7 things to consider when buying a Miami Beach Waterfront Home

If you are buying a Miami Beach waterfront home, you are likely to have a boat or will be considering a boat in the near future. We are constantly asked a number of questions regarding waterfront purchases and Rick and I decided to write a list of 7 important factors to consider when buying a waterfront home in Miami.

Condition of Sea wall –

It is important for anyone buying a waterfront property to get a seawall inspection by a structural engineer or a seawall specialist.  Inspections should include not only the actual seawall but also settling cracks within the main house, patios and pool as well as dock areas.  Because most canal systems in Miami and Miami Beach are artificially made or made with landfills, the integrity of the seawall could ultimately determine the integrity of the structure of the home.  Doing a visual inspection of seawalls of adjacent properties is also recommended in order to avoid future settling.

Type of waterfront property

- If you look at an aerial view of Miami and Miami Beach, you will notice that there are numerous types of waterfront properties:  lakes, rivers, canals with direct ocean access, canals with fixed bridges, canals with no ocean access, non-navigable canals, and bayfront homes, to name a few.  Depending on the type of boat you have, you will need to consider fixed bridges (clearance heights), depth of canals, and proximity to bay and or ocean access.  There are several waterfront communities in Miami and Miami Beach that have direct ocean access but you have to navigate at idle speed for miles which can mean being on your boat for a couple of hours before you can really do some boating.

Boat Dock

- it is important to inspect not only the condition of an existing dock, but also if the type of dock can accommodate your boat. There are a lot of canals in Miami with natural coral sea walls and no docks – you may not want to dock your boat next to natural coral.  If there is no dock on the property, it may be a good idea to contact DERM (Department of Environmental Resources Management) about what kind of dock they will allow in a particular canal.  DERM may even send an inspector out to the property in order to make recommendations.

Davits and/or Boat Lift

- depending on the size of the boat, most boat owners will not keep the vessel inside the water and use davits and/or boat lifts to raise the boat out of the water while not in use. Whichever your choice, make sure to inspect existing davits or make sure the existing seawall can accommodate a boat lift of your choice.

Protection from the elements

Bayfront homes are obviously the most desired type of waterfront property but can also leave your property very exposed to the elements (weather and hurricanes).  Canal front properties are said to protect not only your house, but boats as well in case of increment weather.  This doesn’t mean that you should not purchase a bayfront home, it means you should consider location when purchasing.

Location of home within a canal

- because of the intricate design of canals in Miami and Miami Beach, some canals may be comparable to dead-end streets.  These canals, depending on currents and wind may accumulate debris and garbage that can become a nuisance.  If a property is located at the end of a dead-end canal, make sure you ask about accumulation of debris throughout the year.

Insurance Costs

- just keep in mind that property insurance costs will be higher for waterfront homes, especially open bay properties.

 

There is nothing like owning a Miami Beach waterfront home. To be able to enjoy our beautiful weather as well as the views is priceless and it is what makes Miami Waterfront Real Estate so unique.

*originally published on Nov. 23, 2008*

Miami Beach Waterfront Homes sold in 2011

There are 165 Miami Beach waterfront homes for sale right now ranging from a $399,000 North Beach home on Hawthorne Avenue (outside Biscayne Point Island), to a $35 Million Star Island Mansion.  Although the private island of Indian Creek is not considered Miami Beach, we can’t forget the $60 Million property for sale there … which is the most expensive home listed in South Florida to date.

Miami Beach waterfront homes are well-known throughout the world and offer unparalleled distinction, but not all Miami Beach homes were created equal – desirability has to do with location, condition of the property, size and views.  We will give you a break down of all the homes that were sold this year per island in order to be able to differentiate and understand pricing throughout Miami Beach.

The formula to understanding the Miami Beach waterfront home market is knowing that no matter what the comps are, most buyers are cash buyers and price is determined mostly by desirability of the property, not so much by how much other comparable homes have sold for. This is a total anomaly and difficult for a lot of buyers to understand, especially if you are looking to upgrade from a non-waterfront home, or are ready to make the switch to this very desirable lifestyle.

The Median Listing price for a Miami Beach waterfront home is currently $4.7 Million.  And if you are not convinced that this real estate sector is hot, out of the 165 homes listed for sale, only 2 are distressed (both are short sales – one in Normandy Island and the other one in Mid-Beach).

There were 100 Miami Beach waterfront homes sold in 2011.

Star Island Home Sales

4 Star Island waterfront homes sold – averaging $1,137 per square foot with the highest sale at $25.5 Million for the house located at 13 Star Island Dr – with 15,000 sf of living space, 8 bedrooms, 40,000 sf lot and 100 feet of water frontage.

Palm Island Home Sales

2 Palm Island homes sold on the water -  highest sale at $14.2 Million for the house located at 94 Palm Avenue with over 14,000 sf of living space, 8 bedrooms and 200′ of water frontage.  The average price per square foot for Palm Island homes coming in at $912.

Hibiscus Island Home Sales

5 Hibiscus Island homes sold on the water – price ranging between $1.9 and $9.35 Million.  The highest sale of $9,350,000 was for the home designed by Oppenheim, located at 40 S Hibiscus, with 8,000 sf of living space, 24,000 sf lot, 8 bedrooms and 120′ of water frontage. The average price per square foot in Palm Island was $740.

