South of Fifth Luxury Condo Building Pictures
May 31, 2009 by Lucas Lechuga
Earlier this week, I arrived back in Miami from a 5-day cruise and was able to take some nice pictures of several of the luxury condo buildings in South of Fifth as the cruise ship departed. Just wanted to share them with everyone.
Continuum South:
Continuum South and Continuum North towers:
The beautiful beaches in South Beach:
South of Fifth luxury condo buildings:
I know Apogee is nice, but that photo makes it look like a housing project.
Lucas, you need to toss the 3 megapixel camera and buy a new one.
I dunno if it is that the picture quality is bad or that Lucas is downgrading a megabyte pic into kilobyte size for easy downloading. But in any case the pictures quality is awful, and the most beautiful place on Earth ended up looking like Tijuana. Instead may I suggest to put the pics on Picasa or Shutterfly and provide the link? It is not exciting to read a story piece with out pics but this is a problem here and is there an alternative? But critisism apart, A+ for effort. Thanks.
Anyway this is the NYT story on SOFI:
IT was a sunny Monday afternoon, and the scene around the yellow-and-orange cabanas at La Piaggia Beach Club was laid-back and effortlessly chic. Waiters brought trays of chilled rosé, goose pâté and “les mini cheeseburgers.” Women, wearing cunning coverups that manage to cover up nothing, dipped their manicured feet into the sand.
A few attractive young bodies were leisurely sunning near the saltwater pool, but nobody was in the pool itself. It was just for show, as was the plaque on the weathered wooden front door falsely stating that the club was “members only.” With the blue waters and swaying palms, the scene at La Piaggia could almost be mistaken for St. Barts or Mustique. Except, of course, for the surrounding sea wall of beachfront condos that screamed Miami.
In recent years, the triangular district at the tip of South Beach has emerged as a chic yet relaxed alternative to the typical Ocean Drive frenzy farther north. It even has a hip moniker, SoFi, which stands for South of Fifth Street — the four-lane thoroughfare that cleaves the neighborhood from the rest of the area.
North of Fifth Street, club kids work off their hangovers at Ocean Drive madhouses like News Cafe, bachelorettes prowl for gallon-size frozen margaritas (with four straws) and busloads of tourists search for the Versace mansion. All the while, menu-wielding hostesses canvass passersby with two-for-one drink specials.
In contrast, the area south of Fifth almost feels like a gated resort — though, in reality, anyone can waltz in. More European than Daytona Beach-at-spring-break, the SoFi scene skews a little older, a little more arrived than arriviste, cushioned by the base of wealthy second-home owners from the area’s gleaming condos.
And just as downtown Manhattanites joke that they get nosebleeds north of 14th Street, SoFi residents have taken to saying that there is no reason to go above Fifth to socialize anymore.
For brunch-time gossip, locals pull up to Big Pink, a nouveau diner that functions like a general store. At sunset, Smith & Wollensky or Monty’s South Beach are the big draws, particularly on Fridays, to watch the looming cruise ships slowly move out to sea. If the wind is blowing in the right direction, strains of “Y.M.C.A.” or Bob Marley can be heard.
And for a crazier party atmosphere, there is the splashy Nikki Beach Club, where bronze bodies lounge on daybeds under private canopies, bottles of Piper-Heidsieck chill in ice buckets, and young women in turquoise Pocahontas-fringed bikinis dance to entertain guests.
While the beauty of South Beach is often obscured by the partying, SoFi denizens also make the most of this picturesque barrier island. Every day at 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., yogis meet for mixed-level classes at the pink lifeguard stand at the Third Street Beach, mastering their downward dogs in the ocean breezes while following the trajectory of the sun.
More yogis can be found at South Pointe Park, a 17.5-acre esplanade that reopened on the island’s southern tip in March after a $22 million renovation. During the day, the park is filled with young families, bikers and dog walkers — all enjoying the dune grass blowing in the breeze, wildflowers sprouting and waves lapping on the shore. At night, 18 light towers glow in different colors, illuminating an area that was once a scary needle park.
