April 09 Real Estate Market Reports for Miami Shores, Bay Harbor Islands, Surfside, Fisher Island, Aventura, Biscayne Park and El Portal

This is a Miami Real Estate Market Report for April 2009 – My opinion is that we are close to the bottom of the down market and numbers are supporting my theory. As we talk to known appraisers and people in the industry not only is there more movement, but distress property inventory is decreasing and prices are slowly stabilizing. Don’t get me wrong – there are still great deals out there and it will take some time to completely stabilize…..but we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Miami Shores Real Estate Market Report

There are currently 159 listings in Miami Shores: (same as last month)

Highest priced listing is $2.9 million (bayfront home located at 1680 NE 104th Street – with a $600k reduction from last month!)
Lowest priced listing is $142,900 (bank-owned located at 74 NE 103rd Street)
Pending Sales (Properties under contract):31 (4 more than Last month)
Closed sales in April: 5 (compared to 10 in March)

The lowest closed sale in Miami Shores last month was the property located at 54 NE 97th Street which started off with a listing price of $375,000 back in June of 2008 and ended up selling for $215,000 as a short sale. The short sale inventory is slowly decreasing in Miami Shores which is a sure sign of the bottom of the down market – my frustration with the short sale market is the inefficiency of the agents handling the transactions. Making appointments and communicating with many of these is like pulling teeth – In my opinion, this inventory would sell quicker, if better prepared Miami Realtors were hired for the job.

Bay Harbor Islands Real Estate Market Report

There are currently 25 single-family home listings in Bay Harbor Islands: (same as last month)

Highest priced listings are for $5,200,000 (9530 W. Broadview Drive – listed since March of 08 and 10200 W. Broadview Drive listed since January of 07)
Lowest priced listing is $499,000 (9970 E. Bay Harbor Drive – Villa – listed since Feb. 07 – starting price of $659,000)
Pending Sales (properties under contract):4 (2 more than last month)
Closed sales in April: 0

The Bay Harbor Islands Real Estate Market is beyond scary at this point. With no sales in 2009 and only 2 sales in 2008. Hold on tight, this can mean that Bay Harbor is sooo desirable that negotiating is not an option, or that the prices are ridiculous compared to the rest of Miami and Miami Beach.

Surfside Real Estate Market Report

There are currently 73 single-family home listings in Surfside: (2 more than last month)

Highest priced listing is $6,900,000 (this one makes me smile because it is a hotel listed as a single-family residence with 24 bedrooms – located at 9578 Collins Avenue).
The next highest Priced listing that is actually a single-family home is $5,990,000 (Bayfront 5 bedroom/ 4 bathroom home at 1249 Biscaya Drive – reduced from $6,290,000 from last month)
Lowest priced listing is $274,000 for a short-sale at 9156 Harding Avenue
Pending Sales (properties under contract): 6 (1 more than last week)
Closed sales in April: 1 (2 less than previous month)

Surfside Real Estate is moving slowly, but it’s moving. It’s proximity to the ocean makes it a desirable area to live. The downside to Surfside in general is the small lot sizes and the fact that the majority of the homes for sale need a lot of work. I’m noticing more buyers that just want to move in and not deal with renovating or updating. There are currently 177 condo listings in Surfside: (9 less than last month)

Highest priced listing: $2,500,000 a 3/3 at Azure ($25,000 reduction from last month)

Lowest priced listing: $120,000 a short sale studio at The Carlisle

Pending Sales (properties under contract):18 (same as last month)

Closed sales in April: 7 (1 more than last month)

You can still get a good deal on a Surfside Condo – and I may sound like a broken record when I talk about the density of the buildings (they are 12 stories on the ocean) and the fabulous beach….but it is what it is. The highest sale in April was in one of my fave buildings, The Waverly – a 3 bedroom / 2 bathroom residence with over 1,300 square feet on the 9th floor for $510,000! (facing Collins and not the ocean, but still a great price).

Fisher Island Real Estate Market Report

There are currently 161 listings in Fisher Island: (same as last month)

Highest priced listing: $30,000,000 for an exclusive Oceanside 5/5.5 home with artwork and all!
Lowest priced listing: $335,000 for a 1/1 at Marina Village
Pending Sales: 2 (2 less than last month)
Closed sales in April : 2 (Oceanside 7712 for $5,457,000 – Seaside Villas 15322 for $1,075,000)

I’ve said over and over again that Fisher Island Real Estate is in a league of its own, but there are deals – read Fisher Island Deals if you missed it. Oprah’s condo still sits unsold with a $295,000 reduction from $2,090,000 to $1,795,000

Aventura Real Estate Market Report

There are currently 1769 condo listings in Aventura: (76 less than last month)

Highest priced listing: $6,000,000 for a 4/6 at Porto Vita
Lowest priced listing: $5,000 for a covered parking space at The Venture (they decreased the price by $7,000)
Pending sales: 254(33 more than last month)
Closed sales in April: 59 (13 less than last month)

The highest closed sale in April was at 6000 Williams Island, unit 2606 for $1,360,000 and the lowest was for $86,000 for a 1 bedroom / 1 bathroom residence at the Commodore Plaza.

Biscayne Park Real Estate Market Report

There are currently 42 single-family listings in Biscayne Park: (1 more than last month)

Highest priced listing $599,000 (11500 Griffing Blvd – a canal front home listed for $735,000 on October of 2008)
Lowest priced listing $139,000 (11710 NE 10 Ave – bank owned in need of TLC, according to the description on the MLS)
Pending sales (properties under contract):4 (2 less than last month)
Closed sales in April: 1 (compared to 0 in March)

Biscayne Park Real Estate is priced well for first time home buyers, and example is the single sale from last month. 11427 NE 11 Place sold for $175,000 (bank owned property) – that’s a 3 bedroom / 2 bathroom home built in 1953 with almost 1,700 square feet of living space and a 11,250 square foot lot. Yes the house needed work, but talk about a deal!

El Portal Real Estate Market Report

There are 35 listings in El Portal: (4 less than last month)

Highest priced listing is $549,000 (69 NE 87 St – listed since August 06, started at $749,900)
Lowest priced listing $139,900 (for a bank owned home located at 6 NE 89th Street)
Pending sales (properties under contract):7 (1 less than last month)
Closed sales in April: 1 (3 less than previous month)

El Portal Real Estate at least is seeing some sales now – the April sale was a foreclosure located at 8700 N Miami Avenue – and selling for $163,000 (3 bedroom / 2 bathroom home, built in 1954 with 1,892 square feet of living space) **all information obtained from the SouthEast Florida Multiple Listing Service**