If your looking for the pinnacle of luxury living combined with unparalleled ocean and intracoastal views Alhambra Place in Fort Lauderdale Beach may be the perfect fit.

Built in 2001,  Alhambra Place rests on the wide portion of Fort Lauderdale’s intracoastal waterway and rises sixteen stories.  Alhambra Place’s unique location offers owners sweaping views of downtown Fort Lauderdale and the intracoastal waterway to the West and wide open unobstructed views of the Atlantic ocean to the East.   Owners enjoy the ability to watch the sunrise over the ocean in the morning a watch it set in the afternoon from duel spacious terraces. Its very rare to find a building that offers so much coupled with a boutique experience that’s simply hard to beat.  There are only 24 residences at Alhambra Place and each one has over close to 4000 square feet of lavish living space.

Some of the luxurious amenities at Alhambra Place include:

• 24 hour doorman and concierge service
• Heated intracoastal front swimming pool
• State of the art fitness facilities
• Spa
• Semi – private elevators
• Limited number of intracoastal boat slips
• 2 covered private garage parking spots and covered quest spots

Each condo at Alhambra Place is appointed with all the finishes you would expect from a building of this caliber.  Owners are a short bike ride away from all the shops and restaurants of the Las Olas shopping district,  less than 15 minutes from Fort Lauderdale international airport,  and a short walk to the heart of Fort Lauderdale Beach.  Condos are currently priced from $1,490,000 to $9,750,000 for the penthouse that offers the best views in the building and over 7,800 square feet of living space.

Alhambra Place is a truly unique,  boutique ultra luxury building that is hard to beat in The Fort Lauderdale Beach luxury condo market.

If you enjoy the finer things in life coupled with a location that puts those things within your reach on a daily basis than The Harbourage on Fort Lauderdale Beach may just be the perfect place to call home.

Harbourage Place is one of the most luxurious buildings in Fort Lauderdale Beach and features an amazing private location on the Southern Side of Fort Lauderdale Beach.  Due to Harborage Places unique location owners enjoy commanding 360 degree views from the intercoastal to the Atlantic Ocean.  Owners also have the luxury of being walking distance to the Southern portion of Fort Lauderdale beach which is the widest part of the beach.  Southern Fort Lauderdale Beach features BBQ grills and large shade trees for family gatherings it also makes for a perfect picnicking area!.

The Harbourage Place is composed of just 44 private residences and stands at 22 stories tall.  The fact that there are only 44 residences in the entire building solidifies the fact that owners at Harborage Place will experience privacy on a level not offered many other places.  Elevators are also semi private catering to just 3 condos per floor.  My personal favorite floorplan at The Harbourage is The Majestic Townhome.  The Majestic Townhome takes up the 19th and 20th floors with over 6000 total square feet it is a true ” home in the sky “.  It features 3 bedrooms 3 full bathrooms and 1 half bath,  4 open air terraces with forever views from the intercoastal to the ocean,  imported marble and onyx adorn this luxury residence throughout.  It is rarely available and of the time of this blog it is currently available offered at $3.49 million.

Other luxury amenities include:

• Heated Intercoastal Front Pool
• Fitness Center
• Social/Club Room
• 24 Hour Security an Guard
• Boat Dockage for Select Residences
• Covered Garage Parking

Currently there are five condos on the market at The Harbourage priced from $1.2 m to 3.49m.  The last sale to take place at Harbourage Place was a corner unit #1403 with over 4100 total square feet.  The condo had commanding views of the ocean an intercoastal and all the finest finishes.  It closed in June for $1.535m which is about $374 per square foot ( based on total area ).  Luxury condos in Fort Lauderdale Beach over 3000 square feet that have closed within the last year average a sold price per square foot of $400.  The Harborage Place Residences are an extremely good value given the location and level of luxury owners receive.

As the year winds to an end and we all gear up to see what 2011 will bring,  lets look back two years to see how the Fort Lauderdale Beach condo market has fared.

We all know that the last two years have not been an easy road for the U.S. economy.  That being said I was surprised to see just how well the Fort Lauderdale Beach condo market has trended over the past two years.  I like to look at a two year picture because it shows how gradually,  over time,  the market reacts.

