During 2012, buyers spent almost $709 million on 185 condo units in St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort & Residences, a recently constructed oceanfront residence in Northeast Miami-Dade. With unit ranging from about 1,300 square feet all the way up to nearly 7,000 square feet, the sales of the 185 units averaged over $1,480 per square foot for the 475,000 square feet of livable space sold. On a unit basis, condo homes traded for between $1.4 million and $13.5 million apiece.

            The area of Bal Harbour, Surfside, and Bay Harbor Islands are already primed to receive at least one dozen new towers hosting 1,000 units to complement the St. Regis Bal Harbour’s three, 27-story towers consisting of nearly 500 condos, condo-hotels, and  hotel rooms. The 205 traditional condo units are confined to the two “flanking” towers that hover at the sides of the Center Tower which houses a combined 269 units in the St. Regis Hotel. Compared to last year, the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort & Residences has put up well over thirty condos on the market with a median asking price of $1,750 per square foot.

            In the whole of Bal Harbour, there are approximately 175 units up for sale with a median asking price of $600, with 35 condo units at a median price of $450 per square foot currently under contract. Last year, over 130 units were purchased in Bal Harbour at a median price of $395 per square foot. The data suggest rising property values in the Bal Harbour Market as well as the desirability of St. Regis Bal Harbour addresses with 10 times the average property values of Bal Harbour in general.

            Do you think the success of St. Regis Bal Harbour and the skyrocketing interest of developers in the region an indication of a new South Florida housing boom or will the sluggish economy continue to weigh heavily on the local markets? Sound off in the comments.

St. Regis Bal Harbour