Foreigners Swoop Into Miami Real Estate With Piles Of Cash

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It’s a scene that’s played out countless times here in recent years.

A working-class couple identify a home they want to buy, they work with their bank on a mortgage and prepare an offer, only to find that the property’s been purchased by a foreigner who plunked down a full cash payment. “That’s happened to every Realtor in Miami,” said Adrian Foley, a lawyer and real estate agent.

That situation is partly why Miami has become one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. to buy or rent a home. Lured by the beaches or the relative security of the American real estate market, people from around the globe have flooded the area in recent years.

 Every time the Argentine or Brazilian economy takes a plunge, Miami real estate agents see a wave of people flying north looking for a safer place to invest their money. Whenever global oil prices fall, Russians and Venezuelans start showing up. Vacationers from Europe buy properties to serve as winter retreats. “And there’s now for the first time quite a lot of activity coming from Asian buyers, especially Chinese,” Foley said.

One clear indication of foreign purchases is the number of Miami homes being bought with cash. As much as 70% of total home purchases in the Miami area were cash sales in March 2012, according to real estate research firm CoreLogic. That was down to 58% in December, but still well above the national average of 35.5%.

Miami still remains relatively cheap for buying prime property. “They are very inexpensive compared to other places in the world, be it Buenos Aires, Bogota, Paris, Germany, Russia,” said Alberto Orso, a Miami real estate agent who works with many Latin American buyers.

Another factor has been a strong push from city leaders and developers to cultivate a global, cosmopolitan environment that attracts a wide variety of wealthy foreigners. Christie’s International Real Estate listed Miami among its top 10 luxury markets in 2014. Flip through the April edition of American Airlines’ in-flight magazine and there are several Miami-area developers advertising their properties, one even promoting it as a place to buy and immediately rent out as an investment.

But when foreigners are making the decision of where to buy, it comes down to one thing. “You go to the most attractive cities,” said Geoffrey Garrett, the Australian-born dean of the Wharton School of business at the University of Pennsylvania, during a recent visit to Miami. “Globally-mobile people want to go to the most cosmopolitan places, and Miami is certainly up there.

Drawing those kinds of investors, however, has come at a cost. Developers are building mostly high-priced condos and homes to match the international demand. And with banks hesitant to hand out loans following Miami’s real estate plunge during the recent recession, local residents are left with few options.

“Ninety percent of new construction underway in Miami right now is unaffordable for 90% of the population that lives here,” said Jack McCabe, a real estate analyst with McCabe Research & Consulting. “When people talk about this great divide between the rich and the poor,” McCabe said, “it’s very evident in Miami.”

The focus on luxury projects has also left renters with few options. According to the online real estate database Zillow, Miami-area renters spent 44.2% of their income on rent in the last three months of 2014, the second-highest figure in the country, after Los Angeles.

 

Source: USA Today

 

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North Miami Beach: A ‘Hidden Gem’ In The Real Estate Market

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A new strategic vision, competitive pricing and a less hectic lifestyle are three reasons North Miami Beach is emerging as an attractive location for new residential and commercial investment.

Both the scenic Biscayne Boulevard corridor and the 163rd Street commercial district are in the early stages of an exciting transformation that will bring many positive benefits and developments to the city.

NorthMiamiBeachHiddenGem-ChartLed by Mayor George Vallejo, the city of North Miami Beach adopted a strategic plan in September that sets guidelines for real-estate development, design and zoning for the next 15 years. The “visioning” framework, which was guided by two consulting firms, encourages new mixed-use projects and high-end residential towers in appropriate locations. It also includes funds for a comprehensive parks master plan, which will make the city an even more appealing place to live.

Already, a new wave of commercial development is under way, including plans for new high-end restaurants and a hotel along West Dixie Highway south of the roadway congestion in Aventura. Gil Dezer, president of Dezer Developers in Sunny Isles Beach, purchased the Intracoastal Mall for $63.5 million last year and plans to open a luxury iPic theater in the mall this summer.

