Old Spanish Village – Spectacular New Coral Gables Residential/Office Development

As a member of Miami’s elite Real Estate Professional’s Association- The Master Broker’s Forum, I had the privilege of attending a dinner on the future site of Old Spanish Village in Coral Gables.

After assembling approximately 20 parcels of residential and commercial office buildings, visionary builder Ralph Sanchez is rolling out this mixed use project in the heart of Coral Gables. Featuring new 400 upscale condos and townhouse, which will be completed in the second half of 2009.  Old Spanish Village will comprise a seven acre complex of homes, offices and shops in the Ponce Circle area. The 42 three story townhomes will come with elevators, roof top terraces and two car garages. All residential units will be between 3,500 – 4,500 sqft., with exclusive Founders prices starting at just over $1 million ($370/S.F.).

When completed, Old Spanish Village will comprise an office tower, mid-rise condominiums, and town-home villas.  All designed to evoke a classic Spanish architectural style.  This mixed use project was inspired by the vision of Coral Gables founder George Merrick and is the modern realization of one of several themed enclaves in the city, such as the French, Chinese and Dutch villages that Mr. Merrick conceived and created in the 1920′s.

Residential Towers:
One Ponce Circle will be a 16-story mixed use building with 59 condos ranging from 2,500 – 8,5000 sq.ft., with private elevators that open directly into apartments.

Casa Palermo is a separate six story residential tower with 96 residences ranging from 800-1,500sqft., and comprising 1 & 2 bedroom units.

3001 Ponce De Leon Blvd – 9 stories of 172 (1,2 and 3 bedroom) condominiums.

This very unique and highly desirable project will resemble a Spanish inspired architectural village concept.  The developers had in mind a Spanish Town and a Spanish Bazaar Village concept.

The Developer has hired Miami historian Arva Parks and plans were devised for Old Spanish Village in the spirit of Merrick’s Spanish-themed villages (planned many years ago but never realized).

I’d like to highlight a few of the more significant closed sales information for single family homes located on Palm Island, Hibiscus Island, Venetian Islands and Sunset Islands in Miami Beach from May 1 through August 20, 2008.

A total of eighteen (18) luxury homes sold and closed during this time frame with an average sales price of $3,300,000. The median price per s.f. was $731, with the average time on market of 259 days. In EVERY case, ALL of these homes were significantly price reduced, and represent price rollbacks to 2004 price levels.

ARE YOU SERIOUS ABOUT SELLING? – If you own a condo or a single family home in Miami Beach (especially South Beach), and have had trouble selling, please call us for a free market analysis. I believe in telling it straight to clients (or potential clients) that wishful thinking will not carry the day in this real estate environment.

Once again, the market has shown that it rewards sellers who work with experienced, knowledgeable, detail-oriented, and top producing real estate sales people. 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 home sales that have occurred over the past four months in Miami Beach:

5 beds / 5 baths 13,000 S.F. Home 19,687 S.F. Land
Original List Price: $22,000,000 Sales Price: $10,600,000
950+ days on Market, $815/S.F. Waterfront Home

5 beds / 4 baths 5,300 S.F. Home 12,163 S.F. Land
Original List Price: $6,000,000 Sales Price: $5,400,000
20 days on Market! $1,018/S.F. Waterfront Home Miami Beach

6 beds / 6 baths 6,000 S.F. Home 10,500 S.F. Land
Original List Price: $6,700,000 Sales Price: $4,600,000
400+ days on Market, $766/S.F. Waterfront Home Venetian Islands

2 beds / 2 baths 2,250 S.F. Home 10,500 S.F. Land
Original List Price: $3,400,000 Sales Price: $2,115,000
503 days on Market, $940/S.F. Waterfront Home Venetian Islands

4 beds / 3 baths 3,138 S.F. Home 10,500 S.F. Land
Original List Price: $3,700,000 Sales Price: $2,300,000
163 days on Market, $732/S.F. Waterfront Home Venetian Islands

5 beds / 4 baths 3,007 S.F. Home 8,414 S.F. Land
Original List Price: $3,700,000 Sales Price: $2,700,000
400+ total days on Market, $897/S.F. Waterfront Home Palm Island

4 beds / 3 baths 3,026 S.F. Home 9,500 S.F. Land
Original List Price: $1,695,000 Sales Price: $1,180,000
562 days on Market, $389/S.F. Non-Waterfront Property Hibiscus Island

The foreclosure problem has left many struggling homeowners looking for a means of relief in order to avoid having to give up their cherished South Florida homes and thus become the next foreclosure statistic. While positive efforts are being made to stop foreclosures and give homeowners some relief, others are taking advantage of the foreclosure situation to scam homeowners.

