The Criscitos

Sellers still reducing their asking price for homes

2011-04-15T10:34:00.001-04:00

With the homebuying market still struggling, real estate agencies are trying to lure potential homeowners into moving to their area by slashing home prices.

In a soon to be released report from the real estate website Trulia.com, home sellers have cut more than $24 billion in potential home equity over the past year and trimmed the cost of properties approximately 79 days after posting the initial asking price. What's more, according to the website, 35 percent of sellers will cut their prices again.

Trulia.com reports that the average home seller dropped their asking price by an average of 8 percent, but that rate is even higher in certain parts of the country, such as Detroit and Cleveland, where the average first-time price cut is 19 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

In a statement obtained by the Miami Herald, Tara-Nicholle Nelson of Trulia.com said home sellers often need to make a second cut to lure buyers, and this usually happens to people who underestimate how deeply they should cut their asking price the first time around.

Miami New-Condo Sales Revive As Biggest Markets Fall

2011-03-08T10:18:00.001-05:00

The new-condo boom struck louder in Miami than it did in other markets and fell hardest there when the thunder stopped.

Now the area stands out again. Its new-condo market is coming back stronger in sales and pricing, though it's a fraction of its old self.

Thank all-cash buyers from Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Europe and other locales. They see Miami's luxury condos at discounted prices as safe havens for investment money.

Positive sales trends continue.

"These people are parking their cash," said Peter Zalewski, principal of real estate consultancy Condo Vultures. "In Venezuela, they're fearful they're going to lose it (under President Hugo Chavez's strong-arm rule). Canadians are saying their currency is on par with the U.S. dollar, so in their minds they are getting a 25% discount."

Of the top eight U.S. metro areas, Miami was the only one in 2010 to show volume gains in attached-home closings, mainly condos, according to data gathered by Hanley Wood Market Intelligence.

The other seven fell 5% to 37% as Miami rose 8%. New York dropped 13%, Los Angeles 20% and San Francisco 37%. Unit sales totaled 4,120 in Miami — above L.A.'s 3,935 — but that still pales vs. pre-crash years 2005-07, when 20,000 to 30,000 units sold each year.

The Miami metro figures cited by Hanley Wood include Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Miami-Dade is almost 70% of the total, at 2,842 closings.

"Miami is a happening place; it's really become a dynamic marketplace," said Jay Massirman, managing director of Asentus Real Estate, a real estate investment and merchant banking firm in Miami Beach.

All About Inventory

L.A. and other spots that dropped off in new-condo sales hadn't seen as big a spike in construction as the Miami area. Some 85,000 new condo units were built in the area from 2003-10, with 49,000 in coastal areas east of I-95, says Condo Vultures. Greater downtown Miami accounted for 22,250 units.

Bulk sales have figured in Miami's condo recovery, as investors bet that South Florida's cachet will continue. Last year 3,700 units in downtown Miami sold, up 57% from 2,300 in 2009, says Condo Vultures. Some 1,600 units sold in 10 bulk deals, Zalewski says. The rest were to individual all-cash buyers, mostly from overseas.

New construction has virtually halted as the market works through new inventory from prior years that hasn't sold yet. As prices rise, the pace of bulk buying seems to be slowing, at least in the coastal and downtown urban cores, leaving those markets to all-cash individual buyers, local watchers say.

Meanwhile, in Miami-Dade County the median price of an attached home — a condo, for the most part — rose 11% to $288,614 last year, says Hanley Wood. The median price was higher than the peak year of 2006, when 17,400 closings were recorded. But many low-price condos have been converted to rentals, skewing inventory to luxury units.

"A lot of the inventory has been absorbed fairly rapidly and it is continuing to be absorbed," Massirman said. Where blocks of brand-new condo towers on Brickell Avenue near downtown stood dark, "lights are on, people are jogging on the street and dining in restaurants."

Buying In Landlord Land

Most new occupants are renters.

"The number of buyers we see who are end users is a very tiny minority," Zalewski said. "The family of four with a dog doesn't have a chance in this (new-construction) market because there's no financing. If you can find a lender, you have to put down 50%."

Even so, the sales rebound is welcome relief to condo associations that have struggled to keep up services at empty or half-empty buildings. At least new owners pay monthly association fees, as their tenants live the high life, enjoying amenities such as sleek kitchens and rooftop pools.

"A lot of these association issues are working themselves out," Massirman said.

Falling prices had a lot to do with the rebound. "In 2009, prices started to bottom," Massirman said, noting that new condos on Brickell fell to as low as $200 a square foot from $600 three years earlier. In late 2009, investors "started piling in."

Bulk buyers and other investors are starting to turn their sights to suburban neighborhoods away from the coast, where prices are still falling, observers say.

"East of I-95 is well past the bottom," Zalewski said. "West of I-95 is a market that doesn't have any kind of safety stop. The 10% local unemployment rate has a drastic effect on the suburban market."

The median price of an existing single-family home in the Miami metro area, which includes condos, fell 18.3% in January from a year ago, to $165,800, says the National Association of Realtors. As prices fell, sales rose 32.9%.

Investors scouting the western suburbs of Miami are looking to pick up multiple units in garden-style condo conversions for $25,000 to $50,000 each, Zalewski says.

"The new-condo market is starting to slow. The resale condo market is starting to heat up," he said.

New construction has virtually halted as the market works through new inventory from prior years that hasn't sold yet. As prices rise, the pace of bulk buying seems to be slowing, at least in the coastal and downtown urban cores, leaving those markets to all-cash individual buyers, local watchers say.

Meanwhile, in Miami-Dade County the median price of an attached home — a condo, for the most part — rose 11% to $288,614 last year from 2009, says Hanley Wood. Both years showed higher median prices than the peak year of 2006, when 17,400 closings were recorded.

"A lot of the inventory has been absorbed fairly rapidly and it is continuing to be absorbed," Massirman said. Where blocks of brand-new condo towers on Brickell Avenue near downtown stood dark, "lights are on, people are jogging on the street and dining in restaurants."

Buying In Landlord Land

Most new occupants are renters.

"The number of buyers we see who are end users is a very tiny minority," Zalewski said. "The family of four with a dog doesn't have a chance in this (new-construction) market because there's no financing. If you can find a lender, you have to put down 50%."

Even so, the sales rebound is welcome relief to condo associations that have struggled to keep up services at empty or half-empty buildings. At least new owners pay monthly association fees, as their tenants live the high life, enjoying amenities such as sleek kitchens and rooftop pools.

"A lot of these association issues are working themselves out," Massirman said.

Falling prices had a lot to do with the rebound. "In 2009, prices started to bottom," Massirman said, noting that new condos on Brickell fell to as low as $200 a square foot from $600 three years earlier. In late 2009, investors "started piling in."

Bulk buyers and other investors are starting to turn their sights to suburban neighborhoods away from the coast, where prices are still falling, observers say.

"East of I-95 is well past the bottom," Zalewski said. "West of I-95 is a market that doesn't have any kind of safety stop. The 10% local unemployment rate has a drastic effect on the suburban market."

The median price of an existing single-family home in the Miami metro area, which includes condos, fell 18.3% in January from a year ago, to $165,800, says the National Association of Realtors. As prices fell, sales rose 32.9%.

Investors scouting the western suburbs of Miami are looking to pick up multiple units in garden-style condo conversions for $25,000 to $50,000 each, Zalewski says.

"The new-condo market is starting to slow. The resale condo market is starting to heat up," he said.

Source: http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/564849/201103031443/Miami-New-Condo-Sales-Revive-As-Biggest-Markets-Fall.aspx

By MARILYN ALVA, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY

Pending home sales up in Miami-Dade, Broward

2011-03-01T10:34:00.000-05:00

Pending home sales in Miami-Dade and Broward counties rose in February, according to the Miami Association of Realtors.

Miami-Dade saw the biggest boost, with total pending sales – including single-family homes and condominiums – rising 22 percent, year-over-year, in February – to 11,182 from 9,164.

An increase in pending sales is an indication of future market conditions. A sale is listed as pending when a contract is signed, but the transaction has not closed.

Pending condo deals in Miami-Dade County saw the biggest year-over-year gains in February, increasing 26.9 percent to 6,497 from 5,122.

Sales of single-family homes in Miami-Dade rose 16 percent, to 4,685 from 4,042.

In Broward County, total pending sales increased 7.7 percent in February, to 8,391 from 7,791 contracts signed.

The county’s pending condo sales outperformed single-family home selling, rising 12.3 percent, year-over-year, to 4,878 from 4,343 contracts.

Pending sales of single-family homes increased 2 percent, to 3,513 from 3,448.

“Current statistics for pending sales reflect the positive performance of the South Florida real estate market over the last few months,” said Jack H. Levine, chairman of the Miami Association of Realtors. “We have seen year-over-year increase for pending sales for nearly one year. Pending sales have also increased month-over-month 10 out of the last 13 months.”

Nationwide, pending home sales decreased in January for the second straight month, according to the National Association of Realtors. The Pending Home Sales Index, a national forward-looking indicator, declined 2.8 percent from December to January, and is down 1.5 percent from its January 2010 level.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2011/02/28/pending-home-sales-up-in-miami-dade.html

Cash is King as New Wave of Home Buyers Shuns Loans and Pays Small Bucks for Bargains

2011-02-22T10:54:00.000-05:00

It's a new beginning in America's home-buying market. More and more buyers are saying no to expensive and convoluted bank loans and paying cash instead for bargain properties.

The Wall Street Journal reports scores of bargain-basement deals being closed by cash-bidding buyers who feel the bottom has been reached in the market.

Where are they getting the cash from? They are selling other investments like paintings, cars and jewelry.

For example, In Atlanta, 62-year-old piano teacher Virginia Hall-Busch paid cash for a 93-year-old three-bedroom, one-bath bungalow in scenic Stone Mountain, GA.

The property initially listed for $159,000, then dropped to $129,000 and then to $79,900. The piano teacher didn't think her bid of $52,500 would be taken seriously. It was. She is the new owner.

In Miami Beach, Richard Stoker, a 73-year-old retired sales executive, paid cash for two condominiums and soon plans to close on a third. He is paying $1.8 million, $1.2 million and $1 million for properties that were initially listed for double those amounts.

The Stokers have a home in Potomac, Md., but spend most of the year in Florida. Stoker doesn't plan to rent out any of his new properties. He tells the WSJ he and his wife will live in one with two dogs, his son might live in another and the third will house an older dog and guests.

Cash buyers represented more than half of all transactions in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area last year, according to an analysis from real-estate portal Zillow.com.

In the fourth quarter of 2006, they represented just 13% of deals. Meanwhile, downtown Miami prices rose 15% in 2010 from a year earlier, according to the Miami Downtown Development Authority.

The percentage of buyers in Phoenix paying cash hit 42% in 2010--more than triple the rate in 2008, according to Raymond James's equity research division.

Nationally, 28% of sales were all-cash transactions last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. The rate was 14% in October 2008, when the trade group began tracking the measure.

The Federal Reserve reports that Americans increased their use of credit cards in December 2010 for the first time since August 2008.

Henry Schlangen
"Some of the cash purchases reflect a tight lending environment, where even people with good credit and ample down payments are sometimes turned away for conventional borrowing," reports the WSJ.

"The rates are great but the underwriting is brutal," said Henry Schlangen, an agent with real-estate firm Pacific Union International who buys and sells for clients, mainly in Napa Valley, CA.

Schlangen tells the WSJ, "They (lenders) hang these people upside down and shake them till they see what falls out of their pockets. So people are buying with cash and maybe they'll 'Refi' later."

Schlangen, who deals in higher-end properties such as vineyard estates, estimated that 95% of his deals last year were all-cash, up from about half in previous years.

"The deals that are consummating, these are buyers who feel they got a great deal," he said. He notes the number of buyers from China are increasing.

Mohammed Siddiq
Cash buyers can often command 5% to 10% more off the asking price than a potential buyer using a mortgage, Mohammed Siddiq, a real-estate professional in Fort Lauderdale, FL, tells the WSJ.

Sellers prefer cash deals since they close more quickly and avoid risks such as a buyer's job loss or a bank's changing its mind, he says.

Nationally, it isn't clear whether prices have bottomed.

The Case-Shiller index of housing prices in 20 cities showed a steep decline in prices until 2009, when they appeared to bottom and began to trend upward.

But in the second half of last year, prices began falling again. A Zillow index, meanwhile, never noted the uptick, reports the WSJ.

Source: http://www.realestatechannel.com/us-markets/residential-real-estate-1/raymond-james-zillowcom-national-association-of-realtors-henry-schlangen-pacific-union-international-mohammed-siddiq-stone-mountain-ga-miami-beach-skyline-3915.php

Posted by Alex Finkelstein

Brazilians making an economic mark

2011-02-15T10:58:00.001-05:00

President Barack Obama will visit Brazil during his first South American trip in March and Brazil is Florida’s top trading partner. But Brazilians are also snapping up beachfront luxury properties and downtown Miami condos, investing in everything from real estate to Burger King, and shopping voraciously.

It’s as if a “swarm of grasshoppers” has descended on South Florida, chomping through bargains from Dadeland to Sawgrass Mills, one tour operator says.

“The trend now is everybody comes to shop, shop, shop,’’ said Claudia Menezes, of Pegasus Transportation, which operates a fleet of buses for conventional tours as well as the shopping excursions that are so popular with Brazilians. “They’re buying up everything from $10 creams at Victoria’s Secret to Luis Vuitton and Prada.’’

Testimony to Brazilian consumerism: When Pegasus buses return Brazilians to the airport for their flights home, Menezes says, they have to put on extra trailers behind to haul the loot.

To keep the Brazilian visitors coming, American Airlines now offers 52 flights a week to Brazil from Miami International Airport.

“Brazil is breaking all sorts of records,’’ said Rolando Aedo, senior vice president of marketing for the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It has been our rock-star market.’’

When all the numbers are tallied for 2010, Miami-Dade expects to have rolled out the welcome mat for more than 500,000 Brazilian visitors who spent more than $1 billion.

That would move Brazil into the top spot for international visitors, dethroning Canada, the perennial leader.

During the oil boom years, Venezuelans were legendary for their dame-dos (give me two) ways and Latin Americans have long loved South Florida shopping. But what sets the Brazilians apart is there are so many more of them and they’re really big spenders.

To cater to the Brazilian crowd, the tourism bureau has published shopping guides, maps and other materials in Portuguese.

Even though Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport has no direct Brazilian flights, the number of Brazilian visitors to Broward County has increased by 50 percent to 300,000 annually in the past year. Brazil now ranks as Broward’s second most important foreign market after Canada.

“They may enter though Miami, but they go to Sawgrass Mills,’’ said Francine Mason, a spokeswoman for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.

And they also visit their relatives. Broward County, especially the Pompano Beach/Lighthouse Point area, is home to the largest contingent of resident Brazilians in the state.

The Brazilian Consulate in Miami estimates that there are 250,000 to 300,000 Brazilians living in Florida with the largest populations in Broward and Miami-Dade counties and Orlando.

What’s spurring the Brazilian stampede?

Brazil’s economy is booming and expected to become the world’s fifth largest by 2016. Unemployment is at record lows. And perhaps most important, Brazil’s currency — the real — is extremely strong against the dollar, making Florida trips and shopping sprees affordable for Brazilians.

Coming to South Florida for a week is often cheaper for a Sao Paulo resident than a vacation in Northeast Brazil.

“Real estate is extremely high in Brazil right now — untouchable for many people,’’ said Claudia Bacelar, a Brazilian who works as a Realtor at the Esslinger-Wooten office in Coral Gables.

Edgardo Defortuna, president and chief executive of Fortune International, says, for example, that an apartment equivalent to a three-bedroom unit at Jade Ocean in Sunny Isles Beach that goes for $1.6 million might cost $2.5 million in Belo Horizonte, a state capital in southeastern Brazil.

And there’s another reason so many Brazilians are visiting: They just like it here.

“Florida has always been a favorite – the warm tropical weather and the beaches with the benefit of the shopping and now, of course, it’s so much more affordable,’’ Bacelar said. “When Brazilians come here and I see how they shop, I’m in shock.’’

At Dolphin Mall near Miami International Airport, for example, Brazilians are the top international tourists, urging past Venezuelans for the first time last year, said Madelyn Bello Calvar, director of sponsorship and marketing.

And they typically spend about three times what local customers do, she said.

At Sawgrass Mills, Marcos Freire, the assistant general manager, has watched with satisfaction as shoppers speaking Portuguese flood the mall and buses full of Brazilian tourists in matching T-shirts pull in.

Mall surveys show that Brazilians are the most numerous international shoppers, followed by Colombians and Canadians. But Freire says, “The Brazilians are way ahead.’’

As shoppers, he says, they are extremely brand-conscious, loading down their carts with Nike, Adidas and Tommy Hilfiger plus high fashion, televisions, video games, and the latest technology.

They know their way around American retail, said Freire, who is originally from Rio de Janeiro. “They’ve done their homework and they know where they’re going.’’

Menezes, whose company often runs shopping tours that stop at Sawgrass, said the trend used to be that Brazilian groups would ask for some time at the beach, Orlando or the Everglades and maybe a day of shopping.

“Now we have some groups that are coming four or five days just to shop,’’ she said. “This year for the first time we even had shopping tours for Black Friday.’’

It’s not just hotels and stores that are benefiting from Brazilians planting their green and yellow flag around South Florida.

• Real Estate — Real estate sales to Brazilians also are booming.

“Today, they’re the most important foreign sector of the South Florida market,’’ Defortuna said. “During the past 12 months, they have come in very strongly.’’

So strongly that late last year, Fortune International opened an office in Sao Paulo to market its own luxury developments such as Jade Ocean as well as other projects it handles such as Icon Brickell and Trump Hollywood .

“I have never seen anything like this — such demand. I get calls and e-mails every single day with a new Brazilian contact or lead,’’ said Fabiana Pimenta, a top Brazilian Realtor at Fortune.

About a quarter of all new Fortune sales are now to Brazilians, Defortuna said.

They basically fall into two categories, he says: high-end buyers who are buying for themselves — although it may be their second, third or fourth home — and investors who tend to gravitate toward properties in the Brickell and downtown Miami areas.

If they’re buying for themselves, they like beachfront properties in Miami Beach and the Sunny Isles Beach area, real estate agents say.

The apartment-buying spree also is having a positive impact on other businesses.

Five years ago, Ornare, a high-end Brazilian kitchen, bath and closet store, opened its first U.S. branch in Miami’s Design District. And while the local housing market has slumped, Ornare’s business hasn’t.

Its closets with leather doors, sculpted bath fixtures and sleek, sophisticated kitchens have found a ready market here. Increasingly, it’s Brazilians who are doing the buying.

Sales are up nearly 40 percent since last year and now Ornare is planning showrooms in five other U.S. cities, says Claudio Faria, director of Ornare Miami, which imports nearly everything in its showroom from Sao Paulo.

In 2009, Brazilians accounted for just 5 percent of Ornare’s local sales. Now, it’s about 25 percent, Faria said.

Brazilian interior designer Mirtha Arriaran, who has run a Miami interior design business since 1995, says that one of her jet-setting clients recently purchased a Miami apartment as a 12th residence.

“These Brazilians are very, very rich,’’ she said. “They are not looking for bargains. They are the type of people who will pick out an apartment they like and then ask the price.’’

About 85 percent of Arriaran’s clients are Brazilians, and these days with all their new condo purchases, she’s so busy that her firm, MAS Interior Design, is not taking on new business.

But not all the Brazilian real estate buyers fall into the ultra-rich category.

“Now Brickell is very affordable for the middle class,’’ says Bacelar. She recently sold several smaller apartments there for just under $200,000 — with low maintenance fees, too.

• Airlines — Two years ago, American Airlines served just two Brazilian cities – Rio and Sao Paulo – from Miami. Now it’s added four more: Brasilia, Belo Horizonte and Salvador with continuing service to Recife.

“This is huge for us — to be in six cities in one country,’’ said Martha Pantin, an American spokeswoman. “American Airlines is very bullish on Brazil.’’

TAM , a Brazilian airline, also recently added direct service several times a week from MIA to Brasilia and Belo Horizonte to complement its daily flights to Sao Paulo, Rio and Manaus.

But the best may be yet to come. With the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, American is now negotiating to add extra flights to Brazil before and after the World Cup.

American believes Miami will be a transit point for many people from around the world as they head to the sporting events, says Pantin. “The World Cup,’’ she said, “also will introduce Americans to new destinations in Brazil.’’

• The Florida/Brazil trade and business connection — Brazil ranks as South Florida’s top trading partner as well as the Sunshine State’s top trading partner. Florida’s merchandise trade with Brazil during the first 11 months of 2010, the most recent statistics available, topped $14.4 billion, a 27 percent increase over 2009 figures.

Enterprise Florida recently reopened an office in Brazil. Its purpose is to not only promote Florida products and services but also to attract Brazilian investors to Florida.

Brazilian companies Embraer, an aircraft manufacturer, and Odebrecht, a construction firm, already have extensive operations in South Florida, and last fall 3G Capital, a private investment firm with Brazilian backing, acquired Burger King in a $4 billion deal.

“We think with the emergence of Brazil as a world economic power, it will become very fertile ground to recruit companies to Florida,’’ said Manny Mencia., vice president of international development for Enterprise Florida. “There’s no market going forward that offers Florida the opportunities that Brazil does.’’

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/13/v-fullstory/2065059/the-brazilian-stampede.html

By MIMI WHITEFIELD
mwhitefield@MiamiHerald.com

Cash Buyers Lift Housing

2011-02-08T10:14:00.001-05:00

Buyers in markets around the U.S. are snapping up homes in all-cash deals, betting that prices are at or near bottom and breathing life into some of the nation's most battered housing markets.

Cash buyers represented more than half of all transactions in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area last year, according to an analysis from real-estate portal Zillow.com. In the fourth quarter of 2006, they represented just 13% of deals. Meanwhile, downtown Miami prices rose 15% in 2010 from a year earlier, according to the Miami Downtown Development Authority.

The percentage of buyers in Phoenix paying cash hit 42% in 2010—more than triple the rate in 2008, according to Raymond James's equity research division.

Nationally, 28% of sales were all-cash transactions last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. The rate was 14% in October 2008, when the trade group began tracking the measure.

The jump in real-estate purchases made with cash is another sign of the revival of animal spirits in the U.S. economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 69.48 points Monday, or 0.6%, to 12161.63, and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 8.18 points, or 0.6%, to 1319.05.

Monday's announcements of $13 billion in acquisitions lifted stocks on hopes of more deals, share buybacks and dividends as companies regain momentum in an improving economy.

The two stock indexes have soared more than 80% since early March 2009.

The Federal Reserve reported that Americans increased their use of credit cards in December for the first time since August 2008, showing that consumers are getting less skittish about opening their wallets. Investors also were soothed Monday by encouraging signs in Egypt, including last weekend's reopening of banks.

Residential real estate has been slower to bounce back than stocks, but the presence of apparent bargains is luring in newly confident buyers.

Richard Stoker, a retired sales executive, recently plunked down cash for two condominiums in Miami Beach, and plans to close on one more in coming days. He loves the complex's ocean views, four swimming pools and activities such as yoga and Pilates.

But what also motivated the purchase, said the 73-year-old, was that "the prices were just irresistible. Florida's been hit pretty hard." To pay the $1.8 million, $1.2 million and $1 million prices on the condos, Mr. Stoker and his wife, Jane, cashed out of some financial investments and sold a Roy Lichtenstein painting and an Alexander Calder mobile.

Mr. Stoker could have taken out mortgages, but decided to pay cash. "It was a good time to lighten up in the art market and take on real estate at a favorable price," he said.

The harder a market has been hit, say economists, the higher the percentage of cash deals. Last summer, piano teacher Virginia Hall-Busch told a real-estate agent she met through the Rotary Club to keep her posted on deals on historic houses in Stone Mountain, Ga.

A few days later, Ms. Hall-Busch, 62, got a call about a 1918 bungalow with three bedrooms and one bathroom listed for "short sale," which in the real-estate world means at a price lower than what's owed on it. The home had been on the market for $159,000, then dropped to $129,000 and then to $79,900.

"I offered them 50," she said. "I figured, it wasn't like I needed a place to live. I can afford to be a little cocky here."

Ms. Hall-Busch closed in October for $52,500 and began renovations within weeks.

"When you have a bad economy, it's hard on lots of people," she said. "But right now if you've got the money to put down on a house, long term it's going to be good thing."

Some of the cash purchases reflect a tight lending environment, where even people with good credit and ample down payments are sometimes turned away for conventional borrowing.

"The rates are great but the underwriting is brutal," said Henry Schlangen, an agent with real-estate firm Pacific Union International who buys and sells for clients, mainly in Napa Valley, Calif.

"They hang these people upside down and shake them till they see what falls out of their pockets. So people are buying with cash and maybe they'll 'refi' later."

Mr. Schlangen, who deals in higher-end properties such as vineyard estates, estimated that 95% of his deals last year were all-cash, up from about half in previous years. "The deals that are consummating, these are buyers who feel they got a great deal," he said, noting a surge of buyers from China.

Cash buyers can often command 5% to 10% more off the asking price than a potential buyer using a mortgage, said Mohammed Siddiq, a real-estate professional in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Sellers prefer cash deals since they close more quickly and avoid risks such as a buyer's job loss or a bank's changing its mind.

And while many buyers making low-ball offers dig their heels, Mr. Siddiq said he has started to see bidding wars and slightly increasing prices.

Nationally, it isn't clear whether prices have bottomed. The Case-Shiller index of housing prices in 20 cities showed a steep decline in prices until 2009, when they appeared to bottom and began to trend upward. But in the second half of last year, prices began falling again. A Zillow index, meanwhile, never noted the uptick.

Since mid-October, Canyon Ranch in Miami Beach, the development Mr. Stoker bought into, has sold 35 units, with a third of the buyers from overseas and many others retiring from the Northeast.

The Stokers have a home in Potomac, Md., but spend most of the year in Florida. Mr. Stoker doesn't plan to rent out any of his new properties, saying he and his wife will live in one with two dogs, his son might live in another and the third will house an older dog and guests.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704570104576124502975117950.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

Metro-Miami's Pending Home Sales Rise 28% Year-over-year

2011-02-01T10:31:00.000-05:00

(MIAMI, FL ) -- According to the Miami Association of Realtors and the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service (SEFMLS), total cumulative pending home sales - including single-family homes and condominiums - in Miami-Dade County increased 28 percent in January compared to a year earlier, from 8,388 to 10,698, and 2.5 percent, from 10,437, compared to the previous month.

"Over the last few months, we have seen pending and closed sales gain momentum while inventory levels continue to drop, said Jack H. Levine, 2010 chairman of the board of the Miami Association of Realtors. "This trend in rising sales, particularly for condominiums, coupled with significant reductions in housing inventory, is a very positive sign for the local market. We expect this trend to continue as the job market, economy, and consumer confidence improve."

Pending Condominium Contract Activity on the Rise

Pending sales of condominiums in Miami-Dade County continue to outperform that of single-family homes. In January, condominium pending sales increased a significant 37.2 percent compared to a year ago, from 4,647 to 6,376 and increased 3.3 percent from 6,173 the previous month. Pending sales of single-family homes in January increased 15.531 percent from the previous year, from 3,741 to 4,322, and 1.4 percent from the previous month, when pending single-family home sales totaled 4,264.

Significant Reduction in Housing Inventory

The Miami-Dade real estate market continues to experience drops in housing inventory. Inventory for all housing types has dropped 47 percent since mid-2008 and eight percent compared to a year ago. Just over the last month, inventory in the county dropped six percent, pointing to increased demand for local properties.

