Miami is Florida’s style capital. Think miles of beaches, vast ocean-going speed boats, the rich and the beautiful hanging out looking well… perfect and wealthy. Could you fit in?
By Gordon Miller
Miami has arguably the best nightlife in the USA, and one of the best preserved Art Deco districts – South Beach – in the world. Heck, there’s no sign of Disneyworld in this part of Florida – and it doesn’t want for it one bit. Instead, the playground is the beach, bars and nightclubs of the city that is America’s sixth largest metropolitan area and home to many of its wealthiest citizens.
Well-heeled they may be, but the credit crunch and global property market slump that originated in the USA has bitten hardest in Florida, with Miami high up on the hit list. In Miami-Dade (the county Miami city is the seat of, which is the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States), the median single-family home price, for instance, has fallen almost 49 per cent from a high of $402,229 in January 2007 to $205,600 in March 2009, according to the Florida Association of Realtors (FAR).
As to the future, house prices have still not stabilised fully, in the USA in general and Florida in particular – although the number of sales of condos increased year-on-year by 21 per cent in Florida, according to FAR. Foreclosures (repossessions) are still running high, despite several federal initiatives to enable banks not to foreclose on those with debts of between 80 and not more than 105 per cent on their property. The downside of falling prices for homeowners is a gain for prospective buyers today, who can take advantage of auction style sales and ‘Real Estate Owned’ properties.
Lee Weaver, Director of Sales at British Homes Group, which has specialised in selling property in Florida for the past 10 years, and which has compiled a database of foreclosure and repossession properties, said: 'Real Estate Owned [a term for properties that have been repossessed - and therefore are ‘owned’ - by the bank] prices can be as low as 70 per cent off those asked during the height of the bubble. Almost all sales are for cash and close quickly, usually within 30-60 days.'
Miami is made up of many different areas but can broadly be split into North, South, West and Downtown. The heart, and home to the many cultural and tourist attractions of the city, is Downtown Miami which is really on the eastern side of the city. It includes areas such as Brickell, Virginia Key, Watson Island, and the Port of Miami. The southern side of Miami is a historic residential neighborhood built in 1922 and home to many older properties and historic parks.
Amanda Lamb gives us her top tips for buying abroad in 2009
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