A New York-based real estate investment firm has won a bank auction and court approval to buy the debt of downtown Miami's Everglades on the Bay condominium towers.
Rockwood Capital paid about $142 million for the note, according to South Florida real estate consultancy Condo Vultures. But the sale of the 849-unit project on Biscayne Boulevard did not go smoothly, with the developer, another bidder and the bank holding the debt battling over terms.
Developer Cabi Downtown LLC -- which faced a 2009 foreclosure suit by Bank of America on a $209 million construction loan -- claimed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court this week that Rockwood went behind its back to cut a deal with the lender, after pledging to deal directly with the developer. Elias Cababie, managing member of Cabi, claimed he had secured a higher bid from a San Antonio-based private investment group, court documents show.
Cabi had been juggling negotiations with Rockwood and San Antonio-based Lynd Company this summer, taking representatives from both groups to see the property's twin 49-story towers.
According to Cababie's sworn statement, sometime in July, Lynd put in an offer for the note, and Cabi solicited Rockwood to make a counteroffer. Rockwood responded by asking for more information about the property and then abruptly cut communication with Cabi, Cababie claims.
Rockwood execs tell a different story: ``Before we had completed our due diligence, [Cabi] informed Rockwood that it intended to accept a different entity's proposal and to end negotiations with Rockwood,'' said Dwight ``Arne'' Arnesen, Rockwood's senior managing director of portfolio and asset management, in a sworn statement. Arnesen also said Rockwood had been willing to pay more than Lynd's initial offer.
Attorneys for Cabi and Bank of America did not return calls for comment. The purchase may be the target of future litigation from Cabi as well as Lynd, who lost the bid, said Peter Zalewski, principal at Condo Vultures.
One motivation for the drama: The building offered what may be the last sizable bulk purchase of new condos in downtown Miami, where developers have built more than 20,000 units in the last seven years.
Developers have sold just over 175 units at Everglades, and there are hundreds of renters in the building, which was completed about two years ago.
The purchase price amounted to at least $191 per square foot, Zalewski said. ``I think Rockwood paid too much,'' he said. ``But with time, that number will end up looking better and better.''
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/29/1897264/firm-can-buy-debt-of-downtown.html
BY TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com
The Criscitos has been selling South Florida luxury and commercial real estate for over a decade and has sold over $1 billion dollars of property. They work as a multi-lingual team speaking english, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. They carved out a niche as a leading boutique real estate company with two distinct divisions -residential and commercial- both personally overseeing by Marcela and Anthony Criscito.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Take a dip - Miami luxury stays afloat
There are many ways to take the pulse of the Miami market, many methods of observing and appreciating and worrying about its real estate. But as developer Gil Dezer says, “You haven’t really seen Miami until you’ve seen it by boat.”
So, late on a recent Saturday afternoon, obligations are ignored, schedules re-jiggered, and a sunset cruise on Miami jewelry mogul Bobby Yampolsky’s 72-foot boat commences. The small group of VIP guests includes Dezer and Francois-Henry Bennahmias, president and CEO of Audemars Piguet North America. (This is a friendly gathering, but Yampolsky is in business with his guests, too: One of his East Coast Jewelry shops is in Dezer’s Trump International Beach Resort, and East Coast moves a lot of Audemars Piguet watches.)
The Trump Towers development in Sunny Isles has sold more than $150 million of condos this year, mostly to buyers who have paid all cash.
ONE TO WATCH: The eye-catching One Bal Harbour is on the ocean and near the pricey Bal Harbour Shops.
WOW: W South Beach has closed $170M.
These are men whose fortunes are dependent on selling something nobody really needs: diamond-encrusted bracelets, vacation homes and $20,000 limited-edition timepieces. And, recession or no, they are in a good mood as the boat leaves North Miami Beach.
In the background, one can see Dezer’s Trump Towers, a three-tower, 813-unit Sunny Isles Beach development that’s sold more than $150 million of condos in its second tower this year — at prices around $450 per square foot, with an average transaction around $880,000. (Tower III sales started a few weeks ago.)
“We were just amazed at how many people have the ability to pay cash,” Dezer says a couple days after the boat ride, noting that about 80 percent of his recent transactions have been with all-cash buyers. “It used to be [developers] would take 20 percent down and wait three years for the rest of the money. Now a guy walks in Monday and can close on Wednesday.”
Recent price reductions have no doubt been significant. Dezer’s nearby Trump Royale condo building, which once fetched around $1,000 per square foot, is now trading oceanfront units — with terraces, Miele and Sub-Zero appliances and master-suite Jacuzzi tubs — at around $550 per square foot. (“The Royale is where we got stuck,” Dezer says, freely admitting that many buyers walked away from deals during the economic downturn. “We had 364 units sold out of 384. Only 90 came to close. We have sold about 190 in the last two years.”)
The boat passes Bal Harbour, where excitement about the St. Regis Bal Harbour hotel and condos, scheduled for completion in 2011, is growing. But there’s already the beachfront One Bal Harbour, where condo resales are around $850 per square foot and the developer might put hotel-condo units on the market at around $1,000 per square foot next year. On the same day as the boat cruise, the hotel hosted a runway show for Kiki Hamann Canine Couture, which sells $500 dog dresses. “The spending pattern [in Miami] is finally coming back,” says Florent Gateau, general manager at One Bal Harbour. “You see it at the Bal Harbour Shops.”
Right across from the St. Regis site are the fancy-pants Bal Harbour Shops, where the 700-square-foot Audemars Piguet store racked up more than $6 million in sales last year. “Even though last year was bad in terms of the economy, we were the second brand in terms of revenue per square foot at the Bal Harbour Shops,” Bennahmias says. (No. 1 was a jeweler that declined to comment.)
The store’s average transaction was around $30,000, largely powered by a customer base that is about 60 percent Latin American, Bennahmias adds. “Business overall in Florida is picking up; many retailers are calling to get the brand,” he says. “But I just cannot sell to everybody.”
The Trump Towers development in Sunny Isles has sold more than $150 million of condos this year, mostly to buyers who have paid all cash.
ONE TO WATCH: The eye-catching One Bal Harbour is on the ocean and near the pricey Bal Harbour Shops.
WOW: W South Beach has closed $170M.
Yes, there are those in the Miami luxury market who can afford to be selective. Members at Miami Beach’s new Soho Beach House, for example, report that the club has sold its initial memberships ($1,800 per year, $900 for those under 27) so briskly that it is being extra choosy about additional members.