"Local buyers are taking advantage of the many opportunities the local market offers, including high affordability that continues to boost contract activity," said 2011 Miami Association of Realtors Residential President Ralph E. De Martino. "International buyers continue to continue to have a significant impact in rising sales and declining inventory in the local market."

Increased pending sales are an indication of increased future sales. A sale is listed as pending when a contract is signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.

Source: http://www.realestatechannel.com/us-markets/residential-real-estate-1/miami-pending-home-sales-dade-county-home-sales-miami-association-of-realtors-southeast-florida-multiple-listing-service-sefmls-miami-condo-foreclosures-3826.php

Posted by Michael Gerrity

Trulia: It’s cheaper to buy than rent in Miami

2011-01-25T10:49:00.000-05:00

Miami tops the list of places in the country where it’s cheaper to own than rent a home, according to Trulia.com’s latest Rent vs. Buy Index.

The San Francisco-based real estate website noted that the foreclosure crisis has pushed many homeowners to become renters, thus jacking up the cost of rentals.

“Following the principles of supply and demand, renting has become relatively more expensive than buying in most markets,” Trulia CEO and co-founder Pete Flint said in a news release.

In fact, Trulia found that it is more affordable to buy than rent a two-bedroom home in 72 percent of America’s 50 largest cities.

Trulia said it calculates the price-to-rent ratio for the 50 largest U.S. cities using the median list price compared with the median rent price on two-bedroom apartments, condos and townhomes listed on its website.

The median sales price for homes in Miami was $185,000. The average list price for homes for sale in Miami on Trulia is $402,603. The median sales price decreased 38.3 percent compared to the prior year based on 4,142 sales, which is up 20.1 percent compared to the prior year.

Other cities where it’s cheaper to buy than rent are:

Las Vegas
Arlington, Texas
Mesa, Ariz.
Phoenix
Jacksonville
Sacramento, Calif.
San Antonio
Fresno, Calif.
El Paso, Texas
On the flip side, Trulia found that renting is only less expensive than buying in four cities: New York, Seattle, Kansas City and San Francisco.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2011/01/25/trulia-its-cheaper-to-buy-than-rent.html

Foreigners flock to Florida for real estate bargains

2010-12-16T10:11:00.001-05:00

MIAMI -- Foreign tourists who for years have crowded Florida’s shopping malls to buy clothes and electronics, are now flocking to real estate offices to snatch up apartments and homes at bargain-basement prices.

The investors, mainly from Europe and Latin America, are jostling over apartments in Miami’s trendy South Beach neighborhood selling for $70,000-$100,000, and in less exclusive areas to the north where they start at around $50,000.

“The buying opportunities are maybe the best ever. Who knows if we’ll see prices again like today’s in Miami Beach,” Keys Real Estate agent Michelle Iglesias told AFP.

Property prices in Miami have fallen by almost half (47%) since the real estate bubble peaked in 2006, according to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price index.

Analysts predict that real estate market prices will not increase until the banks get rid of all their foreclosed properties and there are more jobs in the region.

“Unemployment is still high. People are afraid of losing their homes and credit is hard to get,” said Standard & Poor’s vice-president Maureen Maitland.

In and around Miami, banks each month repossess about 5,000 properties, including apartments and commercial real estate, for delinquent mortgage payments, according to real estate brokerage Codovultures Realty, which has 250,000 such properties on its books across southern Florida.

But foreign investors have kept prices from plunging even further, the Miami Association of Realtors said in its November report. “The international buyers continue to fuel market strengthening, we continue to observe positive signs,” said association president Oliver Ruiz.

Beatriz Lamanda from Venezuela bought two apartments north of Miami Beach for a reduced price of $80,000.

“I’d rather put my money in real estate than leave it in the bank. In a few years I’ll make a nice bundle because the prices are going to go up, no question,” she told AFP.

In the “Icon,” a three-building apartment complex by French designer Philippe Stark in Brickell, Miami’s newest financial district, apartments are selling for $250,000, down from $370,000 two years ago.

“We’ve sold 350 units in the last few months. Most of the buyers are international,” Fortune International’s Alejandra Castillo told AFP. -- AFP

Source: http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=22914

3 hotels sold in South Beach

2010-12-15T10:13:00.001-05:00

A trio of historic buildings in Miami Beach has been purchased by South American real estate and hotel group Lennox Miami Corp.

The $14.7 million sale included the 62-room Peter Miller Hotel at 1900 Collins Ave.; the 12-unit Miller Apartments at 229 19th St. and the 12-unit Peter Miller Apartments at 1915 Liberty Ave.

All of the buildings were designed in the 1930s by architect Russell Pancoast.

The seller was Kabo Realty Corp., based in Miami. M1 Hospitality Group, a division of real estate brokerage and investment firm Metro 1 Properties in Miami, represented both parties.

Plans for the properties have not been announced, but the broker said the new owners could potentially add more rooms as well as a pool and spa to the hotel.

-- HANNAH SAMPSON

• Ex-UBS banker enters plea: A former banker at Switzerland's UBS pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Miami to a tax fraud conspiracy charge that accuses him of helping a wealthy U.S. client hide assets from the Internal Revenue Service.

Renzo Gadola, 44, entered his plea at a brief hearing after court documents were unsealed charging him with the crime.

The documents claim Gadola and an unnamed second Swiss banker helped an unidentified Mississippi man hide an account at UBS and open another secret account at a second Swiss bank.

Prosecutors say he and the other banker tried to prevent the client from disclosing his secret accounts to the IRS. During a November meeting at a Miami hotel, according to court documents, Gadola told the client the likelihood that his new accounts would be discovered was ``practically zero percent.''

• Sheraton hangs shingle: A former Wyndham hotel will open under a new brand Wednesday: Sheraton Miami Airport Hotel & Executive Meeting Center.

The first Sheraton in Miami-Dade, the hotel at 3900 NW 21st St. has undergone $2 million in upgrades over the last four months in preparation for the change. The hotel, with 405 guest rooms and a 20,000-square-foot meeting center, is owned by Maryland-based Thayer Lodging Group.

Sheraton adds the Miami hotel as part of an expansion that will bring 50 new hotels to the brand's portfolio over the next three years.

• Mandarin Oriental shines in guide: Just one spa in Florida received the top rating from Forbes Travel Guide -- and it's in Miami.

The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Miami was one of only 20 spas worldwide to receive five stars from the guide, formerly Mobil Travel Guide. This was the third year in a row that The Spa received the award.

Forbes Travel Guide rates hotels, restaurants and spas throughout the U.S., Canada, Beijing, Hong Kong and Macau. This year, 54 hotels, 23 restaurants and 20 spas received five stars.

Only three Florida hotels received the five-star award: Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, The Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach and The Ritz-Carlton, Naples

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/15/1973903/3-hotels-sold-in-south-beach.html

Documentations For Purchasing Miami Real Estate Buildings

2010-12-10T11:07:00.002-05:00

After the long period of waiting, when you finally get to accumulate the funds to afford a Property, you start looking for prospective homes. After some days of consideration, you produce up your mind to purchase a specific Home. Regardless of the fact that that you are experienced or not, the mile long list of essentials for Buying a Property will surely bewilder you. Property sellers, bucks lenders and Miami Real Estate agents have every Correct to stipulate for relevant documents so that they might rightly evaluate your ability to pay them back. When you fail to submit even one of these documents, your preferrred Dwelling will stay a ideal forever. to prevent such a situation, you should be mindful beforehand, of the essentials, so which you may instantly produce them when needed.

Listed here are some of the documents You’ll need before closing the Miami Real Estate deal. The first records you need to show are of income tax, IRS W-2 form, asset statement and other fiscal documents. The lending institute or entity will desire a promissory note to be able to pull out your credit record. If they feel that you might be financially instable, then you might face potential difficulty in sanctioning the loan. Next, you have to show your bank statement, which will establish your ability to pay off the mortgage.

An insurance policy is also very necessary. Your lender will request for this as an assurance, in case of events of damage or deficit of Asset. This guarantees escape from the risk of losing the dollars they lent you. Preparing your payment stubs is an additional compulsory point. this could reflect the payment you receive per payday and your status as a full time employee. If, you have a spouse’s stub to add to, You’ll stand a much better chance to connect up the requirements of the lending company. Apart from a cashier’s check, you should prepare one of your own. Ensure that your Miami Real Estate lawyer or agent updates you about it.

The last, but not the least is your identification card. Carry two such cars along with your a career forms. The HR team of the company you work for will fill it up and authenticate it for you. Before you buy the Property, you can also ask your Miami Real Estate agent to assist you Through.

To purchase Miami Real Estate homes at Excellent price, contact us. Our agents will instruct you Through all the formalities. In case you are searching for Miami Realtors in your location please take a look at our web site today by simply clicking the link.

Source: http://www.favstocks.com/documentations-for-purchasing-miami-real-estate-buildings/0329173/

By Chandler Man

Selling A Miami Real Estate Asset: Behind The Scenes

2010-12-09T10:43:00.001-05:00

Selling a Miami Real Estate Asset is no mean feat as there is loads of work which needs to be performed in order to produce it a good results. What goes on behind the scenes before the actual selling process is what matters most. Unlike Buying a Property, selling is a very much more difficult job as their needs to be a lot of deliberation and Organizing before one could actually be confident about selling a Property. usually estate sellers employ experienced agents to represent their Property and its advertising campaigns along with all the Dwelling showings. These agents specialize themselves as Asset sellers and are pretty adept at their job.

With the Miami Real Estate market being so saturated, were you can effortlessly locate several Units at the exact rate, one needs to keep his/her Asset in pristine situation to stand a chance of selling it. For which, you need to have to renovate your estate in way which it looks and feels Brand new. This includes all key and insignificant repairs along with the expected cosmetic changes. Most consumers just really don’t look at Property prices; in fact the condition of the estate is what matters most to them. Although preparing the estate to an immaculate condition does involve a lot of Expenditures, but its well worth the gamble.

When selling a Property be it Brand new or old, what purchasers observe at first is the predicament of the landscape just outside your estate. In case the surroundings are messed up then this might easily act against you and sway off Asset buyers. Small little things like maintanence the gutters, preserving the garden, care the pool etc will present a cleaner look besides attracting consumers towards your Miami Real Estate.

Most Miami Real Estate buyers tend to be emotional whilst making their decision. Knowing the preferences and tastes of the buyer can support you sell the Property quite simply. This is where a quality agent may help you out. Deliberating the likes and dislikes of the buyer demands the agent to perform a little bit of study before he/she could prepare the estate accordingly. Although selling an estate is never straightforward, with the Appropriate agent on hand you could readily sell your Asset and times even double up on your earnings margins.

searching for a Miami Real Estate Asset in a posh location, to open a store or organization outlet, then, communication us. The premises we sell are in appropriate locations to fit the purpose.

Source: http://www.favstocks.com/selling-a-miami-real-estate-asset-behind-the-scenes/0529238/

By Chandler Man

Miami Pending Home Sales Up 26% in November

2010-12-03T12:25:00.001-05:00

Miami, FL - Total cumulative pending home sales - including single-family homes and condominiums - in Miami-Dade County increased 26 percent in November compared to a year earlier, from 8,288 to 10,495, and increased 2.3 percent, up from 10,264, compared to the previous month according to the MIAMI Association of REALTORS and the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service (SEFMLS).

November marks the fourth consecutive month of increased pending home sales in Miami-Dade County. A sale is listed as pending when a contract is signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing. "As an indication of future sales, consistently increasing pending sales is a very positive sign for the South Florida real estate market," said Jack H. Levine, 2010 chairman of the board of the MIAMI Association of REALTORS.

Pending sales of condominiums in Miami-Dade County continue to perform stronger than that of single-family homes. In November, condominium pending sales increased 38 percent compared to the previous year, from 4,414 to 6,094 and increased 3.68 percent, up from 5,878 the previous month.
Pending sales of single-family homes in November increased 14 percent from the previous year, from 3,874 to 4,401, and increased .34 percent from the previous month, when pending single-family home sales totaled 4,386. "The current strengthening Miami real estate market is motivating all types of buyers to act now," said Oliver Ruiz, 2010 residential president of the MIAMI Association of REALTORS.

Source: http://www.thestreet.com/story/10937134/1/miami-pending-home-sales-up-26-in-november.html

By DQNews.com 12/02/10 - 12:12 PM EST

Art of the deal

2010-12-02T10:20:00.001-05:00

New Yorkers who regularly visit Miami often talk about how hard it is to get any work done there — how the city's lazy, beautiful people just bounce around to beaches, restaurants, hotel lounges, nightclubs, house parties and boat parties.

But the reality is more complicated. There’s no other American city that works this hard at partying and is full of so many people hustling for business while they’re partying. And this is especially true when it comes to selling real estate during the Miami social season, which kicks off with a big splash this week as Art Basel and dozens of satellite events take over South Beach and beyond.

Miami is always a place where out-of-towners can show up to a random apartment party, mention that they might want to buy a vacation home and find themselves talking to a broker and a salesperson of furniture packages while they’re still drinking their first glass of champagne. And with thousands of New Yorkers and rich foreigners in Miami for Art Basel, developers and brokers all over the city know that this week is an especially good time for marketing their real estate.

“Out of all the different festivals in Miami, Art Basel is the one that brings in the kind of demographic that is really prime for our properties,” says local broker Mark Zilbert, who specializes in luxury condos. “We’re working seven days a week. And people come into town with no intentions of buying, but they get caught up in the moment.”

In October, we visited the site of 3 Indian Creek, a new, listed-for-$60-million house that’s part of a private, extremely exclusive 300-acre community whose homeowners include Carl Icahn, Julio Iglesias and Art Basel chairperson Norman Braman. Designer and co-owner Felix Cohen greeted us wearing frayed jeans and a white shirt with paint stains. He offered a quick tour of the 30,000-square-foot mansion while contractors were hard at work all around us.

There was no time to waste, Cohen said, because he had a serious deadline. The house, which had already been visited by potential buyers, among them Alex Rodriguez, had to be ready for Art Basel week. Cohen admitted that he was “nervous” about the timing, but 3 Indian Creek (which is being marketed in New York by Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Oren Alexander) was indeed unveiled with a party on Tuesday.

That was the same evening the W South Beach Hotel & Residences held the official Art Basel opening party. The W, like many Miami spots, is hosting events all week and hoping that some art collectors also turn into homebuyers.

Other highlights of the week include:

The Icon Brickell condo building downtown has a Scope Art Show film premiere on Friday and just unveiled its new iPhone/iPad app, which offers neighborhood information, floor plans and event locations. In addition, the Fortune International brokerage is having open houses at Icon Brickell and Jade Ocean in Sunny Isles Beach, where brokers and potential buyers can pick up “VIP Basel” bags with passes to various art events.

The $2.3 billion Midtown Miami mixed-use project is hosting several fairs, including Art Miami, Red Dot Fair, Scope and Art Asia, and offering an exhibit from London artist Willard Wigan, who creates ultra-tiny sculptures that can only be seen through a microscope.

The new JW Marriott Marquis, part of the billion-dollar Metropolitan Miami mixed-use project downtown, has partnered with Christie’s on an exhibit with pieces by Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Keith Haring, Eduardo Chillida and others.

The tony Golden Beach community (where Ricky Martin has put his mansion on the market and where Basel-participating artist Bruce Weber lives) is offering tours with Mayor Glenn Singer to show off the town’s $30 million renovation.

In Wynwood, an emerging area near the Design District, the Bakehouse Art Complex is offering a tour of local studios while also showcasing its two galleries (the Audrey Love Gallery has an exhibit inspired by the seven deadly sins, while the Swenson Gallery is selling budget-friendly $100 5-by-7-inch pieces) and 33,000 square feet of exhibition space

Visa deal funding realty, investors get homeland

2010-12-01T11:47:00.001-05:00

At a time international investors are drawn to Miami's real estate bargains, the government's EB-5 visa program is an attractive vehicle for them to invest here in exchange for US residency.
Exclusive Visas, an EB-5 consulting firm based in Weston, is advising developers of several projects that would boost the local economy and create jobs while offering participating investors permanent residency for them and their families.
These projects include the University of Miami's Life Science and Technology Park, rising in Miami's health district, and the planned construction of 50 Sonic fast-food restaurants throughout Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Fred Burgess, president of Exclusive Visas, has been a practicing attorney for 20 years and got involved in the EB-5 program in 2007.
His firm advises clients on how to apply for a regional center and demonstrate the creation of a certain number of jobs to get the federal government to approve the projects.
The EB-5 visa program was created by the government to provide employment-based visas. The government basically requires a foreign national to invest $500,000 to $1 million into a venture that would create 10 sustainable jobs and in exchange, receive a green card.
If the project is in a geographic area of high unemployment, the investor is only required to put in $500,000.
Basically, Mr. Burgess said, "we need to make sure their funds come from credible sources and that they don't have a criminal background."
One project Mr. Burgess has been working on is UM's Life Science and Technology Park.
Under the EB-5 program, developer Wexford Miami is raising $20 million capital from 40 participating investors.
"They are close to selling off," he said. "That EB-5 project will be filled by the end of this year."
He is also advising Miami-based QueensFort Capital Corp., which bought exclusive development rights to build 50 Sonic restaurants in Miami-Dade and Broward in the next four years.
The development firm is acquiring the land where it plans to build the restaurants at discounted prices, which benefits the investors involved. It is seeking six to eight investors per package of two to four restaurants.
Carolina Oliva, QueensFort Capital's senior vice president, said right now most interest in the Sonic project is coming from China, Latin America — particularly Venezuela and Mexico — and the Middle East.
Mr. Burgess and his team travel globally with clients to market their projects, making frequent trips to countries such as China, Korea and Venezuela.
"We travel throughout the world regularly, so we know what the market is looking for and we can advise companies raising capital how to structure their project so it's attractive to the investor," he explained.
Some internationals are drawn to invest in these ventures because they want to come to the US for social, political and even climate reasons.
"We have a big push from Mexico and Venezuela for safety and political reasons," respectively, he said.
More than half of EB-5 visas come from China and Korea, Mr. Burgess noted, adding that when the program first took off it became popular in the United Kingdom.
Although this government-backed visa program has been in place since the 1990s, he said, it got little use until the regional center model was added in 2003.
But the model kept sunsetting every six months, until in October 2009 President Obama extended it three years with a push to make it permanent.
Today, he said, more than 120 projects nationwide are participating under the regional center model.

Source: http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/101202/story4.shtml

By Yudislaidy Fernandez

NAR predicts commercial vacancies to fall in 2011 as market stabilizes

2010-11-29T13:49:00.001-05:00

Commercial real estate markets are stabilizing nationwide and will modestly improve in 2011, according to the latest National Association of Realtors economic outlook released Monday.

The outlook cited a recent commercial real estate index by The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, which reported a 1.6% increase in the third quarter, to 42.6 on the index. This is the fourth consecutive quarter of improvement in the index, however, it still remains well below normal.

The index is measured on a scale to 100. An index of 100 represents equilibrium in the commercial marketplace.

NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said that signs of stabilization in the market are due primarily to an increase in demand for commercial space, which "means overall vacancy rates have already peaked or will soon top out."

The current vacancy rate for office space nationally stands at 16.7%, but NAR predicts that rate to drop to 16.4% by the fourth quarter of 2011. New York City and Honolulu are the cities with the lowest vacancy rates, both near 9%, according to NAR. All other office markets monitored by NAR — which monitors a range of 50 to 60 markets for each commercial category — reported an office vacancy rate more than 10%.

NAR expects vacancy rates in the industrial and multifamily sectors to decline as well. Industrial vacancies are projected to fall to 13.2% by the fourth quarter of 2011, down from the current 13.9%.

Multifamily properties are also predicted to improve, according to NAR's outlook. Vacancy rates will drop to 5.8% by the end of 2011, down from the current 6.4%.

As of the report's release, San Jose, Calif, Miami, Boston and Portland, Ore., had the lowest multifamily vacancies rates, around 4%.

Lower vacancy rates suggest and increase in property rent, according to Yun; however, only rent in the multifamily sector is expected to rise, up 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2010 and up 1.6% in 2011.

Rent in the retail sector is expected to drop 3.4% from the fourth quarter of 2010 to the same period 2011, while rent for industrial property is predicted to fall 7.4%. NAR said rent for office space will drop 3.4% by the end of 2011.

Source: http://www.housingwire.com/2010/11/29/nar-predicts-commercial-vacancies-to-fall-in-2011-as-market-stabilizes

http://www.housingwire.com/2010/11/29/nar-predicts-commercial-vacancies-to-fall-in-2011-as-market-stabilizes

by CHRISTINE RICCIARDI

Homebuyers get creative to close the deal

2010-11-24T14:31:00.001-05:00

MIAMI — — When Efrain Hernandez couldn't seal a deal before the first-time home buyer tax credit expired this year, he lost faith that he would ever own a house in this real estate climate.

But the enforced wait got him more than the $8,000 federal tax credit.

Hernandez negotiated a contract on a five-bedroom, three-bath home in a development near Homestead, Fla., talking homebuilder Lennar into $40,000 off the list price, getting it to pay $18,000 in closing costs and scoring a $7,500 no-interest loan from Miami-Dade County to lighten his down payment.

"I was finally able to buy the house of my dreams," Hernandez said.

Though cash is now king, new homeowners such as Hernandez are finding ways to buy homes — well-kept ones with current mortgages.
After a long drought, money is becoming available to buy homes. Take Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. Andre Brooks, vice president and regional sales manager for the bank's Florida operation, said his company has made more than $3 billion in mortgages this year in Florida, nearly 20 percent more than last year.

But lending guidelines remain restrictive, said Terry H. Francisco, spokesman with Bank of America, so making purchases often requires creativity and calculation.

Among the options:

FHA

Loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration can require a down payment of just 3.5 percent compared with 20 percent many banks typically require.

But there are limits. For one, like other loans with a down payment less than 20 percent, the buyer must get mortgage insurance.

FHA loans also have a maximum and are available only to people who don't have an FHA loan and plan to make the property their primary residence.

Private loan

Made by a noninstitutional investor who does not advertise as a mortgage lender, this requires networking and personal relationships.

Grant S. Stern, president of Morningside Mortgage Corp., brokered a loan this summer for a condo buyer.

The borrower had made a preconstruction down payment of $90,000 on a two-bedroom, two-bath $300,000 condo. He had another $65,000 cash to close, but Fannie Mae's approval for the project expired with the the developer on the verge of default. With no time to get a conventional bank loan, so Stern arranged for a real estate investor to fund a five-year, fixed-rate loan.

"They said, 'Close in one week.' We closed in one week," he said.

Non Distressed Properties

Part of real estate agent Gene Mastro's strategy for buyers is avoiding foreclosures and short sales — especially by buyers who intend to live in the home they buy.

Owners of nondistressed properties are "more ready to correct problems, any minor deficiencies," said Mastro, who works for Coldwell Banker.

And they may be willing to pay all or part of closing costs, which can range from 2 to 7 percent of the purchase price.

Short-term loan

Another way to cover closing costs is a fast, short-term loan that doesn't show up on credit reports.

Todd Hills noticed that some users of his company, Boomerang Lending, wanted fast cash to pay closing costs. His Colorado-based business works like a pawn shop for those with pricier assets, including paintings and fine jewelry. A recent borrower offered a 1955 Picasso sketch.

"It's not something we've experienced before the last six months," said Hills, company CEO, but "it makes absolutely perfect sense. This is a way this consumer can get the cash that they need."

Lease to own

"It's a purchase agreement with a very delayed closing — three months or three years," Manausa said.

Tom Nisbet and fiancee, Greta Leber, have just such a contract on their condo. They are living in the 1,600-square-foot unit they hope to buy. It comes with two parking spaces, a pool and a gym, and it's close to the University of Miami, where Leber is working on her Ph.D.

After watching others' experiences with short sales and foreclosures, they steered clear. "This is by far the best place we saw on the market," Nisbet said.

State and local aid

While the federal first-time home buyer's tax credit ended months ago, it's not too late for house hunters to get government home-buying help.

Many city or county governments offer their own home buyer subsidies.

Government agencies with home-buying assistance programs say they are fielding lots of calls.

Source: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-11-23/classified/sc-bizspecial-1123-credative-homebuyi20101123_1_home-buyer-tax-credit-mortgages-condo-buyer

Miami Home Sales Jumped

2010-11-23T10:55:00.001-05:00

Miami, FL -- The median sales price of single-family homes in October in the Miami Metropolitan Statistical Area increased 12 percent to $199,100 from a year earlier, according to the MIAMI Association of REALTORS and the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service (SEFMLS).

Miami was one of only three home markets and the only major metropolitan area in Florida posting an increase for median sales price of single-family homes. Compared to the previous month, the median sales price rose six percent. "Rising median sales prices reflect strengthening and stability of the Miami real estate market," said Jack H. Levine, 2010 Chairman of the Board of the MIAMI Association of REALTORS.
On the other hand, the median sales price of condominiums in the Miami MSA dropped 22 percent in October, to $107,700, compared to the same month last year but increased more than eight percent compared to the previous month.

The sales of existing single-family homes in the Miami MSA decreased only four percent to 546 compared to October 2009 but were 21 percent higher than they were in October 2008. The Miami real estate market experienced rising residential sales since August 2008, posting increases for 23 consecutive months.

In the Miami MSA, condominium sales increased 17 percent to 757 compared to October 2009 and a 72 percent increase compared to two years ago, when sales were already rising. This was the highest increase in condominium sales of any major metropolitan area in Florida.

Short sales and foreclosures are continuing to have an impact on median and average sales prices for both single-family homes and condominiums especially in some areas of the county. "We continue to observe positive signs in the Miami market, and international buyers continue to fuel market strengthening," said 2010 MIAMI Association of REALTORS Residential President Oliver Ruiz. "While distressed properties continue to affect home values, especially for condominiums, we expect home values to improve as excess inventory is absorbed.

Add 2.1 million houses to the glut

2010-11-22T13:00:00.000-05:00

There's a large number of homes, either already repossessed by lenders or very seriously delinquent, that are poised to be added to the already glutted regular supply of homes on the market.

This "shadow inventory" jumped 10% during the past year, to an eight-month supply at the current rate of home sales, according to a report issued Monday.

According to CoreLogic, a financial information provider, there were 2.1 million homes in this uncounted inventory as of the end of August, up from 1.9 million units 12 months earlier.

Adding the shadow inventory to the visible supply of homes on the market boosted the total housing-market supply to 6.3 million units from 6.1 million in August 2009. At the current sales rate, it would take 23 months to go through the entire visible and shadow inventory of homes -- more than three times the normal rate of six to seven months.

The potential extra supply raises the risk of further home price declines, according to Mark Fleming, CoreLogic's chief economist.

"[Weak demand] is being exacerbated by a significant and growing shadow inventory that is likely to persist for some time," he said.

The shadow inventory has been growing as banks take a long time to process defaults.

Home prices expected to slide another 8%
Many banks have been slowing the foreclosure process because they already own a glut of homes, according to Rick Sharga, spokesman for RealtyTrac, the online marketer of foreclosed properties.

He said the banks are "managing" their inventory and not pushing delinquent borrowers quickly through the foreclosure pipeline so they don't have to repossess homes that will take a long time to sell.

It's better for the banks to allow borrowers to stay in these homes, doing the maintenance and protecting them from vandalism, than leaving them vacant for months in moribund markets.

Foreclosures: Where does your state rank?
The recent "robo-signing" scandal has further lengthened the foreclosure process. Several servicers temporarily froze foreclosure actions amid questions about whether many of the foreclosure documents were signed without proper review, raising questions about the procedure's validity.

