2016 Year In Review: The 10 Most Popular Buildings In The Greater Downtown Area
As we close out 2016, here is a list of the most popular buildings on our website. I tallied the buildings first with the most individual visitors, but also thought the number of return visitors was interesting.
Some of the results were completely expected, but I was surprised to see that all of the top ten are resale buildings. Is this a testament to the state of the pre-construction market? Are there other buildings that you were expecting to be on the list but are not?
Just Listed – Spacious 1 Bedroom Condo at Two Tequesta Point on Brickell Key – Asking $435,000
I am pleased to announce our newest listing – a beautiful 1 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom condo at the luxurious Two Tequesta Point. The 22nd-floor residence has a spacious floor plan with 907 interior square feet; deep balcony to accommodate outdoor dining; large, open kitchen with tons of cabinet space; walk-in closet in the bedroom; porcelain tiled floors; and lovely view of the intracoastal, bay, and cruise ships. With an asking price of $435,000, unit 2207 is priced to sell! Just last month, unit 2007 (two floors lower) at Two Tequesta Point sold for $432,000.
Two Tequesta Point is an upscale condo development with 285 residential units. The 38-story tower is located on the east side of the exclusive, gated island known as Brickell Key. Amenities at Two Tequesta Point include: bayfront pool, tennis courts, racquetball courts, 2-story fitness center, BBQ area, children’s playrooms, 24-hour security and concierge, billiard room, valet parking, and more.
For showing requests or any questions that you may have, I can be reached on my cell phone at 786-247-6332 or via email at [email protected].
Two Tequesta Point #2207 – Asking $435,000
IconBrickell Pool Closure Begins December 5
Over a year after we first reported the pool closure at IconBrickell, they have finally given the dates for the work to begin. In a letter to residents this week, the condo association has announced that starting December 5, the pool will be inaccessible for approximately 12 months. Surprisingly, the condo association did not make arrangements for an alternative pool for the residents.
Anticipation of the repair and special assessment have sent sale and rental prices in a tailspin. Sales prices in the last 90 days are averaging $426/square foot. Just a year ago, apartments in the project were closing at $584/square foot.
Rental prices have also been in free-fall. Unit 4103 in Tower 2 rented in 2015 for $5,300. This year, it rented for $3,800 after 5 months on the market. In Tower 1, unit 4104 rented this month for $2,000, down from the $2,600 that the landlord received last year. It doesn’t help matters that there are currently 180 available rentals on the market. Since 24 apartments rented in the last 30 days, it will take over 7 months to absorb all of this inventory.
On the bright side, this is a fantastic opportunity for investors who are looking for a long-term hold or for those who are looking for a great price on a vacation home. While the values are depressed now, I fully expect them to rebound when the amenity deck reopens. There are still plenty of sellers who need to move on from the properties for personal reasons, or investors who are not able to wait out the storm. How much lower do you anticipate the prices will fall? We are happy to help if this situation is an opportunity for your investment goals.
Congress Unanimously Agrees To Make FHA Financing Easier For Condo Buyers
In a rare moment of solidarity, Congress unanimously agreed to pass the proposed changes to the FHA approval guidelines for condo purchases, opening the way for middle-income buyers to participate in the condo market once more.
Over recent years, the FHA has imposed nearly impossible guidelines for condo purchases that have left a large segment of buyers out of the market, particularly first time homebuyers. The problem has been that in order to secure an FHA loan for a property, the buyers must qualify (relatively easy), AND the building must qualify (almost impossible). The approval process was expensive and the costs were not refunded in the event that the project was rejected. The approvals had to be renewed every couple of years as well. Most condo associations opted to forego the application and just not have FHA as an option for purchasers in the building. With the new guidelines, the projects no longer need to go through the approval process. Buyers can now apply for a spot-approval on individual units and the owner-occupant vs investor ratios have been lowered. Bravo!
This is going to be a big help for actual residents of the Downtown Miami area who are ready to buy a condo, but maybe don’t have the 20%-35% down payment that is currently required to buy a property. You can read more about the new guidelines here.
Drone Footage of the One Thousand Museum Construction Site
Below is a drone video of the One Thousand Museum construction site as of this past Monday, September 5th, the date that the footage was shot. It showcases the breathtaking views that condos at One Thousand Museum will offer as well as provides a bird’s-eye view of the progress that has been made thus far to the tower.
