in Brickell. It also only includes those units in Brickell that will be completed within the next 7 months, not the units scheduled for completion 12 months after. Nor does it take into account the negative impact that the units scheduled for completion in Brickell Key, Downtown Miami, Park West and the Performing Arts District will have on the condo inventory in Brickell.

My advice to condo owners who NEED to sell is to get out now! Today, Barbara Corcoran was on the Today Show and suggested that people who need to sell now should be priced 5% below the currently best priced property in the neighborhood. She was speaking about homes and the national real estate market, but I think that this advice is a great start for condo owners in Miami. To illustrate, last week, two days after our office held an Open House/Wine Tasting at The Imperial at Brickell, a pending contract resulted on one of the three bedroom units that were showcased. It was the best priced three bedroom in the building and was the nicest as well. By the way, for those of you who haven’t heard of Barbara Corcoran before, she is often referred to as “The Queen of Real Estate”. She is a Realtor in New York who has had tremendous success and has been asked to appear on many nationally televised segments for her invaluable insight.

Sellers may not like the idea of discounting the price of their condo to 95% of the best priced unit currently listed in the building. However, they will like the alternative scenario even less if they don’t. Keep in mind that once the new condo units come onto the market, you’ll end up lowering your price to that level anyways. But at that time, you will be priced in the middle of the pack rather than at the front.

If you are a truly motivated seller, who doesn’t have an exclusive listing agreement with another Miami Realtor, and want to sell your condo before the worst begins, then contact me today so we can devise a plan to get you out of this mess before condo inventories in Miami reach nightmare proportions.

Miami Condo Index – Brickell – July 2007

You may have noticed that some of the June numbers have changed. This is because I originally took out the closed sales that were obviously due to mortgage fraud. I recently went back and included those sales because I wanted to present things just as they were. However, this made listings appear to be priced more accurately, which they aren’t. To condo owners, and to some Realtors not in the know, these fraudulent transactions have made their listings appear justified. They need to realize that these transactions are just that, fraudulent, and very inaccurate.

The average price per square foot of condo units listed in the 18 Brickell buildings covered in my index dropped $7.44 since last month. A drop in the price of condos listed in Brickell over the last month was highly expected. I actually thought that prices would have come down even more though. These 18 buildings in Brickell had an average price per square foot of $528.84 this month versus $536.28 in June. The weighted average price per square foot was $540.17 for July versus $547.06 in June.

The most shocking thing that the July Brickell condo index revealed was the number of transactions that occurred in one month’s time. There are a total of 5,348 condo units represented in the 18 buildings that comprise my Brickell condo index. Take a guess at how many units have closed from June 19, 2007 to July 18, 2007.

Had enough time to come up with a guesstimate? Nine. That’s the number of units that sold during that time period throughout the 18 buildings that make up the Brickell condo index. Everyone knows the market is slow but I don’t think anyone could have guessed to what extent. Nine! I still can’t get that out of my head. There are a total of 875 units available on the market right now in those 18 buildings. This equates to 16.36 percent of the total units. This number is actually much higher in many of the newer buildings. Many of the older buildings have 20 or less listings in the entire building. The instability lies in the newer buildings; the buildings that were heavily funded by speculators.

The average price per square foot of condos sold over the past six months in Brickell actually went up slightly. But keep in mind that there were nine transactions in all 18 buildings. Most Realtors would focus on the fact that prices are actually going up. However, I will tell you, first hand, that these numbers are attributed to fraudulent transactions. The price per square foot went from $471.76, in June, to $473.95, in July. Most of this was due to a transaction that appears to be fraudulent at The Sail on Brickell.

The reason why I feel that this transaction is fraudulent is for a number of reasons. One, the unit was sold at the highest price per square foot in the building with concrete floors, two, the broker is a discount broker who charges 4 percent per transaction, three, in every transaction he seems to find the buyer and already holds the listing, and four, he finds the buyer within four days. I did a search by the broker’s email to see what other transactions have occurred. I’m not going to name names but let’s just say that this broker has at least six transactions where this has occurred. The same exact thing. He finds a buyer to acquire a condo at The Sail on Brickell within four days at the highest price possible. Let me tell you, firsthand as a Realtor, that it is hard enough to find a buyer in this market to buy something at the best price available. How is this guy finding a buyer at the highest price available? Within 4 days? Like I said, I’m not going to name names but something fishy is going on there. If someone, like the Miami Herald, wants to investigate this thoroughly and name me as the source, then so be it, but I’m not divulging names. I don’t want to have a hit-man after me. Hopefully I’m wrong about what has occurred in The Sail at Brickell, but I doubt it.