The boat heads down to South Beach, where the W South Beach Hotel & Residences closed a $6.2 million sale of a fully furnished, three-bedroom, 2,752-square-foot unit (with a 2,090-square-foot rooftop) in September. The W, where LeBron James celebrated after announcing he was taking his “talents to South Beach,” has closed on about $170 million of condos, including an all-cash deal for a 1,950-square-foot, $3 million unit this month, says developer David Edelstein.
“The enthusiam [surrounding James] is like having another entertainment venue open up,” he says. “People will extend their stay — a lot of games are Mondays and Fridays — to see the Heat.”
Of course, all is not so rosy in Miami, especially in the downtown areas near the Heat arena. The boat passes the tony, private Fisher Island. Next up is downtown, where thousands of condo units along the river and beyond remain empty. By now, it’s dark — which makes downtown, with entire buildings without a single light on, seem even more depressing.But Dezer sees opportunity here, too, and says he has been bidding on multiple downtown buildings.
And the truth is, the emerging neighborhoods that make up downtown are showing serious signs of life. In the area north of Brickell Avenue, which Ocean Drive magazine just christened “NoBri,” the new, ultra high-tech JW Marriott Marquis hotel is home to a 10,000-square-foot, NBA-approved basketball court and a soon-to-open Daniel Boulud restaurant. The hotel is part of Metropolitan Miami, a billion-dollar mixed-used development, where the 40-story Met 1 condo building has prices starting at $350 per square foot and 447 units that are 80 percent occupied.
A few miles away, another mixed-used development, the $2.3 billion, 56-acre Midtown Miami complex, has created its own neighborhood.“The idea was to have it be a very pedestrian-friendly environment,” Midtown developer Jack Cayre says. “A lot of people call it home now.” (So do about 900 dogs.)
Midtown’s three residential towers, with more than 900 units, were originally intended to be all condos. Midtown sold about half the units (closing condos for around $350 per square foot in 2007) and decided to rent the rest. The rentals are now more than 95 percent occupied. (One-bedrooms start at $1,500 and 800 square feet.) And Midtown’s big-box stores, boutique shops and destination restaurants like Sugarcane and Sakaya Kitchen, bring in the masses.
Lee Brian Schrager, who runs the South Beach and New York Wine and Food festivals and lives in Miami’s Design District, says he visits Sugarcane at least three times a month, sometimes walking the less than 2 miles there. “Before Sugarcane opened [in January], I had never been to Midtown before,” he says. “Now that we go, we sometimes stop at Target and West Elm, and eat at Mercadito, Five Guys and Cheese Course fairly often, as well. To me, Midtown now has a pulse, and that clearly came from the culinary scene.”
The boat leaves downtown and cruises back toward North Miami Beach. After an entertaining and enlightening almost-three-hour ride, Yampolsky and friends are back on land. It’s not even 9 p.m., still early for Miami on a Saturday, and the restaurants and bars near the dock are just starting to buzz.
Source: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/realestate/residential/take_dip_6isnqcIy2bnFgM0bDqhKaL/1
By ANDY WANG
So, late on a recent Saturday afternoon, obligations are ignored, schedules re-jiggered, and a sunset cruise on Miami jewelry mogul Bobby Yampolsky’s 72-foot boat commences. The small group of VIP guests includes Dezer and Francois-Henry Bennahmias, president and CEO of Audemars Piguet North America. (This is a friendly gathering, but Yampolsky is in business with his guests, too: One of his East Coast Jewelry shops is in Dezer’s Trump International Beach Resort, and East Coast moves a lot of Audemars Piguet watches.)
The Trump Towers development in Sunny Isles has sold more than $150 million of condos this year, mostly to buyers who have paid all cash.
ONE TO WATCH: The eye-catching One Bal Harbour is on the ocean and near the pricey Bal Harbour Shops.
WOW: W South Beach has closed $170M.
These are men whose fortunes are dependent on selling something nobody really needs: diamond-encrusted bracelets, vacation homes and $20,000 limited-edition timepieces. And, recession or no, they are in a good mood as the boat leaves North Miami Beach.
In the background, one can see Dezer’s Trump Towers, a three-tower, 813-unit Sunny Isles Beach development that’s sold more than $150 million of condos in its second tower this year — at prices around $450 per square foot, with an average transaction around $880,000. (Tower III sales started a few weeks ago.)
“We were just amazed at how many people have the ability to pay cash,” Dezer says a couple days after the boat ride, noting that about 80 percent of his recent transactions have been with all-cash buyers. “It used to be [developers] would take 20 percent down and wait three years for the rest of the money. Now a guy walks in Monday and can close on Wednesday.”
Recent price reductions have no doubt been significant. Dezer’s nearby Trump Royale condo building, which once fetched around $1,000 per square foot, is now trading oceanfront units — with terraces, Miele and Sub-Zero appliances and master-suite Jacuzzi tubs — at around $550 per square foot. (“The Royale is where we got stuck,” Dezer says, freely admitting that many buyers walked away from deals during the economic downturn. “We had 364 units sold out of 384. Only 90 came to close. We have sold about 190 in the last two years.”)
The boat passes Bal Harbour, where excitement about the St. Regis Bal Harbour hotel and condos, scheduled for completion in 2011, is growing. But there’s already the beachfront One Bal Harbour, where condo resales are around $850 per square foot and the developer might put hotel-condo units on the market at around $1,000 per square foot next year. On the same day as the boat cruise, the hotel hosted a runway show for Kiki Hamann Canine Couture, which sells $500 dog dresses. “The spending pattern [in Miami] is finally coming back,” says Florent Gateau, general manager at One Bal Harbour. “You see it at the Bal Harbour Shops.”
Right across from the St. Regis site are the fancy-pants Bal Harbour Shops, where the 700-square-foot Audemars Piguet store racked up more than $6 million in sales last year. “Even though last year was bad in terms of the economy, we were the second brand in terms of revenue per square foot at the Bal Harbour Shops,” Bennahmias says. (No. 1 was a jeweler that declined to comment.)
The store’s average transaction was around $30,000, largely powered by a customer base that is about 60 percent Latin American, Bennahmias adds. “Business overall in Florida is picking up; many retailers are calling to get the brand,” he says. “But I just cannot sell to everybody.”
The Trump Towers development in Sunny Isles has sold more than $150 million of condos this year, mostly to buyers who have paid all cash.
ONE TO WATCH: The eye-catching One Bal Harbour is on the ocean and near the pricey Bal Harbour Shops.
WOW: W South Beach has closed $170M.
Yes, there are those in the Miami luxury market who can afford to be selective. Members at Miami Beach’s new Soho Beach House, for example, report that the club has sold its initial memberships ($1,800 per year, $900 for those under 27) so briskly that it is being extra choosy about additional members.
