New Construction in Miami: To Buy, To Build or to Renovate

CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction, 00:40 Introducing Builcore and Dany Sebaaly, 02:10 The Reason behind Builcore’s success, 04:40 The Challenges of constructing in South Florida, 06:40 Why is construction work in South Florida so challenging?, 10:00 How easy is it to build a new home? Timelines and costs, 14:25 Post Pandemic Changes in Construction: New Timelines, New Costs and New Challenges, 17:35 Renovations and Build-outs in the Condo Market 19:05 How to identify high-level construction work?, 21:25 From designer ready to a fully move in ready unit, 27:20 The budget for a complete condo build out, 30:05 Renovating a Miami condo: How easy are condo renovations?, 35:40 Renovating a Miami house, 39:50 The biggest mistakes people make when renovating or constructing a new house, 41:15 Construction stories, 46:00 The importance of a good labor force 

• Finding an architect: 2 Months
• Planning and designing: 6-8 Months
• Permitting: 6 Months to 1 Year (depending on municipality)
• Actual Construction: at least 1.5 years (depending on design and size)

The costs of building a brand new Miami home from scratch will be around $500 to $600 per SF as a starting point. This of course can go up to $1,000 per SF, but for a high-end home a minimum of $500-$600 per SF is required.

After the pandemic we have experienced longer timelines, a shortage of materials and the cost of materials has gone up by 20% to 30%. Given the South Florida boom it is even harder to find available workers. Therefore the process of building a new home has increased in difficulty: it is more expensive, takes longer and requires more patience. For those who are looking for new construction homes in Miami; the costs of building have increased, but you are also paying for the time and stress you safe.

Developers often show renderings of fully finished units, but that is not how the condo is delivered. These condo buildings often require an additional build-out. There is a great amount of very well finished condos in Miami, but there is also a great amount that offers standard finishes and sells them as “luxury”.

A high level standard of finishes in the condo market will require around $200 per SF. So a 4,000 SF condo will require an additional $800,000 to fully finish with floors, closets, wall treatments and so on. It is also important to know that in condos you are limited by the times you are allowed to work. Each building has their own rules and often only allows 6 hours of work. An even more extreme example is Fisher Island, which only allows work to be done in 6 months of the year. So an extensive job might need to be stopped for several months. Please do keep this in mind when buying a condo and planning the build-out or any renovations.