Miami Real Estate News

Miami condo king Jorge Pérez battles to survive real estate slump

2009-03-03T11:59:00.000+02:00

Rising from city bureaucrat to billionaire builder, Jorge Pérez became the great American success story, Miami style. The Cuban immigrant made the South Florida skyline his canvas, erecting high-rises from Miami to West Palm Beach.

But not one of them can compare to his latest creation, the ICON Brickell, a sumptuous $1 billion glass-and-concrete city within a city that includes three soaring towers, a pool the size of a football field, 1,640 condos, a boutique hotel and five restaurants.

It is Florida's most spectacular condo, Pérez's masterpiece, his legacy.

And, now, it may be his undoing.

Real estate firm owner gets $1.375M in Miami Beach

2009-03-01T18:07:00.000+02:00

David Shtrax sold a two-bedroom, two-bath condo at 100 S. Pointe Dr. in Miami Beach to Inna Khon Societa, LLC, for $1.375 million on Dec. 9.

Shtrax paid $2.2 million for Unit #2703 in Nov. 2006. The 42-story development at 100 S. Pointe Dr. was built in 2002.

Shtrax is owner of Macro Investment Group, a real estate investment firm based in Nevada.

There were 1,524 sales in Miami Beach in 2008, with a media sales price of $380,000.

Home values likely won't rebound until mid-2010

2009-02-28T00:31:00.000+02:00

Despite a spike in sales in South Florida, the area probably won't see a bottoming out of single-family home prices until mid-2010, says Brad Hunter, chief economist with West Palm Beach-based Metrostudy.
"Yes, there are more transactions occurring," he said. "The problem is really that the increased sales — that is predominantly short sales and distressed sales — it's not really a situation that's bullish for home prices."
Mr. Hunter joined Ron Shuffield, president of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors; Michael Y. Cannon, executive director, Integra Realty Resources; and Peter Zalewski, owner/broker of Condo Vultures Realty, at the State of Real Estate forum presented by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce on Friday.

Real Estate Trends in Miami

2009-02-27T00:39:00.000+02:00

Hundreds Of Homes Hit The Auction Block

2009-02-09T11:14:00.001+02:00

It was an opportunity for many who were there. "This is among the lowest prices we've seen," company representative Trent Ferris told CBS4 News Reporter Joan Murray. "You're bidding against other people. The price is set here at the auction."

The Quintela's had a little help navigating the unfamiliar real estate waters. Their friend and realtor Antonio Duarte was with them. He says he is not taking a commission even though the Quintela's wanted to give it to him.

"I don't want the commission. I'm adding it to the cost so the bank will make a decision in their favor. What they bid is below what the bank wants to sell it for," Duarate explained.

Admission to the auction was free but at check-in bidders are required to show a $5 thousand cashier's check or cash to verify that they are able to deposit the required earnest money if they are a winning bidder. A five percent buyer's premium is added to all winning bid amounts.

For Miami Real Estate, The Worst May Be Yet to Come

2009-01-31T17:34:00.000+02:00

As a turbulent market battered South Florida in 2008, the Magic City itself appeared to fare better than some of its neighbors, with a particularly resilient commercial sector. However, emerging data seems to contradict these rosy assumptions.

According to Moody's Economy.com, Miami leads the country in first mortgage write-offs with a percentage of 12.55, as opposed to a national average of 1.95 percent. Moreover, when counting in mortgage delinquencies, Moody's found that more than a quarter of Miami's borrowers have either defaulted or are behind on payments.

The downbeat news continues on the heels of the Florida Association of Realtors' latest housing data. In 2008, sales of existing homes tumbled 4 percent, with a total of 124,215 homes sold as compared to 129,855 a year earlier. The good news: Home sales rose in December for the fourth consecutive month. However, median sales prices slumped to $130,600 by year-end 2008, a 32 percent drop from $192,600 in December 2007.

Stephen Ross Buys Remainder of Wayne Huizenga’s Miami Dolphins

2009-01-23T00:00:00.000+02:00

Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- New York real-estate developer Stephen M. Ross bought almost all remaining shares of the Miami Dolphins from team owner Wayne Huizenga and will become the team’s managing partner.