Venetian Islands Home Sales

There were 18 Venetian Island waterfront homes sold – prices ranging between $1.595 Million to $5.5 Million, with an average price per sf of $692.  The highest sale was for the unfinished construction at 1429 N Venetian Wy, with over 13,000 sf of living space, 26,764 sf lot, 8 bedrooms and 200 feet of water frontage

Sunset Islands Home Sales

There were 6 Sunset Island homes sold on the water – prices ranging between $2.4 million and $19.9 Million.  The average price per sq.ft. coming in at $924.  The highest sale was a historically significant home designed by Maurice Fatio at 1736 W 28th St, with 70,885 sf of land, over 11,000 sf of living space, 7 bedrooms and 453 feet of water frontage!

North Bay Road Home Sales

There were 10 North Bay Rd waterfront homes sold this year.  Their prices ranging between $1.55 to $15 Million and averaging $787 per sq.ft.  The highest sale was for the 13,000 sf home located at 4580 N Bay Rd, with over 24,000 sf of land, 8 bedrooms and 148 feet of open bay water frontage.

La Gorce Island Home Sales

There were 2 waterfront La Gorce Island homes sold.  One for $6.5 Million and the other for $11.6 Million and averaging $909 per sq.ft.  The highest sale was the ultra contemporary home at 94 La Gorce Cr with over 15,000 sf of living space, over 20,000 sf lot, 9 bedrooms and 120 feet of water frontage.

Allison Island Home Sales

There was one waterfront Allison Island home sold this year at 6475 Allison Rd.  The home has almost 5,000 sf of living space, over 21,000 sf of land, 5 bedrooms, 100 feet of water frontage and sold for $2.45 Million at $494 per sf… BARGAIN!! (even for a fixer upper).

North Bay Island Home Sales

There were no waterfront homes sold in N. Bay Island

Normandy Island Home Sales

There were 8 waterfront homes sold in Normandy Island, which historically, has been the least expensive waterfront real estate in Miami Beach.  They ranged in price between $770,000 and $2.6 Million for the bay front home located at 1800 Bay Drive – with over 5,000 sf of living space, 5 bedrooms, over 10,000 sf of land and 60 feet of water frontage.  The average price per sq.ft. in Normandy Island coming in at $437.

Biscayne Point Home Sales

11 Biscayne Point waterfront homes sold in 2011 ranging between $385,000 for a foreclosure, to $1.15 Million for the home located at 7972 Biscayne Point Cr.  This home has over 4,000 sf of living space, 5 bedrooms, 12,150 sf lot and 100 feet of water frontage.  The average price per sq.ft. in Biscayne Point coming in at $219.

Stillwater Island Home Sales

12 Stillwater Island waterfront homes sold ranging between $550,000 for a foreclosure, to $1.7 Million for the home at 1481 Stillwater Dr – with 2,800 sf of living space, 4 bedrooms, 7,500 sf lot and 50 feet of water frontage.  The average price per square feet for Stillwater being $378.

Pinetree Drive Home Sales

There were 5 Pinetree waterfront homes sold ranging between $1.9 (for an unfinished abandoned construction home), and $6.5 Million.  The highest sale of $6,536,289 was for the mediterranean mansion located at 4855 Pinetree Dr, with over 10,000 sf of living space, almost 40,000 sf lot, 6 bedrooms and 100 feet of water frontage.  The average price per sq.ft. in Pinetree coming in at $660.

It is obvious that the waterfront housing market in Miami Beach improved by a landslide in 2011 and this is evidenced by amount of sales, decrease in inventory as well as decrease in distressed properties for sale.  There are still some areas like Biscayne Point and Stillwater that are not out of the water (pun intended), but this helps keep a balance with the rest of Miami Beach.  Here is a graph showing price per square foot in each of the islands, and as expected, Star Island is at the top with The Sunset Island and La Gorce Island following close behind.

What’s fortunate for everyone looking to buy or sell their Miami Beach waterfront property, is that because there have been sales, we now have real comps.  This means that buyers and sellers don’t have to pull numbers out of their imagination but have real numbers to base their decisions on.  Granted….in our Miami Beach Luxury real estate market, this doesn’t mean much, great homes many times sell for unfathomed prices just because they are fabulous.

I’ll end this report with last years’ quote,

As much as I hate scripts and we’re taught to say “a home is worth what a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to accept”…it could not be more true when it comes to Miami Beach Homes, especially when dealing with waterfront homes

Miami Beach Luxury Housing Report – first half of 2011

I can’t believe 1/2 of 2011 is already gone!  Fortunately for Miami Beach Realtors, things are improving on a daily basis and we have been busy!  So here is the scoop on what has happened with Miami Beach homes in the first half of the year.  There were 130 Miami Beach homes sold already in 2011 – out of those, 55 were sales over $1 Million which is 42% of all sales….not bad for a “depreciating market”.  You need to keep in mind that when the big honchos like the Case-Shiller Index, come up with their data interpretation, they pull together ALL of Miami-Dade County and the numbers look grim – so the need to go local is crucial to get a real perspective (yes, I sound like a broken record).

Because we do specialize in Miami Beach luxury homes and waterfront homes, I will give you a summary of all the waterfront homes sold this year in Miami Beach and I will break those down by island or desirable location within Miami Beach.  You will see a lot of Mega sales (the ones above $3 Million), which is a change from 2010. (click on the graph above to download PDF of all sales to date).

Star Island Home Sales

There were only 3 Star Island homes sold so far this year ranging from $7.1 million to $25.5 million!  The average price per square foot coming in at $1,028 and the highest for all of Miami Beach.

13 Star Island was listed for $32,000,000 and sold for $25,500,000.  With 8 bedrooms / 8 bathrooms / 2 half-baths, 15,008 square feet of living space on a 100′ X 400′ lot with private dock, pool, boat lift, state of the art electronics ….yada yada yada – (everything you would expect from a 15,000 sf mansion).  What’s amazing is that this house was listed January of 2011 and sold in only 2 months!  (the monthly rental for this gem was $325,000 – higher than the average home in Dade-County!) << that’s why I love Miami.