The boat heads down to South Beach, where the W South Beach Hotel & Residences closed a $6.2 million sale of a fully furnished, three-bedroom, 2,752-square-foot unit (with a 2,090-square-foot rooftop) in September. The W, where LeBron James celebrated after announcing he was taking his “talents to South Beach,” has closed on about $170 million of condos, including an all-cash deal for a 1,950-square-foot, $3 million unit this month, says developer David Edelstein.
“The enthusiam [surrounding James] is like having another entertainment venue open up,” he says. “People will extend their stay — a lot of games are Mondays and Fridays — to see the Heat.”
Of course, all is not so rosy in Miami, especially in the downtown areas near the Heat arena. The boat passes the tony, private Fisher Island. Next up is downtown, where thousands of condo units along the river and beyond remain empty. By now, it’s dark — which makes downtown, with entire buildings without a single light on, seem even more depressing.But Dezer sees opportunity here, too, and says he has been bidding on multiple downtown buildings.
And the truth is, the emerging neighborhoods that make up downtown are showing serious signs of life. In the area north of Brickell Avenue, which Ocean Drive magazine just christened “NoBri,” the new, ultra high-tech JW Marriott Marquis hotel is home to a 10,000-square-foot, NBA-approved basketball court and a soon-to-open Daniel Boulud restaurant. The hotel is part of Metropolitan Miami, a billion-dollar mixed-used development, where the 40-story Met 1 condo building has prices starting at $350 per square foot and 447 units that are 80 percent occupied.
A few miles away, another mixed-used development, the $2.3 billion, 56-acre Midtown Miami complex, has created its own neighborhood.“The idea was to have it be a very pedestrian-friendly environment,” Midtown developer Jack Cayre says. “A lot of people call it home now.” (So do about 900 dogs.)
Midtown’s three residential towers, with more than 900 units, were originally intended to be all condos. Midtown sold about half the units (closing condos for around $350 per square foot in 2007) and decided to rent the rest. The rentals are now more than 95 percent occupied. (One-bedrooms start at $1,500 and 800 square feet.) And Midtown’s big-box stores, boutique shops and destination restaurants like Sugarcane and Sakaya Kitchen, bring in the masses.
Lee Brian Schrager, who runs the South Beach and New York Wine and Food festivals and lives in Miami’s Design District, says he visits Sugarcane at least three times a month, sometimes walking the less than 2 miles there. “Before Sugarcane opened [in January], I had never been to Midtown before,” he says. “Now that we go, we sometimes stop at Target and West Elm, and eat at Mercadito, Five Guys and Cheese Course fairly often, as well. To me, Midtown now has a pulse, and that clearly came from the culinary scene.”
The boat leaves downtown and cruises back toward North Miami Beach. After an entertaining and enlightening almost-three-hour ride, Yampolsky and friends are back on land. It’s not even 9 p.m., still early for Miami on a Saturday, and the restaurants and bars near the dock are just starting to buzz.
Source: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/realestate/residential/take_dip_6isnqcIy2bnFgM0bDqhKaL/1
By ANDY WANG
Monday, October 25, 2010
Miami Heat's Big Three a boon to neigjboring condos
Drivers making their way east on Interstate 395 toward the exit marked ``Arenas'' can't help but notice the four skyscrapers towering over downtown Miami -- the highway seems to steer directly into them before curving off to the shores of South Beach.
As more cars and more cameras will be taking that exit to the arena where basketball giant LeBron James will bring his talents this season, downtown Miami's condo developers are looking to cash in on the new-found cachet of the Miami Heat team.
Developers of the four skyline-shaping condo towers across the street from AmericanAirlines Arena -- Marina Blue, 900 Biscayne Bay, Ten Museum Park and Marquis Residences -- are hoping James and Co. can increase their buildings' clout and help them sell virgin square feet.
Some say that's already happening.
``You can call the sales office and sometimes not get through to anyone because they're so busy,'' said Lori Levine Ordover, director of sales for Marquis developer Africa Israel USA. ``That bodes well for what's going to happen this season.''
With restaurants, retail space and residential units to fill, downtown's stakeholders are bracing themselves for the yet-to-be-known impact of the new Miami Heat, as the regular season starts Tuesday against the Celtics in Boston. The home opener is Friday against Orlando.
Built during the mid-decade developers boom, the four condo buildings closest to the arena symbolize the spectrum of real estate highs and lows in South Florida over the past five years.
Two of the buildings sold out quickly as the market peaked, while two others still have a glut of unsold units available at off-peak prices. Buyers in the properties enjoy top-of-the-line amenities, but many have seen their home values plummet during the market crash. In all four buildings, thousands of square feet of office and retail space sit empty at the base of the towers.
While real estate analysts acknowledge that James' arrival in Miami won't cause a massive condo-buying stampede or heal the city's battered housing market, there is growing evidence that the new Heat lineup is spurring activity in the area around the arena.
At the Marquis, 1100 Biscayne Blvd., a penthouse unit sold for $4.2 million on July 8, the same day James announced he would be joining the Heat. That purchase was the largest amount ever paid for a condo in the downtown area, and the businessman who bought the unit admitted proximity to the arena influenced his decision.
``I'm a big basketball fan and we chose the Marquis because we like the building and the location,'' said Russell Wright, who has floor-level season tickets for the Heat games. ``At first, I was just hoping that Dwyane Wade would re-sign -- I had no clue that LeBron and Chris Bosh would join him.''
At Marina Blue, 888 Biscayne Blvd., a Sunny Isles Beach investor scooped up 5,100 square feet of retail space in August, netting the sellers $2.1 million. That investor, Sergey Novov, has drawn up plans to build a microbrewery there.
There are also reports of rising rent prices, game-day sellouts at hotels and soon-to-come hangout spots within walking distance of the arena.
With economists calculating James' impact in Cleveland in the hundreds of millions of dollars during his seven-year tenure there, Miami stakeholders are maneuvering to cash in on the star's presence once the season starts.
``I think downtown is just coming into fruition, coupled with the Heat stars and all that's going on there,'' said Penni Chasens, a real estate agent who has been selling developer units at 900 Biscayne Bay and the Marquis. ``I think it's given us a shot in the arm that we needed.''
The four towers are likely to be in hundreds of aerial shots of Miami's skyline during internationally televised Heat games, and each is looking to gain from that exposure.
Here is a look at each building.
MARINA BLUE
The southernmost building among the group, Marina Blue, pitches itself as one of the healthiest buildings downtown. The developer's residential units are completely sold out and the Castle Group, which manages the building, said more than 95 percent of the 516 units are occupied.