SoFi rose from the ashes of urban decay. For decades, it was a dangerous no man’s land — the only destination worth visiting probably was the venerable Joe’s Stone Crab, where diners ate secure in the knowledge that valets guarded their shiny Cadillacs.
Then, starting in the mid-1990s, as the revival of South Beach attracted developers to the natural beauty of the point, towering condos with multimillion-dollar apartments began to appear. Restaurants and other businesses trickled back in.
Among the pioneers was Myles Chefetz, who opened Nemo, a trendy spot with an outdoor courtyard, in 1995. “There were no signs of life,” said Mr. Chefetz, who now runs numerous restaurants and other hotspots in SoFi, and is known as the Sultan of South Fifth. “Nemo is in a former bum-laden crack hotel where they used to film ‘Miami Vice.’ ”
Hotels soon followed. Today, top-notch accommodations include a beachfront Marriott and the all-suite Hilton Bentley Miami/South Beach. They are joined this month by the Sense South Beach, a luxury boutique hotel with 18 rooms and a rooftop pool.
More hotels are on their way. In August, Mr. Chefetz is opening the Prime Hotel, a modern 14-unit resort next to Brown’s Hotel. Opening rates are set at $300 a night.
Not that SoFi is sleepy the rest of year; the demand for a happening scene is a Miami imperative. On a warm Thursday evening in late April, a crush of leggy patrons in miniskirts and high heels and their older boyfriends converged at the outdoor tables at Prime Italian, an offshoot of Prime One Twelve, the stylish steakhouse in Brown’s Hotel. (Both are owned by Mr. Chefetz.)
Prime Italian, with its clubby macho décor, is a restaurant conceived to separate pro athletes from their money via a culinary invention called Kobe meatballs. A crowd of overdressed and underdressed clamored for tables near the bar, where, recently, the N.B.A. star Antoine Walker sat watching a Celtics-Bulls playoff game. The scene prompted one visitor to tag it as Bentleyville in honor of the gridlock of $300,000 cars.
Yes, it may be SoFi. But it’s still South Beach.
And here is the full Link:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/travel/31next.html?hpw
South of Fifth is the most over hyped area in Miami. It’s a crack hole compared to Coral Gables.
Wild Bill you are a hoot. Our resident optimist. LOL!
So true Wild Bill. BTW Riff Raf=AJ
I wonder why the newyourktimes disk’ t do a story on pacepark an the bodies of it’s glistening bronzed hobos?
IRR = Ignorance Running Rampant
Check out some of the inhabitants of pace park http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccgXjA2BLEY&feature=related. Bubb rubb and lil sis
South Beach is all about train horns. Not so sure about muffler whistles. Nothing beats a vehicle with an air compressor and a train horn.
South of Fifth residents claim the Browns Hotel is not a hotel and La Piaggia Beach Club isn’t private. South of Fifth has awful quality of life issues which is why they have such a vocal community association. People in nice areas usually don’t have to deal with half the crap Miami Beach residents have to. As always government is one step behind. Enjoy your million dollar condos in a dollar store neighborhood.
http://www.spotcrime.com/fl/miami
And now for a completely different type of diversion…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXd6sZXo7nM&NR=1
“For brunch-time gossip, locals pull up to Big Pink, a nouveau diner that functions like a general store. ”
You always get surreal quips like this when an out of towner tries to concoct an article without even visiting the city in question.
IRR = Intentionally radical renter
i love coral gables!!!! now your talking
The Browns Hotel only has 9 rooms. I wouldn’t exactly call it a hotel either. Its just a mask for a hotel so they could put Prime 112 in the small building. Sneaky, but genius, lawyers.
La Piaggia…private? lol No membership needed. No way would I ever pay a membership to hang out over there in a tiny pool with sand. As long as you are buying some drinks, you’re in.
This is only tangentially related to SoFi, but can anyone explain how this year’s Miami tax assessments only dropped 9% when Miami housing prices have dropped by 30 to 40%?