Hibiscus Island Home Sales

There were 3 Hibiscus Island homes sold this year ranging from $2.4 Million to $9.35 Million.  The average price per square foot for the island coming in at $828.  The highest sale in Hibiscus was my all-time favorite home designed by Oppenheim at 40 South Hibiscus Drive – Miami Beach Luxury Home Pick – Hibiscus Island << click to see the photos - A – MA- ZING!!  and the lucky buyer walked away with this beauty for $9.350 Million.  The house was originally listed for $13,995,000 in June of 2010, was reduced several times and sold in May.

Venetian Islands Home Sales

The Venetian Islands are seeing quite a bit of movement in the past 2 months, and there have been 12 waterfront home sales this year with an average price per square foot of $725 – quite an increase from the average $634/sf in 2010! The highest sale was for unfinished construction at $5.5 Million back in March.

1424 N Venetian Way came in as the 2nd highest Miami Beach home sold in March of 2011.  It was originally listed at $6.5 Million in August of 2009 and finally sold for $5.5.

Sunset Islands Home Sales

The Sunset islands have seen better days with only 2 sales so far this year and average price per square foot of $717 (less than The Venetian Islands which is unheard of!).

1410 W 25 St – sold for $5,000,000 on June 7th, 2011.  Located in Sunset Island 2 – with 5,920 sf and 20,200 sf lot (inside lot, not open bay).  This house was purchased for $6.5 Million in November 2005 and took only 3 weeks to sell when they listed it for $5.499 Million in April of this year.  The Marketing description reading: screaming in all caps:

GREAT MIAMI BEACH WATERFRONT ESTATE WHERE QUIET COLORS CREATE A BOLD IMPACT YET A RELAXED SENSE OF INDULGENCE. BEST DESCRIBED AS THE HOUSE THAT BECOMES YOUR HOME, THIS BEAUTIFULLY REMODELED FIVE BEDROOM, (WITH OPTION TO USE THE STUDY AS A SIXTH BEDROOM) AND SIX AND ONE HALF BATH ISLAND OASIS, EXUDES TRANQUILITY AWASH A SEA OF WIDE-OPEN SPACES, LUSH TROPICAL LANDSCAPING AND 100 FEET OF WATERFRONT FRONTAGE.  A STONE-THROW AWAY FROM THE OPEN BAY!

North Bay Road Home Sales

I’m always curious to analyze how North Bay Road Mansions stand up against the rest of Miami Beach.  There are no private gates, but gorgeous open bay views that take your breath away.  There have been 5 North Bay Road homes sold this year, which are not a real representation of what usually sells and the average price per sq.ft. coming in at $769.  The highest sale was in our Top 3 highest Miami Beach Homes – April edition.

Pinetree Drive Home Sales

Pinetree has only had 2 waterfront home sales this year, with an average price per sq.ft. $621.  The highest Pinetree Drive Home was in our Top 3 Miami Beach Home Sales – March edition.

More Miami Beach Home Sales

In addition to the mentioned sales, there was also one sale in Allison Island for $2.45 Million (fixer upper selling at $491 / square foot), and no waterfront sales yet in La Gorce Island, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Indian Creek Village or Palm Island.  Normandy Island had 5 sales with an average price per square foot of $436 and we decided to add Golden Beach to the mix because we are seeing a lot of people considering the move there because of affordability factors.

Golden Beach Home Sales

There have been  7 waterfront Golden Beach homes sold this year with an average price of $621/sq.ft.  The highest sale was an oceanfront house selling at $7.7 Million

277 Ocean Blvd sold in March for $1,186 / sq.ft. – that’s higher than the Star Island home sale but then again, we are talking beach front.  A 6,495 sf house on a 20,700 sf lot with 6 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms and 1 half-bath, 2-car garage, totally renovated with a monthly rental price of $42,000.  It was originally listed for $11,800,000 in 2006.  Remember that Ricky Martin is also selling his Golden Beach home – that one listed for $18.9 Million.

So there you have a brief synopsis of what has happened to the Miami Beach Waterfront Housing Market in the first half of the year.  To download the data associated with this article, please click on the button bellow.  **all information obtained from the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service**

Google your Miami Beach REALTOR

Dear Miami Beach home Seller:

Do you realize that today’s real estate buyer is smart? is educated? and will research your property to death before they even place an offer?

Most of you are even aware that almost 90% of buyers start their search on the Internet, so what do you have to do to sell your home?

If you are planning to sell, you have to be just as smart as those buyers and you need to do a little homework.  Your research should start with Google.

Google the area you live in to see which agents have a strong Internet presence.  Those agents that have a strong presence will know how to market your property on-line and will know how to expose your listing to millions of buyers.

Example:  You want to sell you Miami Shores Home – you should Google “Miami Shores Real Estate”, “Miami Shores”, “Miami Shores Homes” and any other combination thereof.  Take a look at the first 2 (maybe even 3) pages of Google Searches and find out what each one of those Realtors is doing to market their listings.

It’s not about your Realtor having a website anymore, it’s about your Realtor knowing where to place your listing, exposing your property in not only local web-portals, but all over the world.

If you are not finding your favorite agent in Google, or the properties they are selling, it may be time to re-examine your “selling strategy”.

Please remember that although this is a very important part of the equation, once you find that “Googable Realtor” (no that’s not a real word), you should also follow home preparation and pricing recommendations.

• Staging your Miami Home

• Why isn’t your Miami home selling?