The so-called ``LeBron Effect'' made its mark in the building's retail sector, which had been sitting empty and unheralded for two years.
``The week that the LeBron announcement came -- we sold three commercial units immediately,'' said Donald Campbell, general manager at the 57-story Marina Blue. ``They started construction three days later.''
The micro-brewery envisioned by Novov, the investor, is in a frenzy to open as soon as possible, Campbell said.
Another restaurant is set to open there early next year, pitching Brooklyn-style pizza and plasma TVs to sports fans. A sign hanging in front of its undeveloped space plays into the hoops-generated hype: ``Pucci's Pizza: Coming soon. Before the playoffs (hopefully).''
A Spain-based advertising agency, Tribeca Media, also scooped up about 5,000 square feet in the building shortly after James announced he'd be joining Wade and Bosh in Miami.
On the residential side, rental interest has grown over the summer. Selling prices averaged about $350 per-square-foot during the boom, and many investors have had to buffer falling values by renting units during the market downturn.
``Some of our investors are taking the opportunity to raise their rent [asking] prices,'' Campbell said. ``If we have someone move out, we'll have someone new in there within the week.''
MARQUIS RESIDENCES
Marquis Residences, the tallest of the four structures, probably has the most to gain from increased attention and foot traffic around the arena. The 67-story structure has more than 200 unsold condos, and a recently opened hotel, restaurant and lounge that could benefit from pre- and post-game patrons.
Ordover, the sales director, said the Heat's new lineup has already increased interest in the luxury building, and residential ``sales have been good and steady.''
She attributes at least three recent sales directly to the Heat effect, including the $4.2 million penthouse purchase. With a typical two-bedroom trading for more than $500,000 at Marquis, that's about $5 million in revenue that can be tied to the team across the street.
As the tallest residential skyscraper in the state, Marquis will stand out as aerial cameras zoom in on the city during more than 30 nationally televised Heat games this season.
Ordover is hoping to parlay that free advertising into increased interest at the building's boutique hotel, and has placed ads in Heat game programs and the team's commemorative yearbook.
One ad for Tempo, the hotel, describes the building as ``within three-point range of the arena.''
Those kinds of ads will be common this season, Ordover said, as they have already shown results.
``I have a room in the hotel, because I travel back and forth. Now the hotel has so many nights of 100 percent occupancy that they're kicking me out,'' she said. And it's directly correlated to the Heat games.''
Out-of-town visitors searching online for the closest hotel to the arena will find Tempo listed at the top, 0.3 miles away, another marketing boost for the hotel, which opened in June. Rooms start at about $229.
The hotel has bought into the Heat mania, with player-based room specials tied to Wade, Bosh and James.
900 BISCAYNE BAY
The 900 Biscayne Bay condo tower, built in 2008, also has a large number of condos left on its rolls. The building has nearly 130 of its 509 developer units available and sold 18 units between July and September, according to data from real estate consultancy Condo Vultures.
Peter Zalewski, principal at Condo Vultures, said that with units going for $500,000 and more in buildings like 900 Biscayne Bay, the Heat effect will be limited.
``I don't think anyone is going to buy a residential property because of LeBron,'' he said. ``But I do think that they're going to go to the bars and restaurants and get more comfortable with the area.''
Owners of Miss Yip restaurant are counting on those expected bar-hoppers to help boost sales at the Chinese eatery's new downtown location at 900 Biscayne.
Shortly after the Heat play their first home game, the Chinese restaurant will open its downtown Miami branch, said Deniz Kose, the restaurant's manager. Miss Yip, a mainstay in Miami Beach since 2003, had contemplated expanding downtown long before this summer, but the Heat's revamped team was the tipping point.
``We have a lot of customers coming from downtown saying `I wish you had a location near me,' so it's the demand and supply thing,'' he said. ``We expect to have even more people for the basketball games.''
Still, the Heat effect at 900 Biscayne has been limited -- the building has a good chunk of vacant retail space near its bottom that has been for sale for more than a year.
TEN MUSEUM PARK
Ten Museum Park sold nearly all of its 200 units soon after being completed in 2007, and many boom-time investor-buyers have seen an uptick in rental interest this summer, said Shelly Abramowitz, owner of Museum Park Realty.
Those renters have helped the building reach near-full status, as they dish out $1,700 and more each month for one-bedrooms there.
The building has been a draw among the young professional crowd seeking big-city life, Abramowitz said.
``This neighborhood spreading its wings right now by adding all these entertainment options,'' he said.
``That was what was missing before.''
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/24/v-fullstory/1889670/miami-heats-big-three-a-boon-to.html
By TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com
As more cars and more cameras will be taking that exit to the arena where basketball giant LeBron James will bring his talents this season, downtown Miami's condo developers are looking to cash in on the new-found cachet of the Miami Heat team.
Developers of the four skyline-shaping condo towers across the street from AmericanAirlines Arena -- Marina Blue, 900 Biscayne Bay, Ten Museum Park and Marquis Residences -- are hoping James and Co. can increase their buildings' clout and help them sell virgin square feet.
Some say that's already happening.
``You can call the sales office and sometimes not get through to anyone because they're so busy,'' said Lori Levine Ordover, director of sales for Marquis developer Africa Israel USA. ``That bodes well for what's going to happen this season.''
With restaurants, retail space and residential units to fill, downtown's stakeholders are bracing themselves for the yet-to-be-known impact of the new Miami Heat, as the regular season starts Tuesday against the Celtics in Boston. The home opener is Friday against Orlando.
Built during the mid-decade developers boom, the four condo buildings closest to the arena symbolize the spectrum of real estate highs and lows in South Florida over the past five years.
Two of the buildings sold out quickly as the market peaked, while two others still have a glut of unsold units available at off-peak prices. Buyers in the properties enjoy top-of-the-line amenities, but many have seen their home values plummet during the market crash. In all four buildings, thousands of square feet of office and retail space sit empty at the base of the towers.
While real estate analysts acknowledge that James' arrival in Miami won't cause a massive condo-buying stampede or heal the city's battered housing market, there is growing evidence that the new Heat lineup is spurring activity in the area around the arena.
At the Marquis, 1100 Biscayne Blvd., a penthouse unit sold for $4.2 million on July 8, the same day James announced he would be joining the Heat. That purchase was the largest amount ever paid for a condo in the downtown area, and the businessman who bought the unit admitted proximity to the arena influenced his decision.
``I'm a big basketball fan and we chose the Marquis because we like the building and the location,'' said Russell Wright, who has floor-level season tickets for the Heat games. ``At first, I was just hoping that Dwyane Wade would re-sign -- I had no clue that LeBron and Chris Bosh would join him.''
