Miami’s commercial real estate market attracts large, sophisticated foreign investors.

Miami’s commercial real estate market attracts large, sophisticated foreign investors, who are looking for a culturally attractive, economically stable place. International investment in commercial real estate has changed in Miami, drive through the city’s central business district: Where there once were vacant lots and aging buildings off Brickell Avenue, there’s a giant and still-growing beehive of construction for Brickell City Centre. It’s a more than $1 billion investment by Hong Kong-based Swire Properties that someday will cover several city blocks with a cluster of commercial and residential buildings. About two miles north of the City Centre site off Biscayne Boulevard, the former Miami Herald building, once one of downtown’s landmark properties, sits empty, awaiting its destiny. The Malaysian conglomerate Genting bought the site and surrounding properties. So far, the company has invested an estimated $500 million on its vision to create a downtown gambling Mecca and resort that apparently will rest with getting legislation passed in Tallahassee. Genting Resorts World wants to build a scaled-back, slots-only resort on the Miami waterfront.The proposal for a slots-only casino would include a partnership that would allow it to use a permit owned by Gulfstream racetrack to open a slots casino at the Biscayne Bay property.If approved by legislators or state gambling regulators, Genting's Resorts World Miami would open with 2,000 slot machines and off-track betting. It’s not just the monster projects that attract foreign investors. Others say smaller overseas investors from overseas still have a place in Miami. They tend to buy gas stations, warehouses, small offices and stores. Often the purchases are made under federal visa programs that encourage foreign business investment in exchange for US residency or citizenship rights. The investors typically come from South America, Central America and Europe.When there’s political or economic turmoil overseas, like the current situation in Venezuela, business people from those countries look for safe haven investments – and the US is among their prime targets. A lot of the investment activity in Miami under the EB-5 visa program for foreign investors, has come from Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela. As a way to obtain a green card, the EB-5 program permits foreigners to invest at least $1 million, or at least $500,000 in designated areas, in business ventures that will create or preserve at least 10 jobs for US workers. A survey released last year by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate found that the US dominates the list of countries where its members plan to invest in commercial real estate. The top five countries were, in order: the US, Canada, Germany, Australia the United Kingdom. Lazaro Lopez Fortune Int'l Realty 1390 Brickell Ave, Suite 104 Miami, Fl. 33131 http://www.LazaroLopez.com http://www.MiamiPropertyConsultant.com (786) 525-9430

Persquarefoot Housing Prices Soaring!

As condo sales have continued to rise all over Miami, the average price per square foot has continued to climb, with the condo market soaring and inventory dropping. Currently, Coconut Grove condos are selling for anywhere from $247 to upwards of $700 per square foot. Condos in the center of the Grove are on the lower end, ranging from $247 to $350 per square foot, according to Charlette Seidel, branch manager at Coldwell Banker’s Coral Gables office. After years of crisis, the real estate market has been trending upward, but with the rise in prices comes a drop in inventory. “It is supply and demand,” said Mrs. Seidel. “Inventory has been reducing and prices have been going up… It’s the lowest inventory I’ve seen in years.” Single-family homes have seen an increase as well. The average price per square foot of a single-family home in Miami-Dade County in May was $185, up from $171 in May of last year, according to Ron Shuffield, president and CEO of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors (EWM). Though the trend has been upward, per-square-foot prices don’t compare to the average of $273 seen in May 2007 during the height of the real estate boom. Condo prices have changed even more drastically, with the average per square foot price in the county at $283 this May, Mr. Shuffield said. This is an increase from $234 a year ago; though still less than the $344 per square foot seen in 2007. Overall, the median price of condos has continued to increase substantially over the past three years. The median sale price of a condo in the county in the second quarter of 2010 was $125,000, according to figures from The Keyes Company. Today that price is $185,000. “You have a market that is transitioning from a distressed market to a healthy market,” said Mike Pappas, Keyes president and CEO. “Overbuilding supply caused distress and default by developers… Now, you are starting to get to a healthy market.” With rising prices, inventory continues to drop. Even though two-thirds of the market consists of condo sales, with single-family homes only making up one-third, there’s not a large inventory available. For instance, according to Mr. Pappas, in Brickell only 3% of the condos are on the market. The rise of condo sales illustrates Miami’s ongoing urban growth. As less land and fewer homes are available, Mr. Pappas said, condo sales rise, since condos generally are built vertically and aren’t as affected by land costs. “Miami has the third largest urban market in the country,” Mr. Pappas said, second only to New York City and Chicago. Interest in condos and prime locations comes from the many foreign buyers who are interested in Miami, as well as first-time buyers who are interested in convenience and less commute time and owners who are less interested in a big home and its upkeep, Mrs. Seidel said. “People seem to like being able to walk to a city,” she said. “We’re urban creatures now. It’s a lifestyle change.”To read the entire issue of Miami Today online, subscribe to e-MIAMI TODAY, an exact digital replica of the printed edition. (http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/130711/story5.shtml) Lazaro Lopez, PA Fortune Int'l Realty (786) 525-9430 http://www.MiamiPropertyConsultant.com

Shakira switches listing agent for Miami Beach Mansion

Unable to sell her Miami Beach mansion since putting it on the market last summer, Shakira has switched listing agents and dropped the asking price by $2.1 million. The Colombian pop star is now seeking $12.9 million for the waterfront 3140 North Bay Road mansion. Fortune International Realty is now serving as listing agent for the home. Shakira first hired Campins Luxury Real Estate, the firm founded by reality television star Katrina Campins, to market the property. Shakira paid $3.4 million for the 8,355-square-foot home in 2001 and later added about 2,000 square feet. Lazaro Lopez, PA Fortune Int'l Realty (786) 525-9430 http://www.MiamiPropertyConsultant.com

Historic Star Island home faces demolition

42 Star Island Drive-Another historic Miami home is facing the wrecking ball. A white mansion at the tip of Star Island, designed by Florida’s first registered architect, Walter deGarmo, will soon make way for a new 20,000-square-foot home. The husband-and-wife owners, Leonard and Lisa Hochstein, recently won the right to demolish the home after a drawn out legal battle. Leonard Hochstein is a plastic surgeon who, according to the Miami Herald, calls himself the “boob god.” His wife, Lisa, is a star of reality series “The Real Housewives of Miami.” The couple’s new home, located at 42 Star Island, will include six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a home theater, a game room, a wine cellar, a five-car garage and a guesthouse. The pending loss of the historic home is rallying Miami residents to push for strong preservation laws. “It just shows how pathetic it is that we cannot have the vision . . . to try to protect these homes a little bit better,” Nancy Liebman, a former city commissioner who now heads Miami Beach United, a citywide homeowners organization that supports preservation, told the Miami Herald. [Miami Herald] – Christopher Cameron (http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/03/03/3972085/battle-to-save-miami-beachs-old.html)