Florida, Michigan, and California have the highest ratios of properties 90 days or more late compared with home sales. Texas has the lowest ratio of distressed properties to sales.

Tough times for REO buyers

2010-11-19T10:37:00.001-05:00

Q: My family wants to buy a house in Miami. They are looking for a foreclosed property around $60,000, and will pay all cash. Do you think the time is right to buy now? If not, when would be the best time to buy? --Mehmet, Florida

A: First, I'd like to ask you and your family to rethink a core element of your approach to this process. I'm often approached with questions by buyers-to-be who say they "are looking for a foreclosure."

I submit that what you're actually looking for is a good deal -- even a really good deal -- on a property that is well-suited for your purposes. I also submit that the property that best fits that description may or may not be a home that was foreclosed on.

Sellers of individually owned homes that are currently on the market are largely aware that they are in competition with many distressed (bank-owned and short-sale) properties.

As a result, there are many bargains available on non-foreclosures, which are often in superior condition to foreclosed homes. As well, individual sellers tend to be vastly more negotiable on terms like repairs, included personal property, etc., when compared to banks.

Now, let's turn to your question of when the best time to buy is or will be. Overall, the best time to buy is the time that makes the most sense for your family's life, plans and vision for the future. This is also a very frequently asked question, though, especially from those savviest of buyers and investors who are fixated on market timing, so let's talk about whether the market has hit bottom.

The most recent Case-Shiller housing index reported that Miami home prices were on their third month of increases, after nine straight months of decline. As a result, some learned observers of the real estate market would say that Miami prices are actually slightly past their bottom.

However, just as many learned observers might opine that the Miami market -- and the American real estate market in general -- are actually simply going to bounce around the bottom of the appreciation trajectory for awhile. Long story short: It's impossible to know with certainty whether the market is at bottom.

And frankly, trying to time the bottom is a fool's errand on at least two levels. The first? It's impossible. The second: The desire to time the bottom arises out of fallacious reasoning.

A logic flaw called myopic loss aversion causes consumers to be more afraid of losing money than they are excited about gaining a similar amount of money, or equity.

The fact is this: We all know that prices in Miami are very, very low, and likely near bottom. But some will hold off from buying because they think losing even a dollar's worth of equity would be excruciating; in that desperate attempt to avoid a post-purchase loss in value, they will wait so long that prices will go up and they will experience the opportunity cost of lost appreciation they might have realized had they bought a bit sooner.

Human tendency when trying to time the bottom of the market is to wait too long. When prices hit bottom, everyone comes out and wants to buy, sending prices right back up. The only thing stopping that from happening on today's market are the twin buyer paralytics of unemployment and tight mortgage lending guidelines.

That creates a great atmosphere for you and your family to take advantage of low prices soon, without feeling a desperate, breakneck urgency to buy anything before prices skyrocket -- although I don't expect we'll be seeing any true "skyrocketing" anytime soon.

So this might be a great time for your family to buy, if it's a good time in the context of your lives, and if you are comfortable making the commitment to owning a home for a good seven years, plus or minus a bit.

With a longer-term view, you can feel much more comfortable that you'll come out ahead on the purchase and don't have to be fixated on whether the value of the home rises or falls by a percent here or there in the very short term. But to do that, you have to let go of the all too currently common fixation on getting the absolute most for the absolute least, and decide to be OK with buying very, very low.

"So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over," Warren Buffett once famously said about the stock market, and the same applies to real estate. He elaborated that no one -- not even he -- can predict the short-term market movement and that, in fact, those who buy near the bottom might very well lose money -- in the short term.

But if you wait until the signs of appreciation and recovery are clear enough to make a strong short-term prediction, you will have waited so long that everyone else will be buying, too, and prices will be on the rise. Your bargain-basement pricing opportunity will have passed.

With all that said, if you are committed to buying a foreclosed home, or happen to simply select a foreclosed home as the one that works the best for your family, I'd say that now is a very difficult time for REO buyers. There is a great deal of uncertainty about whether flaws in the foreclosure documentation practices of a number of banks may have created "clouded" or unclear title for the buyers of those homes.

If you do elect to buy a foreclosed home, make 150 percent certain to obtain title insurance, which is commonly forgone by cash buyers. I'd also recommend working with a local title or real estate attorney during your purchase, or consulting with them in advance on how to obtain clear title, if you plan to buy a property at an actual foreclosure auction. Tara-Nicholle Nelson is author of "The Savvy Woman's Homebuying Handbook" and "Trillion Dollar Women: Use Your Power to Make Buying and Remodeling Decisions." Tara is also the Consumer Ambassador and Educator for real estate listings search site Trulia.com. Ask her a real estate question online or visit her website, www.rethinkrealestate.com.

Source: http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2010/11/18/tough_times_for_reo_buyers/?page=1

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson
November 18, 2010

Know condo rules before decking the halls

2010-11-17T11:41:00.000-05:00

Before you tack, nail or tape holiday decorations outside your condominium or home, consider your governing documents, your right to religious freedom and the story of Laurie Richter Spector.

Richter Spector, of Fort Lauderdale, fought back in court several years ago when her condo association demanded she remove a Jewish mezuzah from her door shortly after the holidays. While the case was eventually dismissed, now all Floridians share a state-supported right to post religiously mandated symbols — albeit small in size — anytime of year, regardless of association rules.

"I had a bad experience," said Richter Spector, about her association's order to remove her mezuzah — a small display case no longer than 6 inches long that encases a scroll with religious messages — from the exterior of her front door.

"But I am glad we went through it," added Spector, who left the condo community after the 2007 incident. "Nobody should be deprived of freedom of religion, especially in their own home."

Spector's experience is especially relevant this time of year, when residents' religious beliefs — and desire to express them publicly through holiday decorations — sometimes run afoul of HOA and condo rules.

Richter Spector argued that her right to religious freedom trumped the authority of the association. She said she was following Jewish religious law by keeping a mezuzah near the entrance of her home, and in letters to the association cited the fact that at least one other owner was allowed to keep a Christmas wreath up months after the holiday.

The association cited rules against exterior modifications and threatened eviction and a $1,000 fine.

Both sides refused to budge and ended up in civil court until the Florida Attorney General's Office intervened on behalf of Richter Spector and ordered the association to allow mezuzahs. The association was also ordered to post a sign in the building to let owners know their right to display mezuzahs.

Now it's a rule of the land. In 2008, the Legislature amended state law to guarantee condo owners a special right to display religious objects outside the door. While the statute does not mention the word "mezuzah," it covers objects with the same dimensions of a traditional mezuzah — 6 inches long, 3 inches wide and 1.5 inches deep.

Richter Spector says her ordeal remains a bittersweet victory. It also serves as a civics lesson about protecting your rights as an owner in a shared community.

But keep this in mind: Your condo or homeowners association may be able to put the kibosh on large religious displays and nonreligious decorations of any size.

Before you decorate this year, give your governing documents a once-over. Some associations limit sizes and locations of holiday displays, some enforce fines for taking too long to remove them post-holiday. Others may have no rules because they were not passed properly or have lapsed.

The state of Florida, which regulates condo communities, allows condo associations to pass rules that keep the community and residents safe. That means if your decorations interfere with that, you could have a problem.

There are not similar regulations for homeowners association per se, but an HOA may ban displays that block common areas, walkways, street intersections or the view of drivers on the road. An outdoor lighting display with poor wiring could be the subject of removal, possibly at the expense of the owner should governing documents provide the association the authority to fine and/or pay to have a display moved.

Source:http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/condos/fl-decorations-condocol-1117-20101116,0,7701864.column

Daniel Vasquez can be reached at CondoColumn@Sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4219 or 561-243-6686. His condo column runs Wednesdays in Your Money and at SunSentinel.com/condos. Check out Daniel's Condos & HOAs blog for news, information and tips related to life in community associations at SunSentinel.com/condoblog. You can also read his consumer column Mondays in Your Money and at sunsentinel.com/vasquez.

For the quarter, home prices fall

2010-11-15T12:55:00.000-05:00

South Florida home prices continued to drop in the third quarter, spurring an increase in condominium sales, even as single-family sales slumped, a report released Thursday by the Florida Association of Realtors found.

In Miami-Dade County, condo sales jumped to 2,527 in the third quarter, up 43 percent compared to the third quarter of last year. Single-family home sales dipped slightly to 1,812, down 1 percent from last year.

In Broward County, both condo sales and single-family home sales were down in the third quarter. Condo sales totaled 2,459 for an 8 percent drop, and single-family home sales totaled 2,076, an 18 percent drop.

Median prices dropped across the board. Single-family homes in Miami-Dade was $191,100, down 1 percent. Median-priced condos cost $104,600, a decrease of 24 percent.

In Broward, condo prices were $73,100 and single-family home prices stood at $209,600, down 10 and 2 percent, respectively.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/12/1921731/for-the-quarter-home-prices-fall.html

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA

Slide in South Florida home prices continues

2010-11-10T10:35:00.001-05:00

South Florida homes continued to shed value, sellers were still slashing prices and distressed sales were still dominating the market in the third quarter of the year-- all signs that the real estate recovery has a long way to go.

A report released Wednesday by real estate firm Zillow found that 45.2 percent of South Florida homes sold between June and September were sold for a loss, up slightly from the previous quarter, but down 2 percent for the month.

``Distressed sales have contributed to that 50 percent decline,'' said David Dabby, president of Coral Gables-based Dabby Group. ``They will continue to put a lid on prices for the foreseeable future.''

The continued slide has added to the ranks of underwater homes in the region. Since the June 2006 peak, home values have fallen 53.5 percent in South Florida, the largest drop among the top 25 markets covered by Zillow. That has left some 42 percent of single-family homeowners underwater, or owing more on their mortgages that their homes are worth.

That's slightly better than the third quarter of last year, when 45.1 percent of homes were underwater, but still much higher than the national average of 25 percent.

A high foreclosure rate and a weak job market continued to influence housing in the third quarter, the report found.

Deborah Katsikas, who recently sold her home in Southwest Miami-Dade County, said she had to cut the price, finally accepting an offer that was considerably less than she originally hoped for.

``The only way to sell is if you're competitive with everything that's out there,'' she said.

Now she's reaping the benefit of a buyer's market as she looks to purchase a new home. She has a contract to buy a short sale in Palmetto Bay, and the price of that home has been slashed multiple times, said her real estate agent, Anthony Askowitz.

According to Zillow, 21 percent of South Florida home sellers reduced prices in the third quarter, with a median reduction of 10 percent. The median selling price for a single-family home was $221,200 in the third quarter, up 1 percent quarter-over-quarter, but down 7.8 percent from last year.

For South Florida condominiums, the median sales price was $109,800, down 4.3 percent over last quarter, and down 14.2 percent from last year.

Askowitz, who owns two Re/Max offices, said price-cutting is the new normal, as home sellers seek to compete with the glut of foreclosures on the market.

According to a sales analysis by Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realty, short sales and foreclosures account for more than 60 percent of South Florida home sales.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/10/1917884/slide-in-south-florida-home-prices.html

By TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com

Real estate market improves as bargain hunters begin buying

2010-11-05T11:15:00.002-04:00

Amid South Florida’s recession-battered real estate market, there’s some pretty good news: We haven’t lost our allure and bargain hunters have moved in.

That’s the feedback from a panel of real estate experts gathered for the 10th Business Journal Critical Conversation for 2010. Previous installments of the news series have covered topics ranging from health care and manufacturing to cloud computing and the cruise industry.

Residential real estate shows considerable movement, with bargains spurring sales and some builders starting new single-family homes with little competition left, our experts said. Industrial space is tight in some areas, but office space is expected to lag in the recovery.

Hotels are seeing a rebound in occupancy rates, but there are more bad loans and foreclosures still to be worked out.

Condo bargain hunting
The conversation about condos has turned from the bust story of 2009 to the bargain hunting of 2010, said Hermen Rodriguez, managing director of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler in Coral Gables “I think the condo story, particularly for Miami, has been very strong. Yes, it was overpriced. Yes, it was too much supply. But, there are people who believe in Miami.”

Shari B. Olefson, a partner with the law firm of Fowler White Boggs in Fort Lauderdale and the author of “Foreclosure Nation,” said: “Every major morning show has covered what a great deal Miami is.”

The host of one national network show interviewed her and then turned around and bought a condo in Miami, she said.

“A lot of buyers are stepping in and buying at 50 cents on the dollar,” said Brad Hunter, chief economist for Metrostudy.

In some recent months, there have been 300 sales a month in downtown Miami.

“That’s not happening in Vegas,” Rodriguez said.

Pricing is very market specific, said Mark Pordes, president and CEO of Pordes Residential in Aventura. For example, he’s seen a big uptick on Miami Beach.

He’s involved with several projects, including Terra Beachside Villas on Collins Avenue at 60th Street, which was purchased out of foreclosure, he said. “The group that picked it up repositioned it the right way, and we have been able to raise prices. We are selling them.”

Neil Merin, chairman of NAI Merin Hunter Codman, said a lot of entrepreneurs are buying in Miami.

“If you are in Barcelona, Brazil and Budapest, you can buy a beautiful beachfront apartment,” he said. That is tremendous for Miami.”

There are also a lot of cash buyers from places like Venezuela and Brazil, some of whom rent their units and get cash flow, Pordes said.

Many condo buildings are now qualifying for Federal Housing Administration financing, which was not as widely available six or 12 months ago, Pordes said. Other units are selling after banks recognize that a developer has a good sales force and opts to take a haircut on the loan, rather than selling to a bulk buyer at a drastic discount.

That can go too far, though.

Some of our panelists were concerned that some bankers were going too easy on developers whom they hope to continue doing business with when the economy turns up.

Pordes cited an example of a well-done deal: 2700 North Ocean on Singer Island in Riviera Beach was acquired by a group that is rebranding it as Ritz-Carlton Residences.

“It’s going to sell well now,” he said. “You have fresh people in there and fresh blood going on.”

Even condo-hotel units, which received a black eye during the downturn, are showing signs of life, Pordes said. Would-be buyers can go to the front desk and find out just how well the units are being filled with guests.

By law, condo-hotel units aren’t supposed to be marketed as investments, but that didn’t prevent some buyers from falling into that trap during the boom – and later being sorely disappointed by a lack of cash flow.

One example of buyer interest: Pordes said he was involved with the purchase of 25 condo-hotel units built next to the original Fontainebleau hotel on Miami Beach. He only has 11 left to resell, with more deals pending.

Single-family rebound
It’s been a long, slow slide when it comes to single-family homes.

The residential market peaked in 2005, and the bottom for housing starts was reached last year, Hunter said. “We are slowly crawling our way off the bottom.”

While it is difficult to stop in mid-construction on a condo high-rise, it’s easier on a single-family home project.

“What happened is the builders were very quick to slash their prices in 2006 and blew out the inventory really fast,” Hunter said. “Existing home prices were a lot more sticky.”

By 2009, builders had pretty much gotten rid of their excess inventories, so now some are at the point where, every time they sell a house, they have to start building a new one.

Homes are selling fast in areas such as Doral and Jupiter’s Abacoa, and GL Homes has had success in Boynton Beach and Delray Beach, selling $300,000 to $500,000 residences, Hunter said.

Shane Soefker, senior managing director for Cushman & Wakefield in South Florida, noted that land speculators have started to acquire residential tracts with infrastructure to resell to single-family homebuilders as the market returns.

Hunter sees two drivers for what’s going on.

“Basically, in a lot of cases, the builders’ competitors went away – they went out of business or got out of the homebuilding business for a while,” he said. “Secondly, and very important, these projects all have something in common. They are in ‘A’ locations – close to jobs, recreation and shopping. They are where people want to live.”

Buyers prefer newly built homes over foreclosures, which may need fixing up, he said.

South Florida has chewed through a wave of foreclosures on lower-priced homes, which have probably reached bottom in pricing, Hunter said. Now, there are more foreclosures of nicer homes.

Demographics are another factor.

A lot of the homes built during the boom had five or six bedrooms for baby boomers and their families, but the kids are growing up and moving out. The result was an oversupply of oversized homes.

Generation X came to home-buying age at the peak of the market, and many owe more than their homes are worth or have lost them, Hunter said. “Then, we have Generation Yers, who are saying, ‘Now I’m going to be renting, and will be renting for several years.”

Institutional interest
Many commercial property deals these days are dependent on deep-pocketed institutional investors after financing dried up and cracks formed in the commercial mortgage-backed securities market.

The success in dealing with the overbuilt condo situation is a positive signal to institutional investors in general, Pordes said. “Where one lives translates into where one works.”

Rodriguez said: “To institutional investors in New York and Chicago, this seems like a very orderly disposition of real estate.”

Many investors have bicoastal strategies for the U.S. and consider South Florida a tier-one location, Rodriguez said. “We are on the East Coast, so it’s New York, Boston and Washington. Then they bypass Atlanta and come to South Florida.”

Merin said investors thought South Florida was a bulletproof market when the area hit about 5 million in population and started accepting low initial rates of return with the expectations of a payoff as prices rose.

“So, they are coming back now and realizing Florida is still a cyclical market,” Merin said.

Miami is recognized as a global gateway city, but buyers start drilling down into markets further north, he said. “Do I want to be in Plantation? Do I want to be in downtown Fort Lauderdale?”

Hunter said some institutional investors are looking for distressed properties, such as stalled townhouse projects and half-built subdivisions.

A lot of funds have raised $1 billion or $2 billion, and are itching to get the right yields and deploy their capital, Merin said.

Rodriguez said more commercial property owners are willing to sell – telling themselves they avoided selling at the worst of the market and it’s time to make new investments.

Banks with foreclosed commercial properties are also taking a strong look at exit strategies, especially if cash flow isn’t so great and repairs are needed, he said.

Some bargain hunters are deceiving themselves if they think a property held by a troubled bank will be easier to get when the bank fails, Olefson said. The best window is usually the two- or three-month period when a bank is still trying to raise capital.

“It’s the exact opposite as to what people think,” she said.

Obstacles for office
Office space represents a challenge with the high unemployment rate and retrenchment by many employers.

“We didn’t overbuild, but we had a jobs recession,” Merin said.

Firms such as ADT Security Services, which just signed a deal to relocate its Boca Raton operation, have been able to lease space 40 percent cheaper than they did before.

Some markets, such as Plantation, have available space vacated by firms that downsized or went out of business.

The economy is not adding jobs at a steady pace and it will be a while before increased employment will boost the office market, Cushman & Wakefield’s Soefker said. Downtowns are doing better than suburban areas, but it will generally be a long, steady recovery when it comes to leasing rates.

Future development will be contingent on leasing and rental rates that enable builders to get financing for projects, Soefker said. He doesn’t expect to see that until 2012.

Rodriguez said office space would be the last to sector to rebound.

In the meantime, the market would favor owners, which are also strong operators, Merin said.

Improvements in industrial
The rebound has been quicker for industrial and warehouse space.

“Corporations and users in general have gone from a destocking mode to a restocking mode,” Soefker said. “A lot of it is consumer driven and import/export driven. You can’t look at any port that hasn’t had an increase in container volume from an industrial standpoint.”

Many economists believe that manufacturers and retailers anticipated a worse recession than actually happened, Merin said. “So, in warehouse and manufacturing, you are seeing a quicker restocking because there was an overreaction to the news in 2009.”

Industrial projects are much easier to cycle through than office towers or shopping centers, which require longer development time frames, Merin said.

Soefker said: “You can turn the spigot off on the deliverables and control it much easier.”

There are not a lot of raw sites left for industrial projects in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, Soefker said. Many of the locations in Miami-Dade are controlled by a couple of entities.

Institutional buyers are paying record-low capitalization rates (the first-year return based on income in relation to sales price), Soefker said.

Merin termed this “chasing yields.”
Soefker cited a recent 800,000-square-foot industrial sale with a 5.9 percent cap rate. The buyer said it liked the site because the purchase price was less than what it would cost to build a similar project.

Turnaround for hotels
Hotels are dealing with two key cycles, and there has been a fundamental shift in recent months, said Guy Trusty, president of Lodging & Hospitality Realty in Coral Gables.

The revenue cycle is turning up in the form of higher room rates, so that’s starting to help the other cycle of real estate prices.

About six months ago, investors only wanted to buy notes on properties, and lenders “would go there with a lawyer and a hammer and foreclose on the note,” he said.

Now, with the rising room rates, good operators are finding new slack.

“It boils down to whether the bank has confidence in the operator and works with the owner or forecloses on the note,” Trusty said.

He is dealing with real estate investment trusts and other investors “who have a pile of cash and want to invest it in a hotel,” he said.

Transactions involving the Royal Palm Hotel and Seville Hotel in Miami Beach show some long-running issues are being resolved, he said.

Sometimes, Trusty said his strategy is to initiate separate talks with the bank and the owner. “Sometimes they don’t like to hear that.”

Olefson says she is seeing recovery in some urban areas like Miami Beach, but problems linger in areas where there might be a cluster of suburban hotels.

Merin said some buyers see an opportunity roll out new concepts and brands, but he’s also had his hands full with the former DoubleTree in Boca Raton, where he is acting as a receiver.

“The property is going to waste,” he said. “We have to shut down the hotel and fire all the people,” he said.

Merin is worried that South Florida’s humidity could create damage that could necessitate leveling the structure if the power is turned off.

The foreclosure situation in general is creating a lot of uncertainty and delays, Olefson said. Some banks don’t think they have the authority on pricing the notes on properties and aren’t sure how they will be reimbursed under FDIC loss-sharing agreements.

She said: “A lot of workouts will start hitting the foreclosure dockets – lots of hotels, a lot of multifamily foreclosures.”

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/print-edition/2010/11/05/real-estate-market-improves-as.html

South Florida Business Journal - by Kevin Gale

Florida Real Estate Prices On the Rise in Miami and Orlando?

2010-11-03T10:02:00.001-04:00

As we all know, Florida has seen some of the most dramatic falls in real estate prices and the total number of homes sold since the housing market collapsed. Although things are bad in much of the state, it seems that the real estate market in Florida may be on the mend.

Some of the most hard hit areas such as the Orlando, Miami, and Fort Myers areas have seen nice rebounds in the number of homes sold over the last several months, raising hope that prices will soon follow. Fort Myers, located in Southwest Florida, has seen the number of home sales rise from about 850 sales in February of 2008, to well over 1,700 in October of this year. Miami has seen even bigger gains in that time period, with approximately 2,000 sales in February of 2008, compared with over 5,100 last month.

As inventory reduces, prices should begin to rise, not only in hardly hit Florida, but in real estate markets nationwide. The one variable that is still an unknown is what affect remaining foreclosures may have on this market. As long as foreclosures trickle in, instead of all hitting at once, inventory reductions should hopefully leave us with a stronger market come the end of 2011, and 2012.

Market bright spot: condos in Dade

2010-11-01T11:11:00.000-04:00

As South Florida's shaky real estate market searches for recovery, an investor group's $1 billion bet on the local condominium market is about to be put to the test.

Starwood Capital-led investor group ST Residential -- in charge of more than 1,200 new condo units in South Florida -- launched its ST Miami initiative this month, announcing plans to release hundreds of new condo units into South Florida's fragile market in the coming months.

Condo sales were the standout figure in the September existing sales report released Monday by the Miami Association of Realtors.

Existing condo sales in Miami-Dade County rose 36 percent in September compared to the same month last year, with 833 sales closed. Month over month, sales were down 2.8 percent, despite a 5 percent decline in median prices. In Broward County, condo sales slid to 828, down 4 percent from September of last year.

Existing single-family home sales continued their descent in September, falling 6 percent year over year in Miami-Dade, with 582 sales. In Broward, year-over-year single family sales dropped 16 percent to 673.

Nationally, the housing market improved in September, with existing sales increasing 10 percent from August.

Prices are still falling in many sectors of the housing market, but ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said brand new condos have avoided that fate this year, even posting increases.

``Relative to all the other markets in the U.S., Miami is doing well,'' Hundley said. ``We've seen prices increase about 10 to 15 percent since the beginning of the year.''

ST Residential became a major player in South Florida's real estate market about a year ago when it bought a stake in the distressed real estate portfolio of failed Chicago-based Corus Bank. In a public-private deal with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, ST Residential bought into a portfolio of condo projects that includes Paramount Bay in Miami, Jade Ocean Condominiums in Sunny Isles Beach and Tao in Sunrise.

The purchase made ST the second-largest owner of developer units in Miami's downtown condo market, behind Jorge Perez's Related Group, and the public-private deal gave the investor group the flexibility to adjust pricing levels.

ST Residential is ``coming in at a time when prices have stabilized, and they're creeping upwards, in that Brickell-downtown area,'' said David Dabby, a real estate analyst with Dabby Group Advisors. ``The market is weak overall, but there's enough acquisition activity to begin moving that [developer] inventory.''

Dabby noted however, that prices are still 50 percent below where they were four years ago, and not likely to make significant gains anytime soon, since discounted foreclosures and short sales rule the market.

Distressed properties are responsible for more than half of existing home sales in South Florida, dragging down median prices.

In September, year-over-year housing prices fell nearly across the board, with Broward single-family homes standing out as the sole exception. The median priced home in Broward sold for $214,200, up 7 percent compared to last September. Broward condo prices were down 9 percent to $71,600. In Miami-Dade, condo prices fell 25 percent to $99,400, and single-family home prices fell 2 percent to $188,000.

ST Residential plans to relaunch 530-unit Mint on the Miami River into the market in December and will kickstart sales at the 346-unit Paramount Bay on Biscayne Bay north of the Performing Arts Center next year, pricing units ``at market'' rates, Hundley said.

``We control so much inventory that if we come in at very low price point we could disrupt the market,'' he said. ``And we don't want to do that.''

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/26/1891129/market-bright-spot-condos-in-dade.html

BY TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com

Firm can buy debt of downtown condo

2010-10-29T11:05:00.001-04:00

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

Take a dip - Miami luxury stays afloat

2010-10-28T14:07:00.001-04:00

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

Miami Heat's Big Three a boon to neigjboring condos

2010-10-25T10:56:00.001-04:00

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

Foreigners Buying Up US Property

2010-10-07T10:46:00.000-04:00

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

Foreign buyers see big opportunity in housing bust

2010-10-06T15:54:00.001-04:00

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

Interest Rates And Property Prices Are Going Down In Miami

2010-10-04T11:37:00.000-04:00

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

Heat's Chris Bosh scores a deal for Miami Beach home

2010-10-01T11:10:00.001-04:00

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

Miami Real Estate Market Continues To Strengthen

2010-09-29T10:42:00.000-04:00

Miami, Fl, US – The Miami real estate market continues to strengthen compared to last year, the homes and condo/apartment prices are stabilizing and more buyers are acquiring properties in Miami.
The sales of single family homes increased 12% compared to august 2009 and 59% in condo/apartments.
The median price for a single family home in Miami decreased 6% to $182.000 compared to 2009 and the condominiums median price in august was $104.000, down 28% from last year.
Days in the market and inventory levels decreased, and this is a good sign that shows that the market it’s getting strong again. Inventory dropped 6% compared to last year and days in the market decreased 16.7% to 92 for single family homes and 19.3% for condominiums to 103 days, according to the Miami Association of Realtors.

Source: http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=123981

Active Miami-Dade home-sale market bucking national trend

2010-09-24T11:41:00.000-04:00

Since a federal tax break expired June 30, home sales have fallen 20.9 percent in Phoenix, 32.5 percent in Las Vegas, 19.9 percent in San Diego, and even 25 percent in Austin's recession-resistant housing market.

But in Miami-Dade, which continues to battle massive amounts of foreclosures, a bloated inventory of homes and high unemployment, sales have outperformed the national market for the past two months, ignoring the post-tax credit hangover. Since June, Miami-Dade combined sales are flat, according to data from the Florida Association of Realtors.

