A Broker’s View: ‘In 50 Years Of Miami Real Estate, I’ve Seen These Five Big Changes’

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For nearly five decades, Master Brokers Forum board member Donna Bloom, an agent with Douglas Elliman, had the privilege of helping people buy and sell their homes all over Miami; particularly in Miami Beach.

She witnessed extraordinary changes to the real estate market and industry during that time, often in step with the transformations of the community itself.  She describes it as a wild and fun ride.

The following are her thoughts on the five most remarkable changes she experienced along the way.

1. More Technology (But Fewer Personal Connections)

It is simply impossible to understate the impact technology has had on real estate — in ways both positive, and negative, in my opinion. When I began my career, there were no smart phones, no tablets, no fax machines, and no computers. What we did have were phones, cars, and plenty of hustle! At the time, we had to personally present offers, which meant a lot of literal “back and forth” between buyer and seller — often late at night.

Today, contracts can be completed and signed over smartphones, any time of day or night — a big change from when I made my very first sale of a house on North Bay Road, for the price of $35,000. (Really!) We didn’t have preprinted contracts, only a form that had to be filled in by a typewriter, and you had to insert all the terms yourself. I showed that house, the buyers wanted it and I completed the form — by hand — on the trunk of my car.

Back then, the mantra was “work hard!” Now, it’s “work smart!”, which technology certainly allows one to do. (This does not mean that today’s agents don’t work hard; we all definitely do, in ways that are far different than before.) But very often, that involves dealing more with machines and screens than with real, live human beings.

2. Luxury Condos… Everywhere!

It really is fascinating to see “before” and “after” photos of downtown Miami’s skyline over the past 20 years. When I got started, the only luxury condominiums could be found along a stretch of Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, and it was aptly named the “Condo Canyon.” At the time, the prevailing logic was that condo buyers would only trade square footage for beautiful waterfront views. While that is largely still the case, and Miami Beach remains the epicenter of luxury condo development, the landscape for that development has extended considerably. Today, amazing new luxury condos can be found in Sunny Isles Beach, Coconut Grove, Surfside, Edgewater, Coral Gables and everywhere in between.

All these new condos have truly altered the way any successful Miami agent does their business. We have to keep up to speed on all the new projects, which developers make the best buildings, amenities, emerging neighborhoods, and especially where to find the best value for our clients. The “muscles” we agents use for buying and selling condos are very different than the ones used for selling single family homes, and they certainly get stretched and worked like never before.

3. Power Shift: From Agents To Customers

I’ll admit it: Before the internet became mainstream, real estate agents held all the cards. We had access to all the data and information, and the only means by which anyone could buy or sell their home. Good luck trying to sell your home yourself in those days — how could you possibly know how to find comparative pricing, get access to other agents and their customers, or handle the mountain of rules and paperwork involved in the process?

It all seems quaint now as today’s buyers and sellers have a world of listings, data, advice and marketing tools at their fingertips. It has become common to meet with prospective clients who are well-versed on recent “comps” and have good, strong opinions on how and where I should market their home.

Rather than resist this increase in customer savvy, veteran agents like me highlight specialized services that only we can provide: our local experience and expertise. It still means something to sellers when an agent can tell them, “I’ve already sold this house — and ten of your neighbors’ houses — over the years.”

4. More Competition

As Miami has evolved into a true world class-city since the turn of the century, more people earn their real estate license and take their shots at “the game” with each passing year. While real estate is a fantastic and rewarding career choice, the majority of new Miami agents enter the market with (and I choose my words carefully here) vastly unrealistic expectations for what it takes to do the job well, and earn a living doing so. This can make it challenging for customers to filter through the inexperienced or unqualified members of our industry, but it also emphasizes the need for the rest of us to market ourselves well and maintain good reputations. We also face increasing competition from online sources such as Zillow and for-sale-by-owner (or “FSBO”) entities.

