Buying in Little Havana? Real estate values have depreciated right along with it's neighbors in Brickell West, The Roads and just about everywhere else. (UPDATED in 2016 READ BELOW)

If you are looking to invest I think you will have to be selective and patient. I have clients who have invested in both the area you are interested in and also around Brickell and Downtown Miami. But, it is also important to know whether you are looking at condos or single family homes as they behave differently in terms of price and demand in this market.

In the case of my clients, they were value investors of real estate and found some very good deals relative to what their financial goals were.

In terms of the area itself it is a mixture of older rehabbed low rise and mid rise buildings mixed in with newer mid rise and low rise buildings that have shown themselves to have some great opportunities for buyers. As you go further East and South (Roads/Coral Way, etc...) you head into the single family home areas.

It is a pretty strong rental market (Condo side) despite the pressure it gets from properties in Brickell West, Brickell and Downtown Miami.

I could go into more detail for you but I would need a better idea of what your specific goals are.

I'm not much of a gambler but I believe in the area and in it's future prospects.

Hope that was helpful and feel free to contact me if you like.

Best,
Adrian

It's February 2016 and a lot has changed since this article and response was posted. Buying in Little Havana is no longer a question of depreciated values or lowered expectations. Case in Point. Brickell West which lies between Brickell and Little Havana South Eastern tip along with The Roads residential communities have rebounded very strongly. Brickell West has changed dramatically from low rise rentals to mid and high rise condo's and rental buildings all catering to middle income to in some cases upscale consumers. Apartments that once sold in Little Havana for $40,000.00 now can be seen closing or selling for almost three times as much. Older buildings are being better maintained now that we have weathered the worst of the financial crisis and a lot of money has poured into the area buying up properties for large scale development and mixed use projects.

So, in retrospect, buying here was a good bet and would have paid off nicely. But is it still worth investing in? The short answer... Yes. Depending on your goals, Buying in Little Havana, especially the Southern and eastern portions that run along the Miami River, are very strong plays already receiving a lot of interest from international and local developers who see the benefit of increased density in these areas near downtown Miami and Brickell.

A few days back we took a trip to visit one of our clients listings which is for rent at 900 Biscayne and we snapped a few updated photos of what is turning into a very wonderful green space with already active Perez Art Museum and soon to open Science Museum.  What started with a ground breaking ceremony back in mid to late 2009 is finally starting to blossom into the great public space that we had all hoped for the Museum Park area to become.

We updated some of the photos so that you can see how things have progressed to date.

Update

It is official, Musuem Park Miami in downtown is scheduled to break ground as early as November of this year! A ceremonial "Green Breaking" is set for October 21 per Terence Riley, Director of Miami Art Museum. In this first phase the park will undergo environmental remediation prior to any foundation or footing being put in place.

Plans and drawings for the Herzog & de Meuron plans which are to be a model in environmental sustainability and openness.  The Science Museum is also working away on their plans and both museums expect to be breaking ground sometime next year after environmental completions are done. The Museum Park Miami will truly be a world class complex.

The Historical Museum of Southern Florida will all be housed within the MAM complex.

A few days back articles were presented by both the Herald and Miami Today News regarding the continued forward push of Museum Park in Downtown Miami. What marks these articles as important and in contrast to, for instance, the Virginia Key revitalization project is that the planning council listened and delivered on its revised plans for the currently prime but derelict waterfront park. Not only did the commission get a greener and more useable community centerpiece but it also will come in at a significant cost savings over the last proposal. Originally there were also some height restrictions in place but those were also resolved giving the Museum of Science the added vertical height it will need for its structure. The two projects will be situated on about eight acres of the 30 acre park directly adjacent to the Miami Metro-mover station that will be put back in service for this project.

If you are curious here is a link that takes you to the city planning department and the PDF presentation from March of 2008 showing all the changes that were discussed.

Finally, we are getting closer to seeing some shovels hit the ground. This new park and art center will tie together the downtown Miami waterfront into a seamless web of parks, amphitheatres, shopping, Arena, Museums (Museum of Science, Historical Museum and Miami Art Museum), more park and the Arsht Center for the Performing arts.

Don't forget that right across the water on Watson Island you have the Miami Children's Museum and Parrot Jungle Island. Also, the old Chalks Airline facility and what will soon be the Shangri-La hotel, residences and Mega Marina by Flagstone Group.

Times are tough, but we keep moving forward.