Tag: Miami Beach Real Estate
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Something’s Gotta Give
Remember the movie Something’s Gotta Give starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves? Well this is nothing about that movie other than I thought of the title today while out on my morning run. It does have to do with Labor Day, however.
Although I normally run shorter routes during weekdays, I decided I would go on one of my longer routes along Old Cutler Road. What a mistake that was! In addition to being extremely dark at 5:45 a.m., the traffic was horrific! I couldn’t cross the street anywhere there wasn’t a traffic light, which I am sure made all of the commuters extremely unhappy. For the longer part of my run, I thought about where those commuters lived versus where they worked, what they were sacrificing, if anything, having to get up so early to get to work, do they have another choice other than sitting in traffic at the crack of dawn? So what do all of these questions have to do with real estate? A lot, I think.
Quality of Life was the first thing that came to mind during my musings. What quality of life do the commuters have? I know several people with long commutes, including my husband. We live in Pinecrest but he commutes to Port Everglades. We have considered moving, but love our neighborhood and he says he would rather commute and love where he lives than have a shorter commute and not like where he lives, but the truth is traffic is getting worse, his commute times are getting longer, and he has already been doing this commute a long time. Something’s Gotta Give.
Popularity of Live, Work, Play Communities – Places like Aventura, Downtown Miami/Brickell, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Miami Beach, Downtown Dadeland, have all been growing because people want to be able to minimize their time in traffic. Savvy developers, urban planners, and city officials, have been building condos and mixed use developments to meet the wants of a commuter weary public. The negative side of this development and the demand, is that prices in most of these areas have gone up so rapidly, that they are no longer affordable and residents of Miami-Dade County pay more than (**(% in housing. Teachers, firefighters, police and many service providers were probably sitting in that traffic. One of my friends is a teacher. She lives in Palmetto Bay, but commutes to her job at Beach High? Would she take a teaching job closer to home if she could get one? Does MDCPS consider an employees commute time/contribution to traffic, when they assign that employee to a school? A vibrant community needs to include affordable housing options or offer wages to compensate. Something’s Gotta Give.
Other topics that I thought about include the importance of having transportation and work options close to home as well as affordability, taxes, and mixed use neighborhoods, not just buildings. But those are all topics for other blogs.
Do you have a horrible commune? Do you have public transportation options? If you did, would you use them? Would you live closer to your job if it was affordable? Would you like to work closer to where you live if you could find a job? If you feel like sharing your answers, please do. If not, at least give the questions some thought and think about what your quality of life is versus what it could be if you didn’t have to spend so much time commuting.
Commercial real estate is booming in South Beach. In addition to the recently completed Marriott Residence Inn on 17th Street near West Ave., the Finvarb Group is building what will be a Kobi Karp designed Kimpton Palomar Hotel, right at the cross roads of Alton Road and Dade Boulevard, at the entrance to the hot Sunset Harbour District.
Just across Dade Boulevard and also designed by Kobi Karp, Saber Real Estate Advisors is building a retail development that will house Michael’s Craft store and a 160 seat restaurant.
In addition to the hotel and retail developments, 17 West, a mixed use project by Turnberry Associates is also coming to the immediate area and is bringing Trader Joe’s to the neighborhood.
I love the Sunset Harbor area of Miami Beach. It is a non-touristy part of Miami Beach, right before you get on the Venetian Causeway. I have been going there for years, when it was just a bunch of auto repair warehouses with a great Italian restaurant, Sardinia. Then came Scott Robins with his vision for the neighborhood. Soon Barceloneta and Pubbelly Sushi moved in and the locals started coming. Needless to say, it is no longer full of auto repair warehouses, though there are a few. Now, new, fun, tasty restaurants, boutique clothing shops, yoga & pilates studios line the streets. Popular workout and hangout spots like Flywheel and Panther Coffee, as well as both Publix and Fresh Market are here.
For your working convenience, and a really short commute if you live here, there is buro, the community building co-working space. Or you can work at any of the shops, restaurants, warehouses, or offices nearby. Finally, and probably most importantly, if you live and work in Sunset Harbour, you don’t have to go too far to play.
In addition to all of the shops, restaurants and workout places, Sunset Harbour is surrounded by water, spas, parks, running and walking paths. Paddle board or kite surf in the harbor and if boating is your pleasure, there is the Sunset Harbour Yacht Club. So, whether you are looking for a new place to live, work or play, or want a charming place where you can do all three, check out the Sunset Harbour District. You won’t be disappointed!