Joe, this city’s more corrupt than the mafia. They’ll probably just raise the millage rate to a point where taxes actually go up even though assessments go down.
Joe,
Many of the homeowners did not pay full taxes on the appreciated prices from 2000-2007, since we have homestead exemptions. Thus the drops in prices also do not result in the same significant decreases, since in 2009 the homeowner may have only been paying 2003 prices, due to caps on yearly increases. Those who purchased at the peak are in a different boat, but they do not make up the majority of home owners.
I saw The Ace on Fox Happy Hour a week or so back and he specifically mentioned one or more of these buildings would be valued down to $125.00 per square foot or less in the not to distant future. Personally I’m done arguing with Ace as the economic data today cannot support any other view. The amazing thing is that The Ace called it some three years ago if I recall rightly.
One of these SoFi buildings at $125/s.f.? Wouldn’t that require about a further 70% drop from today’s prices? I don’t know much about South Pointe Tower or Portofino Tower, but the others seem to be selling for $700 or more per sq. foot right now.
Joe,
These buildings will never drop to that value. They will never even reach $300/sf, at which point i would certainly jump in with both feet. Other beach condos may fall, but SoFi will not-the neighborhood is good, safe and will maintain value for years to come. This neighborhood has the advantage of only needing to resist creep from undesirable areas from the north only, which will make it easier to maintain a more upscale neighborhood. The buildings are magnificent, and the money living in them is great enough to maintain the building and the area. No significant fears of lack of building maintenance in this area. Cant say the same about other miami areas-Brickell, Pace Park, etc.
No way will they see anywhere near $125. That is just stupid. Most of these buildings are small (from a number of unit standpoint). Its not like they are 1800-unit Icon Brickell buildings.
In fact, I doubt all the towers in SoFi even add up to 1,800 units. Plus, you can’t build anymore high rise buildings in SoFi. What you see now is it forever.
There will be no moratorium on SoFi highrises. Plenty will appear over the next couple of decades. There is land, especially inland, which will support the construction of several high rises, in the SoFi area. You cannot stop development and expansion, especially in Miami, where the developers will provide larger bribes than the preservationists. Just a fact of Miami politics. Plenty of parking lots in the area will be turned into something much larger-and i think that is a good thing. Make the area a true community.
To proffer that any of these ocean front luxury buildings will fall to $125/sq. foot is beyond stupid.
Gables, you will never see another high rise in SoFi. The zoning will not allow anything above 50 feet inland. Some areas its 35 feet. Changing zoning to allow a big tower would have zero chance. Just ask the developers of Bijou who just wanted to put a restaurant/bar in their tiny 3 story hotel. You can’t get past the planning board, the historic board, the mayor, the commissioners, and the neighborhood associations.
Maybe if all the criminals and dipsits running our local govenment had had the foresight and financial common-sense not to squander their windfall boom-era revenues and set aside aqequte reserves for when the party inevitably ended, we wouldn’t be in this situation….
Miami-Dade property tax funds drop; cuts likely
The worst decline in property taxes in at least four decades will leave elected officials with the uncomfortable task of closing massive projected budget deficits.
BY MATTHEW HAGGMAN AND CHARLES RABIN
[email protected]
Miami-Dade County property tax values nose-dived 9 percent during the past year, making it the worst year-over-year decline in at least 40 years, according to figures released Monday by the county property appraiser’s office.
The steep decline will mean county and city leaders will be forced to raise property taxes, cut government services or a combination of the two to make up for a staggering drop in revenues.
”These losses in property tax roll values are unprecedented,” County Manager George Burgess wrote in a memo to commissioners Monday, who pegged the estimated overall county budget shortfall between $350 million and $400 million for the coming fiscal year.
This year’s drop marks the first time Miami-Dade’s taxable values dropped since 1993, when assessments dipped 2.9 percent after Hurricane Andrew wiped out wide swaths of South Florida, according to the county appraiser’s office. A year ago, values were essentially flat, despite voter-approved tax reductions and a rapidly faltering housing market.
