Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse inside South Pointe Park in South Beach. Featuring amazing views of Government Cut “Cruise Ship Alley”, Fisher Island, and Downtown Miami.  I recommend this as a destination for any visitors to Miami Beach, where you can experience South of Fifth’s beautifully redone South Pointe Park.  The views of the cruise ships as they enter and leave the Port of Miami.  Located right next to popular Miami Beach luxury condominium buildings-  Apogee South Beach, Continuum South Beach, South Pointe Tower, and Portofino Tower.

Whether you make it here during the day or at night- the views of the Atlantic Ocean, the cruise ships heading out of the Port of Miami, Fisher Island, and the downtown Miami skyline are exhilarating.    One of my favorite activities is to jog along “cruise ship alley” right around dusk time. I enjoy jogging alongside the cruiseships as they leave the port of Miami for the Atlantic Ocean.

A great jog is to start in front of The Apogee condo building (the southernmost point of Miami Beach) and to go due East until you reach the Ocean, and then head North along the Beach.  One of the great attractions in South Beach is the wide beach with hard sand, which is ideal for joggers!

Art Basel Miami Beach will be taking place December 4 – 7, 2008.

Art Basel Miami Beach is the most important contemporary art show in the United States, a cultural and social highlight for the Americas. It is the sister event of Switzerland’s Art Basel, the most prestigious art show worldwide for the past 39 years, Art Basel Miami Beach combines an international diversity of the world’s top Art galleries along with exhibitions, parties and crossover events featuring music, film, architecture and design. Exhibition sites are located in the South Beach Art Deco District, walking distance to the beach and most South Beach hotels.

An exclusive selection of more than 220 leading art galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa will exhibit 20th and 21st century artworks by over 2,000 artists.  Most artists will be displaying at the Miami Beach Convention Center, and also and at various galleries in Downtown Miami’s Arts District.

We have several buyers from Eastern Europe (and one from South America) that will be looking at purchasing among South Beach’s premier Condos (some of these asking prices have adjusted downward following the latest financial crisis).  I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight a few of the premier turnkey condominiums offered for sale on the South Beach market:

Portofino Tower # PH4004- 2 Stories, 4,100 S.F., 5 beds / 4 baths
300 South Pointe Drive
Miami Beach, 33139
Original Asking Price: $6,575,000
Current Asking Price: $6,200,000 (6% reduction)

Portofino Tower – Penthouse 4004 (Kitchen and Living Room)

Murano Grande #3003/4- 6,032 S.F., 5 beds / 5 baths
400 Alton Road
Miami Beach, 33139
Original Asking Price: $9,500,000
Current Asking Price: $6,900,000  (27% reduction)

Murano Grande Condo – Bathroom and Dining Area

Continuum South Beach – South Tower PH1- 3 Stories, 7,374 S.F., 5 beds / 7 baths  13’ Ceilings
100 South Pointe Drive
Miami Beach, 33139
Original Asking Price: $25,000,000
Current Asking Price: $14,950,000  (40% reduction)

Continuum South Beach – (Dining Area and Pool)

Apogee South Beach – 2001/2002-, 7,254 S.F., 7 beds / 8 baths  10’ Ceilings
800 South Pointe Drive
Miami Beach, 33139
Current Asking Price: $17,750,000

Apogee South Beach – Kitchen and View

Il Villaggio PH 6 & 7 – 2 Stories, 5,700 S.F., 3 beds / 6 baths
1455 Ocean Drive
Miami Beach, 33139
Original Asking Price: $18,500,000
Current Asking Price: $13,900,000  (25% reduction)

Il Villaggio – Den and Living room

Icon South Beach #1801- 4303 S.F., 3 beds / 5 baths
450 Alton Road
Miami Beach, 33139
Original Asking Price: $5,900,000
Current Asking Price: $3,600,000  (39% reduction)

Icon South Beach – Dining Area and Living Room

Murano at Portofino #3101 – 3,365 S.F., 3 beds / 3 baths
1000 South Pointe Drive
Miami Beach, FL 33139
Current Asking Price: $4,900,000

Murano at Portofino – View and Kitchen

Below are some highlights of closed condominium sales for the past 90 days for the more prominent South of Fifth Street buildings such as Murano at Portofino, Murano Grande, Continuum II South Beach and Continuum South Beach, Apogee Miami Beach, Portofino Tower and Icon South Beach.

A total of thirty one (31) luxury condos sold and closed during this period with an average sales price of $2,185,000. The median price per Sq.Ft. was $908, with an average marketing period of 149 days. In EVERY case, these waterfront luxury condominiums were significantly price reduced.

ARE YOU SERIOUS ABOUT SELLING? – If you own a condo in South Beach (especially a South of Fifth Condo), and have had trouble selling, please call us for a free market analysis. I believe in telling it “straight” to clients (or potential clients), as wishful thinking will not carry the day in this real estate environment. However, we are still seeing strong demand and interest from buyers (especially Europeans) for premier waterfront condos in the area.

Once again, the market has shown that it rewards sellers who work with experienced, knowledgeable, detail-oriented, and top producing real estate salespeople. Thanks to aggressive and creative targeted International Marketing Campaigns, we have sold ALMOST our entire Residential listing inventory from the first half of 2008.

Below are a few of the more notable condo sales that have occurred in the over the past ninety days in the South of Fifth Street District:

Apogee Miami Beach

4 beds / 3 baths 4,154 S.F.