• Pricing your Miami Home

• How to Sell Your Home in Black and White

• Home Sellers Can’t Handle The Truth

• First Impressions in Real Estate

**originally published June 25th, 2008**

Why pick THAT Miami Beach Realtor?

You are interviewing Miami Beach REALTORS and have no idea who to hire because they all have something that impresses you, good track record, good communication skills, good client testimonials, good Internet presence…..so how can you make up your mind?

The key is to be able to identify how they market themselves as opposed to how they market properties.  At first this may seem like easy task, but once you start thinking about it you realize that most REALTORS spend more money branding themselves that promoting their properties.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s only wrong when they want to sell you their branding efforts as property marketing.

In addition to identifying the type of marketing an agent does, it’s good to know where marketing efforts need to be more aggressive and where buyers will ultimately find your home.  The National Association of Realtors (NAR) just published a 2010 profile of home buyers and sellers which includes this graph that details where buyers found the home they purchased from 2001 through 2010.

Interestingly enough, in 2010, 75% of buyers bound their home with the help of another REALTOR or on-line! (and the Internet is half of that number).  Which just means that yard signs, open houses, newspaper and magazine ads and brochures are a minuscule part of the equation!  Seriously??  But those property brochures are so pretty!!  And what have we been telling you?  The brochures are part of an agent’s branding efforts, it gets them more listings….not necessarily sell homes.

Brand Marketing vs. Product Marketing

A good REALTOR will use both types of marketing not only to attract more clients but to ultimately sell real estate.  Furthermore, Brand and Product will often be combined because in real estate, you really can’t separate one from the other.  A good example of this will be direct mailers with “just listed” information – the property will be shown and described and the agent brand will be emphasized – but do you see these in the list above? Yet one overly used home selling pitch is that “neighbors will tell friends and family about the home, which is the best type of word-of-mouth marketing” << can you say “MEANINGLESS SCRIPT”?

Tracey Drake from Suite101.com gives us a great analogy to differentiate the two:

Ford telling consumers that “Quality is Job 1″ – this is Brand Marketing

Selling that consumer a Ford Mustang – this is Product Marketing

So what am I telling you here?  In a customer service driven society, how can we not know when we are buying something for the brand, not necessarily the quality?  How can we not realize that the pretty magazine ad will not sell our home?  or the ingenious TV ad or the catchy yard sign?

So sit down with your Miami Beach Realtor and ask how they are using The Internet to reach the end buyer, what will they do differently to make your home stand out from the thousands of properties on the web and how is their business relationship with other Realtors since ultimately it will be their competition who will bring your home’s buyer.

For additional marketing insights, read Seth Godin’s What do you know? - a great list that manages to separate egos from achievers with some of my favorite points:

• Anticipated, personal and relevant advertising always does better than unsolicited junk.
• You can’t fool all the people, not even most of the time. And people, once unfooled, talk about the experience.
• Traditional ways of interrupting consumers (TV ads, trade show booths, junk mail) are losing their cost-effectiveness. At the same time, new ways of spreading ideas (blogs, permission-based RSS information, consumer fan clubs) are quickly proving how well they work.
• Good marketers tell a story.
• Living and breathing an authentic story is the best way to survive in an conversation-rich world.
• In the googleworld, the best in the world wins more often, and wins more.

Top 3 Most Expensive Miami Beach Homes sold in January 2011

There were 9 Miami Beach homes sold in January 2011.   The highest sale was $4.4 Million and the lowest sale was a foreclosure near Lincoln Road for $370,000.  The talk on the street is that Miami Beach Luxury Home prices are still coming down.  The truth is that it’s a volatile market because of the influx of foreign nationals who don’t care about comparables and will pay cash, so guess what?  The better your home shows, the better the chance you will have of getting top dollar, it pays to hire a designer!!

January’s Most Expensive Miami Beach Home Sale

2128 N Bay Rd – Miami Beach, FL 33140

Listed for $4,950,000 and sold for $4,400,000 on January 28th, 2011

The home is located in the Sunset Lake subdivision just East of The Sunset Islands (not a bay-front property), and was originally listed for $6,950,000 in February of 2008.  It had several price reductions, REALTOR change and finally closed after almost 3 years.

My favorite part of the listing description is one photo of the view that reads “Wide Views, moments to open bay”.  The MLS description reads as follows:

Owner financing available….Med Contemporary, 100′ wide, secured waters, moments to open bay. Double docks, suitable for 40′ to 75′ vessel, boat lift. Elegant entrance to paved courtyard, pond, great outdoor living beautifully landscaped, marble floors, formal dining/living rms. Sunny display throughout, grand family room, French doors to pool. Master suite w/walk-in closet, open terraces, balconies, eat-in kitchen with water views, 3-car garage, no fixed bridges.

Features:

• 5,682 square feet of living space
• built in 1990
• 5 bedrooms / 5 bathrooms / 2 half baths
• 3-car garage
• 20,000 square foot lot
• waterfront
• 100 feet of water frontage
• double docks for 40’ to 75’ vessels with boat lifts.
• North Bay Road Location within Sunset Lake

January’s second Most Expensive Miami Beach Home Sale

6675 Sheffield Ln – Miami Beach, FL 33141

Listed for $2,990,000 and sold for $2,700,000 on January 10th, 2011

This La Gorce Island home is not waterfront and was listed since March of 2010 with a starting price of $3.5 Million.  It was bought for $3.2 Million in March of 2007, so the sellers did suffer a loss, which is not uncommon in Miami Beach’s Luxury real estate market, especially if you bought in the height of the market.  The MLS reads:

Elegant home on prestigious and beautiful La Gorce Island. Magnificent layout with 5 bedrooms and 4 1/2 baths. Top-of-the-line gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances, custom cabinetry and mink-chinchilla marble countertops. Web-server video security, indoor/outdoor Bang & Olufsen entertainment system, two-car garage. Beautifully manicured french garden with couture outdoor furniture. Stunningly landscaped outdoor area includes gazebo and high-end bbq station.

