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Why You Can't Afford to Live in the Condos on Curbed Miami

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If you are an average Miamian with an average income, and have finally decided to listen to your mother, grow up, and get yourself a nice condo, you will soon realize, that as of lately, your coins don't add up to much. Not only are prices through the roof, that nice building under construction that you drove by the other day, is probably sold out; it also requires that you pony up 10% of purchase price at reservation, 10% at contract, 20% at groundbreaking and 10% at top off with the remaining 50% due at closing. Why has the Miami market become increasingly unaffordable as it thrives under such a demanding financing model? The reason is this city has recently joined a very exclusive group of cities; the leading caterers of luxurious homes and lifestyles.

For the second year in a row Christie's International Real Estate has identified Miami as one of the top markets for luxury homes in the world, rubbing shoulders with New York, London and Hong Kong. Miami was for long considered a resort-market, a nice vacation spot perfect for a second home. That is changing, Miami's urban market is now leading the way in luxury, amenities, and naturally, pricing. Projects such as Echo Brickell (Average Price: $1,869,472.00) and One Thousand Museum (Average Price: $6,937,775.00) are just the beginning. For now, however, Miami remains as the most affordable of the bunch, with an average sale price of $559 per square foot compared to that of London's ($4,683), Miami offers a lot of bang for the buck. The relatively cheap price coupled with the absence of State tax, will continue to make Miami an ideal location for the wealthy and sophisticated.—Andy Morales
· Top global destinations lead resurgence in luxury residential property market [Christie's Real Estate]