At Marina Blue, 888 Biscayne Blvd., a Sunny Isles Beach investor scooped up 5,100 square feet of retail space in August, netting the sellers $2.1 million. That investor, Sergey Novov, has drawn up plans to build a microbrewery there.
There are also reports of rising rent prices, game-day sellouts at hotels and soon-to-come hangout spots within walking distance of the arena.
With economists calculating James' impact in Cleveland in the hundreds of millions of dollars during his seven-year tenure there, Miami stakeholders are maneuvering to cash in on the star's presence once the season starts.
``I think downtown is just coming into fruition, coupled with the Heat stars and all that's going on there,'' said Penni Chasens, a real estate agent who has been selling developer units at 900 Biscayne Bay and the Marquis. ``I think it's given us a shot in the arm that we needed.''
The four towers are likely to be in hundreds of aerial shots of Miami's skyline during internationally televised Heat games, and each is looking to gain from that exposure.
Here is a look at each building.
MARINA BLUE
The southernmost building among the group, Marina Blue, pitches itself as one of the healthiest buildings downtown. The developer's residential units are completely sold out and the Castle Group, which manages the building, said more than 95 percent of the 516 units are occupied.
The so-called ``LeBron Effect'' made its mark in the building's retail sector, which had been sitting empty and unheralded for two years.
``The week that the LeBron announcement came -- we sold three commercial units immediately,'' said Donald Campbell, general manager at the 57-story Marina Blue. ``They started construction three days later.''
The micro-brewery envisioned by Novov, the investor, is in a frenzy to open as soon as possible, Campbell said.
Another restaurant is set to open there early next year, pitching Brooklyn-style pizza and plasma TVs to sports fans. A sign hanging in front of its undeveloped space plays into the hoops-generated hype: ``Pucci's Pizza: Coming soon. Before the playoffs (hopefully).''
A Spain-based advertising agency, Tribeca Media, also scooped up about 5,000 square feet in the building shortly after James announced he'd be joining Wade and Bosh in Miami.
On the residential side, rental interest has grown over the summer. Selling prices averaged about $350 per-square-foot during the boom, and many investors have had to buffer falling values by renting units during the market downturn.
``Some of our investors are taking the opportunity to raise their rent [asking] prices,'' Campbell said. ``If we have someone move out, we'll have someone new in there within the week.''
MARQUIS RESIDENCES
Marquis Residences, the tallest of the four structures, probably has the most to gain from increased attention and foot traffic around the arena. The 67-story structure has more than 200 unsold condos, and a recently opened hotel, restaurant and lounge that could benefit from pre- and post-game patrons.
Ordover, the sales director, said the Heat's new lineup has already increased interest in the luxury building, and residential ``sales have been good and steady.''
She attributes at least three recent sales directly to the Heat effect, including the $4.2 million penthouse purchase. With a typical two-bedroom trading for more than $500,000 at Marquis, that's about $5 million in revenue that can be tied to the team across the street.
As the tallest residential skyscraper in the state, Marquis will stand out as aerial cameras zoom in on the city during more than 30 nationally televised Heat games this season.
Ordover is hoping to parlay that free advertising into increased interest at the building's boutique hotel, and has placed ads in Heat game programs and the team's commemorative yearbook.
One ad for Tempo, the hotel, describes the building as ``within three-point range of the arena.''
Those kinds of ads will be common this season, Ordover said, as they have already shown results.
``I have a room in the hotel, because I travel back and forth. Now the hotel has so many nights of 100 percent occupancy that they're kicking me out,'' she said. And it's directly correlated to the Heat games.''
Out-of-town visitors searching online for the closest hotel to the arena will find Tempo listed at the top, 0.3 miles away, another marketing boost for the hotel, which opened in June. Rooms start at about $229.
The hotel has bought into the Heat mania, with player-based room specials tied to Wade, Bosh and James.
900 BISCAYNE BAY
The 900 Biscayne Bay condo tower, built in 2008, also has a large number of condos left on its rolls. The building has nearly 130 of its 509 developer units available and sold 18 units between July and September, according to data from real estate consultancy Condo Vultures.
Peter Zalewski, principal at Condo Vultures, said that with units going for $500,000 and more in buildings like 900 Biscayne Bay, the Heat effect will be limited.
``I don't think anyone is going to buy a residential property because of LeBron,'' he said. ``But I do think that they're going to go to the bars and restaurants and get more comfortable with the area.''
Owners of Miss Yip restaurant are counting on those expected bar-hoppers to help boost sales at the Chinese eatery's new downtown location at 900 Biscayne.
Shortly after the Heat play their first home game, the Chinese restaurant will open its downtown Miami branch, said Deniz Kose, the restaurant's manager. Miss Yip, a mainstay in Miami Beach since 2003, had contemplated expanding downtown long before this summer, but the Heat's revamped team was the tipping point.
``We have a lot of customers coming from downtown saying `I wish you had a location near me,' so it's the demand and supply thing,'' he said. ``We expect to have even more people for the basketball games.''
Still, the Heat effect at 900 Biscayne has been limited -- the building has a good chunk of vacant retail space near its bottom that has been for sale for more than a year.
TEN MUSEUM PARK
Ten Museum Park sold nearly all of its 200 units soon after being completed in 2007, and many boom-time investor-buyers have seen an uptick in rental interest this summer, said Shelly Abramowitz, owner of Museum Park Realty.
Those renters have helped the building reach near-full status, as they dish out $1,700 and more each month for one-bedrooms there.
The building has been a draw among the young professional crowd seeking big-city life, Abramowitz said.
``This neighborhood spreading its wings right now by adding all these entertainment options,'' he said.
``That was what was missing before.''
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/24/v-fullstory/1889670/miami-heats-big-three-a-boon-to.html
By TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Foreigners Buying Up US Property
Home and condo prices have gotten so low in many areas of the country that foreign nationals are buying up property like it's an old Blue Light sale at K-Mart. American real estate seems like its on sale at bargain basement prices. But whether the spike in foreigners buying property materializes into a full swung market rebound may be the bigger question.
“We’re seeing an increase,” said Lamont Crump, director of sales for Condo Vultures in Miami, Florida. “Foreign purchases make up 50 to 60% of our sales.” Investors are swarming to Miami Beach from as far away as Europe and Israel to grab American land and condos. Buyers from Columbia, Brazil, France, Italy and Norway have been counted in recent transactions.
The trend has also been seen in many other large urban U.S. markets, including Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Las Vegas where housing prices have deflated at least halfway from their market peaks. Record low mortgage rates tied with low property prices may be driving the beginning of a real estate rebound anticipated and hoped for by real estate professionals for years.
