MIAMI-TOPYour Dream Property ! Propriétés de rêve à Miami et environs …

Bucking the retrenchment trend seen in today’s soft real estate market, two bullish South Florida developers are seeking government approval for a 25- acre project between the central business district and Miami’s cultural and sports venues. Called Miami Worldcenter, the project will include high-rise office buildings, hotels, a pedestrian mall with restaurants and shops, and eventually residences and schools, according to the Miami Herald (9-17-2008)
Addressing the current market condition, the managing director of the project said “we know real estate goes in cycles and will turn around, especially in a dynamic international gateway city like Miami.”
The site, currently 9 square blocks of blight and decay, will be transformed into an urban oasis, much like the Champs Elysees in Paris. The pedestrian mall lined with shops and restaurants will echo Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road Mall, according to the developers.

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Jane and Jean-Marie (John) Losson +1-305 924 0262
Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell, Inc. Realtors, Inc.

The country’s most successful contemporary art show will continue to be held in Miami Beach until at least 2011, according to the Miami Herald (Sept.11, 2008)

The four-day art festival held in December had modest beginnings in 2002, but has developed into an highly-successful international event, attracting prestigious dealers, serious art collectors, celebrates and international media coverage. 

Some 40,000 visitors are expected to sample the wares of over 200 galleries from across the globe, according to the Miami Herald article.

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Jane and Jean-Marie (John) Losson +1-305 924 0262
Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell, Inc. Realtors, Inc.

Miami and Miami Beach are names used interchangeably by most visitors to the area. Even newcomers considering a real estate purchase tend to lump the two communities together.

But there is a world of difference. Miami Beach is a relatively small enclave of upscale residential neighborhoods, both condominiums and single family homes, with a small city government and a “downtown” area surrounding Lincoln Road Mall. Parts of Collins Avenue and Ocean Drive are commercial centers lined with art deco hotels, dining venues, nightclubs, and a wide range of retailers. When tourists speak of a Miami vacation, most often they mean Miami Beach.

Miami is an exciting metropolis with fabulous cultural amenities in the worlds of music, theatre, dance and art. It is the business gateway to Central and South America as well as a center of Latin culture. Surrounding the center of Miami are many lovely residential neighborhoods, including Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Morningside, Miami Shores and El Portal.
Miami has a high and rising inventory of condominiums for sale. For buyers who plan on holding on to their properties for several years these may represent good buys.

Miami Beach has a limited and relatively constant inventory of homes and condos and is highly sought by foreigners and American baby boomers, as well as young couples who work on the beach or in downtown Miami.

When looking for real estate in this region, it is important to understand the huge distinction between the two markets.

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Jane and Jean-Marie (John) Losson +1-305 924 0262
Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell, Inc. Realtors, Inc.

Miami was the life of the party during the housing boom, and now it’s got a major hangover - or make that overhang, the real estate term for how much inventory is sitting on the market and how long it’s going to take to move, given current sales levels. Miami has three years’ worth of overhang, say some experts - in other words, it’s a buyer’s market taken to the extreme.

Indeed, prices here are down 21.7% in a year, according to the S&P/Case Shiller home price index, while median condo prices fell 10% in December. Sales have nearly ground to a halt: Condo and single-family-home sales plunged 40% last year. There’s even a thriving subculture of lawyers who help panicked buyers break their preconstruction contracts. For attractive deals, look in the tony enclaves slightly to the north, like Aventura, Bal Harbour , and Sunny Isles Beach . Slightly farther inland but still close to the Miami center, Coral Gables is offering some good deals too.

But keep in mind that across the MacArthur Causeway, trendier Miami Beach still holds its cachet, especially for foreign buyers, whose exchange-rate-favored bank accounts can buy more and more by the day. As such, says market guru Guy Trusty of Lodging & Hospitality Realty, prime Miami Beach condos can fetch $1,000 per square foot, while in other parts of the city you can find new condos for $200 to $250 per square foot.

This article was published by CNN Money Fortune July 13, 2008

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Jane and Jean-Marie (John) Losson +1-305 924 0262
Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell, Inc. Realtors, Inc.

Miami qui était au coeur de l’action durant le “boom” immobilier, souffre maintenant d’une sacrée gueule de bois. La raison? La taille de l’inventaire de biens actuellement sur le marché et le temps qu’il faudra pour résorber cet inventaire - si l’on considère le volume actuel des ventes. Certains experts disent que l’inventaire disponible à Miami correspondant à trois ans de vente.

En d’autres termes, l’acheteur est plus que roi!

En effet, les prix ont chuté de 21.7% par rapport à l’année passée - selon l’index S&P/Case Shiller - tandis que le prix moyen des appartements est tombé de 10% en décembre. Les ventes sont pratiquement au point mort. Les ventes d’appartements et de villas ont chuté de 40% par rapport à l’année passée. C’est a ce point que certains avocats se sont spécialisés dans la rupture de contrats “pre-construction” signés par des acheteurs maintenant pris de panique.

Pour de bonnes affaires, examinez les régions de Aventura, Bal Harbor, Sunny Isles Beach. Un peu plus loin, Coral Gables offre d’excellentes opportunités.

