Morris Massre is a Realtor with Fortune International Real Estate.
What is it about Brickell Ave. in Miami that makes real estate developers and investors foam at the mouth?
Every time something new pops up in the form of a high rise, buyers worldwide get excited and flock to Miami to buy up these condos. In this kind of struggling market this surely has to be some kind of anomaly. It may even be harder to believe that Brickell Ave. actually has a shortage of real estate inventory.
That’s right, a shortage. Investors worldwide have come to buy up what is left of Brickell and it is not for the prices because, although they may be cheaper than the boom years, they are still quite high compared to the rest of Miami-Dade County.
This year alone there have been 13 new towers started East of I-95 for a total of 3500 new units. Not all are on Brickell, but this gives you an idea of how much some of these developers want to be as close to it as possible. Two new condo high rises will start construction this year with MyBrickell and 234 units leading the way.
The other is BrickellHouse, a monster 374-unit tower that butts up to the beautiful Jade condo. This beauty even includes an in-house maintenance system and robotic automated parking garage.
What does all of this say about Brickell’s new buyers? Clearly these new investors from abroad want to be spoiled, so every time a high rise goes up, it is built with something even more obscene and grandiose. Every high rise is trying to one-up the other – and it is working. Just don’t be too surprised when your maintenance bill is as much or more than your mortgage, if you have one.
One of the reasons this is working financially and gives developers very little to worry about is the new system of installment deposits required. With this new system developers can use the buyer’s money to build and rest assure that they will not stray.
The best part of the system is the fact that foreign buyers are actually used to it! Where they come from, it is common practice to put up large deposits and mortgage very little if any at all. The plan at BrickellHouse, for instance, is as follows; 10 percent down, another 10 percent upon contract signing, another 10 percent at groundbreaking, another 20 percent when your floor is built, another 20 percent when the building is topped off, and the final 30 percent when building is completed.
Prices have not been released yet, but once new construction sales begin, don’t be surprised if there is a mad rush to purchase. Feel free to contact me for more information, including pictures and prices should you have any interest.
Now the skinny on why Brickell Ave. is such a hot commodity – known affectionately as the “Wall Street of the South,” Brickell Ave. is the second largest booming international financial center in the United States, home to 100 international and domestic financial institutions, the largest concentration of office space and 64 consulates. Everyone who is anyone wants to be in the middle of this.
Consider this: if these people can afford to work on Brickell Ave., then surely they can afford to live there too, even if it’s only part of the year. Indeed, William and Mary Brickell, the street’s namesake, would have surely been proud and surprised to see what their little 1870’s trading post has turned into. Long gone is “Millionaires Row,” the giant houses built after their arrival. They are now replaced by condos and financial institutions too many to count. And just like the pioneers that once settled here in the 19th century in droves, so too are the new international pioneers coming, seeking a maintenance free way of life with a to die for view of Biscayne Bay.
For more information on these new developments you can also visit my website at www.myfloridarealty.net
Morris Massre is a Realtor in South Florida with Fortune International Real Estate. He can be reached at:
agentsunstate@gmail.com
www.myfloridarealty.net
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