Pending home sales, including single-family homes and condominiums in Miami-Dade County increased 28.6% in September compared to year ago figures, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. South Florida real estate sales are up due to the impact of international buyers.
“Current market performance points to sustainable demand for South Florida properties,” said Jack H. Levine, chairman of the board of the Miami association. “Record affordability, a wide selection of properties to choose, and an enviable lifestyle continue to attract both international and U.S. buyers.”
Pending condominium sales in Miami are higher than single family homes. In September, condominium pending sales increased 40% over a year ago to 5,838 units for the month. Pending sales of single-family homes rose 16.1% over 2009 levels.
“The Euro has recently re-strengthened, resulting in even greater demand from European buyers,” said Oliver Ruiz, the association’s president. “Many Latin American buyers are looking for a safe haven to invest their money. The Miami area is the top market for European and Latin American buyers in Florida.”
Source: http://www.housingpredictor.com/foreign-buyers.html
“We’re seeing an increase,” said Lamont Crump, director of sales for Condo Vultures in Miami, Florida. “Foreign purchases make up 50 to 60% of our sales.” Investors are swarming to Miami Beach from as far away as Europe and Israel to grab American land and condos. Buyers from Columbia, Brazil, France, Italy and Norway have been counted in recent transactions.
The trend has also been seen in many other large urban U.S. markets, including Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Las Vegas where housing prices have deflated at least halfway from their market peaks. Record low mortgage rates tied with low property prices may be driving the beginning of a real estate rebound anticipated and hoped for by real estate professionals for years.
Pending home sales, including single-family homes and condominiums in Miami-Dade County increased 28.6% in September compared to year ago figures, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. South Florida real estate sales are up due to the impact of international buyers.
“Current market performance points to sustainable demand for South Florida properties,” said Jack H. Levine, chairman of the board of the Miami association. “Record affordability, a wide selection of properties to choose, and an enviable lifestyle continue to attract both international and U.S. buyers.”
Pending condominium sales in Miami are higher than single family homes. In September, condominium pending sales increased 40% over a year ago to 5,838 units for the month. Pending sales of single-family homes rose 16.1% over 2009 levels.
“The Euro has recently re-strengthened, resulting in even greater demand from European buyers,” said Oliver Ruiz, the association’s president. “Many Latin American buyers are looking for a safe haven to invest their money. The Miami area is the top market for European and Latin American buyers in Florida.”
Source: http://www.housingpredictor.com/foreign-buyers.html
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Foreign buyers see big opportunity in housing bust
The Viceroy, a swanky condominium complex in downtown Miami, gives the impression that the United States is in another real estate boom. The sales office is strangely exuberant. Buyers gush about the glam condos — designed by hipster tastemaker Kelly Wearstler — and their hotel-like amenities: poolside libations, daily housekeeping and room service food stirred up by a celebrity chef.
Since January, 262 of the Viceroy's 372 units have sold. But there's a twist: Almost 90 percent of the buyers are foreigners. And they all paid cash.
The Viceroy's story is playing out across Miami. Individual investors from as far as Argentina, Canada, Colombia, France, Israel, Italy, Norway and Venezuela are swarming the city's sales offices to get in on what they see as one of the greatest real estate fire sales in the history of the United States.
At one time, these people would have invested in the U.S. stock market. Now they see the opportunity of a lifetime in the nation's debilitated housing market. The idea is to rent out the properties and then sell them once the economy turns around.
The math is seductive: Prices at the Viceroy are roughly 52 percent off the 2007 peak. Units once sold for as much $670 a square foot. Today the average price is $319.
"I have never seen such a high concentration of foreign nationals acquiring real estate," says Peter Zalewski, who has been in real estate for 15 years and founded Condo Vultures, a consulting and brokerage firm. "Eighty percent of the sales in downtown Miami are foreign-based. This is unprecedented."
Miami is hardly the only hot spot for buyers from outside the United States. Real estate brokers say they've seen a surge in Washington, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco. In Seattle, Asians are buying property sight unseen, says Joe Brazen of Brazen Sotheby's International. In New York, 25 percent of buyers at the Armani-designed 20 Pine building, near the World Trade Center site, are from overseas.
"It's a positive in a sea of negatives," says Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Miller Samuel, a real estate consulting firm in New York.
This year in Phoenix, for the first time, there have been more buyers from Canada than from California, according to real estate data outfit Information Market. With the Canadian dollar approaching parity with its U.S. counterpart, the opportunity was simply irresistible to Jim Chuong, a 38-year-old Novartis sales manager from Toronto.
Chuong, whose house in Canada is already paid off, used to invest in U.S. stocks. Now he's investing in Phoenix condos, paying $50 a square foot for units that would cost $500 a square foot in Toronto.
"It's ridiculous is what it is," Chuong says.
For foreigners with cash, the deals can make them money from day one. Chuong buys two-bedroom condos for less than $40,000 in low-crime areas. He only picks up units that already have renters. After paying association fees and taxes, he walks away with $300 a month, pre-tax, on each. The deals are now easy to do, thanks to the cottage industry of companies that has grown up to manage virtually everything for foreign buyers, down to badgering renters for the monthly check.
For the international investor class, the United States' bloated inventory of homes, high unemployment and weak currency make for an unusually attractive buyer's market.
"Never before have all these things come together like this," says Patrick O'Neill, chief executive officer of the Hong Kong-based O'Neill Group, which helps Chinese invest in international real estate. O'Neill says Chinese buying in places like New York is on track to double this year.
"Unless you want to go to Baghdad," O'Neill says, "the United States is the best you can get."
The trend is showing up in the statistics. In a National Association of Realtors report released in July, 28 percent of brokers reported they had worked with at least one international client, up from 23 percent a year earlier. Among those, 18 percent had completed at least one sale, compared with 12 percent in the 2009 report.
"I was going invest in the stock market, but I decided to invest in real estate instead," says Diego Garcia, a Mexico City native on assignment in New York City with Pfizer Inc., where he is a regional finance director. Garcia paid $850,000 for a Manhattan one-bedroom in a gleaming new high-rise that he plans to live in for now. "I'm a conservative guy," Garcia says, "and this was more conservative."
That's not to say there aren't steep risks. An economic jolt could easily throw the whole plan into disarray. The housing market is far from a recovery. In many places, prices continue to fall. What happens if currency values reverse and a foreign owner needs a quick sale? Or a renter bolts in the middle of the night, leaving an empty unit and no cash flow?