Miami-Dade's numbers stack up well next to national numbers, an indication that falling prices and international interest in South Florida real estate are sustaining sales.

Nationally, August sales rose slightly from July's 15-year lows, but were still down 19 percent year-over-year and 22.5 percent since June, the National Association of Realtors said.

The federal homebuyer's tax credit expired in April, so most markets saw a bump in sales in May and June, as buyers closed sales before the program's original June 30 deadline.

Miami-Dade sales of existing homes, condos and townhouses increased 31.3 percent in August compared to the same month of 2009, figures released Thursday show.

The picture is not as pretty in Broward County, where year-over-year existing sales slumped 11.6 percent in August for all home types, and sales have slipped 18.7 percent since June.

Comparing South Florida to some of the headline markets in the most troubled states -- Nevada, California and Arizona -- gives a more nuanced picture of the factors that have distinguished the Miami area from the rest of the country.

``Miami hit its peak in the fourth quarter of 2005, the other markets didn't hit their peaks until the fourth quarter of 2007,'' said Peter Zalewski, a principal at Bal Harbour-based consultancy Condo Vultures.

``In Miami, the prices have been cut since 2009. If you go to Southern California, you're not going to see those price cuts yet.''

As home prices rise nationally, South Florida continues to see its prices slashed, fueling the appetite of bargain-hungry international buyers and local investors.

In August, condo prices fell 28 percent to $104,800 in Miami-Dade, and single-family home prices fell 6 percent to $182,900. In a lending environment where many struggle to obtain loans for the discounted properties, cash-wielding investors have ramped up their activity, propping up sales.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/24/v-fullstory/1839897/active-miami-dade-home-sale-market.html

By TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com

Miami Existing Condominium Sales Spike 50 Percent, Single-Family Home Sales also Rise in August

2010-09-23T13:03:00.000-04:00

The Miami real estate market continues to strengthen as a result of increased sales and stabilizing home prices. In the Miami Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), there was a 59 percent increase in condominium sales in August compared to August 2009 and a 77 percent increase compared to two years ago, according to the MIAMI Association of REALTORS and the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service (SEFMLS).

The sales of existing single-family homes in the Miami MSA increased 12 percent in August compared to August 2009 and were 36 percent higher than they were in August 2008. The Miami real estate market experienced rising residential sales since August 2008, posting increases for 23 consecutive months. After dipping slightly last month, single-family home sales are again reflecting healthy gains, while condominium sales continue to increase significantly.

“We are encouraged by the fact that the sales of both single-family homes and condominiums are increasing,” said Jack H. Levine, 2010 Chairman of the Board of the MIAMI Association of REALTORS. “Home prices continue to stabilize, but the substantial presence of distressed properties in our market is contributing to fluctuations in median sales price levels. Still, the evident demand for South Florida real estate is definitely a positive sign.”

Statewide sales increased 22 percent for condominiums and one percent for single-family homes.
Nationally, sales of existing single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops rose 7.6 percent from July, but remain 19 percent below August 2009, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Home Prices

After posting increases in the last few months, the median sales price of single-family homes in the Miami MSA fell slightly in August.

The median sales price for single-family homes in the Miami MSA in August decreased six percent to $182,900 compared to a year ago. The median sales price for condominiums in August was $104,800, down 28 percent from a year ago. Statewide median sales prices decreased nine percent to $134,000 for single-family homes and 24 percent to $81,600 for condominiums.

Average sales prices, which have increased consistently over the last few months, rose again in August for single-family homes but dropped for condominiums. According to the SEFMLS, the average sales price for residential properties that sold in Miami-Dade County in August increased 9 percent from the previous year to $290,990 for single-family homes and decreased 35.3 percent to $174,470 for condominiums.

Days on the Market and Inventory Levels Decrease

The inventory of residential listings in Miami-Dade County according to the SEFMLS has dropped 5 percent from 27,255 to 25,679 since August 2009. The levels of active single-family home listings and of condominiums have both dropped six percent from a year ago. Compared to last month, the total inventory of homes increased a negligible .08 percent. The average days a property stays on the market decreased 16.7 percent to 92 for single-family homes and 19.3 percent to 103 for condominiums.

Nationally, total housing inventory at the end of August slipped .6 percent from the previous month.

New International Study Confirms Miami’s Global Prominence

Florida is by far the top state in the U.S. for international buying activity, and South Florida consistently ranks as a top market for foreign buyers within the state. Due to the local market’s global prominence, the MIAMI Association of REALTORS partnered with NAR to conduct a study that reveals information about foreign buyers in the Miami area.

“This report communicates key findings about the crucial international buyer that fueled the local market’s recovery and is now playing an important role as the marketplace strengthens,” said 2010 MIAMI Association of REALTORS Residential President Oliver Ruiz. “We continue to see strong demand from international buyers in all price points, including the high-end market. These buyers are willing to outbid competing offers and are 89 percent cash, a factor that automatically expedites their transactions.”

Source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/miami_real_estate/single-family_home_sales/prweb4559224.htm

Miami Real Estate Market It’s Slowly Recovering

2010-09-22T15:18:00.001-04:00

Miami, Florida, US - The Miami homes and condos pending sales have risen 33.7 percent in august compare to august 2009 according to Miami Association of Realtors and South Florida Multiple Listing Services.

This rise it’s happening because the properties in Miami Florida are reaching the bottom price. Since 2005 most properties lost up to 50% of their value, giving to investors and first time home buyers the opportunity to become homeowners in Miami.

“This is the right time to buy a home or a condo in Miami. Buyers can take advantage of this down market opportunity and save thousands of dollars before the market goes up again”

The property prices are at their lowest point, and as history shows and happened many times before, the market will be changing slowly into a seller’s market, the property prices will go up and today opportunities will be all gone in the near future.

This is a great opportunity for South Florida renters that want to become homeowners. They can take a look of what it is available in today’s market; in some cases their mortgage monthly payments will be lower than their current monthly rent.

Source: http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=123619

Julio Hernandez
(786) 587 4654
www.miamirealestatelistings.org

Miami home sellers cut prices by $123.8M in August

2010-09-20T11:20:00.001-04:00

Nearly one in five home sellers in the city of Miami reduced prices in August, according to a report released Wednesday by real estate search firm Trulia.com. The average reduction was 10 percent, according to the report, which tracked the nation's 50 largest cities.

Miami recorded a total of $123.8 million in home price reductions in August, the report found.

Nationally, price reductions have increased for three months in a row, totaling 26 percent of all properties for sale. Home sellers have slashed prices by more than $29 billion since July, Trulia found. The average reduction nationally was 10 percent, or $33,892, in August.

Trulia's report does not include foreclosure properties, which make up less than 10 percent of properties listed for sale in South Florida.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/15/1825376/miami-home-sellers-cut-prices.html

Elegant and great property at Miami Beach Condos

2010-09-17T14:21:00.002-04:00

The best advice real estate experts give is for one to examine more recent sales data and use these as basis for pricing a home appropriately. Studies have shown that pricing homes appropriately would sell them faster and at a higher price show than pricing them aggressively. The Findire backhand team all equipped with professionals gives you an opportunity to dwell in the best of Miami property locations.

As prices fall in places like the USA and UK, rental incomes relative to purchase price are increasing. At the point that yields is sufficiently high we start to see value as the level of yield provides sufficient headroom for future price growth before yield drops to an unattractive level. Such value investments therefore offer good yields and long term growth prospects.

Note that Miami real estate living is something of a reward for you, treat every day there as your best. You can always see positive outlook in the Miami area because people never complain a thing about it. Like most of the people who chooses real estate in Miami. We can say that it is one of the coolest places to live in, the perfect combination of great city attributes will really lure you to it and we think investing in Miami real estate can be a good place to live in for the future.

In today ever changing Miami marketplace, when the banks take control of the prices of a given development they reduce the prices drastically. When the prices reach around $200 per Square Foot levels, the whole building sells like magic. You’ll pay this part of your property tax bill regardless of what the home is worth. In many Florida Counties they can be substantial. Those taxes have to be paid even if the tax value of your home is zero.

The Most Famous Miami Beach Location for Buying Condos is one of the most popular areas of the city. This historical district was the original ‘vacation’ area of the nation, and has a unique collection of lovely hotels and apartment buildings. A lot of this can be credited to the concentration of condos in expensive coastal areas like Miami Beach.

However, the wealthy are not the only ones buying a Miami Beach condo, as both ends of the middle and upper income markets are buying. While the affordability of getting these types of housing units these days is enough motivation to buy, retirees, empty nesters, dual income professionals and individuals have now been rushing to buy or rent condos as a lifestyle choice. The opportunities to obtain fantastic bargains are drawing growing numbers of foreign investors to the Florida real estate market. Fewer risks are associated with real estate property investment in established markets as opposed to newer, emerging markets, although this security is often accompanied by higher property prices.

The recent downturn of the Miami Florida real estate market has created a unique position for investors, featuring some of the lowest property prices seen in years. These bargains have created an established market where the cost of housing is mirroring some emerging markets.

Source: http://free-pressrelease-distribution.com/elegant-and-great-property-at-beach-miami-condos-2732032.html

Buyers Cashing In On Miami Real Estate Market

2010-09-16T13:55:00.001-04:00

It's a problem for thousands of families in South Florida and around the country: Is it better to rent or buy? A national research service now says the answer in Miami is getting a lot easier.

Trulia, a national real estate service, found rock bottom pricing and record low interest rates are teaming up for a one-two punch that's giving the Miami market one of the top ratings in the country for communities where it's now cheaper to buy than rent.

Trulia listed Miami number 3 nationally behind only Arlington Texas and Minneapolis, for reduced home prices.

But local real estate experts warned property taxes and insurance costs are still major considerations when deciding whether renting or owning around South Florida is the best bet.

"If you're going to be here long term for at least 4-5 years, buying may be a better deal for you," warned Miami Realtor Christopher Zoller. "But from a cash only standpoint, if you're going to be here for less time you're better off renting right now."

While price cuts may be growing nationally, Trulia found the Miami market's now well below the national average for close-out pricing.

The highest number of "reduced listings" is in Minneapolis, where almost half of the current listings are considered "reduced," to move them in a stagnant market.

Trulia found the national average to be 26%. Miami's now down to 18%; and that gives us a ranking of 49 out of the top 50 markets nationally for the fewest number of "Close-Outs."

"We are not as bad as we used to be. Some prices are now starting to come back up," Zoller said.

The biggest improvements in South Florida have come from high-end, single family homes which started to see some gains earlier in the summer. But much of the new Miami market strength is based mostly on foreign investors.

The biggest challenge for the housing market remains finding qualified buyers with good enough credit, and high enough incomes, to take advantage of the deals that are now on the market.

Because of continuing foreclosures, there are still expected to be more homes on the market than qualified buyers. That means selling prices may not see much more growth for a while; and that ultimately means more good news for bargain hunters.

Source: http://cbs4.com/CBS4yourmoney/rent.buy.homes.2.1914823.html

Trulia: Miami homeowners continue to slash prices

2010-09-15T12:26:00.000-04:00

Eighteen percent of homes for sale in Miami saw their prices slashed in August by an average of 12 percent, according to data from real estate website Trulia.com.

Still, Miami actually ranks fairly low – at No. 49 on the list of 50 cities – with $123.8 million in price reductions. It was ahead of only Detroit, which saw 16 percent of homeowners slashing prices – though they did cut deeper, at 25 percent.

Nationwide, 26 percent of homeowners cut prices to account for a total reduction of more than $29 billion nationwide. The average national price reduction was 10 percent.

Despite the increase of price reduction figures to historic levels, 24 of the 50 largest U.S. cities held steady or dropped, compared with data from the previous month, according to Trulia.

"On the surface, the latest price reduction data carries with it conflicting messages," Trulia co-founder and CEO Pete Flint said in a news release. "Nationwide, sellers continue to slash prices, and this is a worrisome trend. However, we're seeing gradual improvement in many U.S. cities – several for consecutive months. What this shows us is that, while we're in for a long climb to bring stability back to the housing market and while it's going to take time, that climb appears to at least be under way in some parts of the country."

Meanwhile, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday that, for the week ended Sept. 10, mortgage loan application volume fell 8.9 percent from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of refinancings fell 10.8 percent, despite the fact that mortgage rates fell.

The average interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.47 percent from 4.5 percent.
The average interest rate for 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.96 percent from 4 percent.
The average interest rate for one-year, adjustable rate mortgages decreased to 6.89 percent from 7 percent.

Source: http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2010/09/13/daily28.html

Just like home: Vacation rentals more popular

2010-09-14T11:21:00.001-04:00

After Charlie Ramirez's two grown daughters moved out and left him and his wife in a 5-bedroom, 3 ½-bathroom empty nest, the Pembroke Pines residents decided it was time to downsize.

The couple moved into a smaller apartment and, earlier this year, listed the family home on vacation rental website HomeAway.com as a ``secluded mansion'' that sleeps 11 and starts at $1,250 a week.

``It was a perfect choice'' for offsetting his costs, said Ramirez, 54, an unemployed Realtor.

With that, Ramirez joined the burgeoning crowd of South Floridians offering second homes, investment condos -- and yes, even couches -- as vacation options for visitors who want the space, amenities and relative bargain that hotels don't always provide.

Such rentals have long been popular in South Florida during special events such as Super Bowl and Art Basel Miami Beach. But the growth of websites connecting owners with potential renters has made the process far easier, with more than 1,000 websites aimed at the $24 billion vacation-rental niche, according to the Vacation Rental Industry Association.

The real estate boom earlier this decade -- and the ongoing real estate crisis -- has increased inventory.

Monica Campana, whose family bought a Brickell condo hotel unit a couple of years ``when it was the highest of the market,'' was caught in the downturn. Condo-hotel operators weren't doing enough to bring in guests, she said, so she listed the unit on rental-by-owner site VRBO.com .

While the short-term rental practice is popular with second homeowners and travelers, it isn't always sanctioned -- or legal.

Such rentals recently came under fire in New York, where a measure signed into law this July prohibits some short-term rentals of less than 30 days. Vacation rental websites and proponents of cheap travel cried foul, calling the decision a blow to tourists who want to avoid the Big Apple's famously high hotel prices.

Officials in Chicago, Paris and Maui also have cracked down.

``There's budget travel demand for these places,'' said Gabriel Amorocho, marketing manager for Miami-based Rentalo.com , which lists rentals worldwide. ``These places are going to keep springing up. You shouldn't be thinking of banning it; you should be thinking of placing some kind of guidelines.''

Locally, regulations vary from city to city -- and even condo to gated community. In certain areas in Miami Beach, single-family home rentals for less than six months were banned last year. Some South Florida condo associations prohibit or limit short-term rentals.

But one rule applies throughout the region. Under Florida law, anyone who rents out a home, apartment, room or any other space for less than six months must pay tourist taxes just like hotels.

Tax collectors in Miami-Dade and Broward said they aren't sure how many people actually comply. But they make a point to seek out listings in classified advertising and on websites and send warnings to potential scofflaws.

Though hotels elsewhere have supported short-term rental bans, the practice hasn't been an issue here, tourism officials said.

``We haven't heard that this is a trend going on that's impacting our hotels,'' said Ginny Gutierrez, spokeswoman for the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. ``We're a different destination than a lot of other cities. We have a very large hotel room inventory that turns over pretty quickly. There's sort of something for everyone in that price range.''

Broward County tourism director Nicki Grossman said she doesn't see private homes-for-rent as competition for hotels either -- especially during special events.

``By then, our hotels are full anyway,'' she said.

Experts say hotels tend to attract a different type of traveler than vacation renters. A report from research firm PhoCusWright found that vacation homes typically are rented by groups of at least four, said senior research director Douglas Quinby. The average daily rate for rentals is about 2 ½ times that of hotels, and people tend to stay longer in rentals than they do in hotels, he said.

Steve Krone, 30, considers the ``ridiculously stocked'' Miami Beach units he rents out on Airbnb.com to be a better option than hotels. Prices for his one-bedroom apartments start at $70 in the off season; renters get wireless Internet access, information about parking and cab fare and recommendations on things to do and places to eat.

``You get friendly, honest people,'' said Krone, who rents the units out to bring in a little extra cash when he's not hosting friends or family. ``Each one that's come in, they've ended up being good friends. They'll send me where they're going to next. I just e-mailed somebody from Australia.''

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/13/v-fullstory/1823512/just-like-home-vacation-rentals.html

BY HANNAH SAMPSON
hsampson@MiamiHerald.com

Investors buying South Florida condos in bulk

2010-09-10T12:40:00.001-04:00

Attracted by plunging prices, big-time investors have begun buying South Florida condo units by the dozens, in bulk deals valued in the tens of millions of dollars.

Since July 2008, 63 sales have closed in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties representing 6,000 condo units worth $1.6 billion, according to CondoVultures.com, a Bal Harbour-based consulting firm. There were no such deals in 2006 or 2007.

Miami-Dade has been the site of most of the bulk sales, but available properties there are becoming scarce, leading investors to move north into Broward and Palm Beach counties, CondoVultures said.
The bulk sales are good for existing owners, who are desperate for a more vibrant lifestyle that doesn't exist in these mostly dark developments.

One of the largest deals was engineered recently by Ophir Sternberg, managing partner of Lionheart Capital, a Miami-based private equity firm.

His group paid $117.3 million for the remaining 146 oceanfront condos at 2700 North Ocean Drive on Singer Island in Riviera Beach. The cash-and-debt deal is the most expensive bulk sale in the three counties so far this year.

Lionheart paid $803,483 a unit. The condos are valued at about $1.5 million, CondoVultures said.

"The South Florida market has been hit very hard, but it's one that we think is going to bounce back and has great potential," Sternberg said.

Existing owners usually are thrilled when bulk buyers take control of a condo complex, said Mark Pordes, founder and president of an Aventura real estate brokerage. The investors will cover past-due association fees and breathe new life into the project, he said.

"If you're at the pool by yourself, it's not the best feeling in the world," Pordes said. "The reason many people buy condos is they don't like the sense of being alone."

Pordes said he has arranged eight bulk sales across South Florida and has three more in the pipeline. In some cases, his firm takes an ownership stake in projects. Pordes said investors from New York, Canada and South America have contacted him about finding them deals.

"They want to buy in now at prices below construction costs," Pordes said. "South Florida still has the beaches and the weather. It's always going to be appealing."

Condo prices across the region have tumbled by about 60 percent since the peak of the housing boom in 2005. The foreclosure crisis could keep prices depressed for three more years, forcing bulk buyers to rent the units until they can sell them, said Mark Grant, a Fort Lauderdale real estate lawyer and partner at Ruden McClosky.

"Investors realize they have a holding time," Grant said. "They'll be waiting a few years to get rid of this product."

In June, an affiliate of Dizengoff-Trading Co. paid $8.2 million for 106 units at Bermuda Cay in Boynton Beach. It's one of two bulk sales the Israeli-based firm has completed in South Florida. The other was a $6.5 million deal for 115 units at Courtney Park in Lake Worth.

Ronen Saban, Dizengoff's U.S. region manager, said the firm plans to stabilize both complexes by renting the units. "It's too early to plan for an exit in this market," he said.

Also this summer, The McKafka Group bought 64 units at Las Olas on the River for $8.6 million. The deal remains the largest bulk sale in Fort Lauderdale, said Peter Zalewski, principal at CondoVultures. His firm works with investor groups looking to buy properties at deeply discounted prices.

The 240-unit Las Olas on the River was built in 2005 at the height of the boom. The building was in foreclosure, and a short sale of the condos was approved by the lender, Bank of America, Fernando Levy-Hara, managing partner at McKafka, said at the time.

Levy-Hara could not be reached for comment this week.

The bulk sales could accelerate after a new condo reform bill took effect July 1 that limits the liability of bulk buyers, analysts say.

Florida law used to consider a developer anyone who bought more than seven units in a building of 70 units or more. Those buyers were forced to assume the same legal and financial responsibilities as developers who build condos. The new bill eliminated the title of developer for bulk buyers.

As a result, even more investors will be eager to buy, and sellers will be able to fetch more money, Grant said. Ultimately, that will help the condo market recover.

Lionheart, which bought the two-tower 2700 North Ocean condo from Catalfumo Construction in Palm Beach Gardens, plans to launch a marketing campaign this fall.

Fewer than half the units – 96 – were scooped up by individual buyers who paid roughly $900,000 to more than $3 million during the real estate run-up.

Sternberg said he expects the 146 units to start selling at about $1 million.

A spokeswoman for Lionheart said the firm is talking to Ritz-Carlton about turning the condo into resort-style residences. Sternberg was vague about the project's future.

"We're going to wait for the right buyers and have a patient approach," he said.

Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bulk-condo-sales-20100910,0,5244079.story

Paul Owers can be reached at Powers@Sunsentinel.com or 561-243-6529

Bulk Buying Real Estate

2010-09-09T10:54:00.001-04:00

If you're one that loves a "steal of a deal," South Florida's real estate market is ready to love you back.

But, the big catch--and in these economic times, it's a Big Catch--you've got to have all cash. But if you do, you can buy a $50,000 condo in Miami Beach, just 2 blocks from the sand and breaking waves. Keep in mind, this is a condo that previously had sold for $172,000. And, in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties, there are 6000 of these foreclosed or distressed properties on the market.

"This is pure capitalism. If you don't have all cash, you stand no chance, you're going to get crushed," says Peeter Zalewski of CondoVltures.com.

South Florida, and Miami in particular, represent everything that went wrong in the pre-market crash years prior to 2007. From the 1960s to 2002, Zalewski says 11,500 condos were built. From 2002 to 2007, that inventory tripled, to 34,000 condos. And now that the real estate market continues to sputter, there are a glut of condominiums in the overbuilt cities of Miami, Atlanta, Las Vegas and San Diego, where bulk deals are available, at prices lower that what the developer paid to build.

Angel and Santiago Herrera, of Venezuela, recently spent $7 million to buy 39 downtown Miami units. They quickly flipped 17 for a profit and are renting the rest for the next 3 to 5 years when they then plan to sell each for double what they paid.

"The market has never been so down, so when you're so down, the only place you can go is up," says Angel.

Most of the bulk buying that's been happening is being done by foreign investors, who are seeing great investment opportunity.
And most importantly, they're buying with 100% cash.

Source: http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/09/08/bulk-buying-real-estate/

by: Phil Keating

Perfect Selling Point for Miami Florida Condos

2010-09-08T11:14:00.000-04:00

Think like a businessman when you are looking for real estate that you can put down large sums of hard earned money. You may be looking to grow your retirement funds by investing in a property, or you may simply be looking for a place to stay. For whatever the reason, it’s always beneficial for you if you can hone your ability to spot opportunities. And a great opportunity is when you spot a piece of real estate that allows you to buy at a price lower than expected. This can happen for many reasons.

Some home owners are forced to sell their houses because they cannot meet their mortgage payments. They may even have professionals who have negotiated with the banks to lower the market value so as to sell of the property as soon as possible. Others may be in a hurry to sell because they have found new jobs in another city or country, and have to move as soon as possible. These are all possible scenarios where valuable real estate may be bought at a bargain. And you stand to gain from these deals, but only if you know where to find them. You will be able to see photographs of the properties online, and also see an estimated asking price for the different real estate listings. We call them listings because they are, in fact, somewhat like classifieds listings. They are advertisements looking for potential buyers – buyers like you.

So that’s how you can spot really great bargains – by spending time doing some research on the Internet. Sometimes, great deals are hard to come by, so a little patience will go a long way. When you’re looking for a new home in this beach city, it will be best to search for Miami Beach fl condos. Beach condos are in great demand nowadays. Designed with perfectly fitted fixtures and modern furniture, Miami Beach fl condos offer you a great retreat from the ordinary ones.

Apart from these, you will find a number of other properties for sale around the Miami Beach. With a variety on offer, you will not find any difficulty to select a home of your own choice. If you search for quality Miami Homes, your first step should be to look for a good real estate agent. Realtor with a thorough knowledge of the available properties will be a great resort to find your dream home. Make sure that your agent includes a proper understanding of the real estate properties.

Miami Homes can be of different types and it will be very essential on the part of the realtor to know what kind of property you are searching for. Florida’s economy relies heavily on tourism. It has been a wonderful vacation spot for decades. It is highly regarded for its five star experiences.

The future of investment in Florida is bright as it continues to attract thousands of baby boomers, retirees and tourists. In fact Florida property is exploding and it will continue to do so for more than 20 years. You will be surprised to know that the population of Florida is expected to increase by 35,000 people per month, for the next 30 years. People pouring into the state are seen as a testimony to the fact that property in Florida is booming.

Source: http://free-pressrelease-distribution.com/perfect-selling-point-for-miami-florida-condos-2728205.html

Florida the favorite of foreign home buyers

2010-09-07T10:29:00.002-04:00

International buyers have helped buttress Florida's real estate market with 22 percent of all foreign clients nationally choosing property in the Sunshine State.

That makes Florida tops for attracting foreign interest, according to a summer report by the National Association of Realtors. California came in a far second with 12 percent of the international market.

While Florida's share of foreign clients has slipped from a recent high of more than 26 percent in 2008, bargain basement prices and a weakened dollar have continued to lure Canadian and overseas buyers.

The study, which looked at sales between March 2009 and March 2010, found that buyers with permanent residences outside the United States spent an estimated $41 billion on residential property nationally during the period of the study. That's 4 percent of the total residential market during the same time.

"I had an open house in the mid-$500,000s and a man from Canada came and bought it the same day," said Palm Beach Gardens Realtor Jeff Lichtenstein, who has a page on his website dedicated to foreign buyers. "Once they're here, they tend to bring friends."

And family.

Amsterdam native Annette Aalberts bought two Jupiter area homes for herself and her daughter over the past few years. Combined, the homes are worth about $4.5 million.

But most international buyers don't aim that high. According to the study, the median price foreign buyers paid nationally is $219,400.

"International buyers are hugely important in absorbing inventory," said Jenny Huertas, international sales director for the Miami-based consultant firm Condo Vultures.

Huertas estimates 30 percent of sales in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties are to international buyers.

It's unclear how a recent dip in the euro may temper overseas purchases. It's worth $1.28, compared with a high of $1.60 in 2008. That means to buy a $500,000 house, it would cost about 388,709 euros.

But the Canadian dollar, which traditionally has been weaker than U.S. currency, is near parity at 95 cents.

Toronto resident Domenic Triumbari bought two properties in the Palm Beach Grande condominium complex in March. The suburban West Palm Beach homes sold for $164,990 and $179,990 in 2006.

Triumbari picked them up for $60,000 each, paying in cash, and without ever seeing them in person.

"I know they're in West Palm Beach, but not exactly sure where," said Triumbari, who is renting the homes. "The numbers make sense right now. You can make money on your investment."

Triumbari also is searching for a South Florida home for himself.

"I've seen a lot of the Caribbean, been all over the islands, but I like Florida," he said. "We speak the same language, eat the same foods."

While the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches does not keep statistics on international buyers in local markets, statewide statistics the national association gathered showed 31 percent of Florida's international buyers are Canadian, compared with 24 percent nationally.

Nationally, about 55 percent of foreign buyers pay with cash, possibly because it can be harder for international clients to get financing here. In Florida, about 82 percent of international buyers paid in cash.

Realtor Craig Fialkowski, of Herman Group Real Estate in Palm Beach Gardens, said nearly all of his international clients buy with cash and sight unseen.

Typically, they're looking for deals on homes they can rent.

"Buyers want a decent return on investment," Fialkowski said. "The cash flow can be really good."