If you are a landlord signing new leases in 2018, remember that the state sales tax on commercial leases has dropped from 6% to 5.8%. As a result, the sales tax rate in Miami-Dade County will drop to 6.8% and in Broward it will drop to 5.8%. Although the drop in rate may not sound like much, it amounts to an estimated $60 million a year savings to businesses.
Florida is the only state in the nation that charges a sales tax on all commercial leases and Florida Realtors, Florida Chamber, International Council of Shopping Centers, Florida Ports Council, and many others have been working diligently to get the tax reduced in order to keep Florida competitive with other states. The sales tax is levied on all businesses leases, large and small, regardless of profitability and therefore disproportionally affects small businesses and start ups. Florida Realtors will continue to work with legislators to get the tax on leases reduced further.
Just in time for Art Miami and Art Basel, this unique New York City style apartment comes on the market. The light and bright unit features an open floor plan with plenty of wall space for art. The kitchen features a Viking gas stove and a great layout for entertaining.
Located in the heart of Miami Beach on tree-lined Meridian Avenue, you are walking distance to everything: beach, grocery stores, shops, parks, and restaurants.
Remember all of the outcry in late 2013 & early 2014 about flood rates increasing due to changes approved in the federal 2012 Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act? Well, once it was amended with the “Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act,” people in coastal zones and flood prone areas seem to have forgotten about how flood insurance can affect their homes and businesses.
Miami-Dade county has more subsidized flood policies than any other county in Florida, other than Pinellas County. If you own property in Miami-Dade county that isn’t in zone X, B, or C, and have a mortgage, contact your insurance provider to see what you can do to reduce your flood premium. Notices will start going out the first week in April.
Properties that were in communities near public transportation with frequent routes did 42% better in maintaining their value than those that were not near public transportation. As real estate sales in Miami continue to rise, neighborhoods near public transportation are some of the areas with the tightest inventories.
Many communities, such as Brickell and Coral Gables, have added trolleys and many suburban communities, such as Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay, have added People Movers.
You know what they say about real estate, location, location, location, and boy does 1542 Drexel Avenue #205 have it. Location: 2 blocks from Lincoln Road. Location: 1 block from Espanola. Location: 3 blocks to the Ocean. In the heart of Miami Beach, yet on a quiet, low traffic street, this fully furnished unit is the perfect Miami Beach Pied-A-Terre. Rarely available one bedroom. The last one bedroom for sale in this boutique building was in 2011!
If you are looking for an investment property instead of a weekend get-a-way, the last fully furnished unit that rented in this building was a studio that rented for $1500 per month! Listed for sale, fully furnished (minus the art work) for $170,000.
I just received yet another e-mail on a new construction project; this one is coming to Coral Gables. It seems hard to believe that we went through a MAJOR real estate crash, with many of our prominent developers themselves involved in foreclosures of their projects, just a few years ago. It also seems hard to believe that there are so many new developments selling their projects, when foreclosure activity in Florida is leading the nation. Is this a contradiction in the real estate market, setting us up for another dip? Not necessarily.
New projects extend from the Gables all the way north to the Broward county line. They cover Coconut Grove, Brickell/Downtown, Midtown, South Beach, Mid Beach, North Miami Beach, and Aventura. Pricing starts from the low $200,000’s in the Gables to the several million for those projects in the Grove, Miami Beach and Aventura. Based on what I am seeing, buyers are definitely leaning toward newer, more modern buildings and inventory in newer buildings is extremely tight. Builders are using a formula more commonly used in South America, where there is no financing, and the buyer pays a significant amount of money down at various stages of the construction process. The range in starting prices, demand for new buildings and the new purchasing requirements make for a bit more stability than the previous building boom.
What does all of this new construction mean if you are a buyer? It means that you will have more options in a given price range. You will be able to choose between existing units where you know exactly what you are getting and one that is under construction that you can finish to your specifications. Check to see how many new projects are going up in the area you are looking in and what the price ranges in the different development are. Too much supply of the same type of property could point to price decreases or stagnation.
If you are a seller of an older property in an area where new projects are going up, it means you will be competing with projects that are newer and offer more amenities than yours. Make sure you know your competition and highlight your property’s positive attributes. Many older units tend to be larger or offer more closet space than many of the newer construction projects.