Now that we’ve seen a video of the amenities at 900 Biscayne Bay, let’s take a look at an actual unit in the building. The video above will show you an 06 line located on the 33rd floor. This is one of my favorite floor plans at 900 Biscayne Bay. It’s a 3 bedroom + den/4 bath condo with 2,335 square feet of interior and a 639 square foot terrace. The unit has a direct view of Biscayne Bay the moment you walk through the double entry doors from your private elevator.
900 Biscayne Bay condos still remains my favorite of all of the condominium high-rises built in Miami within the past ten years. The quality of the building and units is unmatched and it has some of the most spectacular amenities of any building that I’ve encountered. I think after viewing the high definition video below you’ll see exactly why I feel that way.
At this time, about 80 percent of the units at 900 Biscayne Bay have closed or are under contract. The building is Fannie Mae approved. Contact us at 305-428-3860 if you have an interest in viewing 900 Biscayne Bay in person or would like to discuss developer inventory.
They say numbers don’t lie. If that be the case, one message of truth shines through in the inventory figures below when compared to the ones I calculated exactly nine months earlier for Miami-Dade County condos: sales up, supply down. I compiled the figures below on April 22, 2010 from the MLS in the exact same manner as I had the night of July 23, 2009. Below, you will find three sets of spreadsheets and graphs: the first pertaining to the inventory of condos throughout Miami-Dade County; the second to those residing only in Miami while the third concentrates on those residing in Miami Beach.
Once again, I divided the supply figures into seven price ranges and included only sales that have closed within the past six months. The last three columns show the percentage change in those statistics when compared to those published nine months earlier for July 2009. It should be rather apparent, with a few exceptions, that the overall pattern is that condo inventory has decreased and closed sales have increased quite considerably within the past nine months. For example, overall condo inventory in Miami-Dade County has decreased 13.78 percent while closed sales have increased 19.23 percent during that time frame which led to a 27.69 percent decrease in the overall months of supply.
The figures in the images below may be a bit difficult to read so I also published the workbook for this month’s Miami & Miami Beach Condo Trends in its entirety. Be sure to check it out. The worksheet and graph tabs can be found along the bottom of the workbook.
Below, you will find the Miami-Dade County condo supply and sales figures for April 2010:
The following statistics encompass only those condos located throughout Miami (not other areas of Dade County such as Miami Beach, Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, etc.):
The following statistics encompass only those condos located throughout Miami Beach:
Market pessimists will likely argue that the statistics above do not incorporate developer inventory. Commonly known as shadow inventory, developer inventory is typically not recorded in the MLS. However, these people need to bear in mind that closed developer sales also are not included in the figures above. Obviously, shadow inventory was a bigger problem nine months ago than it is today. A more valid argument should point to the home buyer tax credit being the catalyst that increased sales within the past nine months. Personally, however, I feel that the the home buyer tax credit has had a greater impact on the single family home market than the condo market. It has played a very insignificant role in our business and I have spoken to other real estate agents who specialize in condominiums who have encountered the same. With the home buyer tax credit expiring this Friday, we should be able to see within the next three months how instrumental of a role it has played in the increased sales numbers we’ve witnessed.
Marina Blue Receives Fannie Mae Approval
On April 20, 2010, Marina Blue received a letter from Fannie Mae stating that the building has been accepted under Fannie Mae’s Special Approval Designation for twelve months. Qualified buyers will now be able to obtain financing using a Fannie Mae conventional loan.
Potential buyers may want to take a look at unit 2203 at Marina Blue. It’s a 1 bedroom + den/1.5 bath condo with 943 square feet of interior, 9-foot ceilings and a balcony that stretches the length of the unit. The condo offers views of Biscayne Bay, Key Biscayne, the Miami Beach skyline and Downtown Miami. At an asking price of $300,000, it is being offered at the lowest price per square foot of any 1 bedroom condo at Marina Blue currently active in the MLS. Take a look at the video tour below.
Best Priced 2 Bedroom at Marina Blue – $390,000 – Video
Take a look at the video below to view the best priced 2 bedroom currently available at Marina Blue. This 2 bedroom/2 bath condo has 1,198 square feet of interior, 138 square feet of balcony, 9-foot ceilings, tiled flooring throughout, stainless steel kitchen appliances, Wenge built-in closets in both bedrooms, washer/dryer and 1 assigned parking space. The asking price is $390,000.