Features:

• 3,971 square feet of living space
• built in 1958
• 5 bedrooms / 4 bathrooms / 1 half bath
• 13,125 square foot lot
• La Gorce Island
• pool
• 2-car garage
• gourmet kitchen

January’s Third Most Expensive Miami Beach Home Sale

1155 N Shore Dr – Miami Beach, FL 33141

Listed for $1,990,000 and sold for $1,560,000 on January 11th, 2011

This Open Bay Normandy Island home is completely renovated to its Mid-Century Modern Character and had quite a listing history.  On and off the market since 2007 with a starting price of $2,795,00, several price reductions and REALTOR changes, was also listed for rent for $9,500, $8,500 and $6,500/month.  The home appears as purchased in 2004 for $1.1M, so depending on the cost of renovations, the seller did not do that badly.

The home description screams in all caps:

NOT a sh.sale! OWNER MOTIVATED.BRING YOUR OFFER…SPECTACULAR ENDLESS BAY VIEWS FROM THE MOMENT YOU ENTER THIS RENOVATED MIMO STYLE HOME IN GATED COMMUNITY ON MIAMI BEACH. WIDE OPEN LIVING AREA WITH FLOOR TO CEILING GLASS UNITE THE INTERIOR WITH THE SPARKLING WATERS OF BISCAYNE BAY. 3/2 IN THE MAIN HOUSE AND DETACHED 1/1 GUEST QRTRS PLUS SPACIOUS OFFICE.THE BAYFRONT POOL IS PRIVATE AND SURROUNDED BY OVER 14OOO SF OF LUXURIOUS GARDEN. LOT HAS ABOUT 90 FT OF BISCAYNE BAY WATERFRONT.

Features:

• 2,791 square feet of living space
• Built in 1950 but completely renovated
• 4 bedrooms / 4 bathrooms
• 14,000 square foot lot
• 84′ of water frontage
• open bay location on North Normandy Island

**all information obtained from the SouthEast Florida Multiple Listing Service**

Miami Beach Waterfront Homes sold in 2010

NOTE: This blog post has been updated reflecting 5 additional waterfront Miami Beach Homes sold since December 13th when this post was published.

There are 191 Miami Beach waterfront homes for sale right now ranging from a $450,000 short sale on Hawthorne Avenue right outside Biscayne Point Island, to a $49,995,000 Star Island Mansion. Miami Beach waterfront homes are highly coveted world wide and they are priced according to condition, size, location and views…but VIEWS and LOCATION are key.

The formula to understanding the Miami Beach waterfront home market is knowing that no matter what the comps are, most buyers are cash buyers and price is determined mostly by desirability of the property, not so much by how much other comparable homes have sold for. This is a total anomaly and difficult for a lot of buyers to understand, especially if you are looking to upgrade from a non-waterfront home, or are ready to make the switch to this very desirable lifestyle.

Let’s take Shaq’s Star Island home as an example because the price range cannot be any more random. He purchased the home in 2004 for $18.8 Million, then listed it for $32 M, increased it to $35M and ended up selling it for $16 Million! To top things off, the buyer, Vladislav Doronin, ended up gutting the entire mansion. That’s a $16 Million fixer upper for you! Only in Miami Beach…. or shall we call that a MIAMISM ?

Another example is the current real estate housing trends of The Sunset Islands, one of the most esteemed sets of islands in Miami Beach. Desirability starts at Sunset Island I, then II, then III and historically, Sunset Island IV has fallen in last place. You will see below that the only 2 sales this year in the Sunset Islands have been 2 distressed sales in Sunset Island IV at ridiculous prices. Does that mean that a $1.3 Million ticket price on a sold house will determine where the current $25 Million listing will sell? Not a chance!

So keep in mind that not everyone is willing to throw money up in the air, and not everyone is a tire kicker either.  Average price per square foot has dropped in all of Miami Beach, but this is not the end of the world and some sellers are still getting top dollar for their homes…look at Bosh’s $12.3 Million purchase.

I decided to give you true numbers and stats to paint a perspective of the Miami Beach waterfront  home market, but the more I look at these numbers, the more I see an abstract or even a surrealist painting.  So take these with a grain of salt and make sure you work with someone that has experience in this market.

There have been were 65 70 waterfront homes sold in Miami Beach in 2010.  Let’s break this down to each Miami Beach island/s:

• 1 sale in Star Island – 44 Star Island Drive selling for $7,250,000 at $1535/sq.ft.

• 4 waterfront sales in Palm Island – averaging $814 / sq.ft. with the highest sale for a 12,184 sq.ft. home located at 55 Palm Ave, which sold for $11.95 Million.

• 4 waterfront sales in Hibiscus Island – averaging $695/sq.ft. with highest sale for an 8,096 sq.ft. home located at 269 N Hibiscus selling for $5.4 Million

• 8 9 waterfront sales in The Venetian Islands – averaging $634/sq.ft. $625/st.ft. with the highest sale for a 4,200 sq.ft. home located at 303 E. Dilido selling for $3.4 Million

• 2 waterfront sales in The Sunset Islands – averaging $555/sq.ft. but keep in mind that these were facing South towards condos on island IV on a narrow canal (not your typical Sunset Island sales).  The highest sale was for a 2,255 sq.ft. home located at 1440 W 21 Street, selling for $1.6 Million.