The announcement from the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser’s Office comes less than a week after Broward’s property appraiser said taxable values there dropped 10.7 percent.
DIFFERENT STANDARDS
The two counties used different standards in making their calculations. Miami-Dade included short sales (in which a lender allows a property to be sold for less than owed on a mortgage) but not foreclosures in its assessment; Broward included short sales and foreclosed properties listed for sale on the open market.
Broward appraiser Lori Parrish contends foreclosed homes sold on the widely used Multiple Listing Service amount to an arms-length transaction that reflect current market conditions.
The net result is that ”Miami-Dade’s tax base would have dropped more if it adopted Broward’s approach, though it’s a marginal difference,” said John Blazejack, president of Blazejack & Co., a property appraisal firm in Miami.
South Florida real estate prices have been pummeled since the housing boom turned bust and record foreclosures rippled across the region. The home market troubles have metastasized into a broader economic recession that’s pushed the South Florida jobless rate from 4.8 percent a year ago to 8.5 percent today.
The report issued Monday includes preliminary property tax assessments for the county, 35 cities, unincorporated areas and public entities that take a cut of property taxes, like Miami-Dade School Board and South Florida Water Management District.
The numbers will be certified next month, and local governments typically approve new fiscal year budgets in September.
It’s the first tax roll estimate issued by Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Pedro J. Garcia, who in December won the first election for county appraiser. Previously, the position was appointed.
The biggest losers include the city of North Bay Village, which saw its property tax base drop 20 percent and Homestead, dropping 18 percent.
TROUBLE IN EL PORTAL
El Portal Town Manager Jason Walker said he was actually relieved to see the village’s tax base erode by only 14.8 percent. Walker said he was hearing a loss in revenue of up to 35 percent.
Still, Walker said he may have to cut two positions from his eight-man police force. Also gone could be some staffers, tree trimmings and holiday events.
Walker said there’s a way to avoid that, however: He’s managed to build up the village’s reserves to almost $1 million.
”Theoretically the council can dip into the reserves to cover the shortfall,” Walker said. “But there will be no raises next year and no raising of taxes.”
Cutler Bay Village Manager Steve Alexander said he had already prepared a budget with 15 percent worth of cuts that he’s likely to forward to his council.
The good news, said Alexander, ”is we’re a young city, so we don’t have a whole lot of programs established.” The bad news, “we run a tight program, so we don’t have a lot of places to cut.”
CITY OF MIAMI
The city of Miami is facing a smaller tax roll drop of 6.6 percent. Miami City Manager Pete Hernandez said the revenue decline means as much as a $15 million loss. Miami already has a hiring freeze in place and is looking at a tough budget year.
But Hernandez also said after speaking with Chief Financial Officer Larry Spring, that more new construction attached to the final appraisals next month could lower the city’s revenue loss.
Nonetheless, Hernandez said Miami is looking at taking, “more aggressive actions than in past years.”
By that Hernandez meant the possible consolidation of departments or functions. He said everything will be on the table: increasing solid waste or building permit fees, and possibly layoffs.
”Obviously, that’s one of the things I’d like to avoid,” said the manager.
County-wide, the property tax base is estimated to drop from $246 billion a year ago to $223 billion this year.
The news comes at a time when county commissioners have come under criticism for lavish use of taxpayer dollars for their own benefit during an ongoing economic recession.
In March, Chairman Dennis Moss issued a memo seeking an end to commissioners’ use of county sergeants-at-arms as their ”personal chauffeurs” at taxpayer expense. Commissioners have also allotted themselves millions to give away at their own discretion, including self-promoting events.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Carlos Gimenez said they should consider eliminating commissioners’ discretionary funds, among a host of possible cuts. He also said that property taxes should not be raised.
”Everyone is hurting and for us to take money out of people’s pockets now is not a good thing,” said Gimenez.
