Pricey condos, land sale set for prime development site
Miami city commissioners last month approved plans for a 63-story condominium and hotel at the foot of the Venetian Causeway, ending months of debate about the prime bayfront site.
The Miami Herald’s parent, McClatchy Co., is selling the 10 acres to a development group led by developer Pedro Martin for $190 million. Martin’s group plans to flip eight of the acres for at least $230 million, according to the Herald, which would rank among the most expensive land purchases per acre in South Florida — if not the most expensive ever.
Housing market shows signs of steadiness
The number of sales are slowing, but home prices are staying steady in South Florida, according to the latest report from the Florida Association of Realtors.
The median price of a single-family home in Miami-Dade County was $371,700 in September, down only slightly from $371,200 in September 2005.
Single-family home sales have dropped 12 percent during the past year, but were actually up 10 percent from the month before.
Condos sales fared much worse. Sales volume in September was down 40 percent from a year ago and 12 percent from the month before.
But September condo prices, with a median of $270,800, were actually up across the board — rising 1 percent from the month before and 8 percent from a year ago.
Still, there are storm clouds.
There is an inventory of more than 62,000 homes on the market in Miami-Dade and Broward — nearly 2,000 more than August and almost triple the number a year ago.
60-acre project gets OK in Broward
Broward County is set to get a huge development of condominiums, shops, restaurants and offices totaling more than 60 acres. The project, the Village at Gulfstream Park, got the go-ahead from Hallandale Beach commissioners last month, and developer Forest City Enterprises plans to break ground by next June, the Miami Herald reported. The project is slated to be built over 15 years, and the first phase of the development will have about 70 shops and restaurants. More than 1,500 condos, 750,000 square feet of retail space, 140,000 square feet of office space, a 500-room hotel and 2,500 movie seats are planned.
Construction slowdown could affect economy
A slowdown in the construction industry may put a dent in South Florida’s impressively low jobless rate.
Unemployment in Miami Dade County remained near all-time lows in October at 4.2 percent, down from 4.5 percent in September, according to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation.
In Broward County, the jobless rate was 2.8 percent — a record low first hit in March of this year.
But the cooling real estate market could shake things up, the Miami Herald reported.
The construction industry lost 500 jobs in October, down 0.1 percent from the previous month but still up 4.4 percent versus a year ago.
“We have seen lots of announced layoffs, but we haven’t seen them in the numbers yet,” said Mark Vitner, an economist at Wachovia Bank. “But there is little doubt the economy is going to slow.”
High prices leave single-parent families homeless
Single-parent families are having the hardest time staying afloat in the South Florida real estate market, the Sun Sentinel reported.
About 110 families — 112 adults and 227 children — are on waiting lists for emergency shelters, according to the Coalition to End Homelessness in Broward County.
That’s about four times more than several years ago, said Laura Hansen, CEO of the nonprofit organization that serves the homeless and service providers. She says rising housing costs in South Florida are pricing out single mothers.
Housing prices are too high and foreclosures are up, say some market watchers.
A 2005 report by the Florida Office on Homelessness estimates that 38 percent of the state’s homeless population is made up of homeless families, with children accounting for 25 percent of the total number of homeless.
Broward County’s Housing and Community Development Division and the Housing Finance Authority have already begun to solve the problem, giving developers $64.4 million this year to build new housing and restore existing affordable homes.
Magic targets Little Havana
Basketball great Earvin “Magic” Johnson is investing into Miami’s Little Havana, taking a majority stake in the biggest condo project that has ever been proposed for the neighborhood.
The development, called Morrison, will be constructed on Southwest Flagler Street between Southwest 7th and 8th avenues, the Sun Sentinel reported.
The project includes two 19-story residential towers over a seven-story parking garage. In addition to 395 residential condos, more than 64,000 square feet combined office space and retail space will be built.
Brokers say the developer is targeting Morrison to members of the local workforce — municipal employees or people working for businesses in the area, as well as vacation-home buyers — with midpriced units.
“We want to show people that urban America is a place that makes good business sense and that we could be socially conscious at the same time,” Johnson said.
“We’ll be able to touch a lot of people with this development, by providing jobs in construction as well as for people working inside the retail.”
Most of Morrison’s units will cost between $250,000 and $350,000 with a 5 percent down payment.
Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds is led by Johnson and business partner Bobby Turner. Miami developer mFm Construction is the builder for the $120 million project. Groundbreaking is set for next year and it is expected to be completed in mid-2009.