Two Multi-Million Dollar Condos Recently Go Pending in Brickell
March 19, 2008 by Lucas Lechuga
Two multi-million dollar condos in Brickell recently went pending within the past 30 days. The first was a 5 bedroom/6.5 bath Penthouse condo at Santa Maria with 6,300 square feet that went pending on March 3, 2008. The list price was $5.29M, or $840 per square foot. The views from this Penthouse condo at Santa Maria are simply amazing, as you can see from the above picture. The MLS listing description and photos of this Penthouse condo at Santa Maria will show you just how amazing this condo truly is.
What's interesting to note is that the current owner purchased this Penthouse condo at Santa Maria for $3.9M in the latter half of 2005, when many would say the Miami condo market peaked. This just goes to show that the ultra-luxury condo market in Miami has continued to hold up well. Despite the potential profit that the current owner makes, anything under $840 per square foot for this unit is a freakin' bargain. In my opinion, Santa Maria is the best condo building in Brickell and is in a complete league of their own. No foreclosures or short-sales that I've ever come across, and a comparatively very low maintenance fee, despite the world-class amenities that Santa Maria has to offer.
The second multi-million dollar condo in Brickell to go pending within the past 30 days is the Penthouse condo at Epic located on the Miami River near the inlet into Biscayne Bay which went pending on Febuary 27, 2008. It's a 4 bedroom/5.5 bath two-story Penthouse with 4,522 interior square feet and an amazing 7,488 total square feet, including balconies. The list price on this bad boy is $5M. Epic is currently still under construction but should be completed by the end of this year.
What is not a coincidence is that the developer behind both condo buildings is Ugo Columbo. He is well-known for delivering some of the most high-quality condo products to Miami. His reputation definitely supersedes him. I can't wait to get inside Epic to see how it compares to his previous condo developments such as Santa Maria, Bristol Tower and Grovenor House.
Here are some multi-million dollar condos in Dade County that have actually resold and closed in 2008:
- Villa del Mare #7274 - $12,360,000
- Porto Vita #1104 - $3,600,000
- Continuum #TH-7 - $3,100,000
- Bellini Condo #1102 - $2,900,000
- Santa Maria #3005 - $2,680,000
- The Setai #3106 - $2,600,000
- One Bal Harbour #707E - $2,550,000
- Grovernor House #1902 - $2,525,000
- Continuum #TH-9 - $2,350,000
FREE lunch?
Must be nice to own a penthouse :+)
Same reason Bugatti Veyron sales are steady, while sales of BMW, Mercedes and Audi in South Florida have dropped like a rock.
Like I’ve said a million times, there is too much money in Miami, we are not like other states.
Finally some good news!!!
lets try to keep the comments positive this time!!!! we all need this. positive thinking attracts good business.
Lucas, i am trying to find out a list or some info on lenders that DO NOT Have 1060 brickell on the black list, so i can find a loan to close in my unit. do you have any idea ??
thank you.
and again to all the people, stop the negative comments, i really see that all good opportunities in the brickell area are selling fast and that there is a strong demand in that area.
Daniel: 1060 isn’t that in the Foreclosure District?
Margus: Nice work! A deal is a deal. I’ll provide the transportation. Let’s see lucas get out of this one.. lol
Daniel
drink all the kool-aid you want…but optimism can’t displace reality
Only 1.3 million more than the 2005 price? I’ll take two!
Go Miami!
…. how’s that, Daniel?
This is the SUPER HIGH END market. Two reasons why this market has absolutely no correlation to the entire market…
First: These home buyers HAVE NO MORTGAGE (these are cash transactions). Second: Inventories remain LOW as a building only has one floor that can be called the PENTHOUSE.
CNBC ran a story two days ago about the NY and LA ultra high end market. I believe Malibu only had 6 homes for sale over the 10mil mark. NY had similar figures. Both of these cities have something Miami doesn’t…AN ECONOMY!! Actors, producers, writers, directors, shipping to asia, the list goes on…wall street, investment banking, corporate headquarters…etc..
We have tourism and really good cuban food…
Mike K,
” we have tourism and really good cuban food”
hahaha I love it. Miami does have something though; Entrepreneurs. That is one of the reasons there is lots of money here, no one can deny that. Long live Miami!!
Lucas; any insights as to whether the potential buyers are US residents vs. foreigners?
Mike K
Thanks for the clarrification that each building has only ONE penthouse, VERY INSIGHTFUL !!!
As to your comment that “we have tourism and really good cuban food.” There is no need to post negative comments.
Miami is the gateway to Latin America; Downtown & Brickell is where the majority of Latin American deposits are managed by the vast banking instiutions located within the city.
In addition, most Fortune 500 corporations have a Latin American HQ here in Miami.
Dont forget the major law, public accounting, consulting, medical, transportation, and hospitality institutions as well.
And your comment “Shipping to Asia”; the last time I checked we are suffering from a major trade deficit to the east; could you enlighten us as to what major products we are shipping to Asia?
Gotta agree with Mike K.
As long as we continue to operate like a banana republic and ignore the void of creating and possessing true cultural (not a baseball stadium), social (public transportation, parks, public spaces) and technological (biotech) amenities that attract the “creative class” (a la Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Austin, etc.), Miami will just continue to be a service-based economy that depends on foreign dollars and international/domestic tourism.
For every doctor, lawyer and international banker in Miami, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of bartenders, club bouncers and strippers.
How’s that for a diversified economy?