But County Mayor Carlos Alvarez did not rule out a tax increase, saying that ”all options are on the table.” In a statement, the mayor pledged not to put forward a “politically safe budget that is detrimental or irresponsible to this community.”
”I live here, too,” he said.
Anyone have data of the County property tax income from say years 2000 until 2009?
Even though its down this year, I would love to see how much it rose during the boom years. The county website was no help.
southbeachsand,
Zoning, commissioners, etc will not stand in the way of progress in the long term. Governments need residents, and in particular real estate, to increase their tax base and revenue for spending. the only option SoFi and other Miami Beach areas have is to increase the number of high rises, since they cannot expand into undeveloped land-it does not exist. As the value of the inland areas increase in price, owners and developers will circumvent the existing roadblocks-they have very good imaginations and creative processes. This will be inevitable, just give it some time. Miami Beach and SoFi does not really have the heritage or historical importance to maintain existing structures at the expense of new structures, such as in the French Quarter of New Orleans or similar historical neighborhoods. In 50 years SoFi will be nothing but high rises, unless rising sea levels turn the area underwater first. With existing high rises already in the area, it will be difficult to keep others out. The floodgates have already been opened.
gables — But who would want to buy a unit in an inland SoFi high-rise, when the “view” would be little more than the sides of the beachfront buildings? I could see developers doing battle to build a high-rise where Nikki Beach is located, or something like that, but building inland makes little sense to me.
“These losses in property tax roll values are unprecedented,” County Manager George Burgess wrote in a memo to commissioners Monday …
— And the *increases* in property tax roll values from 2000 to 2007 were unprecedented, too. Good grief. Is it a local law that only people with IQs under 75 can hold positions of responsibility in Miami?
SoFi is great, and will remain so for years to come, but as others have said, there won’t be anymore high-rise construction in Miami Beach, that’s it. And I think that’s great. South Beach’s charm comes from its historic mid-rises and smaller scale development.
Brickell and Downtown on the other hand, is where high-rises in Miami-Dade will be focused on (along with Aventura and Sunny Isles Beach). Brickell is extremely popular, and people will pay a lot of money to live with a Brickell address. Not to mention, Brickell and Downtown offer people an urban lifestyle and convenience to work and shopping.
Pace Park, Midtown, Wynwood, Design District, will fare a little different. They’ll go through rough patches, but these neighborhoods along with the Upper East Side, are growing to become rejuvenated mid-rise neighborhoods that will be equally popular.
South of Fifth has a ton of speculators. Many of these people have already lost 50% of their money on units bought at peak prices. I’ve listed a few on previous posts. Several units on Alton Road have dropped $500,000.
The Herald is now mentioning how people are buying foreclosures. Only they forgot to mention is that some of these projects have Chinese drywall. Round two of foreclosures will set in as people will have to gut and redo these units. I’m convinced everybody in real estate has selective amnesia.
I agree with Brody. Also I am starting to be involved in foreclosure bidding wars and until you personaly experience it you do not know what is involved. If priced right every apartment is getting somewhere around 10 offers so initial price does not mean a thing. those who have cash bid and prices go up from 25K to 50K. I am talking about apartments in the range between $140,000- $200,000 in the buildings where people cannot get financing even if they are approved. It is like a gold rush. I cannot predict the future but this is what’s going on.
Also I see some movement in short sales though it takes more time. It is either going somewhere or not going at all. But at least some short sale deals are happening. The factor here is comps. If you cannot show them comps in a particular building then it is becoming more difficult to buy.
Gables,
I assume you also know that in Miami Beach, it requires a public referendum vote to upzone a property to increased density?
Miami Beach residents will never go to the poll to vote for a big tower. If a building is not approved as of today, then it has to go to a ballot (to increase zoning density).
Thats after the planning board, the commissioners, the mayor, the associations, etc…
This all recently passed.
Just got an update….could possibly be getting word on my short sale within 1-2 weeks. Hopefully that’s accurate, I’m getting sick of waiting.
