Miami’s duplex developers “made out like bandits"

You’d have to be a special kind of dumb to take out a nearly $2 million mortgage for half a lot in Calle 8. Duplex owners across Miami have turned into a money-printing machine for developers. Take this example: a lot purchased for $480,000. I estimate that developers’ construction costs are as low as $170 per square foot due to the sheer volume they’re building. For a 5,000 sq ft total structure, that puts the construction cost at about $850,000. Add the $480,000 lot cost, and you’re looking at a total investment of around $1.3 million — for a property that sold for $3.6 million after both homes were sold. That’s nearly triple their money…amazing. Imagine spending all this money to share a wall with your neighbor in Calle Ocho and greeting a rooster every morning.