On the residential side, North Miami Beach is becoming a destination of choice for both domestic and international buyers seeking an alternative to higher-priced properties in more congested areas along the beach, in Aventura or in downtown Miami. Because the redevelopment of North Miami Beach is just in the early stages, pricing for luxury residences is more attractive than other markets that have already experienced a run-up in values.

Marina Palms Yacht Club & Residences

Marina Palms Yacht Club & Residences

For example, the sales prices for the second tower of Marina Palms Yacht Club & Residences, now under development on Biscayne Boulevard, averages $550 per square foot. To the north, a residence in a new Aventura building would be $850 per square foot, and the price for oceanfront units could be double or triple that rate.

Looking back at the last few decades, it’s clear that South Florida communities are at varying stages of the real-estate cycle. For instance, South Beach real estate was a bargain in the 1980s, before a wave of new hospitality, retail and residential investment created one of the world’s most popular (and expensive) urban resort markets.

Downtown languished until the early 2000s, when new residential and mixed-use developments exploded on the scene. After the recession, developers were quick to pick up unfinished projects and market them on an all-cash basis to affluent buyers from Latin America and Europe.

Meanwhile, North Miami Beach has remained a quiet, suburban city with about 40,000 residents and great recreational amenities, such as Greynolds Park and Oleta River State Park. In addition, the Biscayne Bay campus of Florida International University is conveniently located in nearby North Miami.

With its new strategic plan in place and a growing flow of commercial and residential real-estate investment, North Miami Beach is entering a new era, just as other Miami-Dade communities have evolved in the past.

Now the world is about to discover the new “hidden gem” in South Florida’s real-estate market. It’s an exciting time to participate in the transformation process, which will create a bright future for North Miami Beach and its residents.

 

Source: Miami Herald

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Is Brickell’s Biggest Hole Getting Miami’s Tallest Building?

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Scrapped Project

Scrapped Project

The Chinese consortium that bought the former Capital Brickell Place site, which has been sitting empty for years and as of right now is the biggest open hole in the ground in Brickell, is claiming on its website that they are building the tallest building in Miami there, according to The Next Miami.

The website is only in Chinese though,and the website of their Chinese/ American partner isn’t revealing much. Either way, until it’s verified, it’s only rumor. They also supposedly claim to have gained “preliminary approval” for the project, although no details are given.

 

Source: Curbed Miami

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Two Coconut Grove Office Buildings Sold For $42M

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BayviewPlazaTwo office buildings in Coconut Grove were sold for a combined $42 million, commercial brokerage Marcus & Millichap announced Thursday.

The first, dubbed the Bayview Executive Plaza, is a 57,155-square-foot building at 3225 Aviation Avenue. It is occupied by the Femwell Group Health, Wolfberg Alvarez & Partners and the accounting firm Pinchasik Yelen Muskat Stein.

The second, named Continental Plaza, is a, 80,380-square-foot building at 3250 Mary Street. It’s across the street from Park Grove, an upcoming mixed-use development that has plans for three 20-story condo towers with retail and office space.

Both were purchased by a company titled Allegra Holding, and both were sold by TA Associates Realty.

Douglas Mandel and Benjamin Silver of Marcus & Millichap brokered the sale for both the buyer and the seller. “These buildings are well positioned to reap the benefits associated with the explosive growth of new developments in The Grove, and the buyer will be able to take advantage of future spikes in demand that will push rental rates to new highs,” Mandel said in a statement.

 

Source: The Real Deal

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Developer Plans Live/Work Lofts And Boat Storage Project On Miami River

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A group of developers is preparing a plan for live/work loft units and a boat storage facility with a marina along the Miami River.

Chapman Ducote on a Delta Powerboats yacht.

Chapman Ducote on a Delta Powerboats yacht.

Chapman Ducote, the managing member of the development group, said he’s planning two buildings at 600 N.W. Seventh Ave. One would be a dry stack for boat storage attached to a high-end marina. The other building would have live/work lofts with high ceilings and a modern look, in addition to some retail, he said. While the size of the buildings aren’t finalized, Ducote said the mixed-use building would be eight to 12 stories tall.