I have found very few areas around this great country where zoning rules (and other similar impediments) could not be overcome with the right amount of money, pressure and time. This will happen in SoFi. The location will demand this occur.
Joe, inland SoFi property not in demand? Think about this situation. You are within walking distance of one of the most popular beaches on the planet, you have direct and easy access to Miami mainland and connecting highways, plenty of unused (or under utilized) land, and construction costs will be comparatively lower over the next decade or so. There will be enormous pressure to build and live in the SoFi area. If you were to choose a non oceanfront place to live, would you prefer two streets off the ocean in Brickell or SoFi?
The small boutiques, unless with legitimate historical significance, will become priced out of existence. Property and insurance taxes make it very hard to remain economically viable when you are a small building in an area of rising property values. This will inevitably happen in SoFi. You may not get 50 story highrises, but the economies of 20+ stories will force a change in density in the area.
I still disagree. Unless the current residents of SoFi sell their units and a bunch of apathetic people move in, I can’t envision any scenario in which 20-story or 50-story buildings will be built in SoFi.
The current residents went berserk when the music was a little too loud at Opium Garden or that other place. I don’t see them rolling over for years’ worth of construction. (And remember, a lot of the people in SoFi, if not an outright majority, are very monied outsiders who aren’t going to get rolled by a couple local politicians and their developer buddies.)
Joe, remember you vote only if a resident (not just an owner who lives there part time). In essence, the renters have more say over an area than owners, in many cases. Suffice it to say, as the rental population increases, the zoning dynamics also can change. A single highrise (not including Apogee and similar ultra buildings) can significantly change the voting preference of an area. Renters can be easily bought in the vote.
So you really think a private developer will win a public vote by the residents of Miami Beach to build condo tower in south of fifth? That is the only way permissible. A public majority vote. lol No single chance ever.
Even Jorge Perez had to limit his proposed Viceroy hotel across from Nikki Beach to 5 stories. He’s got more money and clout than anyone in south florida. He built half the towers in sofi.
No chance you get around that public vote.
According to a report this week from Forbes.com, Miami once again tops a “bad” list…this time as the #1 city in America for credit card debt per capita.
1. Miami, Fla.
(Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla.)
Average Credit Card Debt Per Household: $9,797.38
Median Household Income: $43,333
Percent of Income Owed To Credit Card Companies: 22.61%
2. Tampa, Fla.
(Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.)
Average Credit Card Debt Per Household: $7,685.88
Median Household Income: $44,944
Percent of Income Owed To Credit Card Companies: 17.10%
3. Los Angeles, Calif.
(Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.)
Average Credit Card Debt Per Household: $8,815.86
Median Household Income: $52,456
Percent of Income Owed To Credit Card Companies: 16.81%
Miami Beach is one major hurricane and storm surge away from MAJOR redevelopment, overriding the so called zoning laws. Not a question of if, but when. During the chaos in the following years of such an event, a multitude of “not a snowballs chance” items will occur.
Anna,
That confirms my belief. Miamians to a large extent live a showy and flashy life paid for by the credit cards. I think even good and responsible people from elsewhere fall into this rut when they move in here and get peer pressured into a spending lifestyle.
I don’t know if to blame Miamians or the city itself for being a bad influence on spending attitudes. I have never seen so many prissy bitches and crochety bastards than I encountered in Miami.
Just to illustrate the point, in my building, they sent all the lobby curtains to the laundry at a price of $2500 because one of them was slighly stained at the bottom. They came back gorgeous but some thought that the colour turned one shade darker! I could not tell the difference at all. They looked great to me. So they are sending it back again for an entire redo which involves massive rigging of gear to take em down and put em back up after the rewash (they are not paying for the rewash though).
In any other city in America this would have been unthinkable. Probably the only city in America where someone ridicules grout lines in tiling and having a combined bath and shower.
With such miserable attitudes and propensity to spend till bankruptcy makes this city what it is. God help these nitwits who can’t help themselves become so shallow and materialistic on account of living here. Serves them right.