Average price per square foot of units currently listed on the MLS:

Average price per square foot of units sold in the past 6 months:

  • Atlantis – 2025 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $335.12
  • Brickell on the River – 31 SE 5 St | 33131 | $397.69
  • Bristol Tower – 2127 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $417.82
  • Emerald at Brickell – 218 SE 14 St | 33131 | $570.51
  • Four Seasons Residences – 1425 Brickell Ave | 33131 | $763.51
  • Imperial at Brickell – 1627 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $319.56
  • Jade – 1331 Brickell Bay Dr | 33131 | $668.23
  • Neo Vertika – 690 SW 1 Ct | 33130 | $375.53
  • One Miami – 325 & 335 S Biscayne Blvd | 33131 | $453.66
  • Sail on Brickell – 170 SE 14 St | 33131 | $369.08
  • Santa Maria – 1643 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $605.15
  • Skyline on Brickell – 2101 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $471.39
  • Solaris at Brickell – 186 SE 12 Ter | 33131 | $436.21
  • The Club at Brickell Bay – 1200 Brickell Bay Dr | 33131 | $636.74
  • The Mark on Brickell – 1155 Brickell Bay Dr | 33131 | $498.17
  • The Palace – 1541 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $352.77
  • Villa Regina – 1581 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $316.62
  • Vue at Brickell – 1250 S Miami Ave | 33131 | $543.37

Sold-to-Listed Ratio expressed as a percentage:

  • Atlantis – 2025 Brickell Ave | 33129 | 0.77%
  • Brickell on the River – 31 SE 5 St | 33131 | 17.23%
  • Bristol Tower – 2127 Brickell Ave | 33129 | 17.19%
  • Emerald at Brickell – 218 SE 14 St | 33131 | -3.02%
  • Four Seasons Residences – 1425 Brickell Ave | 33131 | 16.68%
  • Imperial at Brickell – 1627 Brickell Ave | 33129 | 22.35%
  • Jade – 1331 Brickell Bay Dr | 33131 | 24.50%
  • Neo Vertika – 690 SW 1 Ct | 33130 | 9.87%
  • One Miami – 325 & 335 S Biscayne Blvd | 33131 | 3.72%
  • Sail on Brickell – 170 SE 14 St | 33131 | 32.46%
  • Santa Maria – 1643 Brickell Ave | 33129 | 13.51%
  • Skyline on Brickell – 2101 Brickell Ave | 33129 | 4.51%
  • Solaris at Brickell – 186 SE 12 Ter | 33131 | 14.86%
  • The Club at Brickell Bay – 1200 Brickell Bay Dr | 33131 | 2.70%
  • The Mark on Brickell – 1155 Brickell Bay Dr | 33131 | 1.01%
  • The Palace – 1541 Brickell Ave | 33129 | 8.68%
  • Villa Regina – 1581 Brickell Ave | 33129 | 30.64%
  • Vue at Brickell – 1250 S Miami Ave | 33131 | 1.53%

Miami Condo Index – Brickell – June 2007

Brickell

Last week I mentioned that I was planning to create a Miami Condo Index to provide pricing insight to homebuyers in various neighborhoods in Miami and Miami Beach. This week I decided to kick things off with Brickell.

It was difficult to come up with a final list of buildings that should be included in the Brickell index. For example, is Neo Vertika in Brickell or should it be in a different category like West Brickell? Is One Miami part of downtown or should it be grouped with Brickell buildings? After much thought, I decided to include both. There simply aren’t enough buildings of interest in West Brickell or downtown to necessitate a separate neighborhood index for West Brickell and downtown. Eventually, One Miami will be grouped with downtown buildings as more developments are completed north of the Miami River. Another question remained as to whether buildings in Brickell Key should be grouped with buildings in Brickell to create a Brickell/Brickell Key index or should a separate index be created for each? I decided on the latter.

Earlier today, I finished crunching the numbers and evaluated my findings. Much of it was quite shocking. I took 18 prominent buildings in Brickell and created two separate spreadsheets. The first spreadsheet calculated the average price per square foot of units currently listed in the 18 buildings in Brickell. The second calculated the average price per square foot of units that have sold in those 18 buildings in the past six months. I also weighted each building according to how many units they had when compared to the sum of the units of all 18 buildings. This helped to arrive at a more accurate representation of the typical Brickell condo.

First I’m going to show you the average price per square foot of the units currently listed on the market:

Some of those averages shocked the hell out of me. How can condo units at The Club at Brickell Bay have an average list price of over $650 per square foot? (I’ve heard reports of mortgage fraud in that building as well as at Jade and Vue at Brickell.) The average price per square foot for condos currently listed in Brickell using these 18 buildings came out to $536.28. The weight-adjusted average came out to $547.06. The Club at Brickell Bay, with 642 total units, skewed the weight-adjusted average higher than the regular average.

