I'd like to highlight the last month's closed sales of luxury waterfront condominiums in the South of Fifth Street area of Miami Beach.   Specifically, I'd like to point out and compare the gap (either premium or discount) in closed sales prices from the Miami-Dade tax assessed values of 2009.  The Miami-Dade Tax Assessor's office has made a significant effort in the past year to revise the latest tax market values with the ACTUAL reduced property values of the past few years.  Therefore, I'd like to compare the latest closed sales at The Continuum South Beach, Apogee South Beach, The Murano at Portofino, Murano Grande, and Bentley Bay to compare the actual sales from the tax assessed values.  All of the condomiums highlighted below are premier waterfront units with spectacular water views, and generally among the most desireable lines in the respective waterfront buildings in South Beach's South of Fifth area:

Apogee #604 - 6/18/10  Sales Price: $5,800,000 vs. Tax Assessed Value: $3,889,000 
(Apogee Sales Price Premium +49%)
Continuum North Tower #2701 - 6/18/10  Sales Price: $3,500,000 vs. Tax Assessed Value: $2,072,000 
(Continuum South Beach Sales Price Premium +69%)
Continuum North Tower #905 - 6/30/10  Sales Price: $1,200,000 vs. Tax Assessed Value: $733,000 
(ContinuumMiami Beach Sales Price Premium +64%)
Continuum North Tower #2902 - 6/30/10  Sales Price: $3,040,000 vs. Tax Assessed Value: $2,113,000 
(Continuum Sales Price Premium +44%)
Murano at Portofino #3102 - 6/3/10  Sales Price: $1,925,000 vs. Tax Assessed Value: $1,902,000 
(Murano at Portofino Sales Price Premium +1%)
Murano Grande #2601 - 6/23/10  Sales Price: $2,500,000 vs. Tax Assessed Value: $2,123,000 
(Murano Grande Sales Price Premium +18%)
Icon South Beach #1901 - 7/1/10 Sales Price: $1,490,000 vs. Tax Assessed Value: $1,091,000 
(Icon Miami Beach Sales Price Premium +37%)
Bentley Bay #1201 - 5/28/10  Sales Price: $750,000 vs. Tax Assessed Value: $863,000 
(Bentley Bay Sales Price Discount -13%)

It should be noted that for the newest South of Fifth buildings (Apogee and Continuum North Tower specifically), the Tax Assessed values tend to be low.  The premium prices being paid at both Continuum North Tower and Apogee indicate that these condo buildings are also among the most sought-after and highly desireable ultra-luxury properties.  The biggest price discount is most notably at the Bentley Bay, primarily due to this condo building's high maintenance fees and owner delinquency rates.

Premium waterfront properties (whether condos or single family homes) that are priced RIGHT continue to have strong buyer demand.  For waterfront condos in the South of Fifth area, we continue to see significant buyer demand- most especially from USA Northeast, South American, and select European buyers (most especially East European countries).