Top 5 Miami Distressed Condo Sales Closed in November 2008
I found a total of 17 distressed condo sales that closed in the month of November in the MLS located in Brickell, Brickell Key, Downtown Miami and the Arts District. The following are, in my opinion, the five best deals that took place along with one worth mentioning.
Vue at Brickell – unit 1413 – 1 bedroom/1 bath (737 square feet) – This unit sold for $90,000, or $122 per square foot, on November 18, 2008. Foreclosure
Brickell on the River North – unit 2703 – 1 bedroom/1 bath (775 square feet) – This unit sold for $172,750, or $223 per square foot, on November 19, 2008. Foreclosure
Brickell on the River – unit 3714 – 2 bedroom/2 bath (1,058 square feet) – This unit sold for $255,000, or $241 per square foot, on November 10, 2008. Foreclosure
Skyline on Brickell – unit 1107 – 2 bedroom/2 bath (1,367 square feet) – This unit sold for $349,000, or $255 per square foot, on November 17, 2008. Foreclosure
The Club at Brickell Bay – unit 3524 – 3 bedroom/2 bath (1,232 square feet) – This unit sold for $249,000, or $202 per square foot, on November 4, 2008. Foreclosure
Runner-up: Blue Condo – unit 2504 – 2 bedroom/2.5 bath (1,158 square feet) – This unit sold for $305,000, or $263 per square foot, on November 25, 2008. Foreclosure
Top 5 Miami Distressed Condo Sales Closed in October 2008
I found a total of 30 distressed condo sales that closed in the month of October in the MLS located in Brickell, Brickell Key, Downtown Miami and the Arts District. The following are, in my opinion, the five best deals that took place along with one worth mentioning.
Skyline on Brickell – unit 2505 – 1 bedroom/1 bath (791 square feet) – This unit sold for $200,000, or $253 per square foot, on October 28, 2008. Foreclosure
Vue at Brickell – unit 1501 – 2 bedroom/2 bath (1,255 square feet) – This unit sold for $170,000, or $135 per square foot, on October 17, 2008. Foreclosure
Jade at Brickell – unit 504 – 1 bedroom/1 bath (895 square feet) – This unit sold for $220,000, or $246 per square foot, on October 24, 2008. Foreclosure
Solaris at Brickell Bay – unit 1607 – 1 bedroom/1 bath (730 square feet) – This unit sold for $146,000, or $200 per square foot, on October 24, 2008. Foreclosure
Courvoisier Courts – unit 704 – 2 bedroom/2.5 bath (1,230 square feet) – This unit sold for $290,000, or $236 per square foot, on October 22, 2008. Foreclosure
Runner-up: Jade – unit 3509 – 2 bedroom/3 bath (1,730 square feet) – This unit sold for $710,000, or $410 per square foot, on October 13, 2008. Foreclosure
The Sub-$100K Brickell Condo Hits the Market
Prices have continued to fall hard at Vue at Brickell for quite some time. It’s incredible to think that in May 2007 when I wrote the post entitled, “Vue at Brickell – Overpriced or Insanely Overpriced“, the average price per square foot of condos listed in the building was over $550!
Yesterday evening, a 1 bedroom foreclosure at Vue at Brickell hit the market for $125 per square foot. With a list price of $99,900, it was the first one bedroom condo for sale in Brickell, built after 2000, to fall below the $100K mark.
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Solaris at Brickell Bay – Deal or No Deal?
There’s a one bedroom/one bath foreclosure at Solaris at Brickell Bay that is currently listed for $159,900. The price of this 730 square foot condo was recently reduced 33 percent. I showed the condo to a client this afternoon and found it to be in great condition. The condo has real hard wood floors, stainless steel appliances and a bay view from the balcony.
Normally, I would say that this condo, with a list price that amounts to $219 per square foot, is a great deal. However, there have been recent sales at Solaris at Brickell Bay that have me scratching my head. These closed sales do not appear in the MLS. Be prepared to be shocked!
Unit 706 – 1 bedroom/1 bath – sold for $28,000 in May 2008 ($37 per square foot)
Unit 803 – 2 bedroom/2 bath – sold for $10,000 in May 2008 ($9 per square foot)
Unit 1103 – 2 bedroom/2 bath – sold for $22,000 in April 2008 ($21 per square foot)
Each unit was sold to separate individuals. Does anyone know the story behind these? Were these once owned by the same bank who needed to liquidate their properties quickly? I would think that they’d at least be able to get $125,000 for the one bedroom and $200,000 for the two bedrooms under normal circumstances.