Lets start by taking a look at how many condos sold in 2010.  In 2010 there were 186 condos sold on Fort Lauderdale Beach. This is a huge improvement and it also decreases the inventory.  The less inventory in a market the more of a sellers market it becomes.  Another key statistic to be aware of is pending sales.  Over the past two years there was a 129% improvement in pending sales.

Another key indicator of a market returning to normal is months of inventory.  It is said that a normal market where its equal sides both seller and buyers market has 6 to 8 months of inventory.  What this means is that if all Realtors stopped listing condos for sale it would take 6 to 8 months to sell everything on the market.  Looking back at November 2008 we had over 47 months of inventory and now in 2010 that inventory has decreased dramaticaly to 15 months.  What this indicates in a nutshell is positive market recovery and what will be through 2011 a very good buyers market.

Another graph that I find interesting is a cost per square foot approach.  Lets see for the past two years what condos have sold for per square foot.  In November 2008 the average cost per square foot for a condo in Fort Lauderdale Beach was $328 and now same month in 2010 that cost is $269 per foot which comes out to be a 18% reduction in cost.  Now looking 1 year back to November 2009 the cost was $276 per square foot and now November 2010 the cost is $269 a square foot which is only a 2.6% change.  This indicates that the market is recovering nicely and values are starting to become more stable as we move towards a normalized market.  Comparing the last 2 months in October 2010 the cost was $259 a square foot  and in November 2010 it was $269 which indicates an almost 4% change for the positive! 

Looking forward the market is faring well and I am interested in seeing what 2011 will bring.  I believe we will see one of the greatest times to buy a condo Fort Lauderdale Beach in history.

I woke up this morning and could not be more thankful to live in South Florida.  With arctic storms freezing the North East and people snowed in I looked out my window into clear blue sky’s and temperatures in the low 70′s and decided to head to the beach. 

This time of year Fort Lauderdale Beach sees an influx of snowbirds who head down for the amazing weather and to escape the frigid cold.  Many stay for months at a time playing golf,  relaxing at the beach and just taking some time to unwind.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have your own condo to come to and stay whenever you wanted and have all the luxuries of a high end hotel?  Well the opportunity is here and its called hotel/condo ownership.

The concept of hotel/condo is simple.  Basically hotel/condos are large high rise luxury hotels operated by the biggest names in the business for example Four Seasons,  Ritz Carlton, Trump and Hilton to name a few.  Condos are sold to individuals who may use their condo as a vacation home at their leisure.  When they are not using their condo owners will have the option to put it in an organized rental program.  Rental revenue which is shared with the operator helps to offset the owners expenses.

Condo/hotels offer hassle free vacation home ownership.  The onsite management takes care of all the upkeep,  mainatnanace, and interaction with the renters.  Owners have the right to resell at anytime and keep all profit appreciation.  Condo/hotels combign vacation homeownership and great investment potential. 

Fort Lauderdale Beach offers some of the best condo/hotel opportunities anywhere.  Some of the more popular buildings are listed below.

• Q Club Resort and Residences:

The Q Clubs design and atmosphere is reminiscent of St. Tropez and Ibiza with a 6th floor lushly landscaped pool area overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.  Some of the resorts features are an cafe/restaurant with indoor and outdoor bars,  State of the art fitness center and spas featuring treatments overlooking the Atlantic Ocean,  and ground floor retail and restaurants.  Located right on Fort Lauderdale Beach the Q Club is a Hilton managed property. 

• The Atlantic

The Atlantic is also located right in the heart of Fort Lauderdale Beach.  The Atlantic offers residences all the amenities you would expect from a 4 star hotel including pool overlooking the ocean,  Spa treatments,  fitness center,  Ocean terrace bar and cafe,  and Trina restaurant and lounge.  The Atlantic offers these amenities with a more personal touch with only 124 luxury residences owners enjoy a more personal experience.  The Atlantic is a member of preferred hotels and resorts.

• Pelican Grand Beach Resort

Pelican Grand is located right on the sand in North Fort Lauderdale Beach.  Relax in a rocking chair on the huge veranda overlooking the ocean or take a ride down the lazy river either way there is plenty to see and do at Pelican Grand.  Owners will enjoy the over 500ft of private beachfront and old Florida charm of the resorts architecture.  The Pelican also offers an old world style ice cream parlor,  restaurant,  fitness center and concierge services to name a few. 

The time has never been better to own your own piece of paradise.  So get out of the cold and join me at the beach the weather is great!