“There is a beautiful neighborhood on the other side of the canal from us and we want to be in tune with what works in the neighborhood,” Ducote said. “We will remove a boat yard that isn’t very pretty and replace it with a nice modern building.”

Miami Boat Storage, an Aventura-based partnership between AL US Investments, Quillpoint Capital Investments and Ducote, recently bought the 47,152-square-foot lot for $3.65 million to save it from foreclosure. Ducote is also the president and CEO of Miami Beach-based credit card processing firm Merchant Services LTD, a professional racer on the American Le Mans series, and a major investor Delta Powerboats, a Swedish company that builds yachts fully out of carbon fiber.

“The live/work concept, particularly in other cities, is starting to work and get some legs behind it,” Ducote said. “You have residential and office in the same dwelling with a wall separating the two.”

 

Source: SFBJ

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Four Miami-Dade Communities Rank as Top Places to Invest in Florida Real Estate

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A budding technological industry, a nationally renowned art scene, and several recent multibillion-dollar retail ventures have played key roles in turning Miami into one of the world’s most attractive and dynamic global cities.

Miami’s median single-family home prices – which have registered four years of consistent growth and sit at $245,000 according to the latest MIAMI Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI) report – remain affordable compared to other similar international cities.

The region’s long-term housing appreciation helped four Miami communities – Doral, Bal Harbour, Homestead, and Miami Lakes – finish as the top-four places to invest in real estate in the entire state of Florida, according to a new study from consumer finance site NerdWallet. Miami communities comprised seven of NerdWallet’s top-10 places to invest, and 12 Miami-Dade County locations made the top-25. The San Francisco-based NerdWallet analyzed 227 Florida cities using U.S. Census and Florida Department of Revenue data. Municipalities were scored using Census vacancy rates, affordability, and 10-year home value appreciations.

MiamiDadeCommunitiesDoralDoral

Doral topped the list because of its relative affordability, low unemployment rate (4.4 percent or more than a full percentage point lower than the statewide rate), and strong population growth, NerdWallet said. The Miami-Dade County city has increased its population by 14 percent, or 6,000, from 2010-13.

MiamiDadeCommunitiesBalHarbourBal Harbour

Bal Harbour in Miami-Dade finished second mostly because of its speedy residential sales, NerdWallet said. According to NerdWallet’s 0-10 scale for speed of sale, Bal Harbour scored 8.66. Bal Harbour’s percentage of housing value has increased 62.06 percent in the past 10 years, according to NerdWallet.

MiamiDadeCommunitiesHomesteadHomestead

Homestead in Miami-Dade is the third-best place to invest in real estate in Florida, NerdWallet said. About 56 percent of Homestead’s homes have increased in value over the past 10 years. Homestead prices averaged $79.42 per square foot, the most affordable in NerdWallet’s study.

MiamiDadeCommunitiesMiamiLakesMiami Lakes

Miami Lakes was named the fourth-best place to invest in Florida because of it price appreciation the past 10 years, NerdWallet said. About 57 percent of the city’s homes have increased in value the last decade while vacancies have dropped by 3.6 percent. Buyers are paying an average of $152 per square foot for a Miami Lakes home.

NerdWallet’s Florida Rankings:

1. Doral, 2. Bal Harbour, 3. Homestead, 4. Miami Lakes, 5. Marianna, 6. Hialeah Gardens, 7. Aventura, 8. Pinecrest, 9. Cape Coral, 10. Winter Garden, 11. Cooper City, 12. Callahan, 13. Miramar, 14. Key Biscayne, 15. Hialeah, 16. Cutler Bay, 17. Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, 18. Surfside, 19. Freeport, 20. Wellington, 21. Weston, 22. Coral Gables, 23. Palm Springs, 24. Parkland, 25. North Miami Beach.

 

Source: Brickell Community Newspaper

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A Peek At Downtown Miami’s Future Skyline

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Miami’s Downtown Development Authority has released a video that provides a glimpse of what the skyline will look like when the current crop of construction projects have been completed.

