Miami Beach Real Estate Blog

Market Snapshot - Miami Beach homes sold in 2009

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Nearing the bottom of the Miami Beach housing bubble (single family homes only, condos are a completely different story.

With buyers trying to time the bottom of the Miami Beach home market, I thought I would do my own research and publish it here.

Many out of state and out of the country Miami Beach home buyers naturally get their market information from new sources like the New York Times and network news.

In addition, friends and neighbors all have their opinion on the market.

I will give you the raw data on pre-foreclosure and bank owned homes.

I believe that once all of the distress homes have sold, prices will stabilize. The short sale homes and foreclosure home sales will set the bottom of the market.

One advantage to buying a home or condo while the foreclosures are still high is that you will have a better selection of lower-priced properties. Foreclosures will be dwindling by this time next year as there aren’t as many owners defaulting on their mortgages as there were last year.

Here is a snapshot of the homes sales market in 2009. 1 in 4 homes was a pre-foreclosure or a bank-owned home.

Next, I will post the sales to date for 2010.

Market Snapshot 2009– Miami Beach Homes – South of 63^rd Street

129 homes sold in 2009

Waterfront homes – 31 sold from $1,115,000 to $16,000,000

Non-waterfront homes – 98 sold from $262,000 to $2,400,000

Bank-owned homes – 21 sold

“Short sales” (pre-foreclosure) – 13 homes sold.

Highest-priced sale - 26 Star Island $16,000,000

Lowest-priced sale – 2192 Alton Road $262,000 – this one needed some TLC!

28 homes sold under $500,000

7 homes sold over $5,000,000

202 home listings expired without selling in 2009! The market has been tough on sellers who want 2005 prices for their homes.

Lowest price per square foot (sold price) - $89/square foot

Highest price per square foot – (sold price) - $1026/square foot

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The inside scoop on Star Island Homes

Friday, January 08, 2010

Star Island in South Beach is synonymous with luxury waterfront living.

Star Island is aptly named as celebrities from the sports and entertainment world have lived on the island since the 1920s.

Former residents include Shaq and Elizabeth Taylor. Current residents include two A-list music producers and recording stars, a former talk show host, a well-known fashion designer and a real estate tycoon.

Located just north of the MacArthur Causeway (395), Star Island runs north and south. All of the homes are waterfront.

Like all of Miami Beach’s residential islands in Biscayne Bay, Star Island was created by dredging sand from the bottom of the bay in the early 1920s.

Homes on the west side of the island have desirable views of downtown Miami. Homes on the east side of the island have beautiful wide bay views of South Beach.

Passing the guard gate, the first home on the right is 48 Star Island Drive. As you drive north on the island, the numbers descend. After rounding the cul de sac on the north end of the island, and returning to the guard gate, the last home on the right is 1 Star Island Drive.

Currently there are 34 Star Island properties in total; there are 24 homes and ten 40,000 square foot plots of vacant land.

40,000 square feet is the average lot size, just under one acre.

There are 12 lots of exactly 40,000 square feet, one at 60,000 square feet, one at 80,664 square feet and one property of over 268,000 square feet (6.5 acres!)

Water frontage varies. The typical 40,000 lot is 400 feet deep with 100 feet of water frontage.

As new construction of a 10,000 -15,000 square feet home runs $700-$1000 per square foot for high end finishes, a new home may cost $7,000,000 to $15,000,000.

Therefore a new or remodeled could comprise 50% of the value of a Star Island property.

Currently, there are three homes for sale on Star Island:

40 Star Island Drive is listed at $24,000,000. With 9854 of interior space and 87,120 feet of land, the property is listed at $2435 per square foot for the home and $275 per square foot for the land. 304 feet of water frontage leaves ample room for a mega yacht.

44 Star Island Drive is listed for $8,750,000. With 4720 of interior space and 48,266 feet of land, the property is listed at $1853 per square foot for the home and $181 per square foot for the land. This home has been completely gutted and is prepared for a renovation.