• 7 8 waterfront North Bay Road sales – averaging $785/sq.ft. $813/sq.ft. with the highest sale being Chris Bosh’s 12,000 square foot crib which he bought for $12.333 Million

• 4 waterfront home sales in La Gorce Island – averaging $880/sq.ft. with the highest sale for a 17,183 square foot home at 88 La Gorce Cr, which sold for $16 Million (highest sale this year in all of Miami Beach)

• There have been no sales in Allison Island this year
• 11 waterfront home sales in Normandy Island – averaging $280/sq.ft. with the highest sale for a 3,446 sq.ft home located at 1045 N Shore Dr, selling for $1.6 Million (North Normandy – open bay)

• 1 waterfront home sale in North Bay Island – at $330/sq.ft and located at 7520 Miami View Drive and selling for $1,679,373 (I wonder what it took to come up with that number)

• 12 14 waterfront home sales in Biscayne Point – averaging $287/sq.ft. $291/sq.ft. with the highest sale for a 4,100 sq.ft. home located at 1525 Cleveland Rd, selling for $1.625 Million

• 2 waterfront home sales in Stillwater Island – averaging $325/sq.ft. with the highest sale for a 2,210 short sale located at 1480 Stillwater Dr, selling for $710,000
• 6 7 waterfront home sales on Pinetree Drive – averaging $543/sq.ft. $487/sq.ft. with highest sale for a 7,595 sq.ft. home located at 5245 Pinetree Dr, selling for $5.25 Million

The remaining 3 waterfront homes sold in Miami Beach this year were right outside one of the islands or on an inside canal, still desirable waterfront, but not as much as the islands.

An even better perspective of the performance of each island is through this graph, although the figures are a bit skewed because of the lack of sales.  The Sunset Islands have historically sold for more per square foot than The Venetian Islands, but that is not reflected in this year’s sales.

Many times you call us and ask us about desirability of each island and why the disparity in price ranges.  I think that same difference is a good tool to weigh desirability.  Star Island showing the highest price per square foot, followed by La Gorce Island, then Palm Island, followed closely by North Bay  Road.

As much as I hate scripts and we’re taught to say “a home is worth what a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to accept”…it could not be more true when it comes to Miami Beach Homes, especially when dealing with waterfront homes.  Even with that, there are still some great buys out there….bank owned properties and sellers that NEED to get out, but it’s  not the norm.

**all information obtained from the SouthEast Florida Multiple Listing Service**

**There were 5 additional sales at the end of the year that were not originally reflected in this article (originally published December 13th, 2010)

• 5310 N Bay Rd – sold for $9,100,000
• 226 W Rivo Alto Dr – sold for $1,800,000
• 5223 Pinetree Drive – Short Sale sold for $1,600,000
• 1707 Cleveland Rd – sold for $1,300,000
• 1824 Cleveland Rd – Foreclosure sold for $403,000

Top 3 Most Expensive Miami Beach Home Sales – June 2010

The month of June was HOT when it comes to Miami Beach homes sold.  We’re talking the higher end of the Miami Beach Luxury home market, the one I’ve been telling you has been at a standstill .  I hope this doesn’t mean our “quota” has been met….I’m hoping the Luxury market is picking up.  There were 20 sales ranging from $250,000 for a 3 bedroom short sale at 1234 13th Street in South Beach to $16 million for an amazing Todd Michael Glaser masterpiece.  These Miami Beach home sales represent the highest sales seen in quite some time, so let’s take it all in.

June’s Most Expensive Miami Beach Home Sale

88 La Gorce Cr – Miami Beach, FL 33141

Listed for $19,500,000 and sold for $16,000,000 on June 11th, 2010

I had written about this impressive Miami Beach Luxury Estate back in December of 2009, where I said:

The home is impressive to say the least – contemporary, simple, austere and phenomenal.  With over 20,000 square feet of living space, sitting on a 48,000 square foot lot, guest cabana, elevator, 5-car garage, amazing landscaping….what else could you want?  My only concern of course is that we have not seen any waterfront sales in La Gorce in 2009….the whole mega luxury home real estate market in Miami Beach is at a standstill….waiting waiting waiting.  The house has been active for sale since January of 2008 starting at $25,000,000 ($5,500,000 reduction is not bad at all).  It’s also currently for rent at $100,000 per month and known to house a few celebs on a short-term basis.

And Todd Michael Glaser himself, describes as:

The property, called OKTO, features a brand-new 20,000-square-foot house, which my team and I built from the ground up in just 10 months. It is one project that I am particularly proud of. The flowing floor plan separates “back of house” function spaces (such as dual laundry rooms, staff quarters, ample storage spaces, and a five-car garage with berthing large enough for limousines), from the opulent living areas. The master bed and bath have floor-to-ceiling glass sliders that seem to disappear when opened, exposing the his-and-her soaking tubs to the direct Florida sunlight. The terrace overlooks the pool and manicured lawns, as well as the elevated guesthouse and cabana. With all of this, I am not surprised it wasn’t on the market for very long.

