Miami Buyers Snag Condos--for 2027

Happy September! Some news and tidbits to finish the week.

What St. Regis Did Last Summer: $150 Million in Condo Sales

• The St. Regis Residences, a planned luxury condo project on Sunny Isles Beach, booked $150 million in sales commitments over the summer, according to a spokesperson for developers Fortune International Group and Château Group.

• The first of two towers — which just started construction — has sales commitments worth $850 million, out of a total sellout value of $1.4 billion.

• Buyers have claimed 75% of the units in that southernmost tower— which won’t be complete until 2027. 

• It’s easy to see how those sale totals racked up: condo prices start at $5.6 million for a two-bedroom apartment — and climb to $15 million for a five-bedroom unit.

• Penthouses are priced from $27 million to $55 million.

• The project consists of two 62-story towers, each 750 feet high. They’d be the tallest towers on Sunny Isles Beach.

August Sale Contracts: Not Much to Buy – and By Golly, They’re Buying It

Appraiser Miller Samuel just published a report on August home purchase contracts. It reads like a serial in search of a plot twist.

Palm Beach County experienced "the twenty-first annual decline in newly signed contracts,” for homes and condos, according to the report. Broward County saw “the twenty-sixth annual decline” in pending sales last month.

Deals are plummeting because there’s so little to buy. Would-be sellers, locked into 3% mortgages (or lower) aren’t budging in a market where moving means taking out a 7% mortgage on a new place. So the inventory of for-sale properties is thin and getting thinner 😱:

• Palm Beach County listings for single-family homes plunged 25% in August — to just 812 houses on the market.

• Broward County home listings fell 20% to 908.

• In Miami-Dade County, inventory declined by 19% to 929 houses for sale. Condo listings fell only 4.5% to 1,412.

• Best bet to find a place: try a condo in Palm Beach County. Listings for those actually climbed last month – by 8.4% to 1,019.

• Link to Miller Samuel/Douglas Elliman Florida contracts report here.

A Crystal Lagoon, Jogging Paths — and Now, a School

What more can you add to a $4 billion project with a man-made lagoon, a beach and a 17,000-square-foot dog park?  

How about a school?

The developers of North Miami’s SoLe Mia announced this week that charter school Mater Academy will open a new location at the project in the fall of 2025. The new, tuition-free school will occupy 90,000 square feet and accommodate enrollment of up to 1,500 students from kindergarten through 5th grade.

At a time when Miami’s public and private education system is straining from the influx of families, a new school makes for a great amenity, said Richard LeFrak, CEO of LeFrak, the co-developer of SoLe Mia.

“We know the key to attracting families, and a strong motivator for people relocating to Miami, is access to premium education,” LeFrak said in an emailed statement. “A school is a key factor to community building.”

SoLe Mia, developed by LeFrak and Turnberry, spans 184 acres near Oleta River State Park. More than 1,000 residents occupy the three completed rental towers at the master-planed development, and more apartments and condos are under construction.

When complete, SoLé Mia will have 4,390 residential units and 1.5 million square feet of commercial space.

Have you Heard? Some Interesting Reads From the Week

• Digital Billboard in NYC’s Times Square promotes Palm Beach as ‘Wall Street South.’ (Palm Beach Post)

• “Unsavory Acts” occurring on West Palm Beach development sites. Too bad no fences allowed. (Palm Beach Post)

• Pompano Beach’s New ‘Tallest Building’: developer gets FAA approval to build a 353 foot tower— which would surpass the current tallest tower that stands at 334 feet. (Florida YIMBY)

• Affordable Housing in Miami Beach? Montreal developer seeks to build 30-story tower on Ocean Drive, bypassing zoning restrictions using the state’s new Live Local Act (South Florida Business Journal)

• Sea Ranch Lakes is the preferred gated community for soccer stars (The Real Deal)

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