Regent Bal Harbour Transitions to One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa

One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa

One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa

The Regent Bal Harbour Transitions to One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa. Busy selling & unable to blog much lately, but the most recent newsworthy post pertains to Regent One Bal Harbour sale, which is now to be known as One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa. That’s right, WCI has sold (announced June 22nd, 2009) the Regent BalHarbour trophy property to the team behind the Eighth Wonder 8w, otherwise known as Elevation Communities, LLC. According to sources, the private group paid $14.6 million for the common areas of the hotel along with 51 unsold condo hotel units.

From the $14.6M, Elevation Communities LLC, with Jorge E. Arevalo and Thomas D. Sullivan in South Miami, paid $2.6 million for 41,047 square feet of the saleable space in the 124-unit Regent Hotel tower located on the west side of the 26 stories, trophy complex in exclusive Bal Harbour. Savvy Buyers, Exceptional timing… What a STEAL!!

“Regent Hotels & Resorts today advised that its management of The Regent Bal Harbour Hotel will end effective today as the result of court actions related to the bankruptcy of the hotel owner, WCI Communities Inc. The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has approved the immediate sale of the Hotel by WCI Communities, Inc. to a new owner and the rejection of the existing management contract for the property.” – TradingMarkets.com

The word “on the inside” is WCI did a lousy job marketing the Regent Hotel & Guerlain SPA with minimal marketing dollars spent and only a 20% occupancy. Remember, Regent had pulled out of their other condo hotel at 15th & Ocean Drive in South Beach two years ago. The new owners have extraordinary plans to take One BalHarbour Resort & Spa to a new ‘6 Star’ level in the coming year in direct competition with St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort Hotel & Spa, currently under construction. One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa was built in 2007 and is located at 10295 Collins Avenue, right at the Haulover Inlet, with the best views (& location) in all of Miami.

One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa

The condo offers hotel services with a world-class oceanfront restaurant, two private oceanfront swimming pools, private jacuzzis, beach & poolside treatment, high-tech theater, fitness center, social room, business center, linen service, pet care service and an impressive 10,000 square foot spa operated by the famous L’Institut de Guerlain Paris: Massage, skin treatment, hand and foot therapies, lifestyle, nutritional and anti-aging programs, health reviews and seminars. Simply the best in services and amenities.

Current MLS resale inventory shows us 24 residences for rent ranging from $5,500 to $20,000 per month. 51 Resales range in value from $369,000 (510 SF studio) to $6.299M (4 BR 5,266 SF residence). In the last 6 months, 8 units have sold through the Multiple Listing Service, with sale prices ranging from $1.3M to $2.4M. The average time on the market for a One Bal Harbour property is 211 days, with an average selling price per square foot at $706 and an average list price of $939. The average sale-to-list price ratio is 85%.

One Bal Harbour Bulk Sale

(UPDATE August 5th) The amount of visitors has tripled because of the latest news on the bulk sale purchase at One Bal Harbour. This is not “normal” by any means, and it was somehow tied in with the new management. Anyone and everyone would have bought here for investment under $100 bucks PSF, so this sale was not the ‘average Joe’ deal that came along. It was a factor of maximum leverage and timing that the buyer DID get a steal. You will not see this PPSF again, and don’t believe this is the standard bulk sale discount. I do think the price per square foot will come down slightly at One Bal Harbour over the next year as $1,100 PSF was above the market norm at the peak setting records for the area of Bal Harbour real estate.

I see One Bal Harbour hovering in the $550-$650 PSF these next 12 months as just last month (7/17/09), 2 units closed at $642 & $629 PSF. This is One Bal Harbours’ “norm” and still setting records. Any One Bal Harbour bulk sale updates or insights from you related to this would be greatly appreciated… The media has had a loose way of sensationalizing this sale.

Of the top One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa residences,

There are 7 to compare here.. Use the arrows within the link ‘One Bal Harbour Resort & SPA.’ If you’d like an updated inventory report, additional stats, or other solid deals, don’t hesitate to contact me at 1.888.38.DREAM for all your Bal Harbour real estate & Dade County ‘Beach’ needs.

http://www.youtube.com/v/tkMvU3srLWY&hl=en_US&fs=1&

15 thoughts on “Regent Bal Harbour Transitions to One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa

  1. Silly new owners….the ultra luxury market is taking a bit hit and will not recover…soooooo making it a “6 Star” property is silly. Affordability is the name of the game going forward. The main reason people bought trophy properties is because they appreciated in value beyond the holding costs…not any more.

  2. A little of topic. What do you think about oceanview/ocean reserve in SIB for second home/investment? I know it has the highest number of REO, does it make it a good buy?
    I just looked at mls and looks like HOA went up from 500 to 700/month.