Source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/real-estate/florida-the-favorite-of-foreign-home-buyers-900349.html

By Kimberly Miller Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Miami-Dade Pending Home Sales Continue to Rise

2010-09-03T12:08:00.000-04:00

Total pending home sales - including single-family homes and condominiums - in Miami-Dade County increased 33.7 percent in August 2010 compared to August 2009, from 7,570 to 10,119, and increased .06 percent, from 10,113 to 10,119, compared to the previous month according to the MIAMI Association of REALTORS and the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service (SEFMLS).

The South Florida real estate market continues to strengthen, primarily due to the highest concentration in the U.S. of international buyers, contrary to national trends, which show near-term home sales noticeably lower since the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit.

Pending sales of condominiums in Miami-Dade County continue to perform better than that of single-family homes.

In August, condominium pending sales increased 49.7 percent compared to the previous year, from 3,848 to 5,759 and increased 0.7 percent, from 5,720 the previous month. Pending sales of single-family homes in August increased 17.1 percent from the previous year, from 3,722 to 4,360, and decreased a slight 0.8 percent from the previous month when pending sales totaled 4,393, showing a preference for condos in August.

Europeans and South Americans buy condos as homes, investments

2010-09-02T13:46:00.002-04:00

Many of the international buyers scooping up condos in South Florida's top bayfront communities are buying to occupy part-time, brokers say, but many would consider a future sale at a profit.
Where these buyers decide to purchase depends in part to the condominium's location, as some are more attracted to beachfront enclaves like Miami Beach, Sunny Isles Beach and Aventura while others want to be in the center of the action and opt for condos in greater Downtown in areas such as Omni, Brickell and downtown.
At the 66-floor Marquis Residences, one of Miami's tallest buildings at 1100 Biscayne Blvd., many of the foreign buyers are from Brazil, Venezuela, Israel and Italy, said Wendy Marks Pine, sales director for Cervera Real Estate, which handles its sales.
For many of these buyers, she said, "their currency has increased in value, offering great opportunities for them to buy in the Miami market."
For example, "we are seeing a heavy influx of Venezuelan buyers who have been able to allocate funds into US dollars" and are buying condos, Ms. Marks Pine said. "The challenge for those who are in Venezuela is taking the currency out of Venezuela to buy."
Along the Biscayne Boulevard corridor, the cluster of performing arts venues, the neighboring art and design districts, the American Airlines Arena and the many restaurants that have sprung up are attracting Israeli buyers to Marquis, many of whom previously owned residences in North Miami Beach and other areas, said Penni Chasens, a Cervera sales associate.
"Miami is so multicultural it has something for everybody," she said.
About 50% of foreigners are buying in cash and the rest are using a seller financing program Marquis offers, Ms. Marks Pine said, "allocated specifically for buyers who are coming in and need to finance. It's unique to this building. Most buildings don't offer that type of financing, so it's an opportunity to get buyers here."
The 292-unit Marquis has about 200 condos left for sale, with 92 sold or awaiting closing, she said. Lofts and two- and three-bedroom units are selling at discounted prices that range from the $400,000s to $3 million.
"It's a combination of original buyers who closed on residences and new buyers who capitalized on opportunities with the 40% price reduction," she said.
Edgardo Defortuna, president of Fortune International Realty, said at the luxury condominiums he represents, many foreigners are buying for their own use "because they love the product and think it's a great value."
Oceanfront residential towers such as Jade Ocean and Jade Beach in Sunny Isles Beach and ArTech in Aventura are being sold to many Latin Americans and Europeans.
For example at ArTech, where Fortune has 50 units left to sell, buyers are mostly Jewish Latin Americans and locals, Mr. Defortuna said.
At Icon Brickell's Towers 1 and 2, Fortune has sold 170 units, of which about 75% have been sold to international buyers, he said. The same at Jade, home to buyers from 22 nationalities, where foreigners represent 70% of buyers.
Julián La Madrid, a Spanish-born developer based in Guatemala, bought a three-bedroom unit at Icon Brickell's Tower 2 because he liked the property's design and its location.
At first, he was debating whether to buy in Miami Beach or Brickell, but he opted for a bayfront unit on the tower's 35th floor because he liked Brickell's work-and-play lifestyle.
Mr. La Madrid, who develops office buildings and shopping centers in Guatemala, said he also saw value in the area's fast development, as he foresees more retail and restaurants opening up in the future.
"The apartment is for me to use as a second residence, to live between Guatemala and Miami," he said. "It's not focused on investment, but I don't discard that in the future it could become an investment."
Brazilians represent another strong buyer segment right now, followed by Argentines and Venezuelans, Mr. Defortuna said. He added that among the reasons for the latter groups to invest here is safety concerns and political problems affecting those countries.
"The economy in Brazil is doing really well. In Argentina, the economy is also doing well, but they are concerned with the safety situation," he said. "In Venezuela, the politician turmoil and the concern it could get worse has made a lot of Venezuelans have some safety net here in the US, and Miami is the perfect place."
About 62% of foreign buyers purchase condos, 21% single-family homes and another 10% townhomes, according to an international sales survey conducted by the Miami Realtors based on transactions in Miami-Dade from April 2009 to April 2010.
These international buyers are helping condo sales stay strong.
While the re-sales of single-family homes in Miami-Dade dropped 8% in July, condo re-sales rose 43% this July from July 2009 and by 112% from two years ago, according to the realtor association and Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service.
Many buying today plan to use the condos as a vacation or second home, but some don't discard selling them at a profit some day.
But Mr. Defortuna described these as "solid" investors because more than 70% are paying cash.
"The investors who we saw in the good old days of the boom planned to sell or finance the rest of their purchase because they didn't have the cash to pay upfront," he said. "Also, the ability to rent the unit. If the price is right, the unit gets rented in a short period of time that makes it attractive."

Source: http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/100902/story7.shtml

By Yudislaidy Fernandez

South Florida residential inventory

2010-09-01T10:14:00.000-04:00

Compiled by Condo Vultures Realty using the South Florida Shared Multiple Listing Service. Active listings are properties where no current sale contract exists; pending sales are properties in which a contract for sale has been executed, but not yet closed. Listing brokers control the status of a property listing.

Source: http://therealdeal.com/miami/articles/south-florida-residential-inventory-condo-vultures--45

Home Sales Drop in Some Areas and Remain Stable in Others

2010-08-30T10:27:00.000-04:00

If you have been paying attention to the news on the television and in the papers lately, you probably know that the real estate market seems to be in a bit of a bind. Home sales are dwindling, and people aren’t able to get into the homes that they want. While this may be a problem in many areas of the country, it doesn’t hold true for certain locations.

Why is there such a difference based on geography? The old saying of “location, location, location,” is very true in the real estate world. People are still buying homes in Miami because of the location. It offers people a close proximity to the beach as well as all of the attractions and shopping in the city. They have major sports teams, and they have great weather; the city offers excellent nightlife and incredible restaurants too. Miami is far more than just a vacation destination: people truly want to live there and experience the good life throughout the year. Who could blame them?

Who are all of the people who are moving south and stimulating the real estate market? They are people just like you, people who are tired of spending time in the cold, people who want to enjoy their retirement. You can also find people who are in the prime of their lives, young families and singles who want all of the glamour and excitement that a city like Miami holds.

It is more than just the snowbirds and the retirees that are buying up property in Miami. People from all around the world are attracted to the great prices on the luxury condos. The prices are only part of the factor though. People want to live near the water and they want to be close to a large city with great schools. All of these are reasons that the area around Miami is still doing so well even though other places in the country are struggling when it comes to real estate.

This is particularly excellent news for those who are looking to sell their homes. They should have no trouble in finding buyers who are ready to make the move to Miami.

With all of the great properties that are available now, with more high-rise condo buildings coming, now is a great time to start looking at a new home in Miami.

Miami High-End Condos Experience a Miniboom

2010-08-27T10:56:00.000-04:00

It is past half-time for 2010 Southeast Florida real estate sales. After a rocky 2009, how did 2010 weather so far, is the million dollar question many are asking. Prices started tumbling since September 2008 - and in certain market segments, housing values are still down significantly, but there is also good news to report as to market research provided by Brosda & Bentley Realtors. Especially for new luxury oceanfront condo developments in Sunny Isles Beach, Miami Beach and downtown Miami in particular, sales are booming and prices in some areas are on the rise.

Jade Beach condo tower, in North Miami Beach was nearly sold out during 2009, despite the dramatic economic downturn in the United States. Jade Beach resales are now strong and closed units are setting new retail sales records. Its sister tower Jade Ocean condos, is an oceanfront, ultra-luxurious glass palace, towering 50 stories above the Atlantic Ocean and reporting more than 60 percent of sold condominium units. The Acqualina Resort & condos, a landmark in Sunny Isles Beach, claim the title of highest retail sales price per square foot in the city. During the summer, two units closed at $784 and $714 per square foot respectively. The elite Turnberry Ocean Colony condos boasts six retail sales, with the highest being at $733 per square foot.

Some of the most expensive Miami penthouses sold thus far in 2010 include the Marquis penthouse in downtown Miami. It sold a few days after LeBron James announced his engagement with the Miami Heat. Entrepreneur Russell Wright closed on the 67-story Marquis luxury residential condo, with reportedly the highest terrace and hot tub in Miami. Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat sold his house in Davie and is now apparently looking for a trophy property in Miami, as is Chris Bosh of the trio. Russell Wright is quoted as saying that the economic force of the three basketball superstars playing in Miami "Is going to have an impact, I probably already made money on the condo."

In June, the 'Imperial Suite' or Penthouse Villa B sold at the über-luxurious Setai Resort & Residences in Miami Beach for a record breaking $15 million or $2,416 per square foot.

Downtown Miami condo sales were up 110 percent with 1,933 units sold in the first 6 months of 2010. Great downtown Miami condos that sell due to drastic price reductions include Met I, Epic and Icon Brickell, which sold 49 units, including at least one with a $100,000 over-the-odds premium, after LeBron James announced his switch to the Miami Heat. The average sales price of a downtown Miami condo in the first two quarters of 2010 was reportedly $356,100 or about 16 percent higher than in 2009.

In March, April and May of 2010, 135 condos sold in Miami-Dade County priced $1 million and above, nearly double the number compared to the same time period in 2009. At the beginning of the summer, impressive sales at One Bal Harbour for $8.7 million, at the Fontainebleau for $9 million and Santa Maria Brickell for $11 million kept Miami luxury real estate brokers abuzz.

A highly anticipated new oceanfront condo development is the St. Regis Resort and condo residences in Bal Harbour, destined to open in 2011. The three glass towers replaced the famous Sheraton in front of the gated entrance to the renowned Bal Harbour Shops. Over $40 million in sales were reported in the first half of 2010.

Brosda & Bentley Realtors features more than 50,000 residential and commercial Southeast Florida property listings on its website BrosdaandBentley.com. The company provides free usage of the database to registered users. Consumers may also opt to receive automatic updates on new listings, pre-foreclosure and short sale properties. Katerina Brosda, Broker and CEO of the company sold the 10 Museum Park penthouse in downtown Miami with its very own rooftop pool. "Most of our clients during 2009 and 2010 were cash buyers, not investing into Miami real estate per se, but actually pursuing to live in the homes they bought. Yes, these may still be third or fourth trophy properties, this goes especially for condos, but our clients invested heavily in upgrades, eclectic designs, electronic SMART Home features, custom fittings and furniture," Katerina Brosda stated. Brosda & Bentley also provides a one stop, turnkey, white-glove home furnishings and design conceptualization service to its clients.

"Miami Condo sales above the $1 million mark will continue to outpace single-family home sales in the same price category for the rest of 2010 and into 2011. Condominium living is the new lifestyle choice of the wealthy," said Katerina Brosda.

Brosda & Bentley Realtors projects luxury Miami condominium sales to remain strong. The average sales price for residential properties that sold in Miami-Dade County increased by 8.3 percent in July. Inventory levels have dropped 11.4 percent compared to July 2009. Condominium listings have dropped 11 percent and the average days a property stays on the market decreased 10.3 percent for single-family homes and 11.9 percent for condominiums or 100 and 114 days respectively.

Source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/MiamiRealEstateMiniboom/082710/prweb4432054.htm

Miami Condo Sales Soar

2010-08-25T11:34:00.001-04:00

Once the nation’s epicenter in the real estate collapse Miami, Florida condo sales are soaring, up 43% over year ago levels, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. The Miami housing market has now experienced rising sales for nearly two straight years.

Miami ’s condominium market tanked even before the financial crisis struck Wall Street two years ago as New York based hedge funds and banks cancelled financing agreements on dozens of new condo developments being constructed. The new construction condo market almost froze, nearly paralyzed as a result, triggering a plunge in prices forcing many developers into bankruptcy.

But the rise in condo sales is breathing new life into the Miami housing market. “Demand for local properties, including multiple bidding reminiscent of the boom during the last decade is driving values,” said Miami Realtors President Oliver Ruiz. “Median and average sales prices are rising, while condominium prices are expected to follow due to the considerable increase in sales.”

The time it takes to market a home for sale dropped to 100 days for single family homes and 114 days for condominiums, showing that the market is nearing stabilization, despite declining condo prices.

However, the market isn’t without its challenges. Sales of existing single family homes dropped 8% in July from year ago figures, indicating the market is anything but fully stabilized. But record low mortgage rates and some of the lowest priced condos for any metropolitan region in the country should usher in a robust return in sales over the remainder of the year. Residential sales have increased for 23 straight months.

Even as home sales sank in the majority of the country by 27.2% in July, according to the National Association of Realtors, Miami and the rest of Florida condo sales increased. The median sales price for a condo in Miami in July was $110,500 down 20% from a year ago as bargain hunters bought up condos at some of the lowest prices in more than 15 years. Florida median sales prices declined 7% to $138,000 for single-family homes.

The inventory of residential listings marketed by the Miami-Dade County Realtors association dropped 11.4% from July of 2009, indicating that the market is showing strong signs of finally entering the recovery phase after record housing deflation. Average home sale prices are rising after hitting 30-year low values in many single family home neighborhoods. But lower prices obtained for condos still hurt the overall market.

Source: http://www.housingpredictor.com/miami-condo-sales-soar.html

By Kevin Chiu

Miami Design District: Fashion, food and art

2010-08-23T12:21:00.001-04:00

The several-block stretch of Miami that houses art galleries, mouth-watering eateries, high-end fashion and furniture showrooms got its start in sofas.

``From the beginning, the Design District was an international destination,'' said Craig Robins, CEO of real estate company Dacra, the primary landlord. ``The bad news was that furniture design doesn't attract a lot of foot traffic.''

While the neighborhood still doesn't get the general traffic of, say, Aventura Mall or Lincoln Road in South Beach, its reputation has gone from near-deserted trade district to Mecca of chic.

Within the last couple years, high-end retailers like Marni, Tomas Maier and Christian Louboutin have opened, and restaurants like Michael's Genuine Food & Drink and Sra. Martinez have established the district as a culinary destination.

Dacra spends about $2 million to promote the area, in large part through nontraditional methods like investing in public art or supporting exhibitions.

The strategy has focused on digital content, social media and online activity in recent years; print advertising is modest and mostly local, for example. Robins said he wants to get attention from sophisticated, creative visitors once they are already here rather than try to lure them to hop on a plane.

``If you start trying to advertise all over the world for something that's very localized, I think it's a mistake,'' he said.

Closer to home, the efforts also include putting on a monthly gallery walk and introducing $3 valet parking throughout the district.

For now, the neighborhood cannot pitch itself as a place to stay; there are no hotels. Robins said he has been approached by many, but wants to hold out for something unique.

Positioned on the west end of the Julia Tuttle Causeway, the district draws much of its traffic from Miami Beach -- and lost its flagship event, Design Miami, to the beach.

It was a decision Robins, majority owner of the event, made to give Design Miami more space and place it closer to Art Basel, the art world's annual descent on Miami Beach.

Robins was key to the redevelopment of South Beach two decades ago and then started buying property in the nearly deserted Design District in the mid-1990s. The 2002 arrival of Art Basel Miami Beach -- which Robins supported -- helped earn it widespread attention.

Though no clear numbers are availble, Robins said he believes the efforts to promote the locale as a destination is working.

``What we noticed this year was a very significant jump in retail sales to foreigners or tourists,'' he said. ``It was the first time the Design District broke from kind of being a local oasis to also attracting a lot of out of town guests.''

Eyeglass and clothing boutique owner Irina Chovkovy said she gets customers from around the world. They come to I on the District for the same reason she chose the Design District: because it is artsy, unusual and design-oriented.

Sloan Schaffer, owner of the commercial art gallery 101/exhibit, said he loves the area but thinks more work needs to be done to draw visitors. He works on committees trying to enhance amenities and draw more events to the area.

``It's this little niche that I think is really vital for Miami and it's a vibrant little area that has really defined its own mission and its own identity within the past couple of years,'' Schaffer said.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/22/1785468/miami-design-district-fashion.html

-- HANNAH SAMPSON

DESIGN DISTRICT

Population: Not residential, but an estimated 65,000 in nearby Wynwood and Little Haiti.

The draw: Furniture, fashion, food and art

The pitch: Miami's creative laboratory

Budget: $2 million.

Who pays: Dacra, the real estate firm that owns much of the district

Challenge: No hotels

Website: miamidesigndistrict.net

$79 Million Refinancing for The Shops at Sunset Place in Miami Arranged by HFF

2010-08-20T13:55:00.001-04:00

The Miami office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced today that it has arranged a $79 million refinancing for The Shops at Sunset Place, an open-air mall in Miami, Florida.

HFF executive managing director Manny de Zarraga, director Luis Castillo and managing director Danny Finkle, in conjunction with managing director Claudia Steeb and executive managing director and managing member John Pelusi, Jr. of the Pittsburgh office of HFF, worked exclusively on behalf of the property's ownership group comprised of Simon Property Group and Institutional Mall Investors, LLC, a joint venture between an affiliate of Miller Capital Advisory, Inc. and the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS). The HFF team secured the 10-year, fixed-rate loan through JP Morgan Securities, Inc., which replaced a maturing facility on the property.

The Shops at Sunset Place is located at 5701 Sunset Drive at the intersection of US Route 1 and SW 57th Avenue in South Miami. Completed in 1999, the property has three open-air retail buildings and an eight-story parking garage all connected via pedestrian sidewalks and bridges. The Shops at Sunset Place is leased to a variety of tenants including AMC Theaters, LA Fitness, Gameworks, Barnes & Noble, Niketown and Splitsville, among others.

"This is the dominant entertainment and lifestyle center in Miami and provides one of the most unique venues in the market," said Castillo. "The combination of stellar sponsorship, strong surrounding demographics and proven operating history attracted a large number of lenders, which competed aggressively for the financing opportunity."

Simon Property Group, Inc. is an S&P 500 company and the largest real estate company in the U.S. The company currently owns or has an interest in more than 373 properties comprising in excess of 256 million square feet of gross leasable area in North America, Europe and Asia.

Institutional Mall Investors LLC ("IMI") is a co-investment venture owned by an affiliate of Miller Capital Advisory, Inc. (MCA) and CalPERS. MCA serves as investment manager for IMI. IMI is a core-oriented investment platform focused on high quality, market dominant, fashion-oriented retail properties. The IMI portfolio features some of the most dominant regional and super regional shopping centers in the United States. As of June 2010, the portfolio included approximately 16.4 million square feet of retail GLA and over 750 thousand square feet of prime office space. IMI also seeks to invest in productive lifestyle, mixed-use and development opportunities as circumstances warrant.

HFF /quotes/comstock/13*!hf/quotes/nls/hf (HF 7.58, +0.01, +0.13%) operates out of 17 offices nationwide and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry. HFF offers clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, advisory services, structured finance, private equity, loan sales and commercial loan servicing.

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/79-million-refinancing-for-the-shops-at-sunset-place-in-miami-arranged-by-hff-2010-08-19?reflink=MW_news_stmp

HFF
Director
Luis Castillo, 305-448-1333
lcastillo@hfflp.com
or
Associate Director, Marketing
Kristen Murphy, 713-852-3500
krmurphy@hfflp.com

Plans for new malls may signal a retail revival

2010-08-19T14:51:00.001-04:00

In the first sign of life the South Florida retail market has seen in years, two major developers are dusting off plans for new big-box shopping centers and looking to recruit tenants.

And another developer has recently signed contracts on land for two more retail projects.

The earliest any of these Miami-Dade projects -- Gables Station and The Shops at Beacon Lakes -- would be ready for shopping in late 2012 or 2013. But some developers think it's time to start testing the waters again. It's the first activity since new development ground to a halt in 2008, a victim of the recession and the credit crunch.

Flagler and AMB Property Corporation are feeling confident enough to revive plans for The Shops at Beacon Lakes, which may be the first big box shopping center in Miami-Dade or Broward counties to move ahead since the recession. Workers have spent the past month clearing a 42-acre tract on the north side of State Road 836 west of Florida's Turnpike.

``The timing is good right now,'' said Alan Esquenazi, senior vice president of Continental Real Estate Companies, which is handling leasing for Flagler. ``We're seeing retailers taking interest in South Florida again, as long as they can afford it. As retail demand comes back, so does development.''

CHAINS' CHANCES

Local real estate brokers say that most of the retailers looking to expand in South Florida are successful existing chains like Target, Marshall's, Bed Bath & Beyond and Total Wine. The market also is presenting opportunities for newcomers like Bye Bye Baby, Dick's Sporting Goods, ALDI and hhgregg.

The key reason for the interest in South Florida -- and Miami-Dade County in particular -- is that it remains an underserved market for many big-box retailers and one where average sales volumes well exceed the national average. In Broward most of the current retail leasing activity is about filling vacancies in existing shopping centers.

What has changed dramatically are the rent prices retailers are willing to pay. Prices could easily be 30 to 40 percent lower than they were pre-recession.

Plus, retailers are no longer willing to gamble on a nontraditional site that doesn't conform with their prototype.

``There is much stronger scrutiny made on deals and are they going to generate enough sales to offset the cost,'' said Beth Azor of Azor Advisory Services. ``If not, the retailers will go to Peoria.''

While Beacon Lakes may be the first out of the starting gate, developer Jeff Berkowitz is close behind. Plans are back on the drawing board for Gables Station, a vertical big-box shopping center with four floors of retail planned for a 4.5-acre site at 4811 Le Jeune Rd.

``Now is the time to commit, in order to get projects delivered in three years,'' said Berkowitz, who hopes to begin construction in a year on the 300,000-square-foot project, which would include about six anchor stores.

``One would expect the economy will be back in three years,'' Berkowitz said. ``At least to the extent, that retailers can move forward to fill major gaps in their market plan, especially in a market like Coral Gables that has such a high barrier to entry.''

Bob Shapiro, president of Master Development, is feeling confident enough that in the last 45 days he put two sites under contract on Flagler Street. The locations: a 31-acre former golf course at West Flagler and 92nd Avenue and a 37-acre former mobile home park at West Flagler and 102nd Avenue.

``The market is dethawing, but it's not totally unfrozen yet,'' Shapiro said. ``I think there are do-able deals. Everybody is going to have to take a little bit less, including the developer. There are not going to be any grand slams, but there will be some singles and doubles.''

But the stumbling block for any of these projects could be the ability to make a deal with retailers that works financially. A litmus test of the market will come next week, when developers and retailers from around Florida gather in Orlando for the International Council of Shopping Centers convention.

`VERY SLOWLY'

``Deals are starting to happen, but very slowly and infrequently,'' said Stephen Bittel, chairman of Terranova, a Miami Beach retail real estate firm. He is particularly skeptical about the viability of leasing a project the size of Beacon Lakes in the current market.

``You can always fill it up,'' Bittel said. ``But can you fill at at a price that makes sense?''

A developer like Flagler and its partner AMB expects to have an advantage because they've owned the property at 1970 NW 129th Avenue for nearly 10 years. That's a key reason Flagler decided to develop Beacon Lakes on its own, unlike last time when plans called for selling the property to Regency Centers.

``We have the lowest cost basis so we can delivery a quality project at a cost that makes sense for the retailer,'' said Brian Latta, senior project manager of development at Flagler. ``Depending on demand, the project can be built in phases.''

The current plans call for about 450,000-square-feet, including two major anchors, plus about five additional big box stores and more than a half-dozen outparcels for restaurants and banks. When Regency Centers pulled out of a similar design in late 2008, they already had lined up commitments from at least four tenants: Target, Kohl's, Ross Dress for Less and T.J. Maxx.

Some brokers believe those previous commitments will make it easier for Beacon Lakes the second time around.

``Those tenants believed in the market at some point,'' said Greg Masin, senior director of retail with Cushman & Wakefield. ``The rooftops are still out there and there is still a need for that kind of use in the marketplace. These tenants are willing to do business -- it's a question of, under what terms and conditions?''

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/18/v-fullstory/1781771/plans-for-new-malls-may-signal.html

BY ELAINE WALKER
ewalker@MiamiHerald.com

South Beach's Royal Palm sold at auction

2010-08-18T12:55:00.000-04:00

An iconic South Beach resort that came to symbolize the region's real estate boom and bust has found a new owner -- and is now seeking a company to manage operations.

The 409-room Royal Palm Resort Hotel, which has been mired in debt and drama for the past few years, went to California-based Sunstone Hotel Investors via an online foreclosure auction. Sunstone, a real estate investment trust, submitted the $126.1 million high bid and plans a comprehensive renovation at the oceanfront hotel.

Sunstone owns 30 other hotels around the country, including the Hilton Times Square in New York and the Fairmont Newport Beach in California. The Royal Palm is its second Florida acquisition; it also owns the Marriott Renaissance in Orlando.

The Royal Palm ``fits squarely within our target criteria -- excellent real estate, well located within a perennially strong market, with significant upside potential through a full renovation and repositioning program,'' Sunstone president and CEO Art Buser said in a statement. The company has not yet chosen a manager for the Royal Palm.

The hotel at 1545 Collins Ave., which sits on nearly two acres, has gone through a string of owners and legal battles.

In the 1990s, developer R. Donahue Peebles won the deal to open the country's first majority black-owned hotel as part of Miami Beach's efforts to end a tourism boycott. The city helped finance the project, which turned into a teardown and reconstruction rather than renovation of the historic hotel. The new Royal Palm opened in 2002.

Peebles sold most of the hotel in 2005 to investors Guy Mitchell and Robert Falor, who planned a condo-hotel conversion. The conversion plan flopped, as did several other of the duo's planned projects, and the property eventually went into foreclosure.

Mitchell was indicted in May on bank fraud, bribery and conspiracy charges, though the indictment did not mention the Royal Palm.

Hotel investment services firm Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels was retained by the court-appointed receiver as the agent for the Royal Palm's foreclosure sale.

Interest in the beachfront hotel was high, and more than 60 potential buyers had toured it since May, said Gregory Rumpel, executive vice president for Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.

The purchase is ``a tremendous opportunity,'' Rumpel said, but warned that renovations would ``take a lot of money and time.''

Sunstone previously bought some of the hotel's debt at a discount. The company expects renovations to take about two years to complete, it said in a release. The company did not say how much it expected to invest in renovations.

News of the Royal Palm's fate follows the sale of another distressed property on the beach earlier this summer. Marriott bought the Seville Beach Hotel in a $57.5 million short sale with plans to renovate and reopen it under the Edition brand, a partnership with celebrity hotelier Ian Schrager.

Commercial real estate attorney Jim Soble said he expected to see more hotels follow suit in the near future.

``I think there's a number of hotels that may have been purchased in the last 3-5 years and financed at numbers that don't make economic sense today,'' he said. ``It's a question as to when the the owners of the hotels or the holders of the financing of these properties make an election to put them on the market.''