One Thousand Museum Construction Tour
Enjoying the view from One Thousand Museum with developer Gregg Covin
Yesterday morning, I was given the opportunity to tour the One Thousand Museumconstruction site with co-developer Gregg Covin. It was quite a treat to finally step foot inside a development that I have followed so closely over the past three and a half years. As a resident of Park West, I walk and drive by the One Thousand Museum construction site on a daily basis; to admire its impressive form from the street is one thing, but to tour it and see the building’s lines and curves from the inside looking out is quite another.
As of yesterday morning, construction at One Thousand Museum had reached the 19th floor. While on my guided tour, I was permitted to go as high as the 15th floor. Even from just the 15th floor, however, the views were breathtaking. Along with three townhouse units, each with impressive 20-foot ceilings in the living and family rooms, I also had a chance to tour two half floor residences, one located on the south side of the building and the other on the north side. When viewing the half floor residence located on the north side of the building, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of separation the residence had from its neighbors to the north at Ten Museum Park. From street-level, One Thousand Museum and Ten Museum Park are just about connected, but the residences themselves have good separation due to the pools that wrap around at the top of each building’s pedestal.
If all goes according to plan, One Thousand Museum will be topped off this time next year. While touring the building yesterday, Covin shared with me that hopes to top-off the building by August 2017 and then obtain a TCO about 13 months thereafter. Until then, One Thousand Museum is a masterpiece in the making.
southeast corner townhouse unit
overlooking the living room with 20-foot ceilings
second level of southeast corner townhouse
touring a half floor residence
overlooking Museum Park
view east from 1000 Museum
terrace
southeast view from One Thousand Museum
getting the lay of the land from developer Gregg Covin
northeast corner
half floor residence on the north side
a picture-perfect day!
the pools create nice separation between residences on the north side
overlooking the pool on the west side of 1000 Museum
southwest corner townhouse – 10th floor
southeast corner townhouse – 10th floor
southwest corner terrace
northeast corner terrace at 1000 Museum
“It’s the Market” Says Carlos Rosso on Auberge Miami Delay Until at Least Late 2018
Scene from the Auberge Miami Launch Party at the the project’s sales center. Sean McCaughan.
Auberge Miami is being delayed until at least late 2018, and they have offered lease extensions to at least one tenant of the existing structure on the site until the middle of that year. According to Related’s condo division president Carlos Rosso, who spoke to Miami Condo Investments, “it’s the market.” Surprised? Probably not.
“We are selling, and as soon as we get to our (desired) presales we will start construction. The sales center is open” Rosso said. In April the Related Group reported that reservations at the first of the three planned towers at Auberge Miami were at 20 percent, while the more recent ISG second quarter market report placed sales at a more modest 15 percent, with both presale numbers reflecting the significantly slumping real estate market. As ISG Principal Craig Studnicky, whose firm has a partnership with Related, told the Real Deal, “It’s not terribly surprising” that Related would chose to delay the gargantuan condo project by a year, or more. (The first tower is planned to have 290 units, while the while the whole thing was designed with a whopping 1400) “Related will keep pushing” until they hit the right sales number, Studnicky said.
And, as Rosso basically confirmed, it looks like that’s exactly what Related is doing, according to leasing emails leaked to The Real Deal for some of the existing commercial space on the site, offering an extension to a current tenant until late August 2018. This means that instead of the originally planned 2017 groundbreaking, they likely don’t plan on building a thing there until at least late 2018. Of course, that also depends on how sales go from here.
Boutique Townhouse Project ‘One Bay’ Underway in Micro-Hood East of Design District
On the far side of Albert Pallot Park from the offramp to the Julia Tuttle Causeway, nestled in a little-known micro-neighborhood east of the Design District with a variety of architectural styles and some cute surprises, a townhouse development called One Bay is currently under construction. With unit sizes ranging from 800 to 2500 interior air conditioned square feet, all units come with private entrances leading onto a private road going through the center of the community. Most also come with private garages and private roof decks, except for some single story units. There’s a community pool, and walking distance to the park and the Design District.
Subtropical Modernist Coconut Grove House by Shulman + Associates Hits the Market for $6.95M
A modernist Coconut Grove house which featured in Dwell Magazine, and which I featured on Curbed Miami, soon after completion has hit the market with a price tag of $6.95 million. The house, thick in the hammock of the Grove’s Camp Biscayne, was designed by local architect Allan Shulman of Shulman + Associates, and designed to embrace the outdoors with a reserved detachment from it. “It didn’t seem like the kind of landscape you wanted to go trudging through with your boots, but one that you wanted to observe with detachment,” Shulman told Dwell. “We were trying to emphasize how precious the landscape is.” by floating boardwalks around the very wet, sunken site, and cantilevering the living room over it. Then on the other side of the home is a much more traditional backyard, with pool and grill.