It's not as if foreign buying can be counted on for a housing market turnaround. Overseas buyers represent a mere 7 percent or so of today's total. Yet in some cities, such as Miami and Washington, the foreign sales are helping to stabilize the markets.
In past downturns, buying a property in the U.S. was the prestigious purview of the wealthy, but today the market is within reach of the swelling ranks of the global upper-middle class.
Colombians, who often call Miami the most beautiful city in their country, have always been drawn to Florida. The difference now is the upside-down economics. It is cheaper to buy in Miami than in Bogota, and you can fly between the two cities for $59 each way.
"Muchos muchos muchos muchos opportunity," says Elsa de Blaschke, who owns a construction company with her husband in Barranquilla, Colombia, and is hunting for an investment property to buy in Miami. De Blaschke chose not to invest the capital at home because she says Florida offers a better chance of a bigger return.
"The international buyer pool is better than we have ever seen it before," says Phillip White, president of Sotheby's International, based in New York.
To match demand, U.S. brokerages are hiring agents who can speak foreign languages and are pouring more resources into marketing overseas.
In October, agents from 11 Sotheby's International branches will descend on Hong Kong's convention center to regale wealthy buyers there with slick visuals on showcase properties. In Toronto, agents from Florida Home Finders play to crowds of 800 every other Sunday at a Holiday Inn banquet hall. Jenny Huertas, Condo Vultures' international sales director, throws seminars for potential clients across South America.
"Their jaws drop. They can't believe it," Huertas says. "They think these deals are too good to be true."
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gLyL-V2T4vaQdAOvlFcoliG1yGoQD9IL4I780?docId=D9IL4I780
By MICHELLE CONLIN
Since January, 262 of the Viceroy's 372 units have sold. But there's a twist: Almost 90 percent of the buyers are foreigners. And they all paid cash.
The Viceroy's story is playing out across Miami. Individual investors from as far as Argentina, Canada, Colombia, France, Israel, Italy, Norway and Venezuela are swarming the city's sales offices to get in on what they see as one of the greatest real estate fire sales in the history of the United States.
At one time, these people would have invested in the U.S. stock market. Now they see the opportunity of a lifetime in the nation's debilitated housing market. The idea is to rent out the properties and then sell them once the economy turns around.
The math is seductive: Prices at the Viceroy are roughly 52 percent off the 2007 peak. Units once sold for as much $670 a square foot. Today the average price is $319.
"I have never seen such a high concentration of foreign nationals acquiring real estate," says Peter Zalewski, who has been in real estate for 15 years and founded Condo Vultures, a consulting and brokerage firm. "Eighty percent of the sales in downtown Miami are foreign-based. This is unprecedented."
Miami is hardly the only hot spot for buyers from outside the United States. Real estate brokers say they've seen a surge in Washington, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco. In Seattle, Asians are buying property sight unseen, says Joe Brazen of Brazen Sotheby's International. In New York, 25 percent of buyers at the Armani-designed 20 Pine building, near the World Trade Center site, are from overseas.
"It's a positive in a sea of negatives," says Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Miller Samuel, a real estate consulting firm in New York.
This year in Phoenix, for the first time, there have been more buyers from Canada than from California, according to real estate data outfit Information Market. With the Canadian dollar approaching parity with its U.S. counterpart, the opportunity was simply irresistible to Jim Chuong, a 38-year-old Novartis sales manager from Toronto.
Chuong, whose house in Canada is already paid off, used to invest in U.S. stocks. Now he's investing in Phoenix condos, paying $50 a square foot for units that would cost $500 a square foot in Toronto.
"It's ridiculous is what it is," Chuong says.
For foreigners with cash, the deals can make them money from day one. Chuong buys two-bedroom condos for less than $40,000 in low-crime areas. He only picks up units that already have renters. After paying association fees and taxes, he walks away with $300 a month, pre-tax, on each. The deals are now easy to do, thanks to the cottage industry of companies that has grown up to manage virtually everything for foreign buyers, down to badgering renters for the monthly check.
For the international investor class, the United States' bloated inventory of homes, high unemployment and weak currency make for an unusually attractive buyer's market.
"Never before have all these things come together like this," says Patrick O'Neill, chief executive officer of the Hong Kong-based O'Neill Group, which helps Chinese invest in international real estate. O'Neill says Chinese buying in places like New York is on track to double this year.
"Unless you want to go to Baghdad," O'Neill says, "the United States is the best you can get."
The trend is showing up in the statistics. In a National Association of Realtors report released in July, 28 percent of brokers reported they had worked with at least one international client, up from 23 percent a year earlier. Among those, 18 percent had completed at least one sale, compared with 12 percent in the 2009 report.
"I was going invest in the stock market, but I decided to invest in real estate instead," says Diego Garcia, a Mexico City native on assignment in New York City with Pfizer Inc., where he is a regional finance director. Garcia paid $850,000 for a Manhattan one-bedroom in a gleaming new high-rise that he plans to live in for now. "I'm a conservative guy," Garcia says, "and this was more conservative."
That's not to say there aren't steep risks. An economic jolt could easily throw the whole plan into disarray. The housing market is far from a recovery. In many places, prices continue to fall. What happens if currency values reverse and a foreign owner needs a quick sale? Or a renter bolts in the middle of the night, leaving an empty unit and no cash flow?
It's not as if foreign buying can be counted on for a housing market turnaround. Overseas buyers represent a mere 7 percent or so of today's total. Yet in some cities, such as Miami and Washington, the foreign sales are helping to stabilize the markets.
In past downturns, buying a property in the U.S. was the prestigious purview of the wealthy, but today the market is within reach of the swelling ranks of the global upper-middle class.
Colombians, who often call Miami the most beautiful city in their country, have always been drawn to Florida. The difference now is the upside-down economics. It is cheaper to buy in Miami than in Bogota, and you can fly between the two cities for $59 each way.
"Muchos muchos muchos muchos opportunity," says Elsa de Blaschke, who owns a construction company with her husband in Barranquilla, Colombia, and is hunting for an investment property to buy in Miami. De Blaschke chose not to invest the capital at home because she says Florida offers a better chance of a bigger return.
"The international buyer pool is better than we have ever seen it before," says Phillip White, president of Sotheby's International, based in New York.
To match demand, U.S. brokerages are hiring agents who can speak foreign languages and are pouring more resources into marketing overseas.
In October, agents from 11 Sotheby's International branches will descend on Hong Kong's convention center to regale wealthy buyers there with slick visuals on showcase properties. In Toronto, agents from Florida Home Finders play to crowds of 800 every other Sunday at a Holiday Inn banquet hall. Jenny Huertas, Condo Vultures' international sales director, throws seminars for potential clients across South America.
