Iconic Miami Tower Under New Ownership

Asian Investors Keep Showing Their Trust in the Strenght of the Miami Market

In one of South Florida’s biggest investment plays so far this year, a Japanese firm has paid $220 million for the iconic Miami Tower in downtown Miami.

County records show a fund controlled by Chicago’s LaSalle Investment Management transferred the air rights of the office tower at 100 Southeast Second Street to an affiliate of the Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, in what is a precursor to an outright property transfer. Though no monetary amount was attached to the lease, The Real Deal calculated its document tax to the $220 million closing price. Sources close to the deal have confirmed both the closing price and the sale details.

LaSalle paid $105 million for the famous tower in 2010. At 47 stories, it’s Miami’s eighth-tallest building and one of its most recognizable amidst a rapidly changing skyline. At night, the building’s $1.5 million LED system lights up the tower in myriad colors depending on the holiday or occasion. The tower was designed by noted architect I.M. Pei.

Commercial brokerage HFF represented LaSalle for the sale and brought Sumitomo, according to a news release from the brokerage. With 600,000 square feet of office space, this most recent purchase breaks down to nearly $367 per square foot. According to data from the CoStar Group, Miami Tower was 92 percent leased at the time of sale with asking rents ranging from $38 to $52.50 per square foot on an annual basis.

Sumitomo Corporation of Americas is the Western Hemisphere division of Sumitomo Corp., a multinational trade company based in Japan. The company is no stranger to Miami real estate: it sold Miami Center, another well-known downtown office building, to Crocker Partners for $265.2 million in 2012. Requests for comment to LaSalle and Sumitomo were not immediately returned.

Other investments from Asian firms include The Qatari purchase of the former Viceroy Miami hotel last week. Qatari buyer also owns the St. Regis Bal Harbour, which it bought for $213M in 2014. The new acquisition is nothing but a sign of more foreign investment to come. Experts say investors like Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Company, which paid $64.5 million for the 148 room hotel last Wednesday, are taking advantage of hotel real estate investment trusts’ hunger for cash. * The Real Deal

Call me now to schedule a complete presentation of any project in Miami. For Reservation please contact me at 954.254.6085 or email me at JuanSolerRealtor@gmail.com Time is always of the essence but much more in Pre-construction. Don't miss this window of Opportunity!

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Miami Placed 7th in the World’s Top Luxury Real Estate Market

Miami Ranked 7^th in the World’s Top Property Market

Miami rose two notches to place seventh among the world’s top luxury property markets in 2015, according to a new report by Christie’s. Yet the study foreshadows a downward trend for Miami in 2016, as sales slow and luxury inventory swells. London ranked first in 2015, followed by Hong Kong, New York, Los Angeles, Singapore and Sydney, in the annual Christie’s International Real Estate Luxury Index. Miami beat out San Francisco, Paris and Toronto, rounding out the top 10. Miami jumped from ninth place in 2014 and 2013, and eighth place in 2012. “Miami achieved a local record sale” — the $55 million sale for a Faena penthouse in Miami Beach — “which offset declines in overseas and cash buyers, ensuring a solid performance in the Luxury Index,” the report said. “New luxury stock and slowing buyer demand evidenced in late 2015 and early 2016, however, is likely to move it down in next year’s rankings.” Worldwide, luxury is an elusive term, according to the report, which outlines various definitions of luxury. Such homes in Miami are categorized as starting at $2 million, with Monaco at $10 million, London at $7 million and Los Angeles, New York, and Hong Kong at $5 million. Ron Shuffield, president of EWM Realty International, which is the exclusive affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate for Miami and Fort Lauderdale, told The Real Deal he had already begun to see increasing inventory and sales falling off as early as August 2015. In the over $1 million category for single-family homes in Miami-Dade County, inventory rose 46 percent at the end of April 2016, compared to the April 2015. For condos priced over $1 million, inventory was up 55 percent during the same timeframe, he said. And sales of single family homes and condos over $1 million in February, March and April of this year were down 11 percent, and 24 percent, respectively, compared to the same period of last year, Shuffield said. Yet he said buyers are just waiting for the market to stabilize. “There are spikes in units of inventory and sales are softer than last year, but we have so much pent-up demand growing of people watching this market carefully to strike at the moment they believe is the best value,” Shuffield said. “So long term, South Florida has everything to look forward to, but in the short term we are probably going to see a little bit of rebalancing of our values in the high end.” * The Real Deal.

Call me now to schedule a complete presentation of any project in Miami. For Reservation please contact me at 954.254.6085 or email me at JuanSolerRealtor@gmail.com Time is always of the essence but much more in Pre-construction. Don't miss this window of Opportunity!

To Buy, Sell or Rent Properties in Miami go to http://www.JuanSolerRealtor.com