Miami condo prices rose in March, despite growing inventory...

The median resale price for a condo in Miami-Dade County rose 19.8 percent in March to $235,000 from a year earlier and was 13 percent higher than February, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. Still, the area’s hot condo market is moderating after more than two torrid years of increases in sales and prices. Existing condo sales in Miami-Dade fell 3.1 percent to 1,413 closings in March from a year earlier and were off 4.1 percent year-over-year in February. And the inventory of Miami-Dade condos listed for resale ballooned 33 percent to 10,805 units in March from a year earlier. For Miami-Dade single-family homes, the median resale price rose 4.4 percent to $235,000 in March from a year earlier and was up 3.5 percent from February, the Miami Realtors said. Single-family home sales in Miami-Dade soared 10.5 percent in March from a year earlier and were up 31.2 percent from February. Miami continues to experience strong demand for Miami properties in 2014,While additional inventory is creating a more balanced market, strong sales continue to drive growth, as Miami remains a focal point for buyers and investors worldwide. Lazaro Lopez Broker-Associate Fortune (786)525-9430 http://www.MiamiPropertyConsultant.com

Brickell Flatiron condo

Former California Golf Course In Miami Is Largest Land Deal Of The Year!

A Brooklyn developer has snapped up 181 acres in northern Miami-Dade County in a move likely to spur a residential development considered a "dream" just a few years ago. The Mazel Group LLC, a company tied to developer Yehuda Backer, paid $19.1 million for the unincorporated site of the former California Golf Club. The transaction involves six noncontiguous lots west of I-95 and southeast of the Broward County line and Northeast Second Avenue, where a residential community exists around the shuttered 18-hole golf course. The sale involves over 180 acres although as much as 30 acres is manmade lakes. The property is zoned to allow the development of 702 housing units, with up to six homes per acre. A 2013 agreement with Miami-Dade County states any developer building homes on the property must leave 61 percent as open space. Any development also must include plans for a community park with baseball diamonds and soccer fields, dog runs, pavilions and rest areas. The sale is a windfall for Venezuelan entrepreneur Liliane Stransky, who purchased the property from Boston-based Capital Crossing for $800,000 in 2010. Capital Crossing took over the property in 2004 after the previous owner defaulted on a $2.3 million loan. The financier let the golf club fall into disrepair after it was heavily damaged by Hurricane Wilma in 2005. First Foray Stransky, who immigrated from Venezuela in 2000 and runs a 10-acre horse farm in Wellington, purchased the land and pushed forward with plans to develop an equestrian-themed residential community. Plans required the approval of over 75 of the area's current residents under a covenant signed by the original developer in 1974 prohibiting residential development on the golf course property. As Stransky was starting to collect signatures in support of what she called her "dream" in 2011, the Miami Herald noted area neighbors were increasingly in opposition to the idea. That pushback does not seemed to have swayed county commissioners, who approved lifting the restrictive covenant and backed most of Stransky's plan last June. The venture was Stransky's first foray into real estate development. While her previous experience has been in marketing and public relations, she is related to a wealthy Venezuelan family with interests in clothing and machinery manufacturing. In various interviews, Stransky emphasized the proposed development would have a strong recreational component centered on horseback riding with a state-of-the-art riding facility and stables. Lazaro Lopez (786) 525-9430 http://www.MiamiPropertyConsultant.com

Tishman Speyer sells Brickell Key office complex

An Orlando investor announced its acquisition of the Courvoisier Centre office complex in Miami’s Brickell Key. Parkway Properties released a statement on Wednesday revealing it paid about $146 million, or $422 per square foot, for the two-building complex at 501 Brickell Key Drive. New York-based Tishman Speyer sold the Class A buildings to Parkway. The transaction has not been recorded by Miami-Dade County. The transaction was first reported locally by South Florida Business Journal. JLL brokers Jeff Morris, Denny St. Romain and Jubeen Vaghefi arranged the sale. A $10 million renovation of the complex was completed last year, according to Parkway. The 346,000-square-foot Courvoisier Centre is more than 83 percent leased. “The acquisition of Courvoisier Centre supports our strategy of acquiring best-in-class assets within the strongest submarkets across the Sunbelt,” Parkway president and CEO James Heistand said in the company’s announcement. “The buildings’ high-end amenity base, along with available parking infrastructure and water views, makes Courvoisier Centre a highly desirable asset.” Lazaro Lopez Http://www.MiamiPropertyConsultant.com (786) 525-9430.

Tommy Hilfiger completes Raleigh Hotel purchase

Fashion icon Tommy Hilfiger officially purchased the Raleigh Hotel in Miami Beach for an undisclosed price. Hilfiger closed on the acquisition of the 105-room hotel at 1775 Collins Avenue on Friday, the Miami Herald reported, citing an announcement from real estate firm HFF. The seller, a partnership between W South Beach developer David Edelstein and sbe founder, chairman and CEO Sam Nazarian, paid $55 million for the property in December 2012

The List: Top South Florida Golf Courses

A Jupiter golf course topped the rankings on the South Florida Business Journal’s 2014 golf courses list. The course earned the top spot based on its United States Golf Association rating of 76.8. Newcomers to the list, and those that returned after renovations, include: Blue Course - Trump National Doral Miami, Crandon Golf Key Biscayne, Links Course - Bear Lakes Country Club, South Course - Hunters Run Golf Course, New Championship Front - Trump International Golf Club, Fazio Course - Jonathan's Landing Golf Club and Sunset Course - The Country Club at Mirasol. To see who topped the list, click through the photo gallery included with this post. The complete golf courses list includes USGA slope ratings and contact information. It is available online and in print for subscribers only. We are currently surveying for the following 2014 lists: alternative dispute resolution firms, litigation support accounting firms, landscaping companies, commercial printers, chambers of commerce, and executive office suite centers.