Original List Price: $6,700,000 Sales Price: $5,500,000

142 days on Market, $1,324/S.F. Waterfront Corner Unit

Apogee Miami Beach

4 beds / 3 baths 4,154 S.F.

Original List Price: $7,900,000 Sales Price: $7,300,000

147 days on Market, $1,757/S.F. Waterfront Corner Unit

Murano Grande

3 beds / 3 baths 3,979 S.F. Home 3,979 S.F. Land

Original List Price: $4,850,000 Sales Price: $3,100,000

365+ days on Market, $779/S.F. Waterfront Corner Unit

Continuum South Beach

3 beds / 3 baths 2,954 S.F. Home 3,979 S.F. Land

Original List Price: $3,600,000 Sales Price: $3,100,000

471 days on Market, $1,049/S.F. Oceanfront Unit

Icon South Beach

3 beds / 3 baths 2,158 S.F.

Original List Price: $1,799,000 Sales Price: $1,450,000

365+ days on Market, $671/S.F. Bayfront Corner Unit

Portofino Tower

2 beds / 2 baths 2,040 S.F.

Original List Price: $1,625,000 Sales Price: $1,350,000

245 days on Market, $661/S.F. Unobstructed Views Bayfront

Murano at Portofino

2 beds / 2 baths 1,390 S.F.

Original List Price: $1,350,000 Sales Price: $1,150,000

258 days on Market, $827/S.F.

Recently, I received in the mail a very comprehensive market snapshot from a local brokerage firm with a variety of confusing statistics gathered from the MLS comparing 2006 and 2007 Q2 sales for the more prominent buildings South of Fifth Street in Miami Beach. I’m astounded that in today’s real estate market, sales professionals are still sending out confusing statistical reports in an effort to sign up listings. Below is my common sense interpretation of the data.

I’ve compiled the following from the MLS to clearly communicate what is happening with the luxury condo market South of Fifth Street for the following luxury waterfront buildings:

Murano at Portofino

There are 20 units for sale, which makes it the lowest inventory building in the entire area. The average asking price is $2,475,000 at $1,107/S.F. The median sales asking price is $1,660,000 at just over $1,000/S.F. YTD 2007 a total of 3 units have sold, at an average sales price of $1,523,000 at $1,126/S.F.

Although on paper prices do not seem to have been affected thus far, only THREE units have sold for the entire year! Also of note, there are only two â¬S01⬝ or â¬SA⬝ units (which I consider to be among the best floorplans and views in all of SE Florida and Greater Miami) and they are still hard to come by- with only two units on the active market starting at $4,900,000 or $1,456/ S.F. The last two closed sales that have taken place for the â¬S01⬝ units were in March of 2006 for an average of $3,947,000 at $1,172/S.F.

Murano Grande

There are 53 condominium units for sale in this building, obviously an oversupply of sellers (with at least two units in foreclosure/pre-foreclosure). The average asking price is $1,897,000 at $840/S.F. The median asking price is $1,470,000 at just over $838/S.F. For the second half of 2007 (since June 1) a total of 6 units have sold (vs 13 sales for same period last year), at an average sales price of $1,406,000 at $847/S.F. This represents a closed sales slowdown of 53% during the summer/fall months of 2007 vs summer/fall of 2006.

Icon South Beach

There are 43 condominium units actively for sale, with at least four units in foreclosure/pre-foreclosure. The average asking price is $1,860,000 at $895/S.F. The median asking price is $1,600,000 at just over $876/S.F. For the second half of 2007 (since June 1) a total of 6 units have sold (vs 16 sales for same period last year), at an average sales price of $2,676,000 at $931/S.F. This represents a closed sales slowdown of 63% during the summer/fall months of 2007 vs summer/fall of 2006.

Continuum South Beach (South Tower)

There are 50 condominium units actively on the market for sale. The average asking price is $2,983,000 at $1,263/S.F. The median asking price is $2,372,000 at just over $1,225/S.F. For the second half of 2007 (since June 1) a total of 7 units have sold (vs 10 sales for same period last year), at an average sales price of $1,566,000 at $869/S.F. This represents a closed sales slowdown of 30% during the summer/fall months of 2007 vs summer/fall of 2006.

Portofino Tower

There are 37 condominium units actively on the market for sale. The average asking price is $1,955,000 at $881/S.F. The median asking price is $1,699,000 at just under $800/S.F. For the second half of 2007 (since July 1) a total of 3 units have sold (vs 6 sales for same period last year), at an average sales price of $2,983,000 at $972/S.F. The most significant difference over the past year, are that the number of active condominiums for sale has increased, but the ones selling are the premier waterfront Penthouses and â¬S01⬝ high floor lines with unobstructed views (see below)

Apogee

Closings will be commencing in the next few weeks, the 01 and 04 lines are by far the most desireable. For example, one of the better re-sale units is #901 and can be purchased for $4,790,000 at $1,155/S.F. This may seem like a high price, the 01 line and 04 lines at Apogee have been thus far priced in the $7M and $8M range. I believe that these units are most competitive with Murano at Portofino â¬S01⬝ or â¬SA⬝ units. Note that the last two closed sales that have taken place for the â¬S01⬝ units at Murano for an average of $3,947,000 at $1,172/S.F. See comparisons of units â¬SA⬝ from both buildings below:

Vs.