January 8th, 2010 · No Comments
Wow, that's all I can say! Fannie Mae just released a bulletin detailing a new Special Approval Designation for Florida Condominium Projects. As a result, you can now get financing in many condo buildings where cheap units were previously only available to all cash buyers.
Many existing condominium projects were previously made ineligible for Fannie Mae loans as a result of increasing delinquencies and foreclosures. As a result, prices fell precipitously in those buildings as the universe of potential buyers was drastically reduced. To illustrate, in a building like the Club at Brickell Bay in Downtown Miami / Brickell you could purchase a 1br unit for between $120,000 and $145,000, but it had to be an all cash transaction. On the flip side, to purchase a similar unit in one of the new buildings by the Related Group, you would have to pay almost double the price, but you would be able to get a loan. The quality of the Related Group's buildings is slightly better, but it doesn't justify paying two times the price. The difference is the financing.
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Posted in Distressed Properties, Downtown Miami / Brickell, Financing, Miami Beach | No Comments »
December 14th, 2009 · No Comments
It's no surprise that every client that I work with is interested in getting a great deal on a property. A fair amount of them are only interested in looking at bank owned properties, figuring that is where they can get the best deal. Recently, bidding wars have been breaking out for bank owned properties as a result of high demand and low list prices.
In order to capitalize on the demand for attractively priced properties, real estate "flippers" have returned to Miami albeit in a slightly different form. Flippers purchase properties at the daily foreclosure sales held by the Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Courts and then list them for resale on the open market. In buildings where there have been a lot of foreclosures such as the Club at Brickell Bay (1200 Brickell Bay Drive), there are several units currently attempting to be flipped by these auction investors. This trend has not gone unnoticed by the mainstream media. The Wall Street Journal just published an article entitled "House Flipping Makes a Comeback" on the subject.
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Posted in Distressed Properties, Downtown Miami / Brickell, Miami Beach | No Comments »
December 9th, 2009 · No Comments
Right now there are some amazing opportunities to purchase condos in Miami Beach, Downtown Miami / Brickell, North Bay Village, or Sunny Isles Beach. During November 2009, there was a noticeable increase in sales compared with October. It was primarily driven by an increase in completed short sale transactions. The banks may have finally gotten their act together and realize that short sales are the most efficient way to deal with the foreclosure crisis. I'm very interested to see how this plays out over the next few months. As a result, short sale inventory dropped across all areas. During November, some cheap bank owned condos changed hands in the South of Fifth area of Miami Beach. There was one at the Icon and another at the Portofino Tower -- details are below. A couple of notable short sales were completed in Downtown Miami as well. The data used in this summary has been provided courtesy of the Southeast Florida MLS.
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Posted in Downtown Miami / Brickell, Miami Beach, Stats and Trends | No Comments »
November 17th, 2009 · No Comments
When purchasing a condo, one of the most important things to take into consideration are the monthly homeowner association assessments or maintenance fees. These fees are paid by unit owners in order to cover the cost of the building's amenities, maintenance, insurance, etc... It is important to understand the health of the condo association as well as provisions in the condo documents as they may lead to increases in HOA fees in the future.
A condo association is designed to operate as a not for profit corporation charged with the task of operating the building. The association elects a board of directors to run the corporation and serve as the building's administrative contact.
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Posted in Downtown Miami / Brickell, Uncategorized | No Comments »
November 9th, 2009 · No Comments
Right now there are some amazing opportunities to purchase condos in Miami Beach, Downtown Miami / Brickell, North Bay Village, or Sunny Isles Beach. During October 2009, condo inventory continued to decrease across all areas. Sales have been running at the same pace for the last couple months, but have improved from 2008 levels. The majority of sales and REO inventory have been of condos priced under $250,000. Sales in Sunny Isles Beach seem to be struggling. Half the sales were for under $150,000 even though the area is full of new luxury condo buildings. The data used in this summary has been provided courtesy of the Southeast Florida MLS.
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Posted in Downtown Miami / Brickell, Miami Beach, Stats and Trends | No Comments »
October 26th, 2009 · No Comments
As usual, I'm always out visiting condo buildings here in Miami with or without my clients. The other day I was in Akoya on Miami Beach looking at 1 bedroom REO property that came on the market for $240,000. I've always liked Akoya since it was built in 2004, but this is the first time I managed to snap some pictures. Akoya is one of the newer buildings located in North Beach and offers awesome ocean views on either side of the building. You can see up or down the coast because the building sits closer to the beach than those nearby.
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Posted in Miami Beach, Walking Tours | No Comments »
October 22nd, 2009 · 3 Comments
In today's market, many buyers are using FHA backed mortgages to finance a purchase of a new home or condo. The FHA offers loans with as little as 3.5% down, which is very attractive, especially considering the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit. According to a recent survey of home builders by John Burns Real Estate Consulting, the FHA has backed a staggering 62% of new home loans given in South Florida.
So, its no surprise that I have been working with many condo buyers lately looking to get FHA backed loans. This has not been an easy task. There are not many FHA approved buildings in the greater downtown Miami area. I've compiled a short list below of the 10 or so buildings that I would consider showing to clients.
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Posted in Downtown Miami / Brickell, Financing | 3 Comments »
October 14th, 2009 · No Comments
One of the buildings in Downtown Miami that offers amazing views, but gets very little publicity is the Emerald at Brickell. The Emerald sits at 218 SE 14th Street in the vicinity of the Jade and the Four Seasons. It's the easternmost building on that street, so you get amazing views of Biscayne Bay and Miami Beach. The Emerald was completed in 2006 and contains 142 units on 27 floors.
By far an away the best units in the building are the "01" line which have 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1594 sqft, and have an expansive terrace that faces directly east onto Biscayne Bay. Earlier this year, Unit 2201 sold for $300,000 in a REO transaction. View Details. I doubt we'll see these prices again, but that was an amazing steal. I had the opportunity to visit another "01" unit in the building and snapped a couple of photos. See below.
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Posted in Downtown Miami / Brickell, Walking Tours | No Comments »
October 13th, 2009 · No Comments
Right now there are some amazing opportunities to purchase condos in Miami Beach, Downtown Miami / Brickell, North Bay Village, or Sunny Isles Beach. During September 2009, condo inventory continued to decrease across all areas. In Downtown Miami / Brickell, some developers sold out of inventory in buildings like 1060 Brickell and Brickell on the River after price reductions. The market for luxury ($1mm+) condos is starting to improve in Miami Beach and Downtown Miami / Brickell, but luxury sales fell off in Sunny Isles Beach. The data used in this summary has been provided courtesy of the Southeast Florida MLS.
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Posted in Stats and Trends | No Comments »
October 12th, 2009 · No Comments
Recently, I had the opportunity to tour the Axis on Brickell, another one of the new condo buildings that have opened in Downtown Miami / Brickell. The Axis on Brickell is "Conditionally" Approved by Fannie Mae meaning that Fannie will start buying loans once the developer has around 50% of the units presold. Right now, however, all transactions must be cash, as they have not reached the required amount of presales. Currently, the Axis offers an excellent developer rental program as the pace of sales in the building has been slow due to the lack of financing. Please contact us for more information on the rental program at Axis.
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Posted in Downtown Miami / Brickell, Walking Tours | No Comments »