Solaris at Brickell Bay was victimized by mortgage fraud which is now resulting in a high number of foreclosures. There are risks associated with buying into a building that has a lot of foreclosures because of the likely unpaid monthly maintenance fees from these units. There’s risk that a future special assessment could be billed to all condo owners if the association’s financial condition deteriorates as a result. There’s also a risk that the condo building is not properly maintained. Read the post entitled “Will History Repeat Itself in Miami?” to learn more about how bad things can get for a building who can’t pay its bills.
Nonetheless, with all risks considered, selling a condo for $9-$37 per square foot in Brickell seems crazy to me. I know someone out there has the story behind these recently sold condos. Please share with the rest of us.
Beautiful 5 Bedroom Condo at Villa Regina with 4,100 Square Feet – $1,499,900
Five-bedroom condos in Brickell are very rare. In fact, at this time, there are only two other condos in Brickell that are listed on the MLS with that many bedrooms. Just last week, I listed the best priced 5 bedroom condo in Brickell in a building called Villa Regina. The new listing is attractively priced at $1,499,900. The next best priced 5 bedroom residence is listed for over $1M more.
If size, quality, and location are what you need, then look no further. The 5 bedroom listing at Villa Regina spans 4,100 square feet (380.9 square meters), has a total of 15 rooms, 5 full bathrooms, comes with 3 parking spaces, has 4 terraces with gorgeous bay and city views and has been tastefully remodeled. The kitchen has new granite countertops and stainless steel appliances with custom cabinetry. The air conditioning system was also replaced 3 months ago and the condo has impact resistance windows and shutters.
The amenities at Villa Regina include: 24-hour full-service concierge and security, swimming pool, fitness center, his and her spas, barbecue area and 4 grand party rooms. Villa Regina is located directly on Biscayne Bay and is one of the few condo buildings in Brickell with its own private marina.
Contact me today if you’d like to take a look at this 5 bedroom condo at Villa Regina.
The Sail on Brickell Penthouse 2 Bedroom/2 Bath Foreclosure – $299,900
I urge everyone to read my post in September. It will provide much insight as to how prevalent the mortgage fraud was back then in Miami. I actually reread my post and I was like “Damn! That was a great post”. Back then I didn’t have many readers. My readership was made up of just around one hundred people.
Currently, there are two 2 bedroom/2 bath short-sales at The Sail on Brickell listed for $599,000. Both short-sales are the condos that I discussed in my July and September posts that had recently closed. This makes it apparent to me that the buyers never had the intention to hold these condos but rather defraud our U.S. banking system. Our banking system in this country has enough problems. I’m very upset about my findings. Very!
Here are the two condos that were sold at The Sail on Brickell in July and September:
Unit 2504 was listed at $670,000 and sold for $670,000
Unit 2204 was listed at $670,000 and sold for $670,000
Both were sold by the same broker. <<<<<<<<<<<<<
Where is the mortgage fraud task force when you need them?
Blue Condominium – 1 Bedroom/1.5 Bath Foreclosure – $229,000
I was stunned when I saw this foreclosure listing at Blue Condominium. $229,000 for a 1 bedroom condo at Blue Condominium!!! In 2006, this unit would have likely been priced for around $380,000. The MLS listing shows it to be a 1 bedroom/2 bath condo but I don’t think that information is accurate, unless the owner added a second full bathroom. It is most likely a 1 bedroom/1.5 bath condo. The listing also makes no mention of it being a foreclosure but I looked it up and it is owned by Deutsche Bank.
This is a great buy for someone who is looking to purchase a 1 bedroom condo in a high-end waterfront condo building in Miami. The location may not be that great (the northern end of Edgewater Miami) but that is already reflected in the price, in my opinion. If this condo sells for around $200,000 then we’re now talking break-even cash flow with 20 percent down. I haven’t heard the term “break-even cash flow” for quite some time. Is that where prices are headed? I think we all know the answer.
Take a look at the Blue Condominium rental listings to get an idea of the type of monthly rent that this condo would bring. Feel free to export the listings to Microsoft Excel by clicking the “Export” link at the top of the grid.
By the way, for those of you not local to Miami, the highway in the picture above takes you right into Miami Beach.
Miami Condos in Brickell – Red Hot Foreclosure and Short-Sale Condo Deals!
Before anyone takes me seriously, let me first just say that the headline above was meant to be a joke. Once you see the “hot” short-sale and foreclosure deals in the Brickell condo buildings below, you’ll know what I mean. Goes to show that just because a condo is listed as a short-sale or foreclosure doesn’t mean that it is priced well.
I’m not sure why listings like the ones above even make it into the MLS. It’s a complete waste of time in my eyes.
Will History Repeat Itself in Miami?
Earlier this week, I showed a few condos at Villa Regina to a lady who has owned a unit in the building since 1983. She and her husband purchased their condo in November of that year. She told me that for the first year and a half to two years only 25 condos were owned of the 208 total units. The bust had happened and nobody wanted to buy. The developer, Nicholas Morley, eventually went under and the building was later taken over by the FDIC. Nicholas Morley, was a big-time developer back then who was the equivalent of today’s Jorge Perez or Ugo Columbo.