"Their jaws drop. They can't believe it," Huertas says. "They think these deals are too good to be true."
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gLyL-V2T4vaQdAOvlFcoliG1yGoQD9IL4I780?docId=D9IL4I780
By MICHELLE CONLIN
Monday, October 4, 2010
Interest Rates And Property Prices Are Going Down In Miami
Miami, Fl – When interest rates and property prices drop many renters start to wonder - ”will be this the right time to become a homeowner instead of a renter? ” This is the biggest question for many residents of Miami in these days, and since property prices and interest rates went down, in many cases buying can be a better choice.
The prices of properties in South Florida are being affected by the big number of short sales and foreclosures; making homes more affordable for investors and home buyers.
These days, international investors are putting their eyes in Miami as one of the best real estate investment places in the world; many of them are using cash instead of financing to accelerate the closing process.
So this might be a big opportunity for Miami renters to become homeowners. The price of properties and the interest in the banks are at their lowest point in many years
Source: http://www.webnewswire.com/node/594393
The prices of properties in South Florida are being affected by the big number of short sales and foreclosures; making homes more affordable for investors and home buyers.
These days, international investors are putting their eyes in Miami as one of the best real estate investment places in the world; many of them are using cash instead of financing to accelerate the closing process.
So this might be a big opportunity for Miami renters to become homeowners. The price of properties and the interest in the banks are at their lowest point in many years
Source: http://www.webnewswire.com/node/594393
Friday, October 1, 2010
Heat's Chris Bosh scores a deal for Miami Beach home
Miami Heat big man Chris Bosh has purchased a 12,000-square-foot home on North Bay Road in Miami Beach, the real estate firm listing the property said Friday, shortly after the sale closed.
The 7-bedroom, 8-bath mansion just south of La Gorce Island sold for $12.5 million, said listing agent Lourdes Alatriste, of real estate firm Engel & Voelkers.
Built in 2009, the home features 20-foot ceilings, a gourmet kitchen, gym, elevator and an infinity pool with unobstructed views of Biscayne Bay.
``When he saw the house, he was overwhelmed,'' Alatriste said. ``It's perfect for him. He's seen a lot of houses, but he wanted a brand new house.''
Alatriste said she nabbed the high-profile sale by tracking the NBA free agent drama this summer, and watching the movements of the Miami Heat's new stars in the weeks following LeBron James' decision to join the team.
In late July, Bosh and his girlfriend traveled to the Hamptons, staying at the home of Alan and Diane Lieberman, who own seven hotels on South Beach. Diane Lieberman, who also owns SBI Realty, started discussing housing options with Bosh during the trip and Alatriste called to offer up the North Bay Road home she was listing.
In the next few weeks, Bosh and Lieberman visited a lot of homes, not settling on any, and Alatriste continued to put in calls to Lieberman pitching the North Bay Road home as Bosh's next pad. Eventually, Lieberman took a visit, and Bosh later viewed the home and put an offer in, Alatriste said.
Lieberman declined to comment on the sale, as did Bosh's representative.
The home is also the reportedly the site where Bosh proposed to his fiancée, Adrienne Williams, on Aug. 27, soon after going into contract.
The owner of the home, Glenna Norton, developed the property, completing the all-white, glass-enveloped structure in March 2009. ``It's a beautiful contemporary home -- it's perfectly proportioned, and it has all the amenities,'' Norton said. ``It has beautiful finishes, and it's a transparent house, with all glass and with fantastic walls for art.''
The North Bay Road neighborhood has housed a number of celebrities, including Jennifer Lopez, members of the Bee Gees and Matt Damon, who lives a few doors away from Bosh's new home. The mansion owned by insurance executive Mel Harris, also a few blocks away, is rumored to be the top choice of Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who has been house hunting this summer after selling his Pinecrest home earlier this year.
Bosh's home was originally listed for more than $16 million.
Norton said she had offers to buy and rent the home back in 2009, but wanted to wait out the market, since new homes in Miami Beach are scarce.
``The market at that time when I finished (construction) wasn't good, but I was patient and I knew the right person would come along,'' she said. ``And he did.''
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/25/1841821/heats-chris-bosh-scores-a-deal.html
By TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com
The 7-bedroom, 8-bath mansion just south of La Gorce Island sold for $12.5 million, said listing agent Lourdes Alatriste, of real estate firm Engel & Voelkers.
Built in 2009, the home features 20-foot ceilings, a gourmet kitchen, gym, elevator and an infinity pool with unobstructed views of Biscayne Bay.
``When he saw the house, he was overwhelmed,'' Alatriste said. ``It's perfect for him. He's seen a lot of houses, but he wanted a brand new house.''
Alatriste said she nabbed the high-profile sale by tracking the NBA free agent drama this summer, and watching the movements of the Miami Heat's new stars in the weeks following LeBron James' decision to join the team.
In late July, Bosh and his girlfriend traveled to the Hamptons, staying at the home of Alan and Diane Lieberman, who own seven hotels on South Beach. Diane Lieberman, who also owns SBI Realty, started discussing housing options with Bosh during the trip and Alatriste called to offer up the North Bay Road home she was listing.
In the next few weeks, Bosh and Lieberman visited a lot of homes, not settling on any, and Alatriste continued to put in calls to Lieberman pitching the North Bay Road home as Bosh's next pad. Eventually, Lieberman took a visit, and Bosh later viewed the home and put an offer in, Alatriste said.
Lieberman declined to comment on the sale, as did Bosh's representative.
The home is also the reportedly the site where Bosh proposed to his fiancée, Adrienne Williams, on Aug. 27, soon after going into contract.
The owner of the home, Glenna Norton, developed the property, completing the all-white, glass-enveloped structure in March 2009. ``It's a beautiful contemporary home -- it's perfectly proportioned, and it has all the amenities,'' Norton said. ``It has beautiful finishes, and it's a transparent house, with all glass and with fantastic walls for art.''
The North Bay Road neighborhood has housed a number of celebrities, including Jennifer Lopez, members of the Bee Gees and Matt Damon, who lives a few doors away from Bosh's new home. The mansion owned by insurance executive Mel Harris, also a few blocks away, is rumored to be the top choice of Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who has been house hunting this summer after selling his Pinecrest home earlier this year.
Bosh's home was originally listed for more than $16 million.
Norton said she had offers to buy and rent the home back in 2009, but wanted to wait out the market, since new homes in Miami Beach are scarce.
``The market at that time when I finished (construction) wasn't good, but I was patient and I knew the right person would come along,'' she said. ``And he did.''
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/25/1841821/heats-chris-bosh-scores-a-deal.html
By TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com
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