Miami Real Estate Today: February 2015

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Miami Median & Average Sales

Miami Median & Average Sales

The median sales price for single-family homes in Miami-Dade County increased to $246,140 in the fourth quarter, a 4.7 percent jump compared to the same period last year. The median sale price for condominiums increased 8.6 percent to $190,000 in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier. Miami-Dade County has now seen 12 consecutive quarters of growth for both single-family homes and condominiums.

“We expect Miami home prices to continue to increase in 2015 but at a more moderate rate,” said Christopher Zoller, a 27-year Miami-based realtor and the 2015 Residential President of the MIAMI Association of Realtors. “Limited supply and strong demand for single-family homes is still reflective of a seller’s market. There is also strong demand for both new construction and existing condominiums, so we will continue to see price growth for residential properties in Miami-Dade.”

Nationally, the median sales price of existing single-family homes was $208,700 in the fourth quarter, up 6.0 percent from the fourth quarter of 2013, according to the National Association of Realtors. The national median sales price for condominiums was $203,300, a 3.3 percent increase over the previous year.

The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in the fourth quarter was $180,000, up 5.9 percent from the same quarter a year ago, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors. The median sales price for condominiums in Florida was up 7.9 percent compared to the same quarter last year at $143,000.

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2013, the average sales prices for condominiums in Miami-Dade County increased 18.5 percent to $375,269. The average sales price for single-family homes decreased 2 percent to $394,095. * Miami Association of Realtors.

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Monday, February 23, 2015

One Brickell

One Brickell Coming Up Soon

Related Group plans to build a three-tower mixed-use project at the waterfront Brickell at what currently is 444 Brickell Avenue. Reports indicated the company had a contract to buy the four-acre site for about $100 million. It intends to develop One Brickell on the two properties. Plans for One Brickell include 1,200 residential units, a five-star hotel with about 200 rooms and convention space and at least 200,000 square feet of office and retail space. Two prominent architectural firms, Miami-based Arquitectonica and Pelli Clarke Pelli of Connecticut, have been hired to design the towers and commons areas. The 80, 70 and 55-story buildings would total more than four million square feet. “This is the most important development in the urban core,” Related CEO Jorge Perez said in the company’s written announcement. “One Brickell is the link that will unify the neighborhood by bringing pedestrian-friendly walkways from east Brickell all the way to Brickell CityCentre.” Related developed the 1,800-condo Icon Brickell complex across the street from the 444 Brickell site, which presently includes an office building with a Capital Grille restaurant on the ground floor. * The Real Deal

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Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Get your EB-5 Visa Through SkyRise Miami

Get your Eb-5 Visa Through SkyRise Miami

US Congress in 1990 created the EB-5 in order to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. The EB-5 program grants permanent U.S. residency to investors and immediate family members who contribute at least $500,000 to $1 million in a U.S. business venture creating at least 10 domestic jobs through such investment. Here in Miami there are several opportunities to invest and eventually be on your way to become a US citizen.

SkyRise Miami is one of the projects seeking foreign investors. Developer Jeffrey Berkowitz wants to raise $270 million for his SkyRise Miami tower from foreign investors seeking permanent residency in the United States. In two weeks, Berkowitz will depart for China to seek out financiers for the project, a 1,000-foot high steel and glass structure that Berkowitz has dubbed Miami’s version of the Eiffel Tower. Once completed, SkyRise Miami will be the largest observation tower in the U.S. “We’re recruiting 540 investors through the EB-5 visa federal immigration program,” Berkowitz told The Real Deal. “So far, we are making good progress.”

The program has become so popular in recent years that U.S. immigration officials warned two pro-EB-5 visa organizations that the federal government could run out of the 10,000 special visas allotted for fiscal year 2015 by mid-summer. The U.S. Immigration and Citizens Services has approved Skyrise Miami as an EB-5 project, even though it has not recruited any foreign investors, because it is projected to create 4,000 to 6,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to Shai Zamanian, an attorney who co-founded Step America, a Dubai-based company that is searching for SkyRise investors in the Middle East.

Investors who participate in the EB-5 program usually fund traditional income producing properties such as retail shopping centers. In addition to getting a green card, investors aim to recoup their money from revenues derived from SkyRise Miami’s restaurant, night club, ballroom, and two amusement rides, Berkowitz said. “ * The Real Deal

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Monday, February 16, 2015

Destination Miami River

Miami River A New Hot Spot in Miami

Miami aims to cement the city’s position as an economic, political, and cultural hub for the Americas and reach a new world city status. One of the strategies to pursue that goal is the gentrification of some neglected areas that are part of the core of the city. Thus the city continues in the process of renewal and rebuilding some of the deteriorating areas bringing a new influx of middle-class and affluent people.

Edge, Sushi Samba, River Oyster Bar and Fox Hole Marketplace and Deli —are just some of the planned new eateries banking on the Miami River. New restaurants, retail and increased public access along the Miami River were among the highlights of a development boat tour of the five-mile-long waterfront district on Thursday. Developers and real estate professionals toured the river Thursday as part of an Urban Land Institute and NAIOP partnership. Brett Bibeau, managing director of the Miami River Commission, said that popular restaurants Seaspice (formerly Sea Salt and Pepper), Garcia’s Seafood and Casablanca have brought business to the area. Among the restaurants awaiting permits or under construction are Sushi Samba, at 40 Southwest North River Drive; Edge at 39 to 55 Southwest Miami Avenue Road; a new location for the River Oyster Bar at 350 Flagler Street, and Fox Hole Marketplace and Deli at Latitude on the River, 615 Southwest Second Avenue. The Miami River has increasingly drawn interest from developers who are embracing the river lifestyle. “It’s a place that people don’t have to see as up and coming. It exists,” said Andy Hellinger, developer of the River Landing project, a massive nine-acre development that will include apartments, retail and a linear park along the riverwalk. River Landing’s retail component will include a five-story vertical shopping center, with a different theme for each floor. Among them: restaurants and supermarkets, sporting goods and entertainment. Two acres of the project are dedicated to parks and pathways. Hellinger compared the linear park, with a 50-foot setback, to the Highline in New York. River Landing recently applied for a seawall permit, and digging for the foundation will be complete in a few weeks, Hellinger told The Real Deal. * The Real Deal