The video helps to visualize the massing of Miami’s evolving skyline by showing buildings that are both proposed and under construction. Buildings where construction is underway are represented in blue, while planned and proposed towers are represented in green and purple, respectively.

It doesn’t include every project, and isn’t exact about height. Fast-rising Edgewater is mostly ignored. It also doesn’t show detailed renderings, as Brickell Magazine did last year.

Below is the Miami DDA video rendering:

 

 

Source: The Next Miami

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Miami Beach Sea Level Rise Conference Targets Future Developments

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It’s up to developers and city officials to protect projects in Miami Beach from the threat of global sea level rise, architect Reinaldo Borges warned an audience gathered inside a conference room at the W South Beach on Thursday.

“Developers need to change their perspective,” Borges said. “They go in with a short-term investment mentality. That mindset has to change.”

Business leaders discuss sea level rise at the Miami Beach Community Resiliency Summit

Business leaders discuss sea level rise at the Miami Beach Community Resiliency Summit

Borges, a principal of Borges & Associates Architects, lamented that hotel projects his firm worked on like the Royal Palm Miami Beach and the Bentley Beach Hotel will be negatively impacted by sea level rise. Before new projects break ground, Borges suggested city officials find ways to provide developers with incentives if they build structures at a higher elevation.

The Miami-based architect was part of a panel of business community leaders at the Miami Beach Community Resiliency Summit Friday morning. Other speakers such as Wendy Kallergis, president and CEO of the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association, and Gabriole Van Bryce, a member of the association’s sustainable hospitality council, talked about successful efforts to convince builders and owners to make their properties greener.

“We have really helped hotels reduce the impact of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Van Bryce said. “We want to further reduce the effects of greenhouse emissions by promoting a cool roof initiative to place local gardens on rooftops.”

Al Roker, host and weatherman for NBC’s “Today Show,” kicked off the summit by providing attendees with a few cold hard facts about climate change. “In the next 50 years, Miami’s high tide will be five feet higher,” Roker said. “At the city’s 100th anniversary concert last night, I told the crowd, ‘I hope you’re enjoying this now because where you are standing now will be underwater one day.’”  The popular morning show personality also said the mainstream media made a mistake by coining the term “global warming,” instead of using “climate change.”

Following his presentation, Roker told The Real Deal that developers, city officials, and residents have to work together to address the real threat of climate change. “Everybody should be concerned,” Roker said. “Are buildings ready? Is the infrastructure ready? Those are all real concerns condo owners, private property owners, businesses and everybody should be concerned about.”

 

Source: The Real Deal

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The Evolution Of The Miami River District

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Miami’s Health District is seeing more activity.

A famed chef is launching a new concept in the University of Miami’s Life Science & Technology Park, which made headlines when its developer, Wexford Science & Technology, bet on the neighborhood a few years ago. Miami Health District’s residential and retail projects are rising.

Where does River Landing Shops and Residents fit in? GlobeSt.com caught up with Andrew Hellinger, CEO of River Landing Development, to find out what role his project will play in the evolution of the nascent Miami River District in part two of this exclusive interview. You can still read part one: Is Miami’s Health District Next Big Thing?

GlobeSt.com: What role will River Landing play in the evolution of the nascent Miami River District?

Hellinger: The development will anchor the river district to the west allowing consumers, visitors and residents to enjoy life on the Miami River. River Landing’s waterfront restaurants will add to the growing roster of trendy restaurants opening and thriving in the Miami River District, including American Social, London’s Duck & Waffle, Sushi Samba, Modern Garden, The River Seafood & Oyster Bar, Seaspice, Garcia’s and Casablanca.

ADD Inc. conceived River Landing’s retail element as a series of stacked gift boxes to create a dynamic façade that complements the river while being accessible to pedestrians. Our riverwalk is designed as a linear waterfront park. The continuous linear, but meandering walking park, extends the length of the development and connects our property to the other waterfront properties in the river district.

GlobeSt.com: What kind of retail mix do you envision for River Landing? 