One silly coot thinks that I like to walk because I do not want to pay for a cab. Thank god, I do not get influenced by idiots like that and change my lifestyle. I do not want to end up like one of these broke arse mofos.
oh and BTW, when I visit SOBE and my friends ask me “how did you get here”, I tell them proudly “I took the bus and paid $2”. Some of them are actually envious that I have no hang ups to portray something which I am not.
I have 5 cars in NY and I will be bringing 3 of them when I move to Miami. But save for that once a week trip to Costco, My cars will probably lie garaged and I will be walking or biking everywhere.
In 15 years, all the SoFi condos will be looking ghetto and outdated. That’s why condos make bad long-term investments.
gables — So you think the aftermath of a disastrous hurricane will be the time people decide *increased* density in SoFi is a good idea? That seems like a stretch.
True luxury buildings 500/sf. Luxury but dumb concept $300. old buildings (mirador) go back to ore bubble prices
An interesting review of government action to the private citizen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbGkxcY7YFU
Whatever the zoning laws or idiocy of the elected officials of the County, you still can’t clear a market at $500 a sq ft where a 1400 sq ft residence will cost you nearly $30,0000 a year in taxes and HOA to run (before you’ve paid a single bill). I am stunned still how this absurdity isn’t ridiculed in this forum more rather than some arbitrary per sq ft measure.
I’m a cash buyer in the mkt for the Miami Beach/SoFi condos you are discussing but am not foolish enough to burn money for the sake of it – certainly not as a part-timer user – and the reality is the Beach is full of ‘us’.
If the downturn has not taught us that sometimes it is better to rent the experience than choke yourself with ongoing obligations, whether debt or quasi debt – why not just stay in the Ritz Carlton on South Beach a month a year instead. Because your costs are actually those of a hotel owning one of these condos.
If something is costing you 4-5% a year just to hold it, real cash out of your pocket year in year out (just think 10 years use $300,000. Say it again, $300,000. Before a single electricity bill), it can’t be contemplated as either an investment or a valuable experience.
Joe, after such an event you will have basically two options. One, the government will say this area is too dangerous and eliminate any recovery (see the gulf coast and New Orleans regarding this issue) or two, a rebuilding scenario will occur. If option one occurs, SoFi will be a few high rises surrounded by a ghetto in the interior. If option two occurs, the interior will be rebuilt, but not with 2 and 3 story structures-since the government will not allow much use out of the first floor due to flood elevation issues. Economics will dictate much larger structures will be needed to recoup costs, because land prices will still remain very high (remember this is land adjacent to the beach in a major metro area).
Increased density will occur in areas deemed desirable, and Miami Beach, including SoFi, fall in this category. From a resource perspective, running utilities and other necessities to one 50 story building is far cheaper than providing the same services to an equivalent number of houses spread out in the everglades. They wont build a 50 story building in the swamp, but they will build it on miami beach. Density in an urban core will continue into the future.
gables — You seem to be assuming an either/or proposition that leaves out the most obvious scenario: A hurricane hits SoFi, and then people rebuild per the existing zoning and regulations.
New Orleans is located below sea level, while SoFi/SoBe isn’t much (any?) different than a hundred other U.S. localities that have been whacked by hurricanes. Thus, your option #1 scenario — a ban on rebuilding — has a 0% chance of being implemented in SoFi.
As for scenario #2, of course it costs less to run utilities to one high-rise than it does 200 homes, but that’s a straw man argument. A hurricane doesn’t *create* demand for luxury housing from people that weren’t living in luxury housing before the hurricane hit.
If disaster strikes SoFi, I could see some of the 3- and 4-story buildings being replaced by 5- or 6-story buildings, but I can’t imagine people suddenly would give the green light to 30-story and 50-story buildings. It makes no sense, except to a small number of politicians and developers.
If Citizen’s insurance raises insurance premiums 10% each year for the next 5 years, you can expect HOA fees to probably rise what????? 25%??? Just to keep up with the insurance cost increases alone.