Right now there are some amazing opportunities to purchase condos in Miami Beach, Downtown Miami /Brickell, North Bay Village, or Sunny Isles Beach.  During the condo boom Downtown Miami / Brickell and Sunny Isles Beach were flooded with new luxury condo construction.  Miami Beach had some new construction as well, but most of the activity there was focused on condo conversions.  Keep reading for a summary of what happened in each market in July 2009.  The data used in this summary has been provided courtesy of the Southeast Florida MLS.

Miami Beach Condo Sales

In July 2009, there were 110 closed sales in Miami Beach, a decrease from the 130 condos sold during July 2008.  Cash continues to be king, as 75 of the 110 closed sales were cash transactions.  REO's and Short Sales made up 33% of the transaction volume, with 21 and 15 transactions respectively.  The luxury condo market ($1mm+) continues to move slowly as only 6 sales took place.  On the flip side, condos under $150,000 continue to be the center of activity with 29 of the 110 sales.  About half of the condos sold for less than $150,000 were in the 33141 zipcode.  The $1mm+ and <150k price brackets look vastly different when comparing July '08 and '09 sales.  In July 2008, there were 16 condos sold of $1mm+ as opposed to only 9 condos sold under 150k.  Currently, buyers are opting to buy the much cheaper condo units.

In Miami Beach, there were 3,143 active listings at the end of July.  Short sales continue to make up a significant amount of the listed properties, with 587 of the 3,143 listings being short sales.  However, there were only 38 REO properties listed, as REO's do not stay on the market long.

Notable transactions:

• Mirador 1000 #924 - 1 bed / 1-1/2 bath, 962 sq ft, Sold for $120,000 ($125/sq ft) on 7/28/2009.  Short Sale.
• The Waverly #1109 - 2 bed / 2 bath, 1127 sq ft, Sold for $255,000 ($226/sq ft) on 7/2/2009.  REO.
• The Floridian #1609 - 2 bed / 2 bath, 1078 sq ft, Sold for $376,000 ($349/sq ft) on 7/10/2009.  REO.
• Apogee #1201 - 4 bed / 3-1/2 bath, 4154 sq ft, Sold for $5,450,000 ($1312/sq ft) on 7/23/2009.

Downtown Miami / Brickell Condo Sales

In July 2009, there were 62 closed sales in Downtown Miami / Brickell, a decrease from the 94 condos sold during July 2008.   The July 2008 sales numbers are a bit biased, due to 36 closings in Met 1 Miami which had just opened.  Buyers continue to look for foreclosure bargains downtown, as there were 24 REO transactions as well as 14 short sales making up over 61% of the total.  40 of the 62 sales were cash transactions.  The majority of activity downtown (35 sales) were under $200,000.  At the end of July, there were 1,969 active listings, 560 of them being short sales, and 22 REO's.

Notable transactions:

• The Club at Brickell Bay #2223 - 2 bed / 2 bath, 1105 sq ft, Sold for $175,600 ($159/sq ft) on 7/16/2009. REO.
• The Sail #2901 - 2 bed / 2 bath, 1090 sq ft, Sold for $250,000 ($229/sq ft) on 7/10/2009.  Short Sale.
• Jade#4503 - 2 bed / 3 bath, 1730 sq ft, Sold for $720,000 ($416/sq ft) on 7/24/2009.  REO.

Sunny Isles Beach Condo Sales

In July 2009, there were 51 closed sales in Sunny Isles Beach,  a slight decrease from the 53 condos sold during July 2008.  Again, the overwhelming majority (42) of these sales were cash transactions.  8 sales were REO's and there were 13 short sales.  Due to the abundance of new construction, 8 $1mm+ condos sold in Sunny Isles, which is 2 more than in Miami Beach.  Similar to what is happening in Miami Beach, from July '08 to '09 there was a drastic shift in Sunny Isles, as more people bought condos under $150,000 and less people bought condos over $1mm.  16 of the 51 sales were of condos under $150,000.  At the end of July, there were 1,220 active listings, 244 of them being short sales, and 14 REO's.

Notable transactions:

• Ocean Three #2407 - 3 bed / 4-1/2 bath, 2649 sq ft, Sold for $900,000 ($340/sq ft) on 7/23/2009.
• Trump Palace #3801 - 3 bed / 3 bath, 2435 sq ft, Sold for $1,120,000 ($460/sq ft) on 7/13/2009.
• Turnberry Ocean Colony#3004 - 4 bed / 6-1/2 bath, 3735 sq ft, Sold for $2,000,000 ($535/sq ft) on 7/2/2009.

North Bay Village Condo Sales

In July 2009, there were 15 closed sales in North Bay Village, an increase from the 4 condos sold during July 2008.  Practically all the sales were foreclosure transactions, with 7 short sales, and 5 REO's.  The median sales price was $145,000.  At the end of July, there were 275 active listings, with 125 of them (45%) being short sales.  There were only 8 REO listings.

Notable transactions:

• Treasures on the Bay #8C - 1 bed / 1 bath, 825 sq ft, Sold for $89,000 ($108/sq ft) on 7/10/2009.
• Grandview Palace #2024 - 2 bed / 2 bath, 1030 sq ft, Sold for $145,000 ($140/sq ft) on 7/3/2009.

Tags: cash, condo, downtown miami, july 2009 condo sales, miami beach condo sales, north bay village, REO, short sale, Sunny Isles Beach