  3. No worries cc (I may have been denied your previous inquiry as a post reply was withheld).. My opinion on Ocean Reserve & Ocean View condos; a 2 BR under $250k this close to the ocean is (in my opinion) a decent buy. I don’t doubt the fees went up to support the delinquent owners not covering their end. The complex is very nice with the amenities offering pools, tennis, gym, security and attractive lobbies. They have had to cut back while raising fees removing the front security guard at the gate yet having common building security & valet. As units sell and delinquent payoffs are made, the building will build back it’s reserves as time proceeds.

    It’s a diamond in the ruff as the land parcel will soon (rumor has it) be a large City owned park. I am waiting to post more on this once I can validate it. I see very good potential with a 3+ year hold but have been hesitant on promoting it with the amount of short sales, REO’s and financial downfall of the building during these last 3 years.

    Timing is critical and where there is risk, there could be solid reward. This conversions timing was terrible for buyers as the developer did quite well. Unfortunately, there were A LOT of speculators. I can recall when inventory first hit the market saying to myself (in 2004) the prices seemed low for a ‘1BR’ at $250k this close to the ocean… At that time it was low or at least priced to sell out quick in which they did.

    Doing a Fast search via MLS; shows us 60 for sale (maybe out of 400 or so total units). In the last 30 days, 3 went pending. Last 90 days 9 have sold. 8 were 1 BR’s and 1 2 BR which sold at $165k or only $107PSF! Average days on market = 142 | Average Sale to List Price Ratio is at 97%! | Average selling PPSF (given 1 BR sales) is at $120 while Ave List PPSF is at $123. This year 4 2BR’s sold via MLS at an average sales PPSF of $112… on & on I could go G’night!

  4. The building has had a great reputation (& set(s) area records) but word on the inside says it was poorly managed with little spent on marketing and a low occupancy. The 1 BR’s at 1,150 SF have dropped from $1.150M last year to $960k today (asking).

    The buyers relay to me the #1 feature most attractive is the stellar service found with what was The Regent. I’ll be doing a SIB condo closing rate post soon and will review figures…

  5. Thank you for the reply.

    I actually heard the rumor, back in November, that city wanted to create a park across the street from Marco Polo/in front of oceanview but i did not believe it at the time.

    What is the rental situation in these buildings? Any other building you can recommend in the same price range?

  6. I was surprised to see the selling PPSF so low. The building disaster could prove to be a good opportunity.. Given the location, amenities and proximity to the ocean, I see nothing comparable. I don’t care for the older highrise condos such as Winston, Arlen, Plaza of the Americas… #TIRED.

    I do like North Bay Road for condo complexes on the bay with style and good pricing. Porto Bellagio’s having troubles with 90 day sales reflecting $185-222k. Marina Bay Club (condo-hotel) is hovering $350k with wide open bay views and easy rental policy (owners have 6 month max/year usage)..

    2 BR Rental values from the last 90 days are also soft with income around $1,100 (Plaza), $1,200-$1,400 (Ocean View/Reserve, Winston), $1,400-$1,500 (Porto Bellagio, King David & Arlen). Even the luxury buildings have very soft rental rates hovering $1700-$2,400 (Oceania), $2,500 (Sayan & Ocean Four), $2,600-$3,000 (La Perla & Trump Royale), $3,000 (Trump Towers), $3,500-$3,800 (Jade Beach) to $5,000 (Turnberry Ocean Colony)

  7. Thanks for detailed reply.

    An interesting thing is that 2bd in Oceanview, even at these prices, are barely cash flow positive even for all cash buyer.

    Assuming 165k purchase price and 1300/month rent:

    1300 – 700 maintenance – 200 property taxes (probably more) – 200 (insurance, repairs etc.) = 200/month 2400/year cash flow
    which ends up being 1.45% ROI/cap rate.

  8. Is there such a thing as a Residential Industry Standard of 3%, 5%, 7%..? Never heard of this although 5%+ ROI would be great given the tax write-offs, deductions and long term outlook with right of use/enjoyment when vacant. I’m seeing 2-3% in most cases when owned outright with Ocean Drive showing up to 7% as transient rentals.

  9. The marketing was handled by Regent corporate which says something about them…they don’t know how to do it since they got booted from 2 locations in South Florida. Trust me it was the blind leading the blind in that market

  10. They paid 14.6M in total which is not under 100 psf. They couldnt have closed on the units at 2.6M if they didnt pay for the common areas.
    All of these press releases are very misleading.

  11. Does anyone know the breakdown of what was purchased? I’d like to know the price per living s.f. that WCI sold hotel units for and what $ value they attributed to the hotel lot. Were all of these units hotel condo? What exactly did the “hotel lot” include? I pulled the court records and found reference to 41 hotel condos, 7 ADA units, a presidential suite + adjacent unit and the “hotel lot” The description of what sold needs to be accurate.