While condo sales in Miami declined by over 10% in the first quarter of 2016, its “little sister” 30 miles north, Fort Lauderdale, is racking up record-setting deals. The Auberge Beach Residences & Spa, a two-tower luxury oceanfront condominium currently under construction, recently sold one of its penthouses for $1,632 per square foot, a record for condos in Fort Lauderdale, according to the developer. The previous record was $1,556 per square foot at the Ritz-Carlton Residences, in 2015. The record-setting 4-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom penthouse sold for $7 million and is located in the south tower, slated for completion in the summer of 2018, according to developer Related Group. The north tower should be ready in December 2017.
More: Move Over Miami, Here Comes Fort Lauderdale This isn’t the first prominent sale by the Auberge. Last month, another penthouse in the south tower sold for $8.9 million, setting a Fort Lauderdale record for a condo. The previous most expensive condo sale there was a $6.875 million unit at the Ritz-Carlton Residences in 2009. The Miami Association of Realtors reported this week that total existing residential sales in Miami-Dade County declined 8.9% year-over-year to 6,294 in the first quarter of 2016, after posting a record in 2013. Existing condo sales fell 10.7% to a total of 3,326. Condos in Miami-Dade County “are competing with a robust new construction market, which continues to add inventory,” the association wrote in a report.
More: $35 Million 'Beach House' Is One of the Most Expensive Listings in Miami The 171-residence Auberge, which broke ground in November 2015, has a total of seven penthouses, two of which are still available: a $7.6 million unit in the south tower and another one for $9.8 million in the north tower. Some celebrities have already bought units in the project, including Dan Marino, who played for the Miami Dolphins, and philanthropist and author Annie Falk, according to the developer. As with the rest of Fort Lauderdale, most of the buyers in the Auberge (85%) are locals, said Patrick Campbell, vice president for Related, highlighting that the market hasn’t been impacted by the strong dollar and global economic turbulence. The buyers of the $7 million penthouse in the south tower are empty nesters from Boca Raton who were looking for a place to downsize while the buyer of the $8.9 million penthouse came from Minnesota.
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