5. Dramatic Population Swings

Political and environmental events have significantly shaped and altered Miami’s demographic identity over the past 50 years. From the mass exodus of Cuban exiles to Hurricane Andrew’s wrath to today’s surge of new residents from South America and Russia, agents like me have learned to roll with these changes accordingly. Very often, it has meant working with customers and colleagues whose first language may be different from mine, seeing the identity of an entire neighborhood change in months, and advising clients on the critical importance of insurance and shutters. Without even realizing it, experienced agents can simply get used to the idea of change itself being a constant.

With that in mind, I close with the question of what changes Miami real estate will experience over the next 50 years? What will the job of a Miami real estate agent look like in 2068? I’m really not sure, but I’ll be happy to write a follow-up column at that time.

 

Source: Miami Herald

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Inside Miami’s Newest Crop Of Condo Towers

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With many heavyweights sitting on their hands until the next cycle, the top condo developers of 2017 are outliers daring to build amid a market facing oversupply.

A line of eager real estate agents, architects, attorneys and industry insiders snaked out the double doors at the Pérez Art Museum Miami on a balmy Friday night in May.

In a scene reminiscent of the launch parties of 2014 and 2015, about 800 guests made their way through the museum and up to the crowded third-floor terrace of the museum that bears the name of Miami’s biggest condo developer, Related Group founder Jorge Pérez.

The event? Okan Development Group, a Turkish development firm making its debut in the Miami market, was launching its Okan Tower, a $300 million, 70-story hotel and condo project planned for Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District.

Not everyone on the long line made it inside, but the soiree — which included a Turkish jazz band and speeches from billionaire developer Bekir Okan, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and One Sotheby’s International Realty President Daniel de la Vega — showed how hungry the real estate community was for a brand-new project, one that was free of the baggage of previous site plans, delayed timelines or lackluster sales.

Kasim Badak, CEO of Okan Development Group, acknowledged there is a clear slowdown in Miami’s condo market, but said he believes Okan Tower will be timed perfectly for the next cycle.

“The project will take about 40 to 45 months to build. By then, we will be in a great position to have a new project in the market,” Badak said.

If Okan breaks ground in the fourth quarter of this year, it would be delivered at some point in 2022, in time for what insiders say could be the start of the next cycle.

Okan is one of only a handful of developers to submit new permit applications for ground-up condo construction in Miami, Miami Beach, Aventura and Sunny Isles Beach over the past 12 months. The Real Deal analyzed applications filed in those cities between May 2017 and April 2018 and found that the developers forging ahead on condo projects included Aria Development, which ranked first, Okan Development Group which came in second, and third-place firm Multiplan Real Estate Asset Management, led by Brazilian billionaire José Isaac Peres.

The developers who’ve built some of the biggest Miami condo projects of this cycle — Related, JDS Development Group, Swire Properties and others — are keeping mum about future condo projects, focusing instead on selling out their current buildings and ramping up multifamily, mixed-use and other types of projects.

Swire, for example, recently hired ISG to take over the remaining sales at Brickell City Centre’s Reach and Rise condos, and it won’t release a timeline or details about phase two until it sells out those 198 remaining units, said Maile Aguila, Swire’s senior vice president of residential sales. Aguila doesn’t expect a sellout for another year and a half or two years — sometime between the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020.

Others are proceeding boldly. Aria Development, for example, is working with Kuwait real estate company AQARAT to build YotelPad Miami, a 31-story tower planned for 227 Northeast Second Street in downtown Miami. Aria developer David Arditi joked that his firm likes to be different.

“Perhaps we’re a little contrarian in terms of market timing,” Arditi said.

But with YotelPad, Arditi and AQARAT are targeting a much lower price point than many developers sitting on unsold inventory. The building, a $150 million development, will have 208 condos and 250 Yotel “cabins,” or small hotel rooms.

“Sales launched about two months ago, with prices starting in the $300,000s,” Arditi said. “Condos range in size from about 417 square feet to 708 square feet. We saw an opportunity in the market that we felt was not being adequately addressed for branded residential product.”

YotelPad, which is 70 percent owned by the Al-Bahar family — the controlling shareholders of AQARAT — will manage the property. Aria and AQARAT are working to secure a construction loan for about half of the project cost, which comes to about $75 million. They’ll break ground in the fourth quarter of this year and complete the project in approximately two years.