(for those that don’t know who Todd Michael Glaser is – he’s a builder…but not just any builder, he builds Luxury Estates that have been featured in HGTV, and said to have “started” the Miami Design District)

Features:

• 17,183 square feet of living space
• built in 2008
• 10 bedrooms / 12 bathrooms / 3 half-baths
• 5-car garage
• 48,024 sq.ft. lot with 260′ of water frontage
• 2 docks
• lap pool and spa
• rooftop terrace
• staff house
• elevator
• La Gorce Island location

June’s Second Most Expensive Miami Beach Home Sale

55 Palm Ave, Miami Beach, FL  33139

Listed for $15,500,000 and sold for $11,950,000 on June 16th, 2010

This was a Mediterranean Revival restoration also done by Todd Michael Glaser – damn Todd! you are on a roll!  The 1928 home Palm Island residence is best described in Todd’s  own words:

This project was extremely interesting for me, as it involved a unique historical restoration of an original 1920s Spanish Colonial-style residence on Palm Island, providing city tax abatement for 10 years. Set on a 30,000-square-foot lot, the home features a three-car garage, service quarters, formal dining room, elevator, a grand waterfront master suite and sitting area, his-and-her baths and walk-in closets, and more. We incorporated a 10,000-square-foot modern addition, careful to blend the old and the new, and the possibilities are endless. There is room for a media room, library, office, gym, outdoor barbecue, separate guest rooms, a playroom, sitting areas, and more. The details are what really sets it apart, though: 12-foot cathedral beamed ceilings, quatrefoils windows, fireplaces, a romantic interior courtyard, oversize heated pool on beautifully landscaped grounds featuring flowering vines. It’s the quintessential Miami Beach island property.

And MLS description reads:

Unique historical restoration of original 1920′s Spanish Colonial Palm Island residence providing city tax abatement for 10 years plus a 10,000 SF modern addition.  12 foot Cathedral & coffered ceilings, Bulthaup kitchen, interior courtyard, amazing backyard w/ gazebo & pool cabana.  Gorgeous views of intercostals & MB skyline.  One of a kind master suite w/ private terr.  Enchanting guesthouse w/ plenty of rm & privacy and much more.

Features:

• 12,184 square feet of living space
• 8 bedrooms / 9 bathrooms / 2 half-baths
• built in 1928 and restored in 2008
• 30,000 sq.ft. lot with 100′ of water frontage
• 3-car garage
• service quarters
• elevator
• media room
• library
• 12-foot cathedral beamed ceilings
• interior courtyard
• pool
• Palm Island Location

June’s Third Most Expensive Miami Beach Home Sale

40 La Gorce Cr, Miami Beach, FL 33141

Listed for $7,900,000 and sold for $7,400,000 on June 11th, 2010

There are not even photos of this home because it sold in 4 days!  The 1937 home of known attorney Dan Paul, author of Miami-Dade county charter, with an MLS description that leaves us wanting more:

This extraordinary waterfront property is located on the tip of prestigious La Gorce Island in Miami Beach. The most sought after wide bay, city and sunset views. Upon entering the sumptuous courtyard you will be enchanted by the beautiful architecture of this 8,200+SF Gem. Nothing short of a South Florida masterpiece, this residence has it all.

Features:

• 8,284 square feet of living space
• 6 bedrooms / 8 bathrooms / 1 half-baths
• built in 1937
• 23,145 sq.ft. lot with 115′ of water frontage
• 2-car garage
• dock
• pool
• La Gorce Island Location

>>>> BONUS SALE you absolutely have to know about<<<<<

4358 N. Bay Road – Miami Beach, FL 33140

Listed for $8,300,000 and sold for $7,400,000

This amazing piece of land was bought by none other that Alex Rodriguez after many rumors of offers on different properties around Miami.  And guess who’s helping A-Rod build the house of his dreams?  Yes…you got it….Todd Michael Glaser!!!  (and all I hope is that he convinces him to go modern and not do another Spanish-Med wanna be with a million ballustrades – somehow….I have confidence that this time will be different!)

**all information obtained from the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service**

Not all Miami Beach Waterfront homes are created equal

Miami Beach locals seem to understand that not all Miami Beach waterfront real estate is the same, but instead of assuming, I decided to do a brief synopsis of the different types of waterfront homes in Miami Beach. Many relocating to South Florida think waterfront means “beach-front” – you have no idea how many calls we get from Europeans wanting a beachfront home when they really mean canal-front. It has to do with knowing the local landscape and also language idiosyncrasies – the type of waterfront has obvious implications on the price.

Miami Beach ocean-front homes

There are not many oceanfront Miami Beach homes – it is PRIME real estate! This type of waterfront real estate is the most exclusive and most expensive for obvious reasons (nothing like the Atlantic Ocean as your backyard)- A few beachfront homes can be found in a very small residential pocket South of Surfside called Altos del Mar and also Golden Beach – where the oceanfront homes will be everything but modest- talk about Miami Beach Luxury Real Estate! Otherwise, all other beach-front or ocean-front real estate will be condos.

Miami Beach Bay-front homes

The next best thing from beachfront is bay-front since you will have open bay views and more privacy (literally no rear neighbor and open bay views from your backyard). Miami Beach Bay-front homes are also not all created equal. The only down side is the lack of protection from the elements, but that’s what insurance, good construction and proper weather preventive methods are for.

Miami Beach Canal front homes

There are many types of canal-front homes in Miami Beach. Pricing of these will take into consideration many factors including: location of canal, type of canal, size of canal, location of home within the canal, etc.

• Wide canals

This is when the home is located on a canal but the the canal is wide and homes still have privacy – examples of these are homes on the South side of Hibiscus Island or North side of Palm Island, The Venetian Islands or Surprise Lake in Miami Beach.

• Narrow canals

The word says it – you can see your neighbor across the canal, privacy is limited since you usually would have a fence and landscaping separating a backyard neighbor – in this case, you would have the canal and in many instances could see right in their backyard or home. This does not mean that canal-front homes are bad by any means, it just explains that there are many considerations when buying waterfront properties.  Other factors to consider with regards to canal-front properties are:

• navigable – if you have a boat, this is a good question to ask – some canals do not allow boats, others don’t have access to the ocean

• no fixed bridges – canal-front properties with direct ocean access and no fixed bridges are more expensive.  If you are contemplating buying a property and you know there are fixed bridges and you have a boat, make sure you know what the clearance of those bridges are in high tide to make sure your boat will be able to go through.

