The information resource for Luxury Oceanfront Condominiums in Miami, Sunny Isles, Bal Harbour, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and Palm Beach. (954) 632 3266

We wanted to provide our readers with a concrete look at specific buildings in today’s the market. We have selected Ocean Palms, Diplomat Residences, Beach Club1,  Beach Club 2, Beach Club 3, and Villas of Positano in Hollywood.  

Each one of the buildings we selected have their own very specific characteristics.  Beach Club is of course the largest with a total of over 1,200 units whereas Villas of Positano only has a total of only 65 units.  

Ocean Palms has the lowest percentage of units on the market.   Diplomat Residences has the highest, 26% of the total building on the market.  

The closed sales data is based on the past 6 months.  The lowest closed price per square foot was at the Beach Club at $252 per square foot and surprisingly followed by the  Diplomat Residences at $253.   Not surprisingly the lowest sale price was at the Beach Club. 

South Florida newer condominiums have been averaging around 20% of the building on the market for the past year.  That number hasn’t increased in fact, as I mentioned in a previous post, inventory numbers appear to be on the decline.  

Several large scale investors such as Jorge Perez and others are stepping in to take advantage of current market conditions and attractive prices.  Real estate will have its ups and downs but unlike paper investments….it will not evaporate !

 

Turnberry Ocean Colony

Through my research I come across “break out” properties. I call these South Florida Oceanfront properties “break out” properties because they stand out from the inventory.  Certain properties that I identify are very  unique and presents attractive buying opportunities.

Criteria that I analyze that makes these “break out” properties unique can include some or all of the following:

Building Quality & Amenities

• View
• Square footage
• Number of bedrooms
• Price per square foot
• Price
• Comparables
• Location
• Uniqueness

I have found that when I have identified these properties, they always sell rather quickly. So even though the Average Days on the Market for most waterfront condos is about 156 days, these opportunities sell considerably quicker than that.

Here is an example. Most recently, at the Diplomat Residences in Hollywood, there was a 3,000 square foot direct oceanfront unit that was being offered for $1,199,000 on a high floor.  We can pretty much assume that it sold for less than asking price. Comparable units were going for $1.9 million a year ago.  This particular unit has gone to contract.  The next somewhat comparable unit is being offered today for $1.5 million.

I have identified “break out” opportunities in several extraordinary buildings, including Ocean Palms, Turnberry Ocean Colony, One Bal Harbour and  the Continuum in South Beach just to name a few.  They are out there!

This is such an exciting time for the oceanfront condo market!

The economy and housing situation has been very well documented in all forms of the media. However, Many people see this as a time of opportunity, especially in the luxury oceanfront condo market.

In the luxury oceanfront condo market in a first class building, there have been some incredible opportunities. We recently worked with a buyer at the Diplomat in Hollywood and were able to negotiate an oceanfront condo at an incredible price. This was a high floor direct ocean views. Regardless of what the market does over the next few months, this was a great deal.

There are some very shrewd buyers out there taking advantage of spectacular opportunities.

At this point in time, I wanted to take a look at pending contracts in south Florida in Miami, Bal Harbour, Sunny Isles, Hollywood, Hallandale, and Fort Lauderdale. There are 55 luxury oceanfront condos listed above $1million under contract. There are buyer’s out there seizing the moment…….

Here is a list of oceanfront condo’s over $1million under contract as of today, July 30, 2008:

We receive a constant stream of phone calls from buyers from all over the world that are interested in purchasing oceanfront condos. There are buyers who are seizing the moment so to speak, and stepping in to take advantage of the great opportunities out there right now.

Are there opportunities? You bet there are and I have been in situations, where once we identified a great unit at a great price, other buyers were also putting offers in on the same units.

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There are varying degrees of motivation by sellers in all price ranges. There are some units in building less than 2 years old that the original developer still owns that now are very motivated to sell. There are units that are being sold by investors that are several hundred thousand dollars less than what they paid for it. Each situation is different but the opportunities are there. The units that are available under these circumstances include the most desirable oceanfront floor plans in premier buildings.

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All I can say is that if there is a desire to own an oceanfront condo in South Florida, at this point in time, you can get the best of the best at deeply discounted prices. When the media says…”We are now at the bottom and the market is going to turn around”… the best units in the A rated luxury buildings will be long gone!!!

We visit so many truly beautiful oceanfront condos all along the coast. There are some very unique ultra luxury properties on the market. We were in a really unique penthouse unit today with breathtaking views. The lower penthouse on the 27th floor at the Diplomat Residences and it is available for purchase. It has over 5000 square feet under air and over 7300 square feet in total. The views are spectacular. The balconies are spacious and wide and there is even room to install a lap pool. The entire residence is controlled by an electronic Smart System. This is a sensational residence. Asking price…$3,999,999.

If this is a bit out of your budget, there are many other units being offered at prices comparable or lower than pre-construction prices. Here are the Diplomat Residences Units For Sale

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We receive numerous inquiries for the Diplomat Residences in Hollywood. It has been a while since we provided an update on this Oceanfront Condo so here is a look at the current activity as well as a look at the activity for the past 6 months.

• There are currently 33 units on the market/ 24% of the building is for sale
• There are a total of 135 units in the building
• Prices being offered range from $759,900 to $2,299,000
• In the Past 6 months there has been 7 closed sales
• 6 of the 7 units that sold were sold at a price within 5%-10% of the asking price
• Closed sales have ranged from $317 per square foot to a high of $652 per square foot
• Closed sales were for units that ranged in size from 2458 sq.ft. to 3178 sq.ft.
• As of today there are 3 units that are under contract but have not closed as of yet

Although there are many units on the market, sellers are getting pretty close to the asking price. Many of these units have had numerous price decreases.