“Sales skipped the reservation phase and went straight to contracts,” Arditi said.

He declined to state how many units are under contract, but said he’s “very pleased” with the number.

“Buyers so far are from South America, Europe and China, as well as from the U.S.,” Arditi said. “I would not have launched this project if it required selling million-dollar branded residences right now.”

Located just north of downtown Miami, Okan Tower will also be targeting non-luxury buyers, with units there starting at $318,500. In addition to a 294-room Hilton Hotel & Resorts-branded property, the tower will feature office space and a restaurant and bar on the 66th floor.

Badak of Okan said that the company launched sales in Istanbul in May, and has secured about 45 reservations from buyers in Turkey and in the U.S. Okan is self-financing the $300 million project.

Although it’s rare, there are some developers who will be putting more luxury condos on the market.

Multiplan Real Estate Asset Management is demolishing the Marlborough House property in Miami Beach, where it will build 5775 Collins Avenue, a boutique luxury condo building.

The Brazilian developer is building an on-site sales center. Marcelo Kingston of Multiplan declined to provide specific numbers, but said the 17-story, 89-unit project will be priced similarly to Eighty Seven Park, the Four Seasons Residences at the Surf Club and L’Atelier. Units in those properties generally range in price from at least $1.6 to $31 million.

The approval process wasn’t an easy one for Multiplan, which faced a delay from the city of Miami Beach, thereby pushing the project’s timeline back.

“But sales won’t dictate when the building gets completed,” Kingston said. “The December approval was a major trigger for the project to move forward.”

Now, the development team, which includes Arquitectonica, is pushing toward what they see as the next most optimal time to launch: Art Basel this December, the unofficial kickoff to Miami’s selling season.

And after launching last fall, Element Development plans to break ground on the first phase of Glasshaus in the Grove in June, then launch sales for phase two by the end of this year. The developer ranked fourth in TRD’s analysis of the biggest condo project developers of the past 12 months.

Element, led by Javier Lluch, has sold about half of the units in the first phase, a 23-unit condo development at 3161 Center Street. Element is building the project with G.D8, and Fortune International Group is handling sales and marketing.

“Sales are doing very well. We’re selling at about a third of the price of our competitors,” Lluch said.

Prices at Glasshaus start at $595,000.

Meanwhile, sales have not yet launched for 1414 West Avenue in Miami Beach. The development group, tied to Spencer Blank of Boca Raton firm Redcliff Builders and Belgian investors Axel Knauf and Bernard Petit, secured design approvals from the city of Miami Beach in October 2017.

UrvanX, a Miami-based architecture firm, is designing the five-story, 14-unit boutique condo building. The previous owner of the site won approvals for the building in 2015, but it didn’t obtain building permits within the allotted time frame. Units at 1414 West Avenue will range from 672-square-foot one-bedrooms to 1,315-square-foot two-bedrooms.

The development site is about two blocks north of Monad Terrace, a luxury condo building that JDS Development Group and partners are building.

“At Monad, units are under contract for more than $1,800 a foot,” developer Michael Stern said.

JDS, one of Miami’s largest condo developers in terms of number of units this cycle, has sites across South Florida, including some along the Miami River.

Stern declined to comment on future condo plans, but said that while he’s always watching the market, he’s careful not be too cautious.

“If you overreact to the specifics of the cycles in Florida, you can get caught with bad timing,” Stern said.

 

Source: The Real Deal

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How Miami Ranks In Sustainability Development

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It’s time America steps up its sustainability measures around the country, and a new report shows which cities are leading the way.

The Sustainable Development Solutions Network released its second annual report on U.S. city sustainability, which looked at 100 of the most populated metro areas and cities around the nation to record how each city meets the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

According to Fast Company, Senior Adviser for Sustainable Development Solutions Jessica Espey noted that the data from this year’s report cannot be directly compared to last year’s. Instead, she said, this year’s data should be seen as evolving data.