Ross, the chairman of New York-based Related Cos., will own 95 percent of the National Football League franchise and its stadium and 50 percent of its surrounding developable land, the team said in a news release. Huizenga will retain five percent of the franchise and 50 percent of the land.

Financial terms of the sale weren’t disclosed in the release. Ross bought half of the Dolphins and all attached properties from Huizenga in February 2008 for $550 million, according to the Miami Herald. Huizenga remained managing partner in that deal.

Foreign Buyers Primed for Real Estate Spree

2009-01-13T21:33:00.000+02:00

Foreign investors and lenders aren’t the only ones to turn bullish on U.S. real estate. Distressed asset investors all over the country are snapping up properties at bargain prices.

For example, sales of Southeast Florida condominiums and single-family houses jumped 17 percent in November from a year earlier, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.

Buyers snagged bank-owned properties, foreclosures and homes from owners willing to sell at deeply discounted prices.

“We have been predicting for some time that the number of South Florida residential transactions would surprise most people,” Peter Zalewski, principal of Condo Vultures, a real estate consulting firm in Bal Harbour, Fla., said in a statement.

“Early indications are that the December closed sales numbers will be just as strong as November’s if not stronger. We are getting reports that many all-cash buyers are moving into the market.”

Buyers closed on 1,623 condos and houses in Miami-Dade and Broward counties in November, compared to 1,391 transactions a year earlier.

Mortgage brokers could face tougher rules

2009-01-04T16:28:00.000+02:00

Florida regulators have proposed sweeping changes to state law that would make it tougher for mortgage professionals to get and retain licences and that would cap fees at 2 percent of a loan's value.

The changes aimed at providing greater protection for consumers against predatory lending -- come at a time when both federal and state lawmakers are focused on the mortgage business, an industry many view as a key driver of the economic predicament the nation is facing.

If passed by the Legislature in the upcoming session, the changes proposed by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation would also:

Miami foreclosures dip, fundamentals stay grim

2008-12-07T08:51:00.000+02:00

NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Foreclosure actvity in Miami dipped in November, possibly because of a rise in short sales, but the broader long-term picture remains bleak, say brokers and foreclosure experts.

The number of newly scheduled auctions on foreclosed properties in Miami were down 21 percent to 679 from October, real estate research firm PropertyShark.com said.

According to RealtyTrac, total foreclosure activity in Miami fell 37 percent in November from October to 6,473 filings.

RealtyTrac compiles the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing -- default notices, auction sales notices and bank repossessions -- reported during the month.

Subprime lending, speculation and overbuilding were rife in Miami during the boom years of 2002 to 2006, generating first towering price spikes followed by steep declines and a surge in foreclosures.

Miami Center Building Acquired by Sumitomo Corporation of America

2008-11-11T11:28:00.000+02:00

Sumitomo Corporation of America (SCOA) recently closed on the purchase of Miami Center building, at 201 South Biscayne Boulevard, in the Central Business district of Miami, Florida. The building, with spectacular views of Biscayne Bay and the city skyline has immediate access to Bayside Marketplace shopping & restaurant complex and the adjoining Inter-Continental Hotel Miami. Negotiations with the selling group, Crescent Real Estate Equities Limited Partnership and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management - Global Real Assets, concluded on September 30, 2008 with a purchase price of $260 million.

Robert Obringer, general manager of SCOA's Real Estate Unit, sees solid value in this latest acquisition. "We are excited to add Miami Center to our portfolio of commercial properties here in the U.S.," explains Mr. Obringer.

"As part of our constant management of assets, we are always looking for opportunities that will maximize return on investment, and this property offers a strong upside potential for steady cash flow growth and long-term value appreciation," adds Mr. Obringer. The building is 96% leased to multiple tenants, including major tenant, Citi Group.

Pangs of Seller’s Remorse in Miami Market

2008-09-05T19:16:00.000+02:00

MIAMI — For sale: one newly constructed three-bedroom, four-bathroom home near the University of Miami, with South African wood in the kitchen, marble from India, Egypt and Spain, and a $4,500 top-of-the-line garage door.

Listing price two years ago: $979,000. Listing price now: $599,000.