She said that nobody would touch Villa Regina with a ten-foot pole for the first two years after she purchased because the building was either in receivership, meaning that it was undergoing foreclosure proceedings, or it had already been foreclosed upon. As a result, the common areas were under-maintained. The building didn’t have any security, air conditioning in the hallways, a concierge in the lobby nor valet service.
Before the building went into receivership, she, her husband and the condo owners who represented the other 24 units met each month to resolve the problems. They wanted answers. No, in fact, they wanted action. Each month, the condo board sent requests to the developer stating that they themselves would pay to have the building maintained 100 percent. The developer never answered their pleas.
After Villa Regina was foreclosed upon, there were rumors that Nicholas Morley wished to acquire the building from the FDIC for 10 cents on the dollar. The condo board sent letters to the FDIC to prevent this from happening. Nicholas Morley had made them suffer long enough and they didn’t wish to take any chances.
An investment group stepped up to the plate and purchased the remaining units at Villa Regina from the FDIC, a few years after she and her husband had purchased their condo. She stated that “almost overnight, there was interest in buying condos at Villa Regina”. I asked her for how much the investment group purchased the remaining units. She didn’t know but guessed that it was around 50 cents on the dollar. The level of maintenance that was initially promised had finally been restored. People wanted in because the dark cloud that hung over Villa Regina had been lifted. The investment group was then able to sell the remaining units for a profit.
It was especially interesting to hear, from the above source, that the building fell into the hands of the FDIC. This indicates to me that the bank which loaned the money to the developer also went under as well. I don’t expect buildings in Miami on the horizon, however, to fall into the hands of the FDIC for too long, if at all. The world is too widely connected nowadays. Information exchanges hands at such a rapid pace. Investment groups will act much faster in today’s era than that of the 1980s. If a bank yells, “Help!”, several investment groups will be there to say, “Help has arrived, but how bad do you need it?”.
There’s been talk that the current boom and bust in Miami is worse than had existed in the early 1980s. I’ve advised my readers time and again to watch out for the new digs. If you feel like buying, then look for those buildings that were built prior to 2000. They have much more stability because most units in those buildings are owner-occupied. Investors/speculators flocked to the new buildings and those that were yet to be built. The possibility of the above occurring in a new condo development in Miami is likely within the next couple of years. That’s why I’ve been keeping a close eye on each new development’s ability to close units. If you are interested in buying in a new development then you must be aware of the default rate that is occurring there. Those with a default rate higher than 30 percent, in my opinion, will be ones to stay away from until much of this excess supply is purchased.
The oversupply problem in Miami does indeed currently exist and is worse than that which existed in the early 1980s. However, the level of demand that currently exists far outpaces that of which was evident in that decade. Miami is now on the map. Miami now has world-wide attention. The strength of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. Dollar has made it more alluring for foreigners to buy here. It has also become a mecca for second-home buyers, retirees and those who wish to live in tropical climes throughout the year.
The opening lines of the movie Armageddon says, “It happened before. It will happen again. It’s just a question of when”. It will be interesting to see if history repeats itself in Miami and, if so, then to what extent.
Neo Vertika Short-Sale Becomes a Closed Sale
The 2 bedroom + den/2 bath loft at Neo Vertika that I wrote about on September 4 closed Wednesday afternoon. The unit has 1,255 square feet of interior space, 20-foot ceilings, a large balcony that extends the length of the unit and comes with the upgraded stainless steel appliance package. Since it has never been lived in before it comes “decorator-ready”. This south-facing two-story loft is located on the 29th and 30th floors and overlooks the swimming pool and has obstructed views of Biscayne Bay. The unit was sold as a short-sale so my client was able to acquire it at a great price. The purchase price was $303,800 and the appraisal came in at $445,000.
My client’s plan was to rent and hold the unit for around 2-3 years before selling it. However, I have received some interest from people wanting to look at it and possibly acquire it once he closed. I will be showing the unit to all interested parties for the next week or two. After that, my client will install the floors and likely rent it as he had planned.
The best priced D floor plan at Neo Vertika is currently listed at $450,000. My client is willing to sell his unit for $385,000, which would make it priced even better than the smaller, and less desirable, 2 bedroom C floor plan units currently available in the building.
The picture slideshow below will show you unit 2919 at Neo Vertika which is the loft that my client purchased:
I also did a video walk-through of the unit:
The following video will show you the common areas at Neo Vertika. This video was shot about 12 months ago and the common areas were not 100 percent complete at the time.
If you have an interest in viewing this unit and the building in person then contact me to schedule a showing.
