Foreclosures and short sales in SoFi have been almost non existent. The few foreclosures that have happened were caused more by mortgage fraud being discovered than anything else. And the international affluent have been the least affected by the recession or the need to borrow money. Most luxury condos in SoFi are bought with no mortgage and are 2nd, 3rd, 4th or even 5th homes.

In fact, Miami Beach as a whole has been largely untouched by foreclosures compared to the Greater Miami area. Out of over 10,000 foreclosures in Miami, only 100 of them are in the Miami Beach area and also valued at over $500k, and you can count on one hand the number of foreclosures valued at over $500k SoFi. It’s important that you compare apples to apples, and the reasons behind Miami’s real estate troubles are largely irrelevant to SoFi.

SoFi is a very cosmopolitan area comprised of a high percentage of Europeans and Latin Americans living here part time and full time. There are also Americans from every state represented.

SoFi has a much more residential feel than the rest of South Beach and there is a definite feeling of community amongst the full time residents here, despite everyone’s varied backgrounds. You can’t walk a block without running into someone you know, and never too far from a good restaurant or a place to meet.

SoFi is a little urban paradise with diversity and energy with the South Pointe Park as a  back yard between the beach and the Marina.

SoFi is a unique area in many respects, and is one of the most magnificent locations on earth. It is the southern tip of the island of Miami Beach, meaning that it is surrounded on three sides by water. The west side is the Bay of Biscayne, the south side is Government Cut where the huge cruise ships pass by and the east side is the turquoise, warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The northern boundary is Fifth Street which is a very wide causeway that is difficult for pedestrians to cross, acting as a natural barrier to the tourists wandering up and down Washington Avenue and Collins Avenue. So just like Manhattan, it’s size is physically restricted.

Within this compact, pleasant enclave are no less than a dozen very high end luxury condo buildings which are home to an international population of some of the wealthiest people in the world. Recent zoning law changes now mean that nothing over 75 feet in height can ever be built here. That’s it, the doors have closed, there will be no more luxury high rises being built here ever again. This combined with the restricted physical size and the international population of the world’s ultra affluent makes the real estate market here completely unlike any other area, especially the greater Miami area.

The recession, the housing slump and the drying up of credit hit Florida and Miami’s real estate market particularly hard, creating record numbers of foreclosures, short sales and swamping the local market with massive amounts of inventory. Those people that are willing to buy in Miami are unable to borrow the money to do so and there seems no end to the inventory that is available. But none of these factors are relevant to the luxury condo market SoFi.

This meant that when prices in Miami were spiraling down as sellers desperately tried to unload, the owners in SoFi held back, less inclined to join in the panic selling when they could instead afford to ride out the storm. Prices have already stabilized and haven’t seen anything like the severe drops that the rest of Miami have seen.

Everything within SoFi is within walking distance, including white sand beach, world class marina, world class gourmet restaurants, huge landscaped parkland, pedestrian only wide walkways and one of the best elementary schools in Miami. Cross Fifth Street and you have all the shopping, amenities and entertainment that South Beach has to offer. There really is no place quite like SoFi, and the stability of prices in an otherwise tumultuous real estate market have proven that.

We can help you find the perfect place in the neighborhood. After all, we have lived in SoFi for over 10 years and we can tell you everything you need to know about a place before you decide whether to live there or not.

  • We focus on the SoFi area because this is where we have lived for over 10 years. We don’t just know the numbers, we know everything about this precious little neighborhood and am the perfect guide for any prospective buyer thinking about joining us as a neighbor. Our thorough knowledge of every condo building in SoFi comes not only from having bought and sold property in every one of those buildings, but because that’s where our friends live. We can’t walk a block without bumping into someone we know and we are proud of our local reputation for integrity and honesty.
  • When you choose us as your buying agent you benefit directly from our extensive knowledge of this unique market. We are constantly researching and analyzing SoFi real estate figures and stats for our various reports and blog posts.
  • We will listen to your feedback and keep you fully abreast of all relevant facts, figures, comparable market data, trends and anything else that will help you to make better, more informed buying decisions. And if we think that your interests are better served buying a property outside of the SoFi area, or maybe not even buying anything yet, we won’t hesitate to offer that advice. Our extensive experience as realtors have taught us that giving the best advice to a client, regardless of how it effects us in the immediate term, is always the best thing to do, not just for them but for us too.
  • And our relationship doesn’t end when you buy a condo South of Fifth. After all, we’re neighbors now! We’re never far from a good restaurant or a place to meet and we’ll happily refer you to a local electrician, private yoga instructor, fishing captain, interior designer or anyone else in my network that will help you to settle in and become one of the lucky few who get to call SoFi home.

Whether you are looking for an unfurnished or furnished condo rental in the South of Fifth area, we can help you find the perfect place. After all, we have lived in the SoFi neighborhood for over 10 years so we can tell you everything you need to know about a place before you decide whether to live there or not.

  • We have extensive knowledge of and full access to every condo building South of Fifth. Our extensive, regular research on the local market’s prices, stats and trends for our reports, newsletter and podcast allows us to listen to your plans and goals and then make informed and insightful suggestions to help you achieve them. Maybe you’re looking to buy somewhere eventually or maybe you’re only here for a 6 month period. Whatever your circumstances, we’ll listen to what you want and then we’ll come up with a shortlist of suitable properties and arrange convenient times for you to view them.
  • When you finally select the right property for you, we can then take care of all the necessary paperwork so that you don’t have to worry about that side of things. We’ll prepare the Contract to Lease, check that the terms of the resulting Lease are satisfactory, handle the Association Application, which is the background check of you that the condominium association will make, and generally make sure that everything runs smoothly when organizing your security deposit, move in date, booking of the elevator to move in etc.
  • And after you have moved in we will make sure that you are settling in well and check if there’s anything we can help with because hey, we’re neighbors now! We’ll probably bump into each other anyway at Starbucks or one of the many local restaurants. And if you need a reliable local contractor, private yoga instructor, charter fishing captain or anyone else just give us a call and we’ll be happy to put you in touch with someone that we know will treat you right.