Brickell

Next we’ll take a look at the average price per square foot in these buildings based on closed sales. Keep in mind that this is the average price per square foot. Condos that have a better view or are on a higher floor than the average condo in the building will obviously have a higher price per square foot. These figures were equally shocking.

  • Atlantis – 2025 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $335.12
  • Brickell on the River – 31 SE 5 St | 33131 | $411.79
  • Bristol Tower – 2127 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $417.82
  • Emerald at Brickell – 218 SE 14 St | 33131 | $519.72
  • Four Seasons Residences – 1425 Brickell Ave | 33131 | $763.51
  • Imperial at Brickell – 1627 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $319.56
  • Jade – 1331 Brickell Bay Dr | 33131 | $668.23
  • Neo Vertika – 690 SW 1 Ct | 33130 | $383.23
  • One Miami -325 & 335 S Biscayne Blvd | 33131 | $458.56
  • Sail on Brickell – 170 SE 14 St | 33131 | $335.05
  • Santa Maria – 1643 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $606.44
  • Skyline on Brickell – 2101 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $471.39
  • Solaris at Brickell – 186 SE 12 Ter | 33131 | $436.21
  • The Club at Brickell Bay – 1200 Brickell Bay Dr | 33131 | $634.15
  • The Mark on Brickell – 1155 Brickelly Bay Dr | 33131 | $506.81
  • The Palace – 1541 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $350.88
  • Villa Regina – 1581 Brickell Ave | 33129 | $316.62
  • Vue at Brickell – 1250 S Miami Ave | 33131 | $556.59

Condo units at The Club at Brickell Bay had a higher average price per square foot than condos at Santa Maria when looking at closed sales. I had to double check my work once I saw that, but everything checked out.

I tried to eliminate any data that was irregular. For example, in the past six months Pharrell Williams purchased developer Ugo Colombo’s Penthouse unit at Bristol Tower for $13,950,000, or over $1,500 per square foot. I discarded it because it was deemed irregular.

The average price per square foot for these 18 buildings, based on closed sales, came out to $471.76. The weight-adjusted average came out to $495.13.

Using both data sets I also wanted to figure out how overpriced listings are in Brickell when compared to what they actually sell for, on average. I also was curious to find out which buildings were the most overpriced. Here is the data below:

  • Atlantis – 2025 Brickell Ave | 33129 | 0.73%
  • Brickell on the River – 31 SE 5 St | 33131 | 12.01%
  • Bristol Tower – 2127 Brickell Ave | 33129 | 16.82%
  • Emerald at Brickell – 218 SE 14 St | 33131 | 1.63%
  • Four Seasons Residences – 1425 Brickell Ave | 33131 | 19.37%
  • Imperial at Brickell – 1627 Brickell Ave | 33129 | 22.32%
  • Jade – 1331 Brickell Bay Dr | 33131 | 30.12%
  • Neo Vertika – 690 SW 1 Ct | 33130 | 6.76%
  • One Miami -325 & 335 S Biscayne Blvd | 33131 | 2.93%
  • Sail on Brickell – 170 SE 14 St | 33131 | 45.78%
  • Santa Maria – 1643 Brickell Ave | 33129 | 26.74%
  • Skyline on Brickell – 2101 Brickell Ave | 33129 | 5.26%
  • Solaris at Brickell – 186 SE 12 Ter | 33131 | 16.09%
  • The Club at Brickell Bay – 1200 Brickell Bay Dr | 33131 | 3.63%
  • The Mark on Brickell – 1155 Brickelly Bay Dr | 33131 | 2.78%
  • The Palace – 1541 Brickell Ave | 33129 | 9.99%
  • Villa Regina – 1581 Brickell Ave | 33129 | 29.67%
  • Vue at Brickell – 1250 S Miami Ave | 33131 | -1.04%

On average, condo units at The Sail on Brickell have a list price that is 45.78% higher than the average sales price of units sold in the past six months. Either owners of units in that building have unrealistic expectations or agents conducting business there have not provided their clients with an accurate comparable market analysis.

On average, Brickell condo listings were priced 13.98% over the average sales price of units sold in the past six months in these 18 buildings. When using a weighted average, the typical Brickell condo is overpriced by 10.48%. The weighted average is lower because most of the large differences occur in smaller buildings such as The Sail on Brickell.

Keep in mind that statistical data is never perfect. It grows more accurate as additional data is incorporated. The same holds true for a major league baseball player. The first five at-bats in his major league career won’t dictate how the rest of his major league career will fair. The Miami Condo Index will shed more light as time goes on and patterns and trends begin to emerge in the data.

In the next two weeks I will reveal the findings for Brickell Key and South Beach. I will follow-up each neighborhood index report with a post highlighting any fantastic deals that I come across in the buildings covered.