45 Star Island Drive is listed for $15,500,000. With 10,598 of interior space and 48,374 feet of land, the property is listed at $1462 per square foot for the home and $320 per square foot for the land.

Currently, there are two plots of land for sale on Star Island:

28 Star Island Drive is listed for $9,000,000 for 40,000 square feet of land at $225 per square foot for the land. This property just came on the market in November 2005. It was listed in 2005 for $17,500,000.

30 Star Island Drive is listed for $8,500,000 for 40,000 square feet of land at $212 per square foot for the land.

Notable Star Island sales:

26 Star Island Drive – in June 2009, Shaq’s former residence sold for $16,000,000. With 106,722 square feet of land and a residence of 19,440 square feet, the home sold for $823 per square foot and the land sold for $149 per square foot.

6 Star Island – In 2006, this vacant lot sold for $27,000,000 for 80,000 square feet of land; $337.50 per square foot for the land. This double lot has wide bay views of downtown.

44 Star Island Drive – sold for $8,100,000 in August of 2008. With 4720 of interior space and 48,266 feet of land, the property sold at $1716 per square foot for the home and $167 per square foot for the land.

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Update blog -did the best Miami Beach home deals sell?

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Follow-up Blog – Did my “best deals” on Miami Beach homes from my August 16^th and May 29^th blogs sell?

7 of the 9 Miami Beach homes have sold and closed, 1 is a pending sale and one property is still on the market.

Here are the specifics on how my May 29^th “best deals” and August 18^th Indian Creek “best deals” have fared.

Both of the two Indian Creek homes I chose as deals on August 18th have gone under contract and closed: 22 Indian Creek Drive and 34 Indian Creek Drive.

22 Indian Creek Drive was listed at $10,950,000. This home has 7582 square feet under air. It sold for $9,000,000 or a reasonable $112.50 per square foot for the land (80,000 square feet)

34 Indian Creek Drive was listed at $8,900,000. This home only had 3684 under air. It sold for $6,000,000 or $75 square feet for the land. (80,000 square feet of land)

Both of the Indian Creek properties measure 200 feet wide (waterfrontage) by 400 feet

deep.

In both of these cases, I used price per square foot as my main determinant of value as the

majority of the property’s value is in the land.

4949 Pinetree Drive (a distress sale) sold for $8,000,000.

With over 2 acres (102,000 square feet) of Miami Beach waterfront property and 630 feet on the water, this original Miami Beach estate home was a deal at only $78 per square foot for the land. Even though this home needs a complete remodel, a buyer recognized this as an opportunity. The home was originally built by the Kresge family, founders of K Mart

In June 26, I chose two “great deals” on N Bay Rd. 4640 N Bay Rd has a contract pending, the owners of 3114 N bay Rd have decided not to sell.

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The New York Times take on South Beach 2009

Monday, December 07, 2009

Wow!

I have been too busy showing Miami Beach Homes to blog. We had the Art Basel festival this week and it brought alot of real estate buyers into Miami Beach from New York.

A friend posted this article on Facebook on South Beach. I think it is quite accurate.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/travel/06hours.html

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Frequently Asked Questions Miami Beach Homes and Taxes

Friday, October 30, 2009

Frequently Asked Questions about Miami Beach Real Estate

Q: How long do you need to own a Miami Beach home in order to be exempt from paying capital gains tax when reselling it?

A: If the home is your primary residence you have lived there for 2 of the previous 5 years, you can exclude up to $250,000 of your capital gain ($500,000 if your married filing jointly) and you/spouse qualify.

Q: What is the Florida Homestead Exemption?

A: Florida Law entitles every person, who has legal or equitable title to real estate and maintains it as his/her permanent residence, to apply for a $25,000 homestead property tax exemption. Basically, take the assessed value of your property and subtract $25,000. You will be taxed on the remainder. You do need to apply for the exemption annually through the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser.

Q: How much will I pay in property taxes on a Miami Beach home?