Contact me at [email protected] or 305-428-3860 if you have any questions or if you’d like to schedule a showing. Broker participation is welcome.
The Mark on Brickell Granted Special Approval Designation by Fannie Mae
I was notified earlier this week that The Mark on Brickell was granted the Special Approval Designation by Fannie Mae. This news hasn’t been disclosed on the Fannie Mae website yet but the information has been confirmed. It should appear on the site this upcoming Monday when their next update is released. It will now be possible for qualified buyers to obtain a conventional loan for condos at The Mark on Brickell.
The Mark on Brickell recently completed the installation of a seawall between the building and the bay that cost nearly $500,000. This expense, however, is expected to save the association hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance every year.
Currently, inventory at The Mark on Brickell is rather light. The 22 listings for sale in the MLS represent just slightly over 6 percent of the total number of units in the building. 11 total units have closed at The Mark on Brickell within the past six months. Furthermore, there are currently 10 pending sales in the MLS. These sales figures should only get better now that the building is Fannie Mae approved. For those who are curious, there are currently just 10 units available for rent at The Mark on Brickell in the MLS. That represents slightly less than 3 percent of the total number of units in the building.
I plan to release overall inventory figures for Miami-Dade County next week. I fully expect the data to show a significant improvement since the last time I provided an update in July 2009.
Rentals Now Available at Icon Brickell II
I was notified yesterday that rentals are now available in tower 2 of Icon Brickell. Tower 2 is the southeast tower of the Icon Brickell development. The units are renting fast! 56 rentals were made available on Saturday and as of yesterday 15 had already been rented.
Below, you will find the floor plans that are available along with the starting prices. The rent price includes 800 channels of cable, high-speed Internet, one parking space, water and a health club membership. Pets are NOT allowed.
Call me at 305-428-3860 or email me at [email protected] if you would like to schedule a showing.
H floor plan – 1 bedroom/1 bath – 732 square feet – starting at $1690
G floor plan – 1 bedroom/1 bath – 984 square feet – starting at $2000
G-Rev floor plan – 1 bedroom/1 bath – 1035 square feet – starting at $2100
E floor plan – 2 bedroom/2 bath – 1327 square feet – starting at $2750
C floor plan – 2 bedroom/2 bath – 1500 square feet – starting at $2850
B floor plan – 2 bedroom/2 bath – 1503 square feet – starting at $2950
D floor plan – 2 bedroom/2 bath – 1600 square feet – starting at $2500
There currently aren’t any studio or 3 bedroom rentals available.
Blue Condominium 2 Bedroom Sells For $190K
A 2 bedroom foreclosure condo at Blue Condominium closed earlier this afternoon for $190,000. This marks the lowest that a 2 bedroom in the building has ever sold. Unit 1207 has 1,158 square feet of interior space and a view of Biscayne Bay. It originally went under contract on August 10, 2009 but the closing was delayed for months due to problems that needed to be corrected with the deed. Currently, there are twenty 2 bedroom short sales at Blue Condominium, two of which are listed for less than $190K. Hopefully this recent sale will give banks the kick in the butt to start approving some of the short sales in the building.
Completely Renovated Townhouse at Atlantis on Brickell
I remember walking through unit 306 at Atlantis on Brickell towards the end of 2007. The place was a disaster! Flooring was ripped out, walls were horribly damaged, mold was evident in a few of the rooms and the kitchen and bathrooms badly needed to be updated.
Unit 306 is a 4 bedroom/4 bath two-story townhouse with 2,628 interior square feet. In 2007, when the unit came onto the market as a foreclosure, the unit was listed for $799,900. After eight price reductions and a little over nine months later, the unit sold for $415,000, or $158 per square foot, on February 29, 2008.
After a complete overhaul, the unit made its way onto the market about six months ago for $1,130,000, or $430 per square foot – quite a stretch even after accounting for renovation and holding costs. The list price was slashed a few times before recently being reduced to $865,000, or $329 per square foot – a step in the right direction but still at least $100,000 away, in my opinion.
My guess is that it probably cost somewhere in the ballpark of $100 per square foot to completely gut and renovate the unit, given the quality and the fact that mold was present. I’ve estimated taxes to be around $25,000 and HOA fees to be around $22,000 over the past 21 months. That represents about an extra $18 per square foot to the cost basis of the owner. It’ll be interesting to see if the owner is able to make a profit or, at the very least, break-even on this investment, especially after accounting for cost of capital.