• deep canals – many canals are deep and can accommodate sail boats – if you are a sailor and want to purchase a canal-front home, you need to make sure the canal is deep enough for the draft of the boat.

• debris – some canals have dead ends and they have a tendency to collect debris which can often be an eyesore or even worse, bring a horrible smell.

More food for thought:

Location of the property – If you are a boater and hate idling in the no-wake zones for an extended period of time, consider where, within the intricate canal infrastructure of Miami and Miami Beach, the property will be located. Golden Beach and Eastern Shores for example has a long trajectory from their waterfront homes to the open bay and ocean where you can really crank up the engines and go at a descent speed – the same thing happens at Coral Gables. If you are a true boater, it would be a good idea for you to navigate those canals first.

Seawall and Condition – knowing a seawall can cost up to $1000 per linear foot – you should inspect the seawall with a good professional and possibly structural engineer.  Don’t discard Natural Coral Seawalls, they are known to have very strong structural qualities – but don’t take my word for it, ask any Structural Engineer.

Type of dock DERM will allow – looking at the adjacent neighbors’ docks usually gives you a good idea, but don’t always trust that – their dock may be “grandfathered in” or have some special circumstances that you don’t know about. Rule of thumb is that you can usually build a dock out 20% of the width of the canal, bay-fronts all have different requirements. A DERM inspector will sometimes be willing to visit the property prior to you buying the property, to assess it.

If you thought the Miami Beach Waterfront real estate market was not intricate, think again!

*original article posted February 28th, 2009*

Top 3 Most Expensive Miami Beach Home Sales – January 2010

When it comes to Miami Beach Homes, there were 11 sales in the month of January 2010.  Two of these sales in exclusive La Gorce Island and the other one was a Pinetree Mansion.  The lowest sale in January was at Biscayne Beach and as per the MLS description, “buy this house and get a free car”…can’t tell you the details on the car – but the house was on a dry lot at 965 79th Terrace and sold for $225,000.

January’s Most Expensive Miami Beach Home Sale

92 La Gorce Circle – Miami Beach, FL 33141

Listed for $13,500,000 and sold for $9,500,000 on 1/25/2010

This house was on and off the market since September 2005, starting at $17,500,000, was also for rent for $100,000 and finally sold for $9.5 Million.  MLS description:

Set on approx. an acre, this remodeled 9700+sf Mediterranean estate offers privacy and elegance.  200+ft of wterfront.  7 brs, ofc, 8.5 baths, fine marble and hardwd flrs, dbl living room w/marble fireplc overlooking the water.  Media rm, family rm w/granite bar & spacious kitchen w/breakfast area, sumptuous master suite w/soaring ceilings.  Notable exterior features of the grand estate include hand-laid keystone appointments, stone fountains and interior courtyard loggias surrounded by coral stonework.

Features:

• built in 1939
• 9,719 square feet of living space
• 7 bedrooms / 8.5 bathrooms
• waterfront
• 42,749 square foot lot
• 200 feet of water frontage
• House faces East
• Guard-gated island
• 2-story Mediterranean Revival home
• Private dock

January’s Second Most Expensive Miami Beach Home Sale

5745 Pinetree Drive – Miami Beach, FL 33140

Listed for $5,990,000 and sold for $4,650,000 on 1/4/2010

This home was known for it’s short term rentals and was showing on the MLS available for rent for $19,500/month and $27,000/month (long and short term rentals).  It had also been on and off the market starting in 2000 with highest listing price of $7,900,000.  Personally, Pinetree has never done it for me – some of these homes facing condos across the canal, but you can’t take away the splendor and grand scale of a lot of these Pinetree Homes.  Description on the MLS:

Classic, renovated estate on stately Pinetree Drive!  All new hurricane impact windows and doors to be installed!  Approximately 9000 sf, 5 bedroom, 8 bath home with 150 ft of protected water-frontage!  owner will consider financing or trade for other property including condos!  Renovations are finished and all doors and windows are in!!!!!

Features:

• built in 1929
• 8,689 square feet of living space
• 5 bedrooms / 6 bathrooms / 2 half-baths
• waterfront
• 26,700 square foot lot
• 150 feet of water frontage
• House faces East
• 2-story Mediterranean Revival home
• Private dock

January’s Third Most Expensive Miami Beach Home Sale

55 La Gorce Circle – Miami Beach, FL 33141

Listed for $3,300,000 and sold for $2,200,000 on 1/19/2010

This home was listed in 2007 for $4,400,000 and then again for $3,300,000 on August 2009 – I’m guessing the million dollar price reduction made the difference with this dry-lot home (meaning NOT waterfront).

Sophistication reigns supreme on this exquisite property.  Located on guard-gated La Gorce Island, this beautiful 4 bedroom/5 bath, 5,387 sf home, situated on a 13,750 lot features an abundance of stunning details and amenities such as a luxury kitchen, pool area, high ceilings, master suite with his/her bathrooms and a 2-car garage.  Unmatched, awe-inspiring elegance and style.  just a few minutes to world-renowned South Beach and downtown Miami.

Features:

• built in 1968
• 5,387 square feet of living space
• 4 bedrooms / 5.5 bathrooms
• 2-car garage
• 13,750 square foot lot
• House faces West
• Guard-gated island
• pool

Next Page »