“I always figured the market trend wouldn’t catch me,” said Rafael Diaz, the owner and builder. He turned down $770,000 more than a year ago, he said, and has come to accept that he will never get the $700,000 he said he needed to break even. “By the end of the year,” he said, “I might just turn it over to the bank.”

Homeowners are struggling nationwide. But here in South Florida, the reversal of fortune has been especially severe, scrambling the psychology of a community that has historically treated real estate as a game of how-rich-can-you-get.

Overdeveloped and still building, this remains a place where conversations about the market are sugared with a rush of dreams and speculation. Now, though, people start with “if only I had sold when,” rather than “I should have bought.”

Miami Beach real estate

2008-07-04T20:08:00.000+02:00

William Lucien ''Billy'' Keen Jr., who launched the popular Southern-themed restaurant Lulu's on South Beach at the dawn of the area's rebirth -- a fun-loving party planner who threw spectacular Halloween benefits, sold real estate and believed that banana pudding could cure any bad mood -- has died at 51.

His youngest sister, Renee Barrera, said Keen succumbed to bladder cancer at South Miami Hospital on June 26 after ''a long, hard fight'' for seven years.

Keen and business partner Gabi Hakman opened Lulu's at 1053 Washington Ave., in 1990. A Miami Herald item said it would offer 'blues, barbecue and Elvis . . . three things food and rock 'n' roll fans can look forward to . . . Starters like corn and okra fritters or smoked catfish salad will go for $3 to $4.''

$1.7B Everglades Land Deal in Works

2008-06-26T00:28:00.000+02:00

The United States Sugar Corp. is selling 187,000 acres to Florida for $1.75 billion, Governor Charlie Crist announced yesterday. The South Florida water management district’s proposal aims to restore the agricultural land in order to help preserve the Everglades.

The proposal covers almost 300 square miles across four South Florida counties, and would include all of U.S. Sugars property south of Lake Okeechobee, including its cane fields, mill and railroad line. The two sides had been ironing out the logistics of the deal since Crist unexpectedly proposed to purchase U.S. Sugar Corp. at a meeting this past November.

“The deal wasn’t because of economic issues and it wasn’t because of environmental pressure,” said Robert Coker, the vice president of U.S. Sugar Corp. “We’ve been consistently building new factories, plants and other facilities and we’ve been dealing with environmental pressure since the company started.”

Why the Smart Money Rents in Miami

2008-05-27T23:21:00.000+02:00

MIAMI - Maybe the smart way to play the real-estate crash is to come down here and rent.

You can live in an amazing, brand-new condo, high above Biscayne Bay, for about $2,000 a month.

And there are plenty of desperate owners who need the income. The cash doesn't come close to covering all their costs.

For this money, you can get a two-bedroom home on the 20th floor with a wraparound balcony and stunning views of the bay.

The Real Estate Prices Keep Dropping In Miami

2008-05-06T11:55:00.000+02:00

Forbes Magazine has come out with a list of the top ten worst-selling housing markets in the U.S. And it's probably no surprise to you that Miami tops the list. Housing prices are coming down fast, but wait until you hear by how much a week.

Samantha Sharpe, like thousands of buyers, is trying to piece together our housing market.

"It's hard," said the potential buyer. "I sit on the computer everyday waiting for a new listing. There isn't much coming up but a lot going down--lot of homes on the market going down."

Real Estate Investors Buy South Florida Foreclosure Properties

2008-04-20T13:35:00.001+02:00

International interest in Miami and Miami Beach properties, particularly luxury South Beach condominiums, from buyers and investment groups in Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, Russia and even India," said Folland, who pointed out that all the negative real estate news headlines spark interest from buyers and investors looking to purchase properties for less than the the actual value. Combined with the currently weak US dollar, buying financially distressed pre-foreclosure properties through short sale negotiation or lender-owned properties adds up to a good investment opportunity for foreign cash buyers.

On-site auctions are becoming popular as owners struggle to sell their properties

2008-04-12T10:02:00.000+02:00

But now, despite the large volume of properties that need to be dumped, some lenders are trying the on-site method of auctioning individual properties – at all price points.

“It’s not that we haven’t tried everything else,” said Dean Williams, chairman and chief executive officer of Williams & Williams, a Tulsa, Okla.-based company that auctions an average of 50 properties on-site in South Florida each month. “But the authenticity and transparency of an on-site auction has shown to be more effective,” Williams said.