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/18/1780534/royal-palm-sold-at-auction.html

BY HANNAH SAMPSON
hsampson@MiamiHerald.com

Downtown Miami Condo Sales Spurred by NBA Star LeBron James's Name

2010-08-16T12:15:00.000-04:00

Millionaire Russell Wright, reputed to be one of the richest African-Americans in the nation, has purchased a $4.2 million condo penthouse atop the 67-story Marquis in Downtown Miami -- just three blocks from American Airlines Arena.

Wright and his wife made the purchase the same day LeBron James announced his decision to play the 2011 National Basketball Association season with the Miami Heat, according to the Miami New Times.

That's the most spent on any downtown apartment so far this year, according to Alejandra Serna, a publicist representing the Marquis.

"Obviously, the Miami Heat stadium being near was a big part of our decision," Wright told the newspaper.

Wright's high-tech company, Sentel, helps detect undocumented immigrants crossing the Texas-Mexican border. However, he says he didn't have any top-secret info about LeBron's announcement.

"I figured that in the best-case scenario, LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh come together to make history right outside my house," he says. "Worst-case scenario: I'm a couple of blocks away from the stadium."

Wright is not the only one willing to pay over-the-odds to be within smelling distance of Pat Riley's new tropical trio, the Miami New Times reports.

According to Penni Chasens, an agent for Cervera Real Estate, at least one other LeBron fan has splashed an extra $100,000 to be near his idol.

"We were working on a deal at the Marquis, and the buyer was low-balling the developer," she says. "The day after LeBron signed, he came back with a much better offer."

Edgardo Defortuna, head of Fortune International Realty, says the LeBron effect is real but hard to quantify.

He says 49 units at Icon Brickell have sold since LeBron's announcement, and July sales for downtown were nearly double the number in June.

"I've had friends from South America call and tell me they'll buy an apartment," he says, "but only if I can find them Heat tickets first."

Source: http://www.realestatechannel.com/us-markets/residential-real-estate-1/real-estate-news-lebron-james-national-basketball-association-nba-miami-heat-miami-new-time-russell-wright-marquis-condos-penni-chasens-cervera-real-estate-2994.php

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 08/13/10 8:00 AM EST

Cleveland and Miami feeling The LeBron Effect

2010-08-12T14:11:00.001-04:00

Edgardo Defortuna, head of Fortune International Realty, says the LeBron effect is real but hard to quantify. He says 49 units at Icon Brickell have sold since LeBron's announcement, and July sales for downtown were nearly double the number in June. "I've had friends from South America call and tell me they'll buy an apartment," he says, "but only if I can find them Heat tickets first."

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Cleveland hates him. Miami loves him. Just not for the obvious reason.

Sure LeBron James’ migration from Ohio to Florida will impact the Cavaliers and Heat’s on-court fortunes. The Cavs’ are now rebuilding; the Heat are now contenders.

Forget wins and losses. Forget the standings, playoffs, and quest to dethrone the two-time world champion Los Angeles Lakers.

James’ greatest impact may be on the Cleveland and Miami economies. After all, The King guarantees a sold-out building, which also means busy restaurants and pubs, full hotels, and, most importantly, the national spotlight.

Cleveland lost all of that. Their loss is Miami’s gain.

The Heat have already filled their building for the year. South Beach is buzzing. And now there are reports the struggling Florida real estate market is heating (pardon the pun) up.

All of this magnifies the poor manner in which James handled his free agency. Cleveland and Miami will be feeling the impact - good or bad - of The Decision for years to come.

Source: http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-news-and-rumors/articles/105347-cleveland-and-miami-feeling-the-lebron-effect

Oly Sandor.

Miami Existing Home Sales Rise, Home Prices Edge Up in 2Q

2010-08-11T14:50:00.000-04:00

Miami, FL (Vocus) August 11, 2010

In the Miami Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), sales of homes – including existing single-family homes and condominiums – increased 27 percent in the second quarter of 2010 compared to the second quarter of 2009 and 53 percent compared to the second quarter of 2008. This rise marks eight consecutive quarters of increasing sales according to the MIAMI REALTORS. Sales of all residential property types have increased consistently since August 2008 in the Miami MSA.

Miami sales of existing single-family homes increased 10 percent in the second quarter of 2010 from a year earlier and 89 percent from two years ago. The sales of existing condominiums in Miami surged 45 percent, compared to the second quarter of 2009 and 99 from the second quarter in 2008. Statewide sales of single-family homes and condominiums increased 21 percent and 45 percent respectively.

“These quarterly figures reflect the fact that the South Florida real estate market continues to strengthen and stabilize,” said Jack H. Levine, 2010 Chairman of the Board of the MIAMI REALTORS. “Sales of condominiums have really taken off as buyers and investors take advantage of record affordability conditions. This will result in much needed inventory absorption, which will further enhance the local market’s performance.”

Median Sales Prices
Median sales prices of single-family homes increased slightly while condominiums decreased slightly in the second quarter of 2010, mainly due to the increased number of foreclosures and short sales. The median sales price for single-family homes reported in Miami-Dade in the second quarter of 2010 was $197,200, a one percent increase from the second quarter of 2009. The median sales price for condominiums was $128,100, an eight percent decrease from the previous year. Statewide, median sales prices dropped one percent to $141,300 for single-family homes and 10 percent to $98,900 for condominiums.

Inventory Levels
Total housing inventory in Miami-Dade County has decreased 10 percent from a year ago and increased 4.4 percent from the previous quarter. In Broward County, inventory has decreased 14 percent from a year ago and increased 3.3 percent from the previous quarter.

“Housing inventory continues to drop year-over-year, but we’re seeing the total inventory rise slightly month-to-month in the short-term,” said Oliver Ruiz, MIAMI REALTORS Residential President. “The good news is that we continue to experience rising sales and stabilizing prices. We expect the local market’s fortitude to be sustained long-term by international, vacation, and second home buyers in addition to other U.S. buyers who want to experience the enviable local lifestyle.”

South Florida sees annual gain in pending home sales

2010-08-09T16:01:00.001-04:00

Pending home sales in South Florida dropped slightly last month from their June levels but rose significantly over July 2009, according to Miami Realtors. In Miami-Dade County, sales rose to 10,113 last month, a 40.5 percent increase over last year, while in Broward County they rose 25.4 percent year-over-year to 7,830. In each county, the data, which includes both single-family houses and condominiums, represents a slight drop -- 2.4 percent in Miami-Dade and 2.5 percent in Broward -- from the month before. Condo sales were stronger than those of single-family houses, rising 59 percent year-over-year in Miami-Dade and 39.4 percent in Broward. For the same period of time, single-family homes rose by just 22 percent in Miami-Dade and 11.7 percent in Broward. "We are encouraged by the statistics for pending home sales in the South Florida real estate market even after the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit," said Jack Levine, 2010 chairman of the Board of the Miami Realtors group. "While the number of pending sales has dropped slightly month-over-month, they are still significantly higher than they were a year ago. Furthermore, we continue to observe the strengthening of the local market in a neighborhood-specific manner, as evidenced by multiple bids on non-distressed properties in some areas." TRD

Source: http://therealdeal.com/miami/articles/31292/elert

For South Florida Real Estate Market, a hopeful sign

2010-08-05T13:56:00.001-04:00

South Florida's housing sector asserted its independence from national trends in July as a key measure of the real estate market improved year-over-year, with the region's international buyers and still-drooping prices propping up the local housing market.

In July, pending home sales in Miami-Dade County stood at 10,113, up 40.5 percent from July of 2009, according to figures released Tuesday by the Miami Realtors. In Broward, pending sales stood at 7,830 in July, up 25.4 percent from a year earlier.

Pending home sales refer to the number of housing contracts that have been signed, and offer an early indicator of sales activity because typical sales have a one- to two-month lag between a sales contract and a completed deal.

South Florida sizes up well when compared to the national picture, where the pending home sales index hit a record low 75.7 in June, according to the National Association of Realtors. It was the second monthly falloff after the April 30 deadline to enter the federal homebuyer tax credit program, with June's pending sales down nearly 19 percent from the same month a year earlier.

The local market hasn't been completely immune from the post-tax-credit slump. In the past three months, pending home sales are down 3.2 percent in Miami-Dade and down 5.1 percent in Broward.

``We are encouraged by the statistics for pending home sales in the South Florida real estate market even after the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit,'' Jack H. Levine, chairman of the board of the Miami Realtors, said in a statement. ``While the number of pending sales has dropped slightly month-over-month, they are still significantly higher than they were a year ago.''

With financing still difficult to obtain, all-cash buyers and deep discounts on distressed properties are propping up sales, said Peter Zalewski, a principal at Bal-Harbour-based Condo Vultures.

About 60 percent of South Florida sales have gone to foreign buyers, who are more likely to pay with cash and were never eligible for the tax credit.

Additionally, more than half of recent sales in Miami-Dade and Broward counties involve short sales or bank-owned home sales. In the last 12 months, the number of bank-owned condos and single-family homes sold has more than doubled.

A short sale occurs when a home is sold for a price that is less than the value of the outstanding mortgage. In what has become a notoriously lengthy process, both the seller and the bank must agree to the price.

Banks have recently become more willing to allow sellers to pursue short sales, which now account for one in four South Florida sales.

There were 944 short sales in Miami-Dade and Broward in June, up from only 379 a year earlier, according to analysis by Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realty.

That's a reason to be cautious while interpreting pending homes sales data in a market like South Florida's, said Doug DeWitt, Miami-based real estate broker.

Many short sale contracts are rejected by the bank after a seller agrees to sell for a price below what they owe, meaning those pending sales don't lead to closings.

Additionally, because short sales take months to process, many remain in the ``pending'' stage longer than normal, boosting pending sales numbers for multiple months.

In Miami-Dade County, more than half of the pending single-family home sales on the Multiple Listing Service are short sales, said DeWitt.

``I'd say at least half of those are not going to close,'' he said. ``I would say stick to the actual closed sales to make the true comparison, because there's a lot of different ways that these pending sales can fall through.''

The increasing number of short sales and bank-owned properties coming to market has put downward pressure on prices in South Florida, said Jack McCabe, chief executive of McCabe Research & Consulting in Deerfield Beach. In June, median prices of existing homes stood at $203,300 in Miami-Dade, down about 4 percent from the same month a year earlier. Median existing condo prices, at $128,000, were down about 9 percent in Miami-Dade.

``When you're in a neighborhood that has two foreclosures and a short sale that are priced $50,000 or $75,000 below what you thought you could get for your home, you do not set the barometer for the other [home] prices,'' McCabe said. ``They set the prices for you.''

Tejus Karia, who has been trying to sell his Davie townhouse for eight months, has cut prices multiple times.

He has slashed the price on the three-bedroom, from $185,000 to $165,000 to draw in buyers but didn't get a single offer. He recently decided to rent it instead.

Zalewski said many sellers are coming to accept the new, lower pricing levels being dictated by the market, and are acting accordingly.

According to a report by Trulia, one in five home sellers in the Miami area slashed prices last month, with an average reduction of 13 percent.

Karia said the main obstacle for most of his buyers was the lack of financing: ``Nobody could come up with the money. The banks aren't lending money, and that's going to leave a lot of these houses in limbo.''

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/03/v-fullstory/1760066/for-s-fla-market-a-hopeful-sign.html

By TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com

Miami home prices rise slightly

2010-08-04T15:52:00.000-04:00

Miami home prices rose 0.9 percent in May, according to the latest Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller Home Price Index, after a 0.8 percent drop in April. Year-over-year, home prices in Miami were up 1.2 percent, while the 10-city nationwide composite was up 5.4 percent. Last week, Florida Realtors reported that sales of existing single-family homes were up 15 percent statewide in June -- the 22nd consecutive month that sales activity went up. The median existing home price in Florida was $143,000 in June, a 2.1 percent jump over May's price of $140,400

Source: http://therealdeal.com/miami/articles/31054/elert

The Merger is Final - Congratulations to Us!

2010-08-02T12:59:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Us - The Merger is Final
We are now THE largest association in the U.S.

The REALTOR® Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches (RAMB) and the REALTOR® Association of Miami-Dade County (RAMDC) have joined forces and are now the nation's largest REALTOR® Association. This historic merger brings together two of NAR's largest REALTOR®
associations, creating a combined association positioned to lead in an increasingly competitive and global real estate marketplace. Superior service to you, our members, expanded access to unparalleled marketing tools, a global network of more than 60 partner organizations around the world and educational programming for your profitability will provide long-term value for you and our more than 23,000 members. The new association will be named MIAMI Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI) upon approval from NAR on August 31st.

Jack H. Levine, Levine Realty, is the new Chairman of the Board through December 31, 2011. Oliver Ruiz, Managing Broker for Fortune International Realty serves as President of the Residential Board of Governors, President-Elect is Patricia Delinois, Broker-Owner, Century 21 Premier Elite Realty. Ronald Kohn, Kohn Commercial, is President of the Commercial Board of Governors and Betty Gonzalez, Keyes Company REALTORS®, is President-Elect. The Broward Board of Governors will be led by President Terri Bersach, Managing Broker, Coldwell Banker, Weston and President-Elect Natascha Tello, Broker-Owner, Keller Williams Realty Partners SW. Teresa King Kinney, CAE is the Chief Executive Officer.

5 locations will include the MIAMI headquarters at 700 S. Royal Poinciana Boulevard, Coral Gables, North Miami, Aventura Area, and Plantation, providing enhanced association services where our members live, work and play. The association website for both members and consumers is www.Miamire.com.

Once again, congratulations to us - the merger is final and we are NOW the largest REALTOR® association in the nation.
Thank you for your loyalty, support and most of all...for being our members.

We are MIAMI

Miami Beach Real Estate Market Awash in Foreign Cash Buyers

2010-07-30T14:11:00.000-04:00

Sure, $2 million is a drop in the bucket for many of the buyers around Miami Beach's swank North Bay Road area where homes begin in this price range. But for these buyers, many of whom are visiting wealthy foreigners, the cash is burning a hole in their pocket. The traditional bank financing, down payment and mortgage are not part of their purchasing process.

"A cash buyer may be someone who is borrowing from somewhere on their own, they may have the money in the bank, they may own the bank, but their purchase is not contingent on a finance deal," Esther Percal, senior vice president of Esslinger Wooten Maxwell in Miami Beach, told HousingWatch.

Percal says 60 percent of the cash buyers she deals with hail from Europe and several South American countries. Her most recent was an Argentinian family whose unfortunate family incident has prompted them to make a move to the states and they chose Miami Beach for putting down roots. There's also the Brazilian businessman who does business in Tampa and Jacksonville and visits so often he decided to buy here. "For him, a $2 million purchase was a no-brainer and a $6 million one was a serious consideration," she said. There are also Venezuelan cash buyers, but not at these price ranges.

Europeans are the most prevalent cash buyers, and they're buying with a purpose. Many of them have been wanting to build credit here and when they plan to do business in the United States they want to establish a line of credit, perhaps even attain a VISA. They've got the cash and their own way of conducting business which oftentimes is not contingent on financing.

One prime example of such a buyer is a French businessman who Percal recently closed a deal for. Although he had the cash for his purchase, he still sought financing from the bank. He was financing through HSBC, known as the world's local bank, and was astounded at how lax business practices were in the U.S. He had a personal deadline to meet, but with the deal taking a total of two weeks, that did not fit with his schedule. He was surprised how long the surveys took and could not comprehend why the appraisals could not be done jointly. His frustration was so great, he called in a personal friend, the bank's president and asked him to lean on the folks to speed up the process.

"He personally complained to me and commented that his transaction's lengthy process was probably why U.S. banks are all in trouble, because they are slow and disorganized," Percal said.

This situation is actually very commonplace in this market where banks are being overly cautious. They are purposely appraising homes below value for example, a $1 million home is being appraised at $500,000 so non-cash buyers actually need much more of a down payment. In the luxury market, 10 to 20 percent for a down payment just doesn't cut it.

Percal says, "Cash is king. It has been a long time since most of us in luxury real estate have had to deal with financing and, frankly, cash buying relieves stress and alleviates red tape. This has been the case for the past two years."

There's optimism, though, that the market will bounce back, and brokers still say -- not surprisingly -- that real estate is still the most sound investment.

Source: http://www.housingwatch.com/2010/07/29/miami-beach-real-estate-market-awash-in-foreign-cash-buyers/

By Josie Gulliksen

Hopes rise with sales of downtown Miami condos

2010-07-29T10:53:00.001-04:00

The idea of a vibrant city center in Miami is bolstered by a Downtown Development Authority finding that condo sales -- and prices -- are going up.

Residents and officials longing to see downtown Miami transformed into the nexus of a bustling, 24-hour city are beginning to see a little cooperation from the market.

Even as home prices have continued to drop across South Florida, downtown Miami -- the hub of the over-development that many believe sparked the housing market collapse -- seems poised for a comeback, a new study released by the Miami Downtown Development Authority shows.

The report found sales of downtown condos have accelerated during the first half of this year, and the inventory of empty new condos on the market is steadily declining. Prices are on the rise as well.

In the first six months of this year, there were 1,933 units sold in Miami's downtown area, which stretches from Brickell north to Midtown and from I-95 east to Biscayne Bay. That's an increase of 110 percent over the first six months of 2009, when 919 units closed.

``Downtown is an exciting place to be right now, with everything going on, and the report shows that people want to live downtown. They want to live in the heart of the city,'' said Leo Zabezhinsky, the DDA's manager of business development, real estate and research. Zabezhinsky moderated a downtown-themed discussion during the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce's Real Estate Committee meeting on Tuesday.

The average sales price of a downtown home was $356,100 in the first six months of the year, up about 16 percent from the first two quarters of 2009, when the average unit sold for $306,700. For comparison, existing condo prices across Miami-Dade County dropped about 9 percent between June 2009 and June 2010 to $128,800.

The inventory of new, unsold condo units in the downtown area stood at an estimated 5,400 units as of June 30.

About half of the unsold units in the downtown area are in the Brickell area. The Central Business District, bounded by NE Fifth Street on the north and the Miami River on the south, contains nearly a quarter of the remaining new condo units.

At the current sales pace, downtown Miami's glut of new condos could be absorbed within the next 18 months, but there are a couple of caveats.

First, the DDA's numbers do not include the 870 units at the completed Mint at Riverfront and Paramount Bay buildings, currently empty but set to begin sales in the near future. Secondly, much of the sales activity has been generated by investors, who are largely expected to unload these properties back onto the market once prices rise and the housing picture brightens.

``Resale of investor-owned properties could continue for four or five years,'' said Craig Werley, president and owner of Focus Real Estate Advisors and one of the authors of the study.

In the meantime, those hoping that an active rental market can spur the type of downtown renaissance longed for by a growing group of supporters are encouraged by an occupancy rate inching towards 75 percent. The DDA's report shows leasing activity up 14 percent in the first six months of the year compared to 2009, with average rent down about 1 percent, to $1,787.

Another potential economic stimulator for the area, though still untested, is the arrival of the revamped Miami Heat team at downtown's AmericanAirlines Arena. With LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade promising multiple championships, the effect on AAA's neighborhood could be transformative, said William Talbert III, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau.

``Just think about all the restaurants that are going to open up,'' he said. ``You talk about a stimulus package -- that's one.''

But a number of major issues still hinder Miami's downtown from rivaling some of the other metropolitan hubs like Chicago and New York, said Sharon Dresser, co-founder of High Street Retail USA in Midtown.

The lack of flagship shopping destinations, inadequate public transportation between central downtown and areas like Midtown and the Design District and ``real or perceived'' safety issues all need to be addressed, she said.

``If you want to do serious shopping, you have to leave the downtown area,'' she said.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/28/1749345/hopes-rise-with-sales-of-downtown.html

By TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com

Miami Beach buyers turn to all-cash deals

2010-07-23T13:45:00.000-04:00

A home at 4411 Pinetree Drive in Miami Beach Reluctant banks have led to a new wave of buyers in Miami Beach real estate --- those looking for quick, all-cash deals. With financing not just difficult to obtain but also time-consuming, sellers are looking to move their homes faster, and buyers, with cash lining their pockets, are ready to move on deals.

As has been the trend in Miami Beach, the new all-cash buyers are Europeans armed with easily accessible funds and are eager for quick deals on higher-end properties.

"With the state of the market being what it is, it's typically a 30- to 60-day process for financing," said Peter Zalewski, founder of Condo Vultures Realty. "If you want to come in with financing, you're going to have to put in a 15 to 20 percent premium. The seller would rather take less money and move it in 20 days."

Nelson Gonzalez, senior vice president at Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell, said he has gone almost two years without buyers making a financed deal.

Many of these buyers are looking for second or third homes, so federal financing and tax credits were not an option -- just cash.

"People that have the cash are coming in out of the sidelines trying to make deals," he said. "Two years ago, the banks weren't lending, so that was the biggest issue.

Now, the money's there, they're just looking for deals," he added.

Gonzalez noted eight sales made on prestigious North Bay Road, in February of this year alone.

The trend is not limited to single-family homes, either.

Of 713 condo units in the Miami market that closed, 83 percent were all cash, according to a Condo Vultures study earlier in the year, at the end of the first quarter.

"People are buying all-cash," said realtor Yolande Citro. "It's very difficult to get a loan right now. I work with a lot of Europeans, and it's still a good deal with the Euro; a lot of buyers are European, and being from the old world, they like to buy cash."

Some of the most expensive deals in Miami Beach's condo market in the last quarter and a half were paid for in all cash, like three sales at the Apogee of over $4.2 million and the sale of Penthouse B at the Setai for $15 million, according to Diana Garchitorena of Setai Realty, the exclusive sales and marketing arm for the project.

"Because everyone wants to be in Miami Beach, all-cash is the way to get in," Zalewski of Condo Vultures said.

Source: http://therealdeal.com/miami/articles/miami-beach-buyers-turn-to-all-cash-deals

By Alexander Britell

New Heat players checking out Miami area's fancy home market

2010-07-22T14:45:00.001-04:00

Since announcing he would be bringing his talents to South Beach, LeBron James has been called a one-man stimulus package for South Florida - but among the area's real estate circles, the Miami Heat's entire starting lineup looks like a walking, dribbling dollar sign. At least four of the Heat's highest-paid players are looking for a place to live.

With hundreds of millions of dollars of net worth combined, the Heat's newest acquisitions - James, Chris Bosh, Mike Miller and Zydrunas Ilgauskas - could each drop millions on a new South Florida pad in the coming months. Add Dwyane Wade to that list of high-end house-hunters - the Heat's top scorer recently sold his six-bedroom Pinecrest mansion, and with the ink still wet on his $107 million dollar, six-year contract, he's looking for flashy new digs.

With the influx of vertically gifted men with eight-figure salaries, real estate agents - and multimillionaires trying to sell their homes - are watching, speculating and maneuvering like a small forward aiming for an offensive rebound.

"The Realtors, some of them are desperately throwing themselves at these athletes," said real estate agent Hazel Goldman, who recently sold Wade's home in Pinecrest for $2.5 million. "They're trying to show that they're the ones that have the 'in' and know the market and know what to buy."

The ultra-luxury homes James, Wade and Bosh could buy are grandiose and unashamedly lavish, featuring expansive waterfront views, high-tech amenities and vaulted ceilings that could dwarf a seven-footer. Of course, there are multimillion-dollar price tags as well, meaning juicy commissions for the agents involved in the deal.

The top-echelon options might not be as plentiful as you think - about 70 homes and condos in Miami-Dade County, where most Heat players have lived, are on the market with prices above $10 million (about 360 are above the $4 million mark).

With only six of these homes and condos selling for more than $10 million so far this year, the Heat players' potential purchases could be a boost to that niche segment of the area's troubled housing market, said Ron Shuffield, president of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors

"There's a limited inventory of where they're going to look," he said. "There are 50 homes and 20 condos above $10 million. I'd say of those there are about 8 or 10 that they'll be considering."

James' six-year contract will add millions to his net worth, already estimated to be in the hundreds of millions thanks to seven years with the Cleveland Cavaliers and many high-profile endorsement deals. Bosh and Wade, who will both receive upwards of $13 million in the first year of their contracts, also have seven years of fat paychecks boosting their net worth. Being a resident of income-tax-free Florida will only increase their total take home pay.

The Heat's top trio - ages 25 to 28 - are close friends and could choose to live near each other in one of South Florida's top millionaire-friendly neighborhoods.

While most Heat players live in Miami-Dade, Broward County is not out of the running. Many ballplayers on the Florida Marlins and Miami Dolphins roster choose to live in Broward - Josh Johnson lives in Hallandale Beach and Hanley Ramirez lives in Weston - and a sleepy enclave in Plantation has housed at least a dozen professional athletes. But most agents expect the Heat players to opt for one of Miami-Dade's more famous and exclusive locales.

A $30 million mansion on private Fisher Island ranks among the most expensive homes on the market. The oceanfront 5-bedroom includes an in-balcony Jacuzzi, a conference center and high-end artwork. On Star Island, $29 million buys privacy on an 87,000-square-foot lot, and 304 feet of waterfront. Add a gazebo, resort-style pool, dozens of landscaped palm trees and two guest houses.

A home in the Tahiti Beach section of Coral Gables is on the market for $16.9 million. Selling points include a waterfront pool, more than 7,000 square feet of living space and enough land to install an outdoor basketball court.

If the agents listing these homes are meeting with the Heat stars, they aren't talking. The athletes are likely operating with strict confidentiality agreements, meaning the general public won't know where they've purchased until long after they've settled in.

But that doesn't stop the rumors from flying.

Gables Estates - a waterfront neighborhood that has housed a number of Heat elite including president Pat Riley - has been in the headlines recently as the potential locale of choice for James. In the days before James arrived in Miami, multiple Realtors heard that he had put in an offer on Alan Potamkin's $49.5 million mansion. The blogosphere lit up with the rumor, which eventually landed in Life & Style magazine, with the tabloid calling it a "slam dunk."

Potamkin cleared the air this week, stating that he had never been in contact with James.

"I have no idea how rumors like this get started," Potamkin told The Miami Herald this week. "I have no intention of selling my house."

That leaves hope for a number of listing agents looking to cash in on James' home purchase, likely to be the most extravagant of the Heat's buyers. Selling the super-star a mega-mansion, would net the lucky Realtor a hefty commission as well as the resume-boosting cache that comes with such a high-profile deal.

"It's very competitive," said Alex Shay, a Miami Beach luxury Realtor. "Sometimes you'll get an athlete and a celebrity by a phone call, by a listing you have, or simply if the athlete's agent likes you."

Shuffield, whose company has two of the 10 most expensive local properties on the market, said having a solid reputation and many high-end sales under your belt counts when big names come into a new market looking for a home.

"We've worked with a lot of people - Fortune 500 CEOs, owners of teams, community leaders," he said. "Our business is a relationship business.

Goldman, who sits on the board of an exclusive club of 250 Realtors called the Master Brokers Forum, said most of the agents competing for the Heat players know each other, and many agents are going to great lengths to one-up their competition. Some are updating their personal blogs and websites to reflect the vibe of South Beach's celebrity party scene, she said, questioning the authenticity of such moves.

"No one who is really working in real estate has time to party with the stars right now," she said.

Goldman, along with partner Denise Madan, made their pitch by sending Wade's agent a letter indicating interest in working with the star guard again as he looks for a new place. They even offered to give a portion of the sales commission to Wade's charity.

Like many agents hoping to score a deal this summer, they're still waiting on a response, but she said regardless of whether she is personally involved in a Heat player deal, the entire community benefits from having a team of all-stars living in South Florida.

"The good news is that our community has a tremendous amount of hype and the excitement," she said. "And all of that is good for Miami."