Hellinger: River Landing will be home to seven to eight national anchor tenants ranging from 20,000 square feet to 55,000 square feet as well as eight to 10 national and regional retailers. Specifically, River Landing will contain 315,000 square feet of national retailers, 86,000 square feet of regional and local retailers and 29,000 square feet of restaurants on its five levels.

The roster of tenants who will call River Landing home is a major supermarket, clothing retailers for men women and children, shoe stores, banks, athletic goods, electronics/ wireless providers, cinemas, entertainment options as well as casual and luxury restaurants.

 

Source: GlobeSt

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Once-Sleepy Omni Neighborhood Comes To Life

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There’s a rebirth underway in Miami’s Omni neighborhood, and it’s being fueled not by condo open houses but by craft fairs, film nights, group yoga and live art.

A pair of real estate developers — hoping to sell condos — have drummed up these events to support their vision of an Arts and Entertainment District. Playing to their audience of the young and hip, the developers branded their concept A+E, and their free parties all feature millennial-friendly brands like Whole Foods and Pabst Blue Ribbon.

“Concept isn’t enough. You need people to execute. That’s where we have no added value,” said Nir Shoshani, who runs NR Investments with partner Ron Gottesmann. “We’re not cool, we’re not young, so I needed to find the right people.”

One of those people is Isabella Acker, former marketing director of mega concert promoter Live Nation. Shoshani and Gottesman have tasked her with finding emerging local musicians and bringing in popular acts to perform at A+E events.

The Omni, or A+E, neighborhood is centrally positioned between three highways and near the Metromover, connects to downtown, Wynwood and Edgewater, and is only a short drive from South Beach.

Seeing opportunity in the area, NR Investments bought the distressed Filling Station Lofts at 1657 N. Miami Ave. three years ago and began renting its 81 units at the end of 2013. They also have a 513-unit, 37-story tower called Canvas at 1630 NE First Ave. with pre-construction prices going for about $480 a square foot. “We said, ‘Let’s use the area in order to have people get to know it,” Shoshani said, standing on a lot he and Gottesman own at 14th Street and North Miami Avenue.

It’s the site of a monthly “14th Festival” that A+E started hosting in November, where vendors sell jars of raw local honey, bunches of heirloom tomatoes and pieces of handmade jewelry. Singers belt out songs on a small stage, and visitors grip cans of cold PBR.

Still, the developers realize they have a long way to go to make the sparsely populated Omni area feel cutting-edge, safe and attractive as an Arts and Entertainment district. “It’s very important to see how centralized we are on the one hand,” Shoshani said. “And on the other, how blighted and how there’s nothing here.”

A+E’s growing number of monthly events happen at the Filling Station Lofts, the Canvas space or the grassy lot at 14th and North Miami Avenue.

The Miami International Film Festival offers free screenings of foreign films during a series called Movies Under the Stars, projected monthly onto a screen at the Canvas lot. “Café de Flore,” a film from the director of “Dallas Buyers Club,” played last month to a packed audience who happily sat on lawn chairs and munched on free popcorn.

Yoga sessions and social media workshops for small businesses are also part of A+E’s programs. New events like “art battles” between local street artists are slated for this month.

At “Rooftop Unplugged,” an acoustic music series that showcases Acker’s picks of local musicians, indie-funk groups like The Robby Hunter Band and Elastic Bond perform poolside atop the Filling Station Lofts’ roof.

“Bonfire Under the Moonlight” gives people a chance to toast s’mores in the Canvas lot while listening to sets from groups like Suenalo and Grammy-nominated, Afro-Cuban funk band PALO! Small lines form around three food trucks while a larger line waits for mixed drinks and beer.

“It’s got life,” Steve Roitstein, PALO!’s keyboard player and a founding member, said of the A+E concept. While touring country, he said, he noticed that other cities “don’t have what Miami does.” “We have such an incredible music scene, arts scene, theater… so what Arts and Entertainment is doing is shining a light on what’s already here,” Roitstein said. “We need everybody to come out and take part, because without the incredible crowd, we couldn’t do this. We need the energy of the crowd.”

 

Source: Miami Herald

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