There isn't much left of the old areas, as more luxury apartments rise within walking distance of the ocean, as well as into the interior parts. The city of Miami Beach has also seen its fair share of numerous man-made and natural changes over the years, including a booming regional economy, increased tourism, and a thriving real estate market.



More Investors Are Pouring Their Money In Apartments

Until a few years ago, individual European and Latin-American investors put their money into Miami rentals, however most institutional buyers did not. According to a longtime property analyst, "most institutions stopped at the Broward County line,, because they thought Miami-Dade was a foreign country".

This mindset however, began to change when AIMCO purchased the 533-unit Morton Towers on Miami Beach, and is now called the Grand Flamingo, for $58 million in 1997. Another investor, Charles E. Smith, bought the 1,339-unit Mirador, another South Beach apartment building, in September 1999 and, more recently, the Harbour House in the beachfront area of Bal Harbour.

Miami-Dade Is Seeing A Luxury Apartment Building Boom

Although the luxury rental apartment sector is booming in Miami-Dade, however it is much harder for average folks these days, to find a place to live. According to local brokers, as of May 2001, there was only a 2% vacancy rate for all kinds of apartments, as compared to May 2000, when the vacancy rate was 2.4%.

The area's tight middle-income housing market can be attributed to the fact that some affordable mid-level housing units are being taken out of the market by condominium converters.

How Apartment Housing Is Faring In Central Miami Beach

Collins Park is one of Miami Beach's districts, and is considered to be the most "up and coming" neighborhood here, according to local news sources. Newspapers here cite the completion of the new Sanctuary Spa Resort, an updated public library, and several open projects as evidence for its claim.

The district is currently undergoing gentrification, as many of the old middle-income apartments, which were largely built in the 1980s, are now being purchased by major real estate developers, and are being be converted into condominiums. This trend is commonplace in many of the city's neighborhoods, as districts that were once inhabited by lower-income families and individuals, are being purchased by larger developers and are being converted into middle-income, and upscale housing developments.

What's Being Done To Fix The Area's Apartment Shortage

Commercial real estate analysts agree that there is an apartment shortage in Miami-Dade, and they estimate that the county will need an estimated 3,000 to 4, 000 units per year However, there is little chance those units will be built, based on the last four years.

From 1997 through 2000, an average of 1,449 units were built per year in Miami-Dade. The average market-rate cost for a one-bedroom unit in Miami-Dade rents for $790 per month, and these are expected to rise on average by about 3% in 2001, the housing analysts further note.

Vanessa Arellano Doctor

http://miamirealestateinc.org