Bidders usually are more comfortable making an offer on a property they can tour at the time of an auction, he said. Williams also said the company has found that on-site auctions help focus attention on a specific property.

Stressed lenders shy away from program used to fund low-income housing

2008-04-02T11:34:00.001+02:00

When Miami-based Carrfour Supportive Housing applied for tax credits in April 2007, the low-income housing developer hoped to raise $23.47 million by selling credits to corporate investors on Wall Street.

Carrfour wants to build a 100-unit apartment building for low-income families and homeless people at Northwest 14th Avenue and 54th Street in Miami’s Liberty City. The project, named Dr. Barbara Carey Shuler Manor, carries an estimated cost of about $28 million. Carrfour hoped to subsidize most of the project by selling tax credits.

Miami Real Estate Report

2008-03-25T11:26:00.000+02:00

"Miami is different than most other cities in the US, in that there is an international clientele for real estate and luxury homes. Moreover, Miami real estate is undervalued when compared to cities like Malibu, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and Las Vegas, as well as some of our Northeast cities, like Boston and New York, Stamford, and Greenwich.

There is a problem, however. Miami Beach homes for sale are still listed far too high for a significant number of sales to take place. Sellers are still more or less oblivious of the value of their homes in this market, and are still listing their properties well above market value. This is especially true of luxury homes being listed in the Miami area.

Miami prices citywide were 17.5 per cent lower in December than a year earlier

2008-03-17T13:09:00.000+02:00

The problem in Miami is just part of Florida's boom and bust cycle. Whole towns sprung up over the last few years and many have gone bust just as quickly often leaving half-built homes abandoned (for a great photo series on this check out this piece on Rotunda Sands in Mental Floss). At this point, practically the entire state of Florida is in some sort of foreclosure crisis making it easy pickings for those from across the country and around the world looking for a real estate deal. Both homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth and developers forced to sell condos at cost or in some cases for even less than it cost to build them are ready to accept all sorts of offers.

Would-be home buyers become renters

2008-03-10T10:30:00.000+02:00

Like thousands of others, the Marcelluses are participating in the new South Florida ''housing market'' -- the rental market. The number of units rented in Miami-Dade and Broward counties between August and January shot up more than 40 percent over the year before, while home sales sank more than 40 percent. Giant brokerage EWM in January had 600 homes listed for sale but more than three times that many for rent.

During the boom, people rented because they couldn't afford to buy, and many of them still can't. Now, uncertainty over falling prices has made potential buyers like the Marcelluses even more gun-shy about jumping in.

Real Estate In South Florida

2008-03-03T03:40:00.001+02:00

"Real estate became very liquid especially in the condo market. People would buy pre-construction pricing and that's before the building was out of the ground, and then they would sell the contract while the building was being constructed and for huge gain sometimes 200% gains," said Glen Daniels of Foreclosure.com.

"People had so much money in this community, in the South Florida community, because they were making so much money from nothing in buying and selling real estate. Wealth was appearing that they were able to drive the consumer market place throughout South Florida," said Genet.

Miami skyline could reach new heights

2008-02-26T23:04:00.000+02:00

Undeterred by the real-estate downturn, and aided by a little-noticed relaxation of the downtown height limits that protect Miami International Airport's flight paths, two local developers want to take you higher -- up over the 1,000-foot threshold, rare heights in the United States outside of New York and Chicago.

On Thursday, the Miami City Commission will consider Maclee Development's proposed Empire World Towers, a pair of rounded residential cloud-busters that would rise 93 stories over Biscayne Boulevard across from Bayside Marketplace. The city's planning board has recommended approval.

Miami bank-owned properties up

2008-02-23T18:11:00.000+02:00

Lenders have taken ownership of 217 percent more properties from borrowers in the greater Miami area in the first 45 days of 2008 than they did in the same period in 2007, a report from Condo Vultures said.

In January 2008, lenders took back 641 greater Miami properties, up 252 percent from January 2007, when 182 properties were taken back. In the first 15 days of February, lenders have taken back 217, up 138 percent from the 91 properties taken in February 2007, according to data gathered by the Bal Harbour-based real estate consultancy.