Source: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/07/20/2096862/new-heat-players-checking-out.html

Miami Herald sportswriter Barry Jackson contributed to this report.

Lebron James Will Help Market Miami Internationally

2010-07-19T14:58:00.001-04:00

Just as in Cleveland, Lebron James looks to have a positive impact, not just on the Miami Heat’s chances of winning a championship, but on the overall economy of the Miami area as a whole.

William Talbert, president of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, told USA Today that James’ decision could be worth millions to the market.

“LeBron’s arrival has effectively changed the conversation in the press from real estate bust and foreclosures to Miami glitz and glam,” Tadd Schwartz, principal with Schwartz Media Strategies, told the South Florida Business Journal.

The Journal reports that with James’ arrival comes the profiling of downtown’s transformation, resurgent condo activity and robust nightlife amid the urban core, Schwartz said. “LeBron affirmed that when he chose Miami.”

There is expected to be heavy foot traffic as a result of the Miami Heat games.

“In next two to three weeks, nuances and messages will start to emerge. We will have to find what’s resonating with the media,” said Robert Geitner, senior manager for marketing and communications with the DDA. “People are discovering there’s more to Miami than great beaches and hot spots on Ocean Drive.”

Bruce Turkel, CEO and executive creative director with Turkel in Coconut Grove, tells the Journal the big winner in James move to South Florida is tourism.

“It’s just another reason people want to be here – even for people who don’t like basketball.”

Submitted by C Costigan on Fri, 07/16/2010 - 19:40

Miami Beach's Seville Hotel gets a rebirth

2010-07-16T12:15:00.000-04:00

Ian Schrager, the celebrity hotelier who invigorated South Beach with his launch of the Delano hotel 15 years ago, is coming back to the beach.

Through a partnership with Marriott, Schrager is set to turn the shuttered 12-story Seville Beach Hotel into a boutique property under the new Edition brand.

The new venture, confirmed Thursday by Marriott, is just the second announced U.S. location under the new brand. The first is scheduled to open this fall in Honolulu.

Marriott spokesman John Wolf said the South Florida hotel, which sits on nearly three acres of beachfront property at 2901 Collins Ave., is expected to open in three years after significant renovations.

``Edition has tremendous growth potential and this hotel will be a flagship to showcase the brand,'' said Marriott International CFO Carl Berquist in a conference call with investors.

Thursday's announcement adds a new whiff of hip to the Beach scene, still basking in the glow of basketball star LeBron James' decision last week to call the area home. And it comes at a time when few comparable projects are on the horizon.

Schrager left Miami Beach a few years ago with the sale of his interest in the Morgans Hotel Group.

In recent years, Schrager has focused on luxury residences and a hotel in New York City and on the creating the Edition brand, aimed at sophisticated travelers.

His return to the beach is being heralded as a renewal after a tough patch for South Beach hotels, with several high-profile properties stressed by the economy.

``The Delano has the vibe or whatever . . . and Schrager was the marketing genius behind it,'' said Scott Brush, an independent hotel consultant based in Miami-Dade. ``With him involved with this, I don't think there's any way that it won't be successful.''

Some of Miami Beach's hottest hotels, the W and the Gansevoort, are several blocks south of the Seville; the Fontainebleau Resort lies 15 blocks north. The action between is subdued.

``For locals, this was an area that you avoided,'' said Peter Zalewski, a principal at real estate consultancy Condo Vultures. ``Or if you drove through it, you went really fast.''

He wondered how easy it would be to translate a massive older resort into ``boutique chicness,'' but called Marriott a pioneer for moving into the area.

``This is a tremendous economic boost,'' he said. ``It's going to fill in the gap between south of Fifth and the Fontainebleau. This is the piece that's necessary to bridge.''

The 278,547-square-foot Seville, built in 1955, previously attempted a comeback. In 2005, developers announced plans to turn it into a condo and fractional ownership complex with the Ritz-Carlton name, despite three Ritz-Carlton properties already in the area. Marriott owns the Ritz-Carlton brand.

Part of the old property would have been knocked down to make room for two 21-story towers, but the project couldn't get off the ground as lenders balked in an unfriendly credit market.

Marriott acquired the property recently in a $57.5 million short sale from owner 2901 Beach Ventures, a partnership between Lionstone Group -- led by Alfredo Lowenstein -- and Fortune International Management, records show. That's nearly $10 million less than a foreclosure lawsuit that had been filed on the property, which has since been dismissed.

Marriott does not expect to be the property's long-term owner, Berquist said Thursday in a conference call for investors.

Marriott owns few properties that bear its name, instead franchising or managing hotels for owners under long-term contracts.

Marriott's portfolio includes the luxury brand Ritz-Carlton, the upscale JW Marriott, ``quality'' brands including Marriott and Renaissance and moderate hotels Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield Inn by Marriott. In addition to Edition, it also recently created the Autograph Collection, currently featuring 10 hotels with an individualistic ambience.

Edition seeks to set itself apart by creating individualized hotels in busy markets that reflect the cultures of their surroundings with an emphasis on sophistication and service. Other planned Edition locations include Mexico City, Bangkok, Istanbul and Barcelona.

Schrager and Marriott announced the partnership three years ago. Initially, plans called for the South Beach Marriott at 161 Ocean Dr. to become an Edition, but that failed to materialize as the recession hit.

``We continue to explore other opportunities in the market, including the South Beach Marriott, but that project has been delayed due to market and other conditions,'' Marriott spokesman John Wolf said.

Brush said he expects success from the hotel once it opens in a few years.

``It'll be well into an economic recovery and there is very little opportunity for additional supply out on the beach,'' he said.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/16/1732723/under-ian-schragers-direction.html

BY HANNAH SAMPSON
hsampson@MiamiHerald.com

Miami Herald staff writer Douglas Hanks contributed to this report.

Miami's Downtown Comes Alive as Condos Fill With Renters

2010-07-14T15:48:00.000-04:00

Brandon Klein has done what few Floridians can: go weeks without driving his car.

The 26-year-old tax accountant walks three blocks from his condominium tower on Biscayne Bay in Miami to his office at Deloitte LLP. On weekends, he and his friends hang out on the pool deck or share a cab to a local Irish pub.

He lives in Downtown, a neighborhood where young people are renting condos built during the 2004 to 2008 boom to attract second-home buyers. Thanks to the housing crash, Klein and two roommates pay about $900 a month each for a wraparound balcony, water views and access to a gym, spa and steam room.

“Five years ago you wouldn’t have kids fresh out of college living in luxury like this,” said Klein, sitting in front of the 24-hour concierge in the three-story lobby of his building at 50 Biscayne Boulevard, coordinating happy-hour plans by text message. His friends are concentrated in nearby Met I, which has 447 luxury units and a steakhouse on the first floor. They refer to the building as “Deloitte Dorm” because it’s home to so many employees of the accounting and consulting firm.

The 7,000 unsold condos in Miami’s core -- a symbol of a building boom that collapsed and dragged the city into recession -- are filling up and giving life to neighborhoods that previously closed after dark. New, year-round residents are cramming into restaurants, nightclubs and bars that didn’t exist a few years ago, and enjoying a lifestyle made possible in part by developers and banks seeking to recoup losses by renting luxury dwellings until the market recovers.

Creating A City

“I’m a big city person, and I always thought Miami didn’t have a real city,” said Dejan Krsmanovic, a 39-year-old biomedical engineer who was on a first date at Segafredo, a busy Italian restaurant and bar that opened in 2008 in the adjacent Brickell neighborhood, where the same trend is playing out.

“Miami Beach is not a city, it’s a resort,” he said. “This is beginning to resemble a city.”

The unsold condos represent almost a third of the 22,079 units in 75 buildings, mostly opened after 2004, tracked in a study released in March by the Miami Downtown Development Authority. The report focused on central neighborhoods including Downtown, Brickell and Wynnwood/Edgewater.

Occupancy rates in the new buildings, including owner- occupants and tenants, increased to 74 percent in February from 62 percent in May 2009, the study shows.

Price Cuts

The development authority estimates that the population of Miami’s urban core jumped to about 70,000 from 40,000 since the 2000 census, said authority spokesman Robert Geitner.

“For us, it doesn’t matter whether they rent or buy,” said Miami Mayor Tomás P. Regalado. “The more people, the more business, the more safety, the more progress.”

The influx of college students, young professionals and empty nesters from the Coral Gables section of the city and the suburbs intensified about 18 months ago when banks that financed the condo projects agreed to let developers slash sales prices by as much as 40 percent, said Peter Zalewski, a principal with consulting firm Condo Vultures LLC in Miami. That spurred demand from foreign buyers and all-cash investors, many of whom are renting out their units until prices rebound, he said.

The Miami metro rental market is one of the strongest in the country, according to Ron Johnsey, president of Axiometrics Inc., an apartment-research firm in Dallas. That’s the case even though unemployment is more than 11 percent, compared with 9.5 percent nationally, and developers are adding to supply by leasing units built for purchase.

Rents Rise

Effective rents, the amounts actually received by landlords, rose 4 percent in the first five months of the year after falling 2.9 percent during the same period in 2009, according to Axiometrics, whose data tracks professionally managed rental building. Nationally, rents increased 2.75 percent from January to May.

The occupancy rate for Miami climbed to 95.1 percent in May from 93.8 percent a year earlier, Johnsey said.

Condos are being purchased by investors and rented out in Phoenix, San Diego and Las Vegas, where thousands of units also went up during the boom, according to Ross Moore, chief economist for Colliers International, a Seattle-based real estate services firm.

“It’s something we’re seeing in many markets,” he said. “Miami is an absolute extreme example.”

Holding Out Hope

While the city is heading in the right direction, it will take years to fully recover, said Michael Fratantoni, vice president of single-family research and policy at the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington.

“Miami has been one of the areas most deeply impacted by the crisis,” he said. “But the backstop of foreign-buyer demand is going to help Miami do better than the rest of the state.”

Builders haven’t given up on finding buyers for their condos. At the Axis on Brickell, developed by Brack Capital Group, about 85 percent of the 718 units are rented, said Albert Piazza, the project manager. The firm has sold about 239 condos at the complex, which features poolside cabanas, a theater and a billiards room, and is allowing tenants to direct 50 percent of their rent toward purchase. Once credit for mortgages frees up, Piazza expects many of them to act, he said.

“The goal is still to sell out,” Piazza said.

Occupancy Rates

T. Sinclair Jacobs, 87, who founded the Brickell Homeowners Association 20 years ago, watched the developments go up. The group’s original residents lived south of Southeast 15th Road, along Brickell Avenue, in decades-old condo towers, some of which appeared in the “Miami Vice” television series, according to Geitner. Developers then pushed north 13 blocks, putting up about 25 projects along Brickell Avenue, known for its bank buildings.

Development crossed the Miami River to connect with Downtown, adding glass-and-steel residential towers to the area’s mix of courthouses, hotels, warehouses, homeless shelters and stores. The American Airlines Arena, where LeBron James will play next season with the National Basketball Association’s Miami Heat, opened there in 1999.

While Jacobs believes the projects needed better planning, he said they are making Miami a better place to live.

“With the greater concentration of residents, there’ll be a beneficial effect on traffic because we’ll have better public transportation,” he said. “We didn’t have the residents before to support mass transit. In the long run, this is going to be one of the great cities in the world.”

Softening Recession’s Pain

The new vitality can be seen at Juan Chipoco’s sleek Peruvian restaurant, CVI.CHE 105, on Northeast 3rd Avenue off of East Flagler Street, in the heart of the old Downtown shopping area. Chipoco, who finished expanding to 220 seats from 65 seats three months ago, said lines sometimes form on weekends even with a $10 valet fee and limited parking. The restaurant also draws customers from Miami Beach and the suburbs.

Diners can choose from a dozen and a half restaurants north of the Miami River that stay open after 7 p.m., compared with two or three a few years ago, said Jose Goyanes, 42, a longtime Downtown business owner who, with his partners, converted a luggage store into Tre Italian Bistro a year ago.

The flood of new residents has softened the impact of the recession, he said. “Instead of falling down a precipice, it’s like a bungee cord pulling Downtown businesses up.”

The area’s fledgling success comes after a lot of financial pain endured by developers, banks and foreclosed homeowners throughout Miami. Developers that didn’t unload their units by the end of 2008 faced the most serious problems, Zalewski of Condo Vultures said.

Buying in Bulk

The bulk sale of condos in the Marina Blue high rise in December 2008 depressed prices, Zalewski said. Hyperion Development sold 60 units in the 516-unit building for about $200 a square foot, about half of the original price, the South Florida Business Journal reported at the time.

The complex, featuring two outdoor pools, a volleyball court and sand-filled “Sky Beach” on the 14th floor, is now sold out, said Carolyn Van Gorder, vice president of sales and marketing for Hyperion Group. Many units are rented.

In early 2009, lenders began allowing developers to cut prices on individual units, rather than sell them to bulk buyers who would flip them one by one for a profit, said Robert Given, executive vice president at broker CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. in Miami.

Corus Loans

Struggling projects include the 56-story Infinity at Brickell, about a quarter of which has sold, and Mint, which is empty. A team of investors led by Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group LLC took a stake in the portfolio of failed lender Corus Bankshares Inc. that includes the Mint and Infinity loans. It plans to relaunch the projects in coming months, said Jonathan Pertchik, chief operating officer for ST Residential, the company managing the former Corus assets.

Corus, based in Chicago, had $977 million in condo loans on properties in Miami and southeast Florida as of March 2009.

“I don’t think it had anything to do with the caliber, quality and foresight” of the developers, Zalewski said. “Ultimately, what it came down to was timing. It was a matter of which developers could finish off their project, take it to market, close and take their cash before the market collapsed.”

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metro area had the highest foreclosure rate among large U.S. cities in May, with one of every 134 units receiving a filing, according to RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine, California-based data seller. The average rate for the U.S. is one in 400 units.

Condo ‘Masterpiece’

“We were trying to build a city in perhaps what was too fast a time period,” said Jorge Perez, chairman and chief executive officer of The Related Group in Miami, which built more than 6,500 units in the greater downtown area.

The closely held firm, which is 20 percent owned by Stephen Ross, founder of New York-based Related Cos., broke ground in 2001 on One Miami, the first major condo project on the north side of the river. Perez said his masterpiece is the $1.25 billion Icon Brickell, completed in late 2008, a 1,800-unit project with a boutique hotel and an Alice-in-Wonderland feel. There is a two-acre sundeck, 140 feet above Biscayne Bay, featuring three pools, an outdoor fireplace and an oversized floor chess board.

The Related Group lost between $50 million and $100 million on Icon, Perez said. The firm handed back two of Icon’s three towers to a syndicate of lenders led by HSBC Holdings Plc in May after winning bank approval late last year to slash prices by about 30 percent. The price cut has spurred sales, which increased to about 640 as of this month from 38 closings at the end of the second quarter of last year.

Seizing Opportunity

“Over the long run, what we did in building those buildings, was it wrong?” Perez said. “I wish there wasn’t the suffering on a personal basis, on a banking basis and individual basis. But have we made Miami a much better city? Absolutely, yes.”

John Guarin, a 34-year-old real estate broker who rents a one-bedroom apartment in one of the Icon towers for $1,800 a month, said he recognized early that the Miami rental market would explode. Guarin’s ApartmentsLLC.net specializes in finding rentals for students from the University of Miami.

Guarin, who earned a Master of Business Administration from the school in late 2008, said the idea for the business began with a paper he wrote for a marketing class about the greater downtown area’s underserved rental market.

“I knew something had to be done with the buildings,” he said. “Nobody was buying them.”

‘Sickest View’

This is Guarin’s busiest time because it’s when students look for apartments. He recently took two 22-year-old graduate students, Jean Chang, a Los Angeles native, and Elizabeth Lombardi from New Jersey, on a tour of properties renting for about $2,200. Chang’s first choice was Everglades on the Bay, which has a four-story fitness and spa center with a jogging track circling the roof and the “sickest view” of the bay, Chang said.

The condo was gone the next day before she could put down a deposit.

Guarin also showed them Axis, where for $2,075 they could share a two-bedroom, two-bath condo of almost 1,200 square feet, with a wraparound balcony on the 36th floor. While they put down $100 to hold the unit, they later chose a place with more evenly sized bedrooms on South Beach, a neighborhood world famous for its nightlife and celebrity sightings.

The broker said it’s a matter of taste: many clients are looking to escape the noise of South Beach, which is about 5 miles (8 kilometers) east of Downtown across Biscayne Bay.

Toning Down Parties

Axis, which attracts students from the University of Miami because of its easy access to public transportation, is implementing new rules to keep partying to appropriate levels. The building has received complaints from residents about crowds by the pool, loud music and women taking their tops off, according to Piazza, the project manager. Starting July 4, no more than four guests are allowed for each apartment, and boom boxes are barred by the pool.

“If you want to have something like that, you have to go to the beach,” he said.

Miami is turning into something that Florida has never had: a densely populated city where professionals live and work, said Alan Ojeda, whose Rilea Group recently finished 1450 Brickell Avenue, one of three new office towers in the city’s urban core. The $270 million building has 35 stories, 585,000 square feet of rentable space and 1,200 parking spaces.

“It’s what’s missing in Florida,” Ojeda said of Downtown. “Look, it’s 9 p.m. on a Thursday. It’s not Saturday night fever and the bars and restaurants are full.”

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-13/miami-downtown-comes-alive-as-unsold-condominiums-fill-with-young-renters.html

To contact the reporter on this story: Prashant Gopal in New York at Pgopal2@bloomberg.net

By Prashant Gopal - Jul 13, 2010

Miami Beach Luxury Real Estate Gets Cheaper as Short Sales Abound

2010-07-09T14:28:00.000-04:00

Finding a "cheap" mansion on Miami Beach has become easier in the last few years due to the yo-yo-ing real estate market. That is, if you consider $3 million to be cheap. A few years ago, many of the properties on millionaire-row streets like North Bay Road and Palm Avenue were untouchable by many well-to-do buyers. Now those priced at $12 million and $13 million have dropped to $9 million, while those at $6 million are now priced at $3 million.

Ironically, wealthy all-cash buyers may ultimately rescue the deeply depressed local housing market.

"We definitely see affordable mansions happening all over, but especially in our waterfront properties, where the most desirable mansions are located," says Esther Percal, a Realtor with Esslinger, Wooten, Maxwell who has made a career of selling luxury real estate on Miami Beach.

She's referring specifically to North Bay Road where unobstructed, bay-front homes range near 14,000 square feet, with 80 feet of waterfront.

These lower prices are a 40 percent reduction from what these homes cost when the market was booming. Taking advantage of the affordability are interested buyers who had been hovering around Miami Beach looking for a home, but were unable to purchase. Now is their time. In the centrally located Venetian Islands, which are walking distance to South Beach, homes can be bought for between $1 million and $1.5 million, an affordable price considering that most are 10,500 square feet with 65 feet of waterfront.

Celebrities are not immune to these lower prices, with NBA Star Shaquille O'Neal taking a hit on his two-story Star Island home. He originally purchased the 20,000-square-foot, eight-bed, nine-and-half-bath house for $18.8 million in 2004 and sold it to a Russian buyer in June of 2009 for $16 million. He had originally put the two-acre parcel at 26 Star Island Drive on the market for $32 million, and he got a higher offer at first. But O'Neal ended up with a loss while the European got a sweet deal.

With Miami being a playground for the rich, most of the buyers -- some 60 percent of them -- are part-time residents (mostly Europeans and Northerners) and they're buying with all cash. "These folks have wanted a piece of the beach for a while but a few years ago even non-waterfront property was $1 million and now that's down to $500,000, meaning we are no longer untouchable as we once were," Percal says. Besides, dealing with the banks and any kind of financing is a nightmare, since everything is down in appraisals and banks. The all-cash deals are not subject to financing.

All these facts and figures are indicators of a possible slight turnaround in the market. Sales have been so strong in the past two years that good deals are getting harder to find. "Turning the market around is a matter of absorption and we're seeing that. Where once we had an 18-month inventory it's now down to a 14-month inventory, so there's market absorption," she said.

So it may be that, in the long run, these cash buyers will be partly responsible for rescuing the housing market.

Wouldn't that be something?

Source: http://www.housingwatch.com/2010/07/08/miami-beach-luxury-real-estate-gets-cheaper-as-short-sales-aboun/

By Josie Gulliksen

South Florida home sales buck national trend

2010-07-07T15:33:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the ongoing appetite of international and cash buyers, South Florida's real estate market was shielded from a national drop-off in sales.

Because those buyers were not eligible for a tax credit, their desire for real estate didn't taper off after the benefit expired at the end of April, like it did for others who rushed to get in on the deal.

It's true that in the two months since the tax credit expired, pending sales in Miami-Dade and Broward have fallen 2.6 percent, according to the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches.

But that decrease is relatively mild when compared with the swift drop-off in sales that took place nationally after the federal subsidy expired. The first post-tax-credit pending sales numbers, released Thursday, show a 15.9 percent decrease in pending sales in May, figures from the National Association of Realtors show. Year-over-year, pending sales plunged 30 percent.

In June, potential homebuyers in Miami-Dade County signed 10,366 sales contracts -- an increase of 53 percent when compared to the same month last year, but a 1 percent decrease from May, according to figures released Thursday by the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches. In Broward, pending sales were up 28.7 percent since June 2009 but down 2.7 percent for the month to 8,031.

Helen Jeanne Nicastri, a Realtor and president of the Miami-based Master Brokers Forum, said interest from Mexican, Brazilian and European buyers has helped her move luxury properties in recent months.

``That's what I'm seeing -- strong international buyers coming into the marketplace,'' said Nicastri, who has a $12.9 million deal pending with an international buyer. ``They're attracted to the U.S. for our prices, as this one of the states in the nation that has been affected most. Our prices are amazing.''

South Florida sales also have managed to hold because of depressed prices, low interest rates and a pool of buyers that includes bulk investors and cash-wielding foreigners, said Jack McCabe, CEO of McCabe Research & Consulting.

``We have a buyers pool that encompasses all four points on the compass, while many other markets rely only on U.S. buyers,'' he said.

The figures were released one day after Congress passed a bill that would give homebuyers an extra three months to close on a home and still qualify for a tax credit of up to $8,000. Many buyers who went to contract on homes before the April 30 deadline were unable to close on the purchase before June 30, the original cutoff date for closing. The measure, which President Barack Obama is expected to sign, would extend that cutoff date to Sept. 30, though no new contracts would qualify.

Locally, condominium sales were stronger than single-family homes sales, with large increases year-over-year and slight decreases for the month. In Miami-Dade, 5,876 contracts were signed, up 76.4 percent since May 2009 -- but down 0.64 percent since April 2010.

In Broward, the 4,429 pending condo sales in June represent an increase of 56 percent for the year, but a decrease of 2.3 percent for the month.

Though the tax credits are gone, low prices helped keep buyers interested. Condo prices remain far below their peak, with May median sales prices standing at $81,500 in Broward and $126,100 in Miami-Dade, where prices dropped another 10 percent from May 2009.

Single-family home prices are up slightly, rising to $196,700 in Miami-Dade, and $216,400 in Broward in May. Those prices are up 1 percent and 18 percent, respectively, since May 2009.

In Miami-Dade, pending sales of single-family homes increased 31 percent in June from the previous year, to 4,490, but dropped 1.15 percent from May.

In Broward, June pending sales of single-family homes rose 20.6 percent year-over-year, but dropped 2.7 percent month-over-month. Broward buyers signed 3,602 contracts in June, down from 3,719 in May.

Though the month-to-month decreases were less than some market-watchers had feared, the local market is certainly not out of the woods.

A large backlog of foreclosure properties making their way through the system, high unemployment and condo prices that continue to slide all threaten to prolong the road to recovery.

For the past four weeks, the number of homes and condos on the market has been increasing, the first monthly rise in nearly two years, according to analysis by real estate consultancy Condo Vultures.

A continued increase in inventory over the next few weeks could signal a ``double dip'' in housing prices, said Peter Zalewski, a principal at the Bal Harbour firm.

And the local labor market, which is crucial for demand, continues to struggle in South Florida, with a local unemployment rate significantly higher than the national average.

Miami-Dade's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 12.4 percent in May, while Broward's rate dropped slightly to 9.8 percent. Nationally, unemployment has hovered around 9.7 percent for the past few months.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/01/1711497/home-sales-in-s-fla-buck-trend.html

By TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com

South Florida Foreclosure Filings Drop 49% in Q-2

2010-07-06T12:26:00.001-04:00

According to a new report by Condo Vultures, lenders filed 49 percent fewer foreclosure actions against borrowers in the tricounty South Florida region in the second quarter of 2010 compared to a year earlier.

Banks initiated about 14,500 foreclosure actions in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties between April and June of 2010 compared to about 28,400 foreclosure actions initiated during the same three-month span of 2009, according to the report based on the Condo Vultures.

For the year, South Florida foreclosure filings are down 34 percent to 34,500 in the first six months of 2010 compared to about 52,200 actions in 2009, 37,800 actions in 2008, and 8,000 actions in 2007, according to the report based on Clerk of the Court records in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

"Lenders filed an average of 190 foreclosure actions per calendar day in the first half of 2010," said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based Condo Vultures LLC. "As high as the current number seems, the pace is down significantly from recent years when a daily average of 288 actions were filed in 2009 and 209 actions in 2008. Prior to the real estate crash, lenders filed fewer than 50 foreclosure actions per calendar day."

Peter Zalewski
Since 2007, lenders have filed more than 240,000 foreclosures actions in the tricounty South Florida region. Lenders normally file a foreclosure action - also known as a Lis Pendens or notice of default - when borrowers fall 90 days behind on their monthly mortgage payments.

At the current pace, South Florida would experience less than 70,000 foreclosure actions in all of 2010. South Florida's foreclosure filings jumped from 33,000 actions in 2007 to 76,000 in 2008 before reaching 97,000 in 2009, according to the Condo Vultures.

In Miami-Dade County, where Aventura, Key Biscayne, and Miami Beach are located, the number of foreclosure filings is down 48 percent to 8,000 in the first half of 2010. In previous years for the same period, the county experienced 15,300 filings in 2009, 10,300 filings in 2008, and 3,700 filings in 2007.

In Broward County, where Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and Pompano Beach are located, foreclosure filings are down 33 percent to about 15,700 actions in the first half of 2010 compared to about 23,300 actions in 2009 and 16,700 actions in 2008. Back in 2007, there were about 2,800 foreclosure filings in Broward in the first six months of that year.

In Palm Beach County, where Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and West Palm Beach are located, the number of foreclosure actions is down 21 percent to 10,800 in the first half of this year. By comparison, foreclosure actions totaled more than 13,500 in 2009, about 10,800 in 2008, and nearly 1,500 in 2007, according to Condo Vultures.

Economics and new government directives are having a slowing effect on South Florida foreclosures.

At the start of the housing crash in 2007, lenders estimated the typical foreclosure would take about six months to repossess a property at a cost of about $40,000 in the loss of debt service, damage, court courts, and attorney's fees. By 2009 as the foreclosure filings were spiking, the process extended out to an average of 18 months with an estimated cost of at least $100,000 per repossession, industry watchers said.

The additional costs and length of time necessary to repossess a property resulted from a variety of reasons, including new legislation and directives requiring lenders to work with borrowers to attempt to modify mortgages in hopes of keeping primary users in their homes. The government directors were prompted by the devastating economic downturn that impacted many borrowers who lost jobs as unemployment rate topped 10 percent and home values dropped dramatically.

Another contributing factor to the decrease in the foreclosure filings is simply the cost involved with repossessing a property compared to completing a short sale, where a borrower unloads a property with a bank's approval at a price below the outstanding loan amount. Lenders have found that once a property is finally repossessed, the bank-owned residence often times sells at the same price as a short sale.

