Downtown Miami the star of city’s recovery

The cranes over Biscayne Bay auger well for South Florida’s real estate market, according to the Miami Downtown Development Authority.

“Downtown Miami’s condo boom has been a catalyst for the entire region, putting it back on the map as a thriving real estate market,” Miami DDA Executive Director Alyce Robertson said in a release.

The approximately 5,500 condo units planned for downtown Miami — an area bordered by State Road 195 on the north, Interstate 95 on the west, Rickenbacker Causeway on the south and, to the east, Biscayne Bay — should also help relieve the city’s inventory crunch.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

With 93 percent of the 23,000 condo units built between 2003 and 2012 sold, the values and sales price of what remains in downtown Miami has skyrocketed, the Miami DDA said in a report released today.

The average sales per square foot jumped 14 percent to $425,498 in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same time a year ago. Assessed property values were up 6.4 percent, according to the Miami-Dade County property appraiser’s office. –Emily Schmall