“We did change quite a few indicators either due to data quality concerns, or because we found better data. To the extent that we can, we will use replicable data every year so that we can look at comparisons over time,” said Espey to Fast Company.

The report found that 62 cities are less than 50 percent of the way toward making good on 15 of the 17 SDGs that are applicable to urban areas. The No. 1 metro area, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, was only 68 percent of the way toward meeting those SDGs.

While each city varied on good and bad performances for certain indicators, there were common SDG barriers throughout the nation: poverty, racial inequality, climate interaction and failure to provide residents with healthy food.

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan area ranked 58 with an index score of 46.44. The only indicator where Miami metro area had a good performance was responsible consumption and production.

The Miami metro area category did see moderate performance indicators on hunger, life on land and sustainability. The area also saw a moderate performance in gender equality, which they ranked No. 2 in overall.

However, similar to every other city on the list, the Miami metro area had poor performance on climate action. The area also needs improvement on affordable and clean energy and clean water and sanitation. By highlighting a common problem across the country, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network hopes that officials will begin to make changes to improve.

“It is hoped that the report will also enable cities to identify peers struggling with similar challenges, and help facilitate a national dialogue on how to accelerate progress,” the report states. “It also offers hope by highlighting cities that are tackling these challenges and can offer inspiration to others across the country.”

 

Source: Miami Agent Magazine

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Florida Power & Light Buys 1,287 Acres For Future Solar Farm Development

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In preparation for a future solar farm, Florida Power & Light has purchased a 1,287-acre tract of land in an area of western Palm Beach County.

The SVN Florida Land Alliance coordinated the sale of the land, which is in an area known as The Acreage/Loxahatchee Groves. Senior advisor Ashley Barrett Bloom, SVN’s national land and development services product council chairman, handled the $19.3 million transaction for the seller.

The transaction was closed by Bloom, who has also served as an owner’s representative for the past three years on the project.

“This property represented one of the last opportunities to purchase a significant tract in this prestigious county,” says Bloom.

The tract is bordered on three sides by a planned large-scaled housing project by GL Homes.

 

Source: Solar Industry Magazine

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Report: Construction Condos In Miami 83% Sold

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The vast majority of condos in Miami’s new and proposed condo buildings have been pre-sold, in a highly bullish report from ISG World.

Highlights of the report include:

  • Most new condos sold out: 83% of the 20,008 new condo units east of I-95 that are proposed, under construction, or delivered have been pre-sold
  • Little new inventory coming to market: New condo groundbreakings are a fraction of what they were a few years ago. Smaller levels of new supply could put upwards pressure on pricing
  • Low inventory on existing homes: Residential inventory for rent and resale in Miami-Dade and Broward is low, with active listings stable
  • Long term trend is up: On average, condos built since 1993 have appreciated 229%, or 9% per year

The full report is below.

 

Source: The Next Miami

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Midtown Miami Is On The Cusp Of Major Growth

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Hyde Suites and Residences Midtown Miami

Next month, a swanky new hotel will debut in Midtown Miami, signaling what’s likely to be the start of a transformation for the downtown Miami corridor that, until only last year, was a lodging desert.

The addition of a condo/hotel project, Hyde Suites and Residences Midtown Miami, speaks to the growth of Midtown, which sits between the trending neighborhoods of Wynwood and the Design District.

Until last year, the area had no hotels and only a smattering of motels, though it was growing as a retail and real estate destination. In the last eight years alone, the population of Midtown has increased by about 50 percent, according to the Miami Downtown Development Authority.

Hampton Inn & Suites Miami Midtown

Then in April 2017, a 151-room Hampton Inn opened at 3450 Biscayne Boulevard — the area’s first major hotel. This June, the 32-story Hyde will open, with 60 hotel suites and 410 luxury condos at 3401 NE First Ave. The project is the second condo/hotel for the Hyde brand, developed by The Related Group and hospitality company sbe, the team behind Hollywood Beach‘s 42-story Hyde. Dezer Development also worked on the Midtown Hyde.