As you can see by the number of units that closed and the number of units that have gone to contract… there are buyers out there taking advantage of luxury oceanfront condo opportunities.! Diplomat Condos for Sale.

The Ocean Palms is an elegant 40 story building with a full array of amenities. It is located two buldings north of the Diplomat Oceanfront Residences, 10 minutes from Fort Lauderdale International Airport and accessible to everywhere you might want to go in South Florida.

The building has an interesting layout because the units on the west side of the building, The Coral Floor Plan, jut away from the body of the building. This allows for direct ocean front as well as intracoastal views from this floor plans. The pricing is drastically lower than direct ocean front units because the units are on the west side of the building, even though you are getting an oceanfront view. There is a unit on a mid level floor that has been completely finished out that is being offered for $885,000. This unit is a 3 bedroom 3 and one half bath layout and has over 2300 square feet. That is $383 a square foot for ocean and intracoastal views. A fantastic opportunity and the seller’s are motivated.

Prices in this building start at $699,000 for a 2 bedroom unit on a mid level floor. On the high end, there is a 3 bedroom unit with over 3000 square feet being offered for $2,225,000. As detailed in my previous blog, 25% of the building is on the market.

The building has a movie theater, billiards room, club room, state of the art gym overlooking the ocean, tennis courts, basketball courts and pool and beach service. This is a nice sized very elegant building offering a great deal for the money.

We receive tremendous interest in the newly completed; Diplomat Oceanfront Residences and The Ocean Palms in Hollywood and The Beach Club in Hallandale. Understandably so. The are all new buildings with great amenities situated in great locations minutes from Ft. Lauderdale International Airport. From each of these great buildings, it is just a short drive south to Miami or north to Boca Raton, as well as minutes from the best shopping in South Florida.

Below you will see a chart that show you how many units are on the market in The Diplomat, The Ocean Palms and The Beach Club. Each building has a different amount of total units, so the information below provides a percentage of the total units in the building. You can see that all three of these buildings have approximately 20% of the units for sale.

We have seen price reductions on almost all units since they first actively listed. There is competition amongst sellers, although clearly some are more motivated than others.

In the Diplomat, on the market today prices start at $789,000 for a 2 bedroom unit with 2,267 square feet. ($348 sq.ft.). At the other end of the spectrum is a 4,800 sq.ft. unit with 4 bedrooms 5 and one half baths being offered for $2,950,000.

The two most desirable units are the 01 unit a southeast direct ocean end unit, and the 02 unit a northeast direct ocean end unit. The lowest price 02 unit was originally offered for $1,900,000 and is now on the market for $1,500,000. The floor plan has 3 bedroom 3 and one half baths and has 3,003 square feet under air. That works out to around $500 square foot. The 01 unit was originally listed for $1,688,000 and is now at $1,592,000. $501 a square foot. This unit also has 3 bedrooms 3 and one half baths.

The Ocean Palm’s top of the line unit is listed is a 3 bedroom unit for $2,495,000, ($795 sq. ft.) . The least expensive unit is a 2 bedroom unit for $699,000($403 sq.ft.)

The Beach Club’s most expensive unit is a 3 bedroom unit being offered at $2,495,000 ($795 sq.ft.) The least expensive unit is an 844 square foot studio for $35,000. ($414 sq.ft.)

This newly completed 29 story luxury oceanfront condo in Hollywood has many units on the market with a very wide range of prices. This appears to be quite indicative of other newly completed luxury oceanfront condos in south Florida.

In my previous post we provided statistics on the average cost per square foot for the offering price and for the actual sale price. The Diplomat is averaging $446 and $430 respectively. When we look at the exact inventory of units on the market, there is a tremendous price spread. There is a unit on the market priced out at a high of $614 per square foot for a 4800 sq.ft. penthouse.

On the other end of the scale is a spacious 3 bedroom 2779 square foot unit being offered on the 11th floor for $899,900. That works out to $323 per square foot. Click here to see more information on the 3 bedroom unit.

In between the high and the low are 47 units on the market. Some of the units are decorator ready and some are completely finished out.

As we have written before, there are tremendous buying opportunities right now. The Diplomat Oceanfront Residence is an oceanfront luxury residence with numerous amenities. The inventory on the market would offer a buyer many to choose from. Additionally, there are investors who bought in looking to liquidate their investments. This again all points to great advantages for buyers.

The Diplomat Oceanfront Residence, offers a wide array of amenities including a lushly landscaped arrival court, and elevated pool deck and spa, six high speed private elevators, a state of the art fitness center and surround-sound owenr’s theatre as well as 24 hour controlled access and concierge services.

Condominium owners at The Diplomat Oceanfront Residence, will have access to select services from the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa as well as complimentary shuttle service to and from the Diplomat Country Club where you can enjoy an 18 hole par 72 championship golf course, an outdoor pool and a fully equipped fitness center. including access to a 30,000 square foot European spa.and tennis.

For those New Yorkers, the dinner only steakhouse has its own butcher shop featuring the same trademark meats provided to the renowned Peter Luger Steakhouse.

The Diplomat Oceanfront Residence has only about 5 furnished seasonal rentals available.  This is a complete service building with concierge services, valet,  and fitness center.  The building also features a private theatre, billiards and access to the Diplomat Resort Amenities such as 5 restaurants,  room service and maid service. The property is directly on the sand and has private beach access.   This newly completed building is a great place to escape from the cold.

The rentals range from $3400 monthly to $5500 monthly.  Click here to see detailed information.