Mais n’oubliez cependant pas qu’une fois traversé le McArthur causeway, le très en vogue Miami Beach a gardé son cachet, tout spécialement auprès des acheteurs étrangers, favorisés par les cours de change et le faible $. Et ils ne se privent pas d’acheter.

D’après Guy Trusty of Lodging & Hospitality Realty un excellent appartement à Miami Beach peut se vendre autour de $1,000 du ft2 (soit approximativement €6300/m2) tandis que dans d’autres quartiers de la ville, de nouveaux appartements se vendent à $200…$250 / ft2 (€1250…€1550 / m2).

Traduction d’un article paru dans CNN Money Fortune July 13, 2008

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Jane et Jean-Marie Losson: +1-305 924 0232
Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell, Inc. Realtors, Inc.

Sales and pending sales in all three Miami Beach zip codes showed a remarkable up tick during April and May of 2008, significantly reducing the number of months necessary to dispose of existing condo inventory.

For example, in the South Beach 33139 zip code the months of inventory fell from a high of about 55 or 60 months during the winter of 2007 to only between 18 and 21 months in April and May of 2008. June figures showed a slightly higher figure of 25.9 months of inventory – still a far cry from almost 5 years of inventory just months ago.

Facts and Trends, a statistical service provided to EWM Realtors, showed similarly positive results in the mid-beach zip code 33140 and north beach zip code, 33141. In May 2008 there were 37 waterfront condos sold and 40 with pending sales in mid-beach, the strongest figures in months. In February 2008 there was 96 months of inventory of those condos based on closed sales but by May the figure had dropped to 25 months!

June statistics in all zip codes showed diminished sales but the pending sales figures remained relatively strong for the month. And while the inventory of all Miami Beach properties remains high, sustaining a strong buyers market, it appears that buyers long sitting on the fence have decided to move.

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Jane and Jean-Marie (John) Losson +1-305 924 0262
Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell, Inc. Realtors, Inc.

The above graph shows the “months of inventory” in South Beach (Zipcode 33139) for Waterfront condos.

Similar graph for the 33139 zipcode, but for all condos properties : VIEW.

“Market Recovery Picking Its Spots,” proclaims the Miami Herald, July 10,2008. Neighborhoods close to downtown Miami and metrorail are showing signs of renewed buyer interest, along with the “perennially attractive markets like Miami Beach,” according to the paper.

As we’ve been reporting for some time, foreign buyers – particularly Europeans with their strong currency – are helping support the market strength in Miami Beach. “Indeed that city saw more sales in May than almost any other area of Miami Dade with 136 condos sold…. the median price has remained virtually flat compared to a year ago at $376,000.”

Those statistics confirm that Miami Beach continues to do well despite the general downturn in Florida and U.S. real estate. To be sure there are good bargains on the Beach, however, the notion that fire sales are taking place everywhere at all price levels is not borne out by the facts.

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Jane and Jean-Marie (John) Losson +1-305 924 0262
Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell, Inc. Realtors, Inc.

A fabulous new yachting resort, “The Residences” at Island Gardens Miami by Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, will break ground late 2009 on Miami’s Watson Island. Watson Island is ideally situated between Miami and Miami Beach and boasts some of the loveliest water views in the region .
The stunning mixed-use development will include private residences in the Shangri-La Hotel, available through either full or fractional ownership. The ownership plans include use of the development’s yachts, anchored at what will be Miami’s only mega-yacht marina.
The development will include high-end international retail shops, a selection of waterfront restaurants from cafes to celebrity chef venues, and a super luxurious spa in the hotel. Developers say that of the 100 private residences, about 17 have already been spoken for. Prices range from $215,000 for a one-eighth share of a small unit to $10,000,000 for a penthouse unit, which are only sold as full ownership units.
A one-eight ownership will purchase 45 days of use, plus two days of yacht use. Rentals are permissible. The project is expected to finish construction at the end of 2011.

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Jane and Jean-Marie (John) Losson +1-305 924 0262
Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell, Inc. Realtors, Inc.

While the lure of South Beach for many people is the lively street and nightlife, cool shopping venues and trendy restaurants, others prefer the calm and quiet of the South of Fifth neighborhood at the southern most point on Miami Beach.
There are spectacular oceanfront buildings like the Continuum and the newest addition, the Apogee, currently two of the priciest buildings on Miami Beach.
There are however, lovely, slightly older buildings on the Biscayne Bay side, where one can find a two- bedroom, two- bath condo for under $800,000, many with gorgeous views of the Miami Beach Marina, the Port of Miami and the Miami’s stunning skyline. For those buying with euros, that works out to only around €500,000 !

In short, there is something for all tastes and pocketbooks in Miami Beach.

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Jane and Jean-Marie (John) Losson +1-305 924 0262
Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell, Inc. Realtors, Inc.

Bal Habour

A couple took a woman’s parking spot in the parking garage at the Shops of Bal Harbour, 9700 Collins Ave., and hit her with a Hermes Birkin bag after she confronted them at 1:30p.m. June 18.
The victim said she was about to turn her car into the parkingspot when a BMW cur her off and took the spot. When the victim approached the couple to explain she was about to take the spot, the woman hit her with her handbag across the face.
The couple then entered a store before quickly leaving in their BMW.

(From the Miami Herald, July 3rd 2008)