Foreclosure scammers often keep any eye out for public foreclosure notices and then drop business cards or even handwritten notes in the homeowner’s mailbox asking to be contacted. Upon the initial meeting, a scammer will promise the homeowner peace of mind and they will also sell the home back to the homeowner eventually. They will also suggest that all contact with a lender is cut off. Eventually the scammer or “rescuer” will set the rent much too high for the original homeowner to afford which essentially forces them out of their home altogether due to delinquency. The homeowner still owes mortgage payments but is now without a place to live.

The first method of knowing whether someone is legit and is actually looking to help you keep your Miami Beach home is when they request that contact with a lender is ceased. If foreclosure might happen, it’s imperative that the homeowner stay in contact as much as possible with the lender in order to try and reach a mutually agreeable solution at all times. With that in mind, any request for payments by a third party should also be a cause of concern. All payments should be made exclusively to the lender and no one else.

A scam can usually be “sniffed out” by the average homeowner but desperate times can sometimes cloud judgment. If a homeowner becomes a victim, there are legal routes to use but they can become a headache. Usually, simply taking the time to contact a lender before delinquency becomes a problem can lead to a payment schedule or loan term adjustment that the homeowner can agree with.

Home buying, regardless of how intricate it can become is essentially a more up to date form of the system merchants used in the past to sell their goods: bartering. The consumer (or buyer in this case) wants to pay as little as possible and yet the seller is looking for the biggest profit possible. All this haggling would be a lot easier for both parties involved if the real estate market were in better conditions and South Florida homes were still in hot demand which, as everyone knows, isn’t quite the case.

Although one person is looking for more and the other is seeking less, there is a mutual goal: agreeing on a suitable price. While the seller has their own research to do, buyers should do a little bit of problem solving homework before putting an offer on the table.

Owning Miami Beach oceanfront condos often gives owners a sense of entitlement, especially when it comes to determining how much they can ask for it when it’s time to sell. A couple of years ago, an inflated price would be okay but it’s a different climate. If a seller’s initial asking price seems ridiculous, chances are other buyers feel the same so allow some time for the price to come down but do make sure the seller is aware of your interest. Assuming you’re using the services of a real estate agent, they can do this on your behalf and act as the intermediary once the price is reduced to something more agreeable.

The less fellow buyers involved, the better your chances of throwing out competitive numbers to achieve your ideal price. Refrain from giving the exact price you’re aiming for. Instead raise or lower the amount in order to allow yourself room to bargain without having to sacrifice too much, which simultaneously allows the seller to feel as if they’re getting something out of the deal.

If someone else has offered a price you know you can’t match, all hope is not lost. Sellers appreciate it when buyers choose to take on additional costs normally the responsibility of the seller so if you can pay for some of these, there is a very good chance a seller will accept your slightly higher proposal over someone else who offered less.

In one’s lifetime, there comes that point when the thought of buying your first home begins to manifest itself. Alas, buying South Florida homes these days is something many will advise against due to the uncertain status of the real estate market. Yet there are those people who will tell you the complete opposite and passionately explain to you why buying in the current inventory of property for sale is actually wise.

With conflicting opinions and advice coming from both sides, it’s easy to be intimidated by the home buying prospect. You may be thinking, “Okay, I really want a Miami Beach condo by the water to call my own so…should I buy a home right now or not?”

Any real estate agent well-informed in Miami Beach real estate and/or the industry itself will explain to you that during tricky market times such as these, the decision doesn’t come down to an easy yes or no answer. Those people who may have told you that you will be losing money if you buy are indeed correct. Whatever you choose to pay now, you could pay less for in a few months. Also, due largely to the mortgage and foreclosure issue, lenders are playing hardball with borrowers and have become quite selective about who they lend to.

Then again, the prospects could be extremely worthwhile. For one, property prices have gone down considerably which should bring you closer to obtaining that four bedroom home in Miami Beach you’ve always wanted and interest rates on mortgages have gone down which should translate to a more affordable monthly mortgage payment, particularly if you’ve maintained an outstanding credit history.

It can be safely assumed then that there is no real right or wrong when it comes to buying a home. Yes you will lose money and this is something you need to be able to deal with before you do anything else. Sometimes however, it’s not so much the money that matters as it is finding a home to call your own.