Demand for South Florida Real Estate Fuels Soaring Prices and Gleaming Towers as Tech, Music and Hollywood Hit the Region
The sky appears to be the limit for South Florida luxury residential real estate. Billions of dollars in luxury condominium towers are in the pre-sales, planning and construction pipeline. March 2024 saw a record condo price for the state when a penthouse at Miami Beach’s Shore Club Private Collection went under contract for $120 million.
Entertainment, sports and finance figures like Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos and Sylvester Stallone have made the move to the tonier cities in South Florida.
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For those seeking prime locations overlooking Biscayne Bay or on the beach with Atlantic Ocean or intercoastal views, location and architecture are major differentiators as are a project’s menu of desired amenities. Partnerships with brands and brand names distinguish these residential towers.
A sampling of names attached to these towers range from Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, with the 48-story Jean-Georges Miami Tropic Residences, to Carbone’s Major Food Group, the restaurant group behind the 55-story Villa Miami (units are outfitted with chef’s kitchens, naturally), to fashion mavens Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana who are tailoring residences and a hotel at 888 Brickell. The Bentley Residences Miami come complete with a patented drive-in car elevator.
Hospitality company branded residences are the mix too, notably the Four Seasons Private Residences Coconut Grove (70 units in 20 stories; pricing starts at $5.62 million), the Rosewood Residences Miami Beach (44 new ocean view residences within an Art Deco complex anchored by the Raleigh) and the two towers of the Residences at Mandarin Oriental Miami (the 66-story South Tower is in pre-sales), along with a hotel, on Brickell Key.
“Miami just continues to reinvent itself,” says Camilo Miguel Jr., CEO at Mast Capital, the developer behind the 82-story Cipriani Residences Miami and the Perigon Miami Beach (designed by architect Rem Koolhaas’ OMA).
Driving development and residential real estate prices is the amount of sheer wealth that has come to the locale. “It’s been tremendous,” says Miguel. “And the fact that they want just great products and are willing to pay for it,” noting he’s not seen any pushback in his project’s asking prices, which start at $1.7 million at the Cipriani Residences and $4.5. million at the Perigon.
“There’s no slowdown on the beach. There is no price plateau,” finds real estate broker Fredrik Eklund of the Eklund Gomes Team at Douglas Elliman. Price per square foot of luxury condos hovers around $2,925, per MLS stats; average days on market reached a low of 60 days in the fall.
As with all real estate, Miami has distinct submarkets. Eklund, the former Bravo “Million Dollar Listing New York” cast member, reps the Ritz-Carlton Residences South Beach, 30 residences in 15 stories (limited due to historic mid-Beach height restrictions) located directly on the sand, with pricing starting at $4 million, topped by a $125 million combination penthouse.
Unlike older buildings, new construction adheres to up-to-date codes to lessen the impact of hurricanes. “These new buildings are engineered for the future. They are like fortresses, with all sorts of tested and proven technology,” and with none of the insurance issues facing older condo stock, says Eklund.
On its own island overlooking Biscayne Bay, the Mandarin Oriental Residences Miami will range from 2,300 square feet up to 5,800 square feet and are designed to appeal to an end user who wants more space, unbelievable finishes and five-star hotel services, explains Maile Aguila, senior vice-president at Swire Properties, the project’s developer. Planned is more than 80,000 square feet of amenities, with everything from screening rooms to private dining rooms and 11 pools paired with the privacy and security of island living. Pre-sales have been tremendous, says Aguila due to pent-up demand for the iconic waterfront site.
Her take sums up Miami real estate pros views on residential real estate, “The future is very bright.”
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