CENTRO at 151 Southeast 1st Street in Downtown Miami
The Miami Heat isn’t the only thing that is hot in Downtown Miami. The downtown condo market continues its white-hot streak too. According to Centro’s press release:
More than 180 of the 352 units in approximately 60 days, indicating a surge for demand in urban residential real estate in the Downtown Miami market. The sales figures are reflective of the 2012 Miami Downtown Development Authority’s (Miami DDA) annual report, which states the residential occupancy rate downtown is at 95 percent.”
This is a clear indication that there is pent-up demand for urban living. As stated in a recent Urban Land Institute article:
As they have for decades, Americans are moving toward cities and jobs. And now more than ever, they are willing to settle for less square footage in return for a carless commute, convenient access to shopping and entertainment destinations, and that hard-to-define quality called “place.” Fewer want to own their own home, and many more are looking for affordable options.
These trends, which apply across a broad spectrum of the population, are shaping demand for housing, according to panelists at ULI’s Housing Opportunity Conference, held in Seattle in March.
What is outside—on and off the premises—counts at least as much as what is inside the home itself. Car-free access to parks, cafés, and transit—it all adds up to time and money saved, as well as a desirable way to live.
Add edgy design—as well as affordability —and the result is a perfect housing match for millennials. Also known as generation Y, they are age 18 to 35. Now that the recession is passing, members of this generation are moving out of their parents’ homes and making up a growing share of new households. But what they need and want is different from what their parents sought.
Millennials are saddled with student debt; they are delaying having children; and they are less interested in mortgages and the route to wealth-building traditionally offered by homeownership. The preferences of 20-somethings are defining an emerging housing type called micro-units—which measure under 400 square feet (37 sq m)—and developers and designers of market-rate housing are putting their minds to how to provide them.”
The old is becoming new again and downtown Miami should see considerable upside in terms of new developments and pricing. According to StreetEasy there are currently 238 units for sale in Downtown Miami. I’m a big fan of Downtown Miami and I think it will only get better once All Aboard Florida begins operating passenger rail service between Miami and Orlando.
Several weeks ago I did an interview with Harvey Hernadez, Managing Director of Newgard Development Group, regarding Centro. You can read the interview here.