The Capri South Beach

The Capri Miami Beach Condominium is located directly on the bay at 16 and Bay road on Miami Beach.  The Capri South Beach is a mostly undiscovered gem in the South Beach Real Estate Market offering 500 ft of Bay Front Board walk, on-site private marina and boat slips and spectacular views.  The Capri South Beach floor plans include generous 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units and available penthouses.  Endless shopping and entertainment is also right at your doorstep with the Lincoln Road Mall only a block away.  Prices start at around $500K for a 1/1.5 and around 1M for a 2/2.

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I hate to state the obvious but it’s a great time to buy real estate especially in Miami and Miami Beach.  The hard part is choosing the right building in the right location for your desired lifestyle.  South Beach has it all; shopping, restaurants, vibrant nightlife and white sandy beaches lined with great hotels restaurants and lounges.  Downtown Miami in new and exciting with great projects for living and great private/public projects to bring recreation, shopping and entertainment.  The beach is on a short 10 minute ride over the causeway.  Many of the new buildings offer multiple restaurants and extensive amenities.  Let’s analyze two buildings, one on South Beach and one Downtown Miami with a price point around $400/sqft.  Two popular buildings are The Waverly of South Beach and 900 Biscayne both around $400/sqft but the similarity ends there.  The Waverly is fun, modern and chic with Feng Shui design.  The Waverly has a heated lagoon pool nesteled by the bay and is a great place to watch the incredible sunset over downtown Miami.  Enjoy the hot tub after a game of beach volleyball or a high energy work out in the gym.  Also available are the tennis court, Feng Shui garden and yoga room.  It is sought after by buyers and renters for its amenities and proximity to Lincoln Rd and professional management.  The Waverly is well maintained and is a great place to live.  Now, let’s surf across the bay navigating around Star Island, Hibiscus Island and Palm Island, carefully avoiding the cruise ships and pass the American Airlines arena to visit 900 Biscayne.  A speedier route would be to take West Avenue to the McAuthor Causeway and approximately 10 minutes later arrive at our destination.  One is immediately impressed with the off street valet and main garage entry located on the 3^rd floor.  The amenities are extensive but necessary for this developing area.  The 1^st floor houses two restaurants one offering Brazilian and the other Japanese cuisine.  Next stop is the 15 floor with 2 pools, hot tub and incredible views of the ocean, bay, Miami Beach and the impressive Miami Skyline.  But wait, there is more; the 17^th floor houses a theatre with custom seating and velvet covered walls.  There is a café, a gym, his and her spa and a wonderful recreation room with a grand piano, library and lounge.  After visiting several floor plans, it was clear that the developed tried to satisfy many tastes in this 63 story giant.  Townhouses, penthouses, one bedroom, one bedroom with den and 2 baths, 2 bedroom plus den, corner units, flow through units.  Outside of the views and generous floor plans, the most impressive feature was the level of quality forcing a comparison with Miami Beach Luxury properties like Continuum II that start at around $800/sqft.  It is a hard choice but this is exactly why this market is so exciting for buyers.  Happy hunting!

Real estate is not all bad news but neither is it all sunshine.  The informed buyer and seller will find that there are real opportunities to trade real estate amid all of the negative press.  Yes, there is an oversupply in some areas.  Yes, property values have fallen dramatically and in some markets collapsed.  Interest rates are great but mortgage underwriting can be described as “at will financing”.  After years of turning a blind eye and allowing bad loans to be underwritten, banks have now taken a highly conservative position.  This fact alone presents a strong bargaining position for the cash buyer or an owner who purchased without a mortgage.  So how can buyers and sellers navigate these treacherous real estate waters?  Well, get informed and hire a Realtor in your desired or local market.  In Miami and Miami Beach, you can start with a comprehensive website such as www.liverealty.com.  Get detailed information on potential areas, neighborhoods, buildings and available units.  Study the recent sales data and compare the data with your budget or desired sales price.  Recent sales are telling of the market conditions and is a very good starting point.  Your progress meter is now at about 40%.  You will need an experienced realtor from Live Realty Inc to complete your journey.  A realtor will connect the dots and paint a comprehensive real estate picture.  A realtor can give light to questions such as:  Why is there such a vast difference in pricing?  Why is the direct ocean unit twice as much per square foot as the recently sold short sale facing the street?  Why do short sales sit on the market so long?  Is 400K a good price for this unit?  Where are the best deals for my budget?

Some cold hard facts:  In Miami Beach there are about 2200 active listings.  So far this year about 600 units have closed or are in contract.  Many of the sold properties were great deals for the buyers and all were completed with an experienced realtor.

What does this mean for you?  Buyers and sellers in a cash position have a real opportunity to trade and are trading successfully.  The bottoms line: Now is a great time to buy or sell without heavy competition, bidding or pricing wars, but do your homework.  Start at www.liverealty.com

Many European buyers find disappointment when they try to buy the best Miami Beach condos at the publicized 50% off.  Analysis shows that the less desirable units in luxury properties such as the Setai, Il Villaggio, Continuum, Apogee and possibly the W Hotel can be had at a highly discounted price per square foot.  This however, does not seem to apply to the most desirable units in these buildings.  The most desirable units for the Setai, this means the 06, 07 and 08 units.  For the Continuum towers, these are the 01, 02 and 04 units in the north tower and 04, 05, 06, 07 in the south tower.

Less desirable units have sold for as little as about $800/sqft but the prices on the most desirable have stay well beyond $1000/sqft.  What does this mean?  The reality is the owners of these units have chosen not negotiate with today’s bargain hunting buyers. This also means that there is almost no activity on these desirable units and very few had traded with the past 2 years.  The end result is that there is a stale mate between buyers and sellers.  Both are willing to try and out wait each other.  Condo hotels like the Setai and the W Hotel command strong annual rental income which is a disincentive for the owners to negotiate.  One approach is to negotiate and sell now before everyone is forced to negotiate and sell among strong competition.  This is great advice in an economy that has seen even the biggest and most profitable companies forced to reduces costs and restructure.  Companies like Toyota and GM.

While many Miami and Miami Beach condominiums continue to struggle with maintenance delinquencies, the Waverly gains health. The magic number for Fannie Mae is a 15% delinquency rate. Many buildings approach double that figure and cannot receive institutional financing. The last reported rate at the Waverly was 18%. There are currently 31 units out of 399 total units available for sale, an incredible 7.8%. There are 13 pending sales, almost all of which are foreclosures, REO or short sales properties. These units typically have owners that are not paying the monthly maintenance fees. The delinquent maintenance fees must be settled at closing. So the good news is that the delinquency rate will fall below the 15% Fannie Mae guideline and this will allow institutional lending to return to the Waverly Condos. Additionally, the Waverly collects over $39,000 in reserves each month and maintains a 20% bad debt fund. This is really good news for the typically buyer looking to purchase a primary or second home on Miami Beach. We could see a rise in the number of closings as financing returns. There were 12 closed sales in the last 90 days ranging from 204K to 545K. Robert Fournier and George Thomas at Live Realty, Inc. Live Realty , located in the lobby of the Waverly Condominium continue to lead sales and rentals at the Waverly of South Beach.