A series of new Florida laws pertaining to condominium units are expected to encourage even more short sales instead of foreclosures.

As of July 2010, lenders are now responsible for paying 12 months - twice as long as previously - of past due condo association fees upon repossessing a property. Under the old legislation, only six months of past due association fees were required to be paid by the lender of a repossessed property.

"The South Florida real estate market is really at a crossroads right now," Zalewski said. "The unknown is whether another wave of foreclosures is coming down the pike given that a number of exotic mortgages are in the process of resetting this year."

Source: http://www.realestatechannel.com/us-markets/residential-real-estate-1/real-estate-news-south-florida-foreclosure-filings-condo-vultures-miami-home-foreclosures-miami-condo-foreclosures-ft-lauderdale-condo-foreclosures-2804.php

U.S. home sales jumped in June

2010-07-02T12:17:00.000-04:00

BY ALAN ZIBEL
Associated Press

New U.S. home sales jumped in June by the largest amount in more than eight years as buyers took advantage of bargain prices, low interest rates and a federal tax credit for first-time homeowners.

While home prices are still falling, the figures released Monday were another sign the housing market is finally bouncing back. Data out last week showed home resales rose 3.6 percent in June, the third straight monthly increase.

Shares of big home builders soared on the news, with Beazer Homes USA up by more than 13 percent and Hovnanian Enterprises rising 8 percent. But with home prices still falling, these companies won't be making much money anytime soon.

The Commerce Department said new home sales rose 11 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, from an upwardly revised May rate of 346,000.

However, new home sales for the southern region of the country, which includes Florida, fell 5.3 percent.

Brad Hunter, West Palm Beach-based chief economist and national director of consulting for Metrostudy, a housing research firm, said the government's estimate should be taken with a grain of salt since the margin of error is 13.2 percent.

``The trend we are seeing is that the absorption of new home sales or move-ins is basically still falling,'' Hunter said. ``They are not moving at as fast a rate as they were even a few months ago, which is disturbing.''

Metrostudy's most recent analysis of South Florida showed new home sales fell from 1,204 to 668 between the first and second quarter in a six-county region extending from Miami-Dade to Indian River.

Nonetheless, economists said buyers were rushing to take advantage of a federal tax credit that covers 10 percent of the home price or up to $8,000 for first-time buyers. Home sales need to be completed by the end of November for buyers to take advantage.

``The window of opportunity is closing,'' said Bernard Markstein, senior economist for the National Association of Home Builders.

June's results were the strongest sales pace since November 2008 and exceeded the forecasts of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who expected a pace of 360,000 units. The last time sales rose so dramatically was in December 2000.

Sales have risen for three straight months. The median sales price of $206,200, however, was down 12 percent from $234,300 a year earlier and down nearly 6 percent from $219,000 in May.

``Over the last three or four months there has been a large increase in traffic and you have a larger increase in inquiries as to homes,'' said Fernando Martinez, vice president of sales and marketing with Homestead-based Caribe Homes and president-elect of the Builder Association of South Florida. ``The traffic is ready to buy. They've been looking for a while. They are part of the pent-up demand, Martinez said.

Fallout from the housing crisis has played a central role in the U.S. recession, now the longest since World War II. Foreclosures have spiked, home builders have slashed construction, and financial companies have lost billions.

But it will still be a while before home builders turn into an engine for the economic recovery. Construction levels are still weak because builders still have too many unsold homes sitting vacant.

Miami Herald Business Writer Monica Hatcher contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2009/07/28/1160396/us-new-home-sales-register-a-sharp.html

Miami home values rise in South Florida

2010-07-01T09:52:00.001-04:00

With the exception of Fort Lauderdale's home market, values for South Florida and Miami home values rose for May compared to last year. Home values in Ft. Lauderdale dropped by 6 percent.

According to data from trade association Florida Realtors, last month Florida realtors sold 972 Miami condos which were 70 percent more than in May 2009. This is a major jump over the 571 units sold in the same month last year. However, the median sales price fell 10 percent to $126,100. Median sales price for Miami condos was the third highest sales price in Florida, following state leader Sarasota-Bradenton and Fort Myers-Cape Coral.

Sales of Miami homes also rose in South Florida. There was 22 percent more Miami homes sold and 20 percent more in the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton metro area. However, the Fort Lauderdale metro area had a six percent decline over last year.

In South Florida, realtors sold a total of 2,345 single-family homes, along with 2,814 condo units last month. The median existing-home sales prices actually rose by $300 over April of this year.

Panama City and Pensacola both saw decreases from April in number of units sold and median sales prices. These are the two most vulnerable metro areas to the oil spill but it’s not clear if that had an effect on sales.

In April the median sales price for Panama City homes was $160,000, according to reports from Florida Realtors. That number dropped however in May to $138,000 and both numbers were much less than in the same periods in 2009.

In April there were 65 condos sold in Panama City in April and just 53 sold in May. Pensacola's condo sales dropped from 56 to 42.

Contributed by MLR Realty

Source: http://www.miamilodgerealty.com/miami-home-values-rise-in-south-florida.html

Five States Get U.S. Funds to Aid Homeowners

2010-06-28T10:57:00.000-04:00

By DARRELL A. HUGHES

The U.S. Treasury Department said Wednesday it had approved five states' plans to aid homeowners in the hope of thwarting foreclosures in communities hit hard by the recession.

State housing agencies in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada will receive a total of $1.5 billion from the Obama administration's "Hardest Hit Fund."

"These states have identified a number of innovative programs that will make a real difference in the lives of many homeowners facing foreclosure," said Herbert Allison Jr., Treasury assistant secretary for financial stability.

Proposals approved Wednesday include programs to help struggling homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth by reducing the principal owed on their loans; to help unemployed or underemployed homeowners make mortgage payments; to facilitate the settlement of second liens, short sales or deeds in lieu of foreclosure; and help with payments in arrears.

The fund—dubbed the Housing Finance Agency Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets—was established in February. It aims to provide assistance to states with the highest shares of their populations living in counties in which the unemployment rate exceeded 12% in 2009.

According to Treasury, the states approved to receive aid experienced a 20% or greater decline in average housing prices.

Arizona is set to receive $125.1 million, California $699.6 million, Florida $418 million, Michigan $154.5 million and Nevada $102.8 million.

Five other hard-hit states have plans that are pending. If the plans are approved, those states could get a total of $600 million: North Carolina ($159 million), Ohio ($172 million), Oregon ($88 million), Rhode Island ($43 million) and South Carolina ($138 million).

Treasury officials said they hoped to have decisions on those states' plans by August.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704629804575325101835373456.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LeftTopNews

—Nathan Becker contributed to this article.
Write to Darrell A. Hughes at darrell.hughes@dowjones.com

Bulk buyers target condo market for future profit

2010-06-24T13:52:00.002-04:00

Miami-Dade's existing condo sales in May were up more than 70 percent compared with the same month last year. Backed by a multibillion-dollar private equity firm in New York, a team of Miami investors and strategists launched Lionheart Capital this year looking to scoop up choice South Florida condos at rock-bottom prices.

In its first deal, the firm plunked down $120 million this month to buy up 146 units at the 2700 North Ocean Drive towers on Singer Island in Palm Beach County.

It marked the 50th bulk condo purchase in South Florida in the last two years, according to analysis by Peter Zalewski, a principal of the real estate consultancy Condo Vultures.

New figures released Tuesday by the trade group Florida Realtors indicate that investors like Lionheart may be getting into South Florida's fragile condo market at an opportune time -- but they also could be in for a long wait before condo prices return to pre-recession levels.

Single-family homes prices may have already begun to rise, with prices increasing for the second month in a row in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, the Florida Realtors' report found.

Miami-Dade's existing condo sales in May were up more than 70 percent compared with the same month last year, with 972 units sold. That's an increase of 34 percent over April. But with plenty of inventory still on the market, condo prices were still down, dipping 10 percent to $126,100, the trade group's report found.

In Broward, median condo prices increased for the first time in more than three years, rising 1 percent to $81,500 in May. Year-over-year sales were up 21 percent to 965.

``We've seen a decline in inventory and increase in sales, and when you've got those two graphs going in a positive direction, it's a good sign,'' said Ron Shuffield, president of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors.

With signs of improvement trickling in for South Florida's beleaguered housing market, investors that have large piles of cash at their disposal are seeking bulk deals, with plans to flip condo units for a profit post-rebound.

Options are limited for prime downtown Miami and Miami Beach locations, so many bulk buyers are being pushed to consider deals farther north, with Palm Beach County in the spotlight, Zalewski said.

Ophir Sternberg, managing partner of Lionheart Capital, said the choice to buy units at 2700 North Ocean in bulk allowed the investors to get a competitive price while the market was still down. The company is looking at other bulk deal options in South Floria, Sternberg said.

``We've been intensively searching the South Florida market for about a year for a high-quality oceanfront deal,'' he said. ``When we found this one, there was nothing better in terms of quality and location.''

Lionheart paid about $250 per square foot in the bulk purchase, about $803,500 per unit.

While only 96 of the 342 units in the luxury towers have sold in the past two years, current condo owners at 2700 North Ocean paid an average of $1.47 million per unit, or $520 per square foot, the Condo Vultures report found.

Sternberg said he planned to take some time to study the property, then begin a new marketing campaign in the fall to start filling the units.

In the last two years, bulk buyers have bought up more than 4,800 units in South Florida, paying a total of about about $1.5 billion, the Condo Vultures report shows.

These bulk purchases tend to boost sales numbers but keep median prices down, since they are often bought at a discount.

In Miami-Dade, year-over-year home sales were up 22 percent at 727, and the median home price increased by 1 percent to $196,700.

In Broward, sales were down 6 percent compared to May 2009, but prices rose to $216,400, a 14 percent increase compared to last year.

Florida's single-family home sales also showed some positive signs in May, increasing 18 percent over the same month last year. Median prices, however, dipped 2 percent to $140,400.

Nationally, single-family home sales increased 19 percent over the year, and median price was $179,600 in May, up 2.7 percent from May 2009.

But Zalewski, who monitors local transactions on a weekly basis, says there is reason to be cautious about the state and national numbers, which are lagging indicators.

More recent reports by his team found that the inventory of single-family homes, town houses and condos on the market has been increasing in South Florida for the past three weeks, a strange turn after nearly two years of steadily decreasing numbers of homes for sale.

It could be a signal that homeowners who are not in foreclosure but have been waiting patiently for a rebound, may be beginning to put their homes back on the market. If inventory continues to increase over the next few weeks, it would be an ominous sign that the industry is headed for a stalled recovery, Zalewski said, emphasizing that additional inventory could keep home prices down in the months ahead.

``If we have six weeks in a row of [increasing inventory], we could be in trouble,'' he said. ``This might be a sign of a double dip.''

Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-condos-bulk-buying,0,1020170.story

By TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA

The Miami Herald

Greater Miami real estate soars

2010-06-23T11:40:00.001-04:00

Condo sales soared by 70% in May 2010 compared to May 2009. Sales of existing single-family homes rose 22%.

Sales in the Greater Miami area beat national sales of existing single-family homes, which increased 19.2 percent from May 2009, according to the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches (RAMB). Compared to May 2008, condominium sales in Miami increased 131% and sales of single-family homes rose 115%. Median sales prices posted a month-to-month gain, and both residential inventory and the time a home stays on the market decreased. "International buyers continue to fuel the current market resurgence," said Oliver Ruiz, 2010 RAMB Residential President. "Sixty percent of sales happening now involve international buyers and mostly cash transactions ... This is resulting in over bidding and multiple offers even in the high-end sector."

Source: http://www.poder360.com/dailynews_detail.php?blurbid=7876

LUXE SALES BUZZING

2010-06-21T10:00:00.001-04:00

Cristina Miranda never wanted to live in a condominium but after she walked into one at the Gables Club with sweeping views of the sparkling Biscayne Bay, Fisher Island and the Miami skyline, she changed her mind.

With no regrets, Miranda sold her Coral Gables house of 30 years that she had shared with her now late husband, and bought the nearby condominium for $2.5 million in March.

``I always said I was going to die in my house,'' Miranda said, taking in her new view from the 5,200-square-foot condo. ``But when I saw this, I fell in love with it.''

Miranda's purchase is part of what some real estate experts are calling a ``miniboom'' in high-end condo sales in Miami-Dade County this year.

Countywide, 135 condos priced at $1 million or more sold during March, April and May this year, almost doubling the number of units in that price range that sold during the same period in 2009, according to Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell, one of the largest real estate brokerages in Miami-Dade and Broward. In Broward, 17 $1 million-plus units sold during that time period this year compared to 12 last year.

The superluxury condo market is taking off too: in the past month there were four sales breaking the $7.5 million mark. Units sold for $8.7 million at One Bal Harbour; $9 million at the Fountainebleau; $11 million at the Santa Maria Brickell; and $15 million at the Setai.

Those four sales alone have the real estate industry abuzz, considering that there was only an average of 2.5 sales of condos in that stratospheric price bracket for the past eight years, according to EWM.

``We are selling more units right now because people are sensing we are at the bottom of the market,'' said Ron Shuffield, president of EWM. ``And there aren't that many to choose from, especially in the penthouse range.''

The unit that sold at Santa Maria Brickell for $11 million in foreclosure was priced at $14 million three years ago, Shuffield said. ``I think people are realizing you cannot reproduce any of these buildings for what we're selling them for.''

This month, a penthouse at the Marquis Residences sold for $4.2 million, said Lori Ordover, managing director for sales and leasings at Africa Israel USA, the developer of the building.

The four-story, 7,800-square-foot penthouse topping the 67-story building at 1100 Biscayne Blvd. claims the highest terrace and hot tub in Florida, and is one of seven units that sold for more than $1 million since March.

Ordover said the sales team had not yet priced the unfinished condo, which was sold in raw condition without the finishings (floors, window treatments, etc), and was not yet on the market when a buyer showed up with a ``good price.''

Ordover said most luxury condo buyers are paying in cash and they are buying units to live in, rather than as a pure investment.

``It's like the tide is starting to turn,'' Ordover said. ``I see the energy. I see more people coming to look in the sales office, double the number from last summer.''

For sure a major draw of the luxury condo communities, which began coming on the market in the mid-1990s, is the array of amenities that they offer. Some developments offer glamorous living experiences, with zen gardens, luxury spas, oceanside pools, private butler services, and exclusive club memberships.

At the Marquis Residences, owners can have a chef from its boutique hotel cook them a gourmet meal in their condo. The Setai in Miami Beach, 2001 Collins Ave., offers private plane and yacht charters. At Apogee, 800 South Pointe Dr. in Miami Beach, each unit has a privately-enclosed two-car garage on the parking levels.

Real estate experts say the luxury condo market should only get stronger because condominium living is an increasingly popular lifestyle choice for the wealthy.

In fact, according to Shuffield at EWM, this past quarter is now the third quarter of the last eight quarters where there have been condo sales exceeding single-family home sales for properties priced greater than $1 million.

Though the numbers for that price range are still close -- an average of 39 single family homes per month sold during the first quarter of 2010 vs. an average of 45 condos during the same time period -- Shuffield thinks the trend is here to stay.

``When I was growing up we didn't have these choices,'' said Shuffield, who is 59. ``There were only apartments. Today every one of these buildings is like a little country club. ``If you don't need a yard and space, it's a great lifestyle.''

At the Gables Club where residents in the two towers on Edgewater Drive, have access to a heated swimming pool, sauna and club, Cristina Miranda has already decorated her new condo with the eclectic paintings and furniture she collected while traveling the world with her husband of 36 years, Guillermo, who ran an athletic footwear company, Gator Industries.

``I like the area, and the amenities are all here,'' Miranda said. ``They wash your car for you downstairs, they will send up a chef to cook a meal. You name it, they do it.''

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/19/1689097/luxe-sales-buzzing.html
BY ANA MARIA LIMA
anaalaya@yahoo.com

U.S. Senate votes to extend deadline for home buyer's tax credit

2010-06-18T12:46:00.001-04:00

The Senate voted 60-37 on Wednesday to extend until the end of September the deadline for completing home sales and still qualifying for a popular home buyer's tax credit.

Only buyers who signed contracts by April 30 could take advantage of the extension. Without it, buyers must close the deal by the end of June to get the $8,000 first-time credit or the $6,500 credit for certain people who already own homes.

The amendment was added to a bill that would extend the law that provides extra unemployment benefits.

Senate leaders had hoped to pass the bill by the end of the week but were struggling to round up enough votes to overcome opposition by Republicans and some Democrats.

The National Association of Realtors estimated 180,000 buyers are at risk of not closing in time to receive the credits because of the crush of contracts and Congress' repeated lapses in renewing federal flood insurance.

Miami Real Estate – Make Your Home Buying Fun

2010-06-17T15:07:00.000-04:00

In buying a home in Miami real estate, fun and buying are the concepts that come together.

Buying a home is a huge investment that is why instead of having fun, buying a home become so stressful. Buyers tends to find themselves into trouble when purchasing a home in Miami real estate, because of the legal aspects, choosing a home mortgage, dealing with brokers and real estate agents, finding home insurance, and many other buyer concerns.

But there are still some ways to make the buying process with lots of fun, by being prepared, and by adding a little bit of humor and wit if needed.

Now, the first thing one should do is by asking the toughest question, Can you afford the payments for the home that you wanted… Then you have to answer that question honestly. It is wiser to consult a financial adviser to help you in the buying process. This is really important especially if you have some troubles regarding to financial obligations. So it is better to determine that type of home you can afford, considering the monthly payments to be done for a home mortgage.

Next thing one should do is to have valuable information about Miami real estate. There are lots of way to obtain the necessary information, by newspapers, advertisements, referrals, brochures, and also the Internet. It is truly wiser to have all the valuable information when entering into a home buying in Miami real estate.

If you are first time buyer in the Miami real estate, it is advisable to talk to people who recently purchased a home in Miami real estate and learn from their experiences. Learning from others experiences can help you in your buying process.

It will also benefit you, if you talk to your friends and family, who has recently purchased a home in Miami real estate. The world of real estate evolve fast, so things can change quickly, so having a lot of information can help you in your home buying process in Miami real estate.

Another important factor to consider in your buying process, is hiring the service of a real estate agent. But it is also important to take some time to research about the real estate agent, for you to find the most skilled and expert that would fit to your needs. Now, in choosing a real estate agent, choose someone who can represent you and your interests, someone who can lessen you stress in purchasing a home. In searching for a real estate agent, you can look for some referrals.

In buying a home in Miami real estate, a great deal of discussion and paperwork is involved in closing a deal. But if you done the process well then this part will no longer be a stressful one but instead to be an exciting one. After finding the best mortgage rate and terms which you were qualified, then better to finalize the home mortgage company of your choice. And as soon as all goes well, you end up enjoying and relaxing to your home. So finally, you’ll be having fun with you new home in Miami real estate.

Tax credit extension would help short sale buyers

2010-06-16T13:59:00.001-04:00

Frustrated home buyers trying to complete short sales or get flood insurance stand to benefit most from an extension, which has not yet passed Congress, but is being pushed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Reid, who is up for re-election, said last week that buyers should have until the end of September to complete their deals because of delays beyond their control. As it is now, buyers who signed contracts by April 30 must close by the end of June to get the $8,000 first-time credit or the $6,500 credit for certain people who already own homes.

Only buyers who signed contracts by April 30 could take advantage of an extension. The Senate is expected to consider Reid's measure this week.

Short sales, in which sellers unload homes for less than they owe on their mortgages, often drag on for weeks or months while lenders consider whether to approve the deals. New federal guidelines introduced in April give lenders a 10-day window to respond to short sale offers, but some banks aren't complying, real estate agents and analysts say.

Reid's proposal would be a major benefit for buyers who need more time to let the process play out.

"I'm just twisting in the wind," said Smith. "I really hope this gets extended. It would take a lot of pressure off me."

His real estate agent, Ryan Love of Coldwell Banker, said they're waiting for a letter of approval from the lender.

"We keep getting the 'Oh, it's coming today or tomorrow' line," Love said.

Even people who aren't buying short sales are hoping for an extension.

Some deals are being delayed because buyers can't get flood insurance. Lawmakers let the National Flood Insurance Program expire three times this year. No new or renewal flood policies can be issued until Congress renews it.

Bill Mei, a loan officer for Element Funding in Pompano Beach, said the lack of flood insurance has killed one of his home sales and postponed two others. He's concerned about a few closings scheduled in the coming weeks.

"It's a big mess," he said.

The crush of buyers trying to complete sales by the end of June "is creating a clog in the system," said Walter Molony, a spokesman for the National Association of Realtors. "It's taking longer to close transactions."

The national Realtors' group estimates that 180,000 buyers are at risk of not closing in time to receive the credits.

Meanwhile, the pending expiration of the tax credits has home builders feeling less confident.

The National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday its index measuring member optimism dropped to 17 in June from 22 in May. The index had risen for two consecutive months.

Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-homebuyer-credit-extended-20100615,0,7986336.story

Paul Owers can be reached at Powers@SunSentinel.com or 561-243-6529

Where America's Money Is Moving

2010-06-14T13:21:00.002-04:00

Low taxes, warm sunshine and deep discounts on real estate. No wonder IRS data shows the wealthiest among us are headed south.

America's wealthy like warm weather and low taxes. That's the takeaway from IRS data, analyzed by Forbes, on moves between counties. We looked for counties that the rich are moving to in big numbers.

Topping the list: Collier County, Fla., which includes the city of Naples. Tax returns accounting for 15,150 people showed moves to Collier County from other parts of the country in 2008, the latest year for which IRS data is available. Their average reported income: $76,161 per person--equivalent to $304,644 for a family of four. Although slightly more taxpayers moved out of Collier County than into it, the departing residents' average income came out to just $26,128 per person.

Households that moved to Collier County principally came from other parts of Florida, with Lee, Miami Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Orange counties leading the list. Big northern cities also sent lots of migrants: Cook County, Ill. (home to Chicago); Oakland County, Mich. (near Detroit); and Suffolk County, N.Y. (on Long Island) each sent more than 100 people to Collier County during 2008.

In second place is Greene County, Ga., with a population of just 15,743 at the Census Bureau's last estimate. The IRS data show that in 2008, 788 people moved to the county, about 75 miles east of Atlanta.

Rounding out the top five: Nassau County, Fla., near Jacksonville; Llano County, Texas, 70 miles northwest of Austin; and Walton County, Fla., 80 miles east of Pensacola.

The dominance of the list by Florida and Texas--the former has eight of the top 20 counties, the latter four-- makes sense to Robert Shrum, manager of state affairs at the Tax Foundation in Washington, D.C., since neither state has an income tax. "If you're a high-income earner, then that, from a tax perspective, is going to be a driving decider if you're going to move to one of those two states," Shrum says.

After accounting for property taxes, Shrum's analysis shows that Texas has the fourth-lowest personal tax burden in the country, and Florida has the eighth lowest. Shrum also points to eight states that have targeted wealthy households with extra-high tax brackets: California, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Hawaii, Oregon, Connecticut and Wisconsin. Six of the top 10 counties the rich are fleeing are located in those states.

Pitkin County, Colo., home to the pricey Aspen ski community, where home listings average more than $3.5 million, saw an exodus of rich people in 2008 as the economy began to contract. The 962 tax filers and dependents who left Pitkin had an average income of $71,473 per capita, while the equivalent figure for those moving to the county was $30,000 lower. Of those leaving Pitkin County, 224 moved to neighboring Garfield County where, according to real estate information service Trulia, homes list for 75% less than those in Pitkin County. IRS data also show movement from the resort area to cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco.

Behind the NumbersTo find places the rich are moving, Forbes used IRS data on household moves broken down by county and income. We included counties where arriving households are richer than households that didn't move and departing households are poorer than households that didn't move. The final ranking orders counties by the difference in per-capita income between incoming households and those that didn't move.

Our ranking of places the rich are fleeing essentially reverses these criteria, looking for counties where departing households are wealthier than the population as a whole and where incoming households are poorer.

In order to find patterns among the wealthy, we restricted the lists to counties where departing or arriving households had per-capita incomes of $35,000 or more. That figure is equivalent to an annual income of $140,000 for a family of four--a very high income for any large subset of the American population (of 3,142 counties with IRS data, only 130 have average incomes above this level). And in order to avoid statistical anomalies, we only included counties with at least 500 people listed as arriving or departing.

This technique essentially finds new hot spots--places that aren't necessarily wealthy now but where wealthy people are moving. Some upscale places like Westchester County, N.Y., and Teton County, Wy., don't make the list because people moving into those counties aren't as rich as the people who already live there.

The IRS warns that these counts are only approximations; because they don't include households that don't file income tax returns, poor and elderly people are underrepresented. These counts also don't include returns filed after late-September 2009--a small fraction of total returns that tends to include some very rich people with complex returns who file for extensions.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/14/where-the-rich-are-moving-business-beltway-rich-migration.html?boxes=businesschannelsections
By Jon Bruner, 06.14.10, 02:30 PM EDT

Asian firms to add jobs, set up hubs

2010-06-11T16:46:00.000-04:00

Two Asian firms are setting up in Miami-Dade, creating 70 jobs and investing $2.4 million over three years.
It's unclear how many of those jobs will be filled locally and how many will be staffed from the companies' headquarters.
Crystal Mover Services Inc., a transportation operations and maintenance company from Japan, established its US headquarters here to support two automated trains at Miami International Airport. The first will be at the North Terminal and the second, the MIA Mover, will connect Miami International Airport with the new rental car center.
The company is to create 60 jobs and invest $1 million over three years.
Uni Logistics America LLC, a Chinese freight forwarder specializing in international air and sea transportation, has opened a Miami office that is to create 10 jobs and spur $1.4 million in investment.
The Beacon Council, the county's economic development partnership, helped both set up operations.
The council wasn't able to say how many Miamians may work for either company or the positions' average salary.
"I think Crystal Mover Services, as well as the Chinese company, will bring [in] some people [and] hire some locally," said Beacon Council CEO Frank Nero.
Neither company applied for the state's Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund, which offers a $3,000 refund for jobs created in high-growth sectors paying 115% of average wage.
Yet they could be an indicator of what's to come.
"We're working on a major project from China and we hope this is the first wave," Mr. Nero added. "We're seeing a lot more interest coming from Asia, not only China and Japan but also Taiwan."
The Beacon Council has been asked to visit Taiwan, Mr. Nero added, while 30 Taiwanese companies are due here in September.

Source: http://miamitodaynews.com/news/100610/story2.shtml
By Zachary S. Fagenson

Fort One completes Miami Beach real estate transactions

2010-06-10T13:25:00.000-04:00

Fort One Real Estate Investments, an investment fund with roots in Miami and Washington, D.C., said it has completed transactions in Miami Beach totaling $52 million.

In a news release, Fort One said it has closed on the purchase of the 48 remaining unsold condominium units at the Capri South Beach Condominium ($31 million); the acquisition of the ``Pelican'' parking garage in South Beach ($11 million), plus the two commercial/retail units at The Strand in South Beach ($10 million).

The fund was represented by Adams Gallinar, whose founding partners are Bob Adams and Mike Gallinar. The transaction was structured as a short sale, with I-Star Financial being the successor to the original lender, Fremont.

I-Star Financial provided mortgage financing on the Capri project, and Sabadell United provided mortgages on the Pelican and Strand properties. I-star was represented by the Washington, D.C., firm of Katten Muchen, and Sabadell United was represented by the Miami office of Bilzen Sumberg.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/10/1672971/fort-one-completes-miami-beach.html
Miami Herald Staff Report