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Friday, February 13, 2015

Climate Ribbon will Make Miami Weather arguarbly Perfect at Brickell City Centre

Perfect Weather Conditions At Brickell City Centre

The Climate Ribbon will make Miami weather even more enjoyable once you stepped in Brickell City Centre! The $30M marvel engineering system not only will protect shoppers from uncomfortable weather conditions but also will capture and re-channel cool breezes from Biscayne Bay. Additionally, the 1,000 foot long ribbon of steel, fabric and glass will also let in natural light to offer an open air experience according to the development’s website.

The canopy, designed and engineered by design firm Hugh Dutton Associés of Paris, and the universities of Carnegie-Mellon in Pittsburgh and Cardiff in the U.K., is the first of its kind. “We challenged ourselves to think about what that meant, to think about the definition of urban retail in Miami,” Swire Properties president Stephen Owens told the Miami Herald. “What should it be? Miami is really about its environment. That’s what people come to Miami for. So why build a large box that we would have to air-condition and that could be in Dallas or Atlanta or anywhere else?” The system will capture about five million gallons of water annually, according to the project’s website. The ribbon, which spans four city blocks, makes a statement about the development and sets it apart from nearby competitors such as Miami Worldcenter, Swire officials told the newspaper. Miami Herald & The Real Deal.

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Monday, February 9, 2015

NY Developers Widening Wynwood Portfolio

NY Developers Widening Wynwood Portfolio

Wynwood Arts District is home to over 70 Art Galleries, Retail Stores, Antique Shops, Eclectic Bars, and one of the largest open-air street-art installations in the world. But the landscape of the neighborhood will be radically reshaped with new construction as many developers continue to eye and invest in one of the hottest markets of Miami.

A joint venture between two New York investment firms just bought an entire block on the west side of North Miami Avenue, between 24th Street and 25th Street, in Miami’s white-hot Wynwood neighborhood. The partnership, between Yellow Side Ventures and East End Capital, paid $11 million for the portfolio, Dan Arev, a partner in Yellow Side Ventures, told The Real Deal. The purchase includes a separate parcel across the street, at the corner of North Miami Avenue and 24th Street, he said. Yellow Side partners include Arev, Chaim Cahane and Jon Krasner. East End Capital’s partners are Jonathon Yormak and David Peretz. The property adds to the New York investors’ growing Wynwood portfolio. Last May, the partners bought a 20,911 square-foot warehouse at 2214 North Miami Avenue for $4.7 million. And last February, they spent $5.3 million on another property on Northwest 23rd Street, just west of North Miami Avenue, that was formerly owned by Mega Shoes. They plan to transform that site into a retail center. Downtown Towing was the seller of their latest block-long purchase and out-parcel, totaling 70,000 square feet. Cahane spent six months working with the seller to make the deal happen, Arev said. “Everyone was trying to make a deal with this guy for a long time, and no one was able to,” he said. “Yellow Side was able to enter into negotiations with the owner to make a deal, due to Cahane’s persistence and relationship with owner.” The partners are now awaiting rezoning of the site, and then plan to create a mixed-use project with a hotel, apartments, retail and parking, he said. Two blocks south, New York developer Sonny Bazbaz has plans for a hotel expected to feature studio and one-bedroom apartments, hotel rooms, retail and parking for more than 300 cars. “Wynwood has become a major thoroughfare,” Arev said, “for developers around the country to look at and invest.” *The Real Deal

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Wednesday, February 4, 2015

NY Developers Make Miami Their Main Aim

More NY Developers Building in Miami Now

The List of NY developers who are now shifting their main focus to Miami continues to proliferate. New York developer Shahab Karmely is aiming his focus squarely on South Florida, assembling several properties for future condominium and mixed-use projects, with a desire to combine compelling architecture and aesthetic design. Karmely, founder and principal of New York-based KAR Properties, has purchased more than $100 million of real estate during the past two years in Hallandale, Wynwood and along the Miami River.

In fact, the company’s primary focus has shifted from New York to South Florida, he said. “It’s a combination of loving the city and getting sticker shock in New York, and the timing of Miami and where it is going.” After living on several continents, the Iranian native said he finds Miami a place that is still maturing, offering the chance for renewal. “I am in Miami because I saw the opportunity there and fell in love with the city. I have lived in Bangkok, London, Milan, New York, L.A., Frankfort, and spent substantial amount of time in cities in India, because of business, and in Latin America,” said Karmely, 52. “And I look at myself as my own end consumer.

KAR Properties has holdings throughout the United States, Southeast Asia and Europe. The firm has bought, redeveloped and sold more than 3 million square feet of office, luxury mixed-use, and industrial space, and currently manages a portfolio of more than 2 million square feet. “We want to be part of the fabric of Miami and bring about with our projects a new sense about design and architecture and the quality of what can be built in Miami,” he said. “We hope to be a complementary part of this great city.” *The Real Deal

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