There hasn’t been much new construction anywhere in a while as prices of existing homes continue to drop. I wrote about a small new office building going up at the corner Oak Av and Rice St behind the Mayfair in a recent article, but this time I’m talking about land available for new homes.
In the last 6 months there have been only 3 buildable lots sold in Coconut Grove. One was in the South Grove on Park Avenue, a quiet street recently closed to traffic from Ingraham Highway and Douglas Road. The area is quintessential South Grove, with a canopy of towering oak trees, super lush foliage, and no sidewalks. It’s a surprise to me that the 21,600 square foot lot sold for the least per square foot of the 3 sales, $29. The asking price had been $699,000 and the sale price was $630,000.
The other two closed buildable lots were in the North Grove on Crystal View Court and S. Bayshore Lane. Although the price paid per square foot for both was more than the South Grove sale ( $42 and $99 psf respectively) the bottom line is that these cost less money. The Crystal View lot was 11,600 sq ft selling for $495,000 and the South Bayshore Lane lot, the smallest at 5,185 sq ft, sold for $515,000. Since this one sold at a whopping $99 per sq ft and isn’t waterfront, this sale is really remarkable to me.
When construction costs can be higher than the price per square foot that the finished product can be sold for, land sales are difficult and the amount low.
The following table is representative of all areas in the Grove where buildable lots are on the market. There are more available, and you should contact me for information on any other property, built or not, about which you would like information.