“Midtown is a very interesting location,” said Carlos Rosso, president of the condominium development division at The Related Group. “It’s a really consolidated neighborhood with big sidewalks, with great ground for retail. Mid-priced shops and supermarkets make it a really nice neighborhood to live in. It’s why people have continued to move and buy in Midtown.”

They’ve started traveling there, too. According to the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, which only started tracking visits to Midtown in 2015, nearly 4 percent of all visitors to Miami-Dade last year stopped in Midtown, the neighborhood’s highest figure yet. Its neighbors, Wynwood and the Design District, also saw growth. Nearly 17 percent of visitors went to Wynwood — almost twice as many as in 2016 — and 5.6 percent visited the Design District.

Location is a major draw for developers. Midtown offers travelers connectivity to downtown Miami and Miami Beach — but for a lower price. For the Hampton Inn, which has a year of being in Midtown under its belt, owner Bo Ashbel said those two factors are key to attracting visitors.

“It’s a very convenient place to stay. They are beginning to realize that there is a lot more to offer there and there is some pricing advantage, staying with us as opposed to staying in Brickell, which is quite pricier — and we have a brand new product,” Ashbel said. Rooms at the Hampton Inn in early June, for instance, start at $155.

Ashbel is betting on Midtown‘s success, so much so that he’s developing a second hotel, a 153-room AC Hotel by Marriott, which has already broken ground. It will open in fall 2019. Ashbel said other developers are in talks to build two or three more hotel projects in Midtown.

“What we are seeing already is a number of the neighboring properties to us, including those on our block, that are undergoing major renovations to reposition their own properties and upgrade them,” Ashbel said. “You are beginning to see the ripple effect. It reinforces the notion that this will become a legitimate submarket.”

The addition of the luxury Hyde will also play a major role. The development features condos between 760 and 1,868 square feet and a whole host of amenities, including on-demand housekeeping, a theater, a kids room, a state-of-the-art gym, tennis and bocce courts, and a heated pool and spa. On the ground level are 20,000 square feet of retail space.

The 32-story tower was designed by local firm Arquitectonica with interiors by David Rockwell, plus a curated selection of art from Mexican artists Bayrol Jimenez and Omar Barquet, Portuguese street artist Alexandre Farto and Danish artist Malene Landgreen.

Hyde has not yet announced the hotel’s room rates, but weekend rates in the Hollywood Beach Hyde in early June start at $263 a night. More than 94 percent of the residences at the Midtown property, which run from about $400,000 to $2 million, are already sold.

“We think that there are urban explorers that love hotels that are off the grid and we saw that this project had the right scale to appeal to them,” Rosso said.

 

Source: Miami Herald

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VIDEO: Massive Miami Worldcenter Project Finally Rises Downtown

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Source: Miami Herald

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Developer Unveils Plans For $300M Hotel/Condo Tower In Downtown Miami

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Billionaire Turkish developer Bekir Okan is launching plans for a $300 million, 70-story hotel and condo tower in downtown Miami.

Okan Tower will have a 294-room Hilton-branded hotel, 236 condo-hotel units, 153 condos, 64,000 square feet of Class A office space and a restaurant on the 67th floor. Okan Group just unveiled the project at an event at its 3,000-square-foot sales gallery in Istanbul.

“We felt it would be most strategic to start there,” said Daniel de la Vega of One Sotheby’s International Realty.

The developer will officially launch sales in Miami when the sales gallery opens Thursday at 542 North Miami Avenue.

“Construction is expected to begin later this year,” de la Vega said.

One Sotheby’s will handle residential sales of the building planned for 555 North Miami Avenue. Prices will start at $318,500 and range from 447 square feet to 1,245 square feet. Jerry Sanchez is the director of sales.

“The four duplex penthouses will range from 1,872 square feet to 2,142 square feet and from $1.9 million to $2.4 million,” de la Vega said.

Okan is targeting foreign investors for the residential units, and will build the tower with its own equity.

“Despite the slowdown in luxury condo sales, I am confident the units are priced competitively,” de la Vega said

And the developer is hoping that the tower will appeal to international investors “looking for value opportunities” who are out-priced by the glut of luxury condos on the market in Miami, founder Bekir Okan wrote in an email.