A: Don’t be fooled by looking at the property taxes the current owner is paying. The current owner started paying taxes based on the assessed value of the home at the time of purchase. As a result of Amendment 10 in the Florida Constitution, the government can only raise the assessed value of properties with Homestead Exemption 3% per year. When the property is sold, the appraiser will assess the home at its full value and the new owner will pay taxes based on this amount. The Miami-Dade property appraiser’s site is the best resource for your tax questions at http://www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/pa/. They even have a property tax estimator.

Q: What is a 1031 tax deferred exchange?

A: In a typical real estate transaction, the property owner is taxed on any gain realized from the sale. However, through a Section 1031 Exchange, the tax on the gain is deferred until some future date. A tax-deferred exchange is a method by which a property owner trades one or more relinquished real estate properties for one or more replacement properties of "like-kind", while deferring the payment of federal income taxes and some state taxes on the transaction.

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Miami Beach Homes for Sale - Home Buying Process explained

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Here’s a quick blog on the typical process of buying a Miami Beach home for sale.

First of all, as a busy Realtor, I make sure buyers have been pre-approved for a mortgage or if they have proof of substantial funds in the case of a cash sale.

The next step is previewing Miami Beach homes for sale. Most buyers will look at 5-15 homes before discovering a home that they wish to make an offer on.

The next step is a written contract offer signed by the buyers.

In Miami Beach and in Florida, real estate brokerages use a contract prepared by the Florida Bar Association of Attorneys and the Florida Association of Realtors.

This contract is referred to as a FAR-BAR contract.

Also by tradition, Miami Beach home buyers use an addendum to the home sales contract referred to as the “As-is with the right to inspect” clause.

This addendum clause gives the buyers 10 business days to inspect the house, and then decide if they would like to continue with the purchase of the property in its current condition or opt out of the contract.

Contract offers are presented in writing by email or fax after the buyers have initialed and signed each page.

Most often, buyers deposit 10% in the Coldwell Banker Escrow (holding) bank account with another 10% deposit due within 10 business days. Closing dates are written into the contract 5-6 weeks after the "execution date" (the date when all parties have signed and initialed all changes)

After receiving the initial offer, the seller can accept, reject or counter-offer the buyer’s initial bid on the home.

Then the buyer can accept, reject or counter-offer this new figure.

Typically, this negotiation will go back and forth 2-3 times.

If the offer/counter-offer process takes 5 or more moves, the buyer and seller can become impatient.

Each Miami Beach home buyer and seller has a different tolerance for negotiation.

After the buyer and seller agree to a price and sign all contract changes, the contract is officially "executed".

In Miami- Dade County, by tradition, the seller pays for a title search (a nominal fee).

The buyers choose the title company and pay for title insurance on the home.

Title insurance insures the buyer against future claims to the property (unknown heirs, etc.) Attorneys in Florida can also serve as title agents.

A title company insures the title of each property for a fee; "title insurance" and handles the official closing paperwork for the home sale. This final closing statement is known as a HUD-1 statement also known as the closing statement.

The HUD-1 is a form used by the settlement agent to itemize all charges for a real estate transaction. It gives each party a complete list of their incoming and outgoing funds.

Typically, a total of 20% deposit is held in the broker's escrow account after the inspection period has passed and the remainder of the cash is wired to the tile company just prior to the closing.

Most buyers and sellers never meet in person. “The closing” is attended by the title agent or attorney, the real estate agents, and the mortgage broker.

More often than not, the buyer will sign their paperwork at the title company, and the seller will sign at a different time during the day.

As many Miami Beach home buyes and sellers are not full-time residents, home closings are often “mail away” closings where the buyer and seller FedEx their paperwork to the title company the day before the closing.

I work for many out-of-state and foreign national clients who have purchased property in their home areas that use different procedures. I have learned that real estate procedures vary from country to country, state to state and even county to county.

Once again, feel free to call or email me for more explanation of the Miami Beach home buying and selling process.

John Gee 305-609-1087

Miami Beach homes sales specialist

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