Adrian is very right. I was so excited when I heard about Art Center . Now it’s built and is experiencing financicial difficulties. I guess not enough people who like Opera and Theatre. If you know when Lincoln Center was built in NY it changed the whole area nearby.
Lucas you write, “What’s interesting to note is that the current owner purchased this Penthouse condo at Santa Maria for $3.9M in the latter half of 2005, when many would say the Miami condo market peaked.”
Tons and tons of money was poured into this unit, in our opinion the return is not as glorious a picture as you paint.
The only Miami residents who could afford these are retiring NE Governors; but once her books and movies deals happen “Kristen” will top them all.
Do some condo associations deny approval based on morality of prospective buyers.
Further, Apt. 3005 did not do so well if you run the numbers, look at the asking price, selling price, and price per square foot. All apartments in the 05 and 04 lines are considered the highest demand units. The sale price was much lower than expected, hence looks like prices are even going down in Santa Maria…………………..
Well its good to hear the high end is selling. But that unit in the 43rd floor is not the Penthouse level or even that close. A Penthouse at Santa maria would sell for a lot more…
But his is a niche market it would be a penthouse in the best building in Brickell, in comparison one of the Penthouse (Not a high floor like this but an actual penthouse) multi level 3 stories has been on the market at Jade for years and it has not moved….
Daniel-
Try Total Mortgage in CT. I have used them twice already. Got 6% on an investment condo in Brickell Key in November. Honestly, I wouldn’t deal with local brokers.
Santa Maria Insider – you are confused. The unit that Lucas is referring to in this blog entry is NOT 3005. He is referring to 4301 (check the MLS link at the beginning of the blog).
Unit 3005 is just another sale in Santa Maria that he shows in the list of recent 2008 high-end condo sales.
Was looking through the sales data for Santa Maria. To sum up, here is the price history:
Year: Median Price per SF
——————————–
2007: $630
2006: $560
2005: $474
2004: $418
The appraiser’s sales search only went back to 2004, but just looking through some of the units randomly, in 2003 prices were in the $300’s per SF.
Definitely seems to buck the trend. Nice building, but I have to remain skeptical that these price levels can hold over the next several years, based on the 100% price increase from 03-07, and the increasing supply in that area.
“Adrian Salgado // Mar 20, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Gotta agree with Mike K.
As long as we continue to operate like a banana republic and ignore the void of creating and possessing true cultural (not a baseball stadium), social (public transportation, parks, public spaces) and technological (biotech) amenities that attract the “creative class” (a la Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Austin, etc.), Miami will just continue to be a service-based economy that depends on foreign dollars and international/domestic tourism.
For every doctor, lawyer and international banker in Miami, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of bartenders, club bouncers and strippers.
How’s that for a diversified economy?”
Ever heard of Wynwood and the Design District? Miami has one of the best art scenes in the country. A lot of you guys don’t give Miami the credit it deserves. We have everything, you just have to know where to look.
This just shows that the Uber Rich are still buying. If you are very wealthy, then you can buy in any economy. But the fact is the VAST majority of homes are bought with financing, period. A few wealthy buyers does not a market make.
So we are continuing to see the return of traditional lending standards – and even larger down payments in some markets! the return of 20% down is going to further sink home prices. Think about it, mortgage insurers (those companies that provide mortgage insurance for borrowers that put down less than 20%) have stopped writing policies in many areas. During The Great Housing Bubble, consumer confidence was up and savings went down….where are most people now going to find that big downpayment???
Here is an article that should scare any optimism out of you:
http://finance.myway.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt_top.jsp?news_id=ap-d8vhnvgg0&
So, it isn’t just banks flagging particular buildings, we’ve got the mortgage insurers refusing to write policies.
I repeat my prediction that the later part of hurricane season is gonna see some major price drops.
Daniel: For a mortgage, try Dan Segal w/ Pan American Mortgage in Illinois. A friend told me that he did their mortgage for their investment property in Florida in January & he got them a 5.5% rate for their investment property. They said he was very nice & honest. Try e-mailing him @ dsegal@panamlending.com. Good luck! 🙂
I just added the “Condo Map Search” link to the top of the page. Now, nonlocal buyers can get a feel for where a building resides in relation to the water and what types of views these buildings have to offer.
LUCAS: I have a 1 Bedroom NeoLoft Short Sale.. River view. thinking 192K.. Let me know if you have anyone or what your suggested list price should be
Juan // Mar 21, 2008 at 9:25 am
“Ever heard of Wynwood and the Design District? Miami has one of the best art scenes in the country. A lot of you guys don’t give Miami the credit it deserves. We have everything, you just have to know where to look.”
Come on Juan. Get off of your soapbox and take a trip to Chicago’s River North or Williamsburg in Brooklyn before you talk about the local art scene.
When was the last time you went to Wynwood on a day other than the second Saturday of the month or during the 4 days in December when Miami is exploited by who else – foreigners?
I am Miami’s biggest fan. I was born and raised here and don’t plan to ever leave. However, being a cheerleader when so many things around here are seriously phucked up is doing us all a great disservice.
Admittance is the first step to recovery.
Actually I’m either in the Design District or Wynwood every day of the week. Ok NY obviously has a better art scene, but for the amount of time that the Wynwood Art Scene has been around it is pretty damn good. Could it be better? Sure, but it is definately coming along.
Back on topic, I cannot wait for Epic to be finished. I think this will definately be the best building in Brickell.
Alright. Let’s do lunch at Michael’s Genuine.
Your treat?
Sure!
Talk about off-topic. Wow.
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