Competing projects downtown include YotelPad and Smart Brickell. Aria Development is developing the Yotel-branded tower, a 31-story building planned for 227 Northeast Second Avenue with prices ranging from $260,000 to $450,000 and units averaging 580 square feet. Smart Brickell will have condos priced from the low $300,000s to about $600,000, and sizes from 558 square feet to 1,117 square feet.

Amenities at Okan Tower will include a sky pool on the 70th floor, a Hammam spa, health and fitness center, outdoor lounge, a kids’ playroom, gourmet kitchen, movie theater, wine cellar and a cigar room, according to a press release. Behar Font & Partners designed the tower.

Okan Group was founded in 1972 by Bekir Okan, who has a home in Miami, where two of his children attended college, he said. His firm owns the Istanbul-based Okan University, which opened a campus in Dania Beach in 2015, and has invested in Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Okan Tower will be the first real estate development in the United States for the company.

Property records show Miami 6th Street LLC, an Okan affiliate paid $18.1 million for the 36,000-square-foot development site in Miami, near the historic Central Baptist Church in 2017.

 

Source: The Real Deal

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How Will Sea Level Rise Affect Your Home? Miami Is Creating A Tool That Will Show You

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The looming impacts of climate change are increasingly raising questions about the future of Miami‘s real estate, particularly from residents who wonder what will happen to their property as the sea level rises.

Seeing a need for a user-friendly, visual platform where property owners can see what might happen to their land and how they can deal with future problems, Miami is receiving a $100,000 grant to develop a new tool the city hopes will help the average resident understand the risks and options for dealing with rising waters.

The city was awarded the money from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge, which grants dollars to cities to solve complex urban problems. In Miami‘s case, city officials want to wrangle various data sets together to create a prototype for an interactive tool that would allow property owners to understand their risks in the coming decades and see what different mitigation strategies might look like.

The city has a lofty goal of integrating data from different sources — sea rise projections, rainfall numbers, tidal measurements, analyzed alongside economic factors and effects of upgraded infrastructure — to construct a platform that can be shared freely with anyone. According to the grant application, Miami‘s administration hopes to build a platform that can be used across the region.

“We have the most assets at risk to storm and sea level rise related flooding than any other metropolitan area in the world,” reads Miami’s grant application. “However, our residents do not havea clear understanding of the risks related to sea level rise, particularly as it relates to their specific property, how they can mitigate those risks over time, and how to stay informed and engaged on city land use, code and infrastructure planning that may also mitigate those risks.”

Jane Gilbert, Miami‘s chief resilience officer, told the Miami Herald the goal is to provide the average person meaningful information in an easy-to-use format.

“The idea is as the city upgrades its infrastructure, it wants to inform residents and to help them think about what they can do and how they can prepare for sea level rise,” Gilbert said.

The private sector has already broached this territory through services that sell information and individualized assessments to property owners, but the city’s ambitions are broader. Gilbert and Michael Sarasti, chief innovation officer, envision a tool that would include projected economic impacts of sea rise, from changing real estate values to disappearing jobs, and a way to visualize the impact of pending legislation.

The $100,000 grant is meant to fund a prototype platform that can serve as the basis for a larger grant application later this year to complete development. For that larger, multimillion-dollar grant, Sarasti said Miami was encouraged to partner with Miami Beach, which received its own $100,000 Bloomberg grant in February for a similar project.

The Beach is working on a prototype that will focus on integrating meteorological and tidal predictions to reduce risks to people and property. Later this year, both cities plan to combine their efforts to vie for more dollars to develop a highly sophisticated program that will aid governments and private citizens in making decisions on how to prepare for sea level rise.

 

Source: Miami Herald

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VIDEO: Miami Developer Looks To The Future With Flying Carport

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Click on the above photo to view a video of just one of the latest high rises to join Miami’s skyline. Paramount Miami Worldcenter is planning a flying ‘sky port’.

 

Source: Deccan Chronicle

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