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Colombian Interest In Miami Real Estate Holds Steady Into 2018

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Colombians continued searching for Miami homes in January, according to a new report from the Miami Association of Realtors.

Potential buyers from Colombia again led a ranking of foreign nationals searching for South Florida homes using the association’s website, with 12.6 percent of the total, up from 10.5 percent the previous month. The list also includes Venezuela with 9.5 percent and Canada with 7 percent.

Foreign investment in residential real estate in South Florida totaled $7.1 billion last year, up nearly 15 percent from the previous year’s $6.2 billion. Colombian and Canadian home buyers tied for the third-most international home purchases in South Florida last year with 9 percent, each.

Check out the full list for January:

  1. Colombia: 12.6%
  2. Venezuela 9.5%
  3. Canada 7.0%
  4. Brazil 5.8%
  5. Argentina: 5.0%
  6. India: 4.1%
  7. Peru: 3.9%
  8. Spain: 3.2%
  9. Philippines: 3.1%
  10. Dominican Republic: 2.7%

Within the U.S., those most interested in buying residential real estate in South Florida were from Texas, North Carolina, California, New York and Georgia, according to the report.

 

Source: The Real Deal

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RealConnex Platform Partners With Miami Association Of Realtors To Power Property Investment

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RealConnex, a platform that connects real estate professionals to both access to capital as well as investments, has announced a strategic partnership with the Miami Association of Realtors.

According to RealConnex, the agreement will see the Miami Association of Realtors, and their 46,000 plus members, leverage the RealConnex platform to manage their properties and transactions. The platform wants to provide a wide variety of services for property investing – not just access to capital.

The Association is said to be working with RealConnex to add new features and improve design. RealConnex plans to roll out the program to other real estate associations accross the US.

RealConnex was founded to solve a problem faced by many real estate developers: funding mid-market projects and connecting to the right capital sources and service providers. RealConnex says it currently has a community of 72,000 developers, sponsors, capital sources, service providers and owners. It expects to reach the 100,000 member mark by the end of 2017. RealConnex claims it is on track to facilitate up to $1 billion dollars in transacted deals on its platform within the same time frame.

“RealConnex will provide our members with a powerful competitive advantage,” said Teresa Kinney, CEO of Miami Association of Realtors. “The platform will make it significantly easier for our members to collaborate, share, network and distribute listings locally, nationally and internationally.”

RealConnex founder and CEO Roy Abrams said he looked forward to extending their collaboration as they build out the network.

“As a New York- and Miami-based real estate technology startup, we are excited about working with MIAMI to offer better service to its member realtors and promote South Florida’s booming economy,” said Abrams.

 

Source: Crowdfund Insider

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Miami’s Real Estate Drawing Middle Eastern Buyers

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Every month, the Miami Association of Realtors announces the top 10 foreign countries that use its website to search for Miami real estate.

As you might expect, this list typically features the “usual suspects” month after month, such as Colombia, Canada, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina and France. However, the most recently published report (from January 2017) included an unfamiliar newcomer: Turkey, ranked at No. 7.

Miami has always attracted foreign buyers, and we are very used to seeing strong interest from Latin America and Europe. But this marked the first time that a Middle Eastern country was included among that report’s top 10.

While time and circumstances could make this inclusion an outlier, it is also a fairly good demonstration of Miami’s rising profile among wealthy and sophisticated real-estate buyers from that part of the world.

Last September, CBRE Capital Markets reported that commercial investment in Miami from the Middle East totaled $517 million between January and June 2016 alone, making it the 10th most popular global market for Middle Eastern investment during this time period, and the fifth most popular in the U.S.

Why Miami?

A number of factors have coincided to propel this dramatic increase in demand for Miami real estate from the region. First, turmoil and unstable governments throughout the Middle East have pushed wealthy families to seek more and varied residency options, beyond the usual “comfort zones” of London and New York.

Second, Miami is considered a relatively new city, with many recently-constructed buildings and houses that offer state-of-the-art amenities, which appeal to prosperous Arabs.

Third, with the recent addition of world-renowned luxury hotels, restaurants, architecture, retail and cultural offerings (Four Seasons, Zuma, Zaha Hadid, Art Basel, etc.), Miami now enjoys a higher level of sophistication than in years past.

And finally, more direct flights from Dubai, Doha and Istanbul have literally put Miami within reach for more Middle Eastern buyers.

Put all these elements together, and Miami is now viewed as a secure, modern, upmarket, accessible and (important for Middle Easterners!) warm American city, with reasonably-priced real estate and amenities curated for high net-worth individuals.

(Recent buyers from Turkey present specific and compelling evidence of this observation. A few years ago, there was a big spike in their attention to projects like the Four Seasons in Surfside and the Capri in South Beach — just around the time that Erdoğan was elected president and began seriously consolidating power in that country.)

Three Broad Categories

Miami’s Middle Eastern buyers fall into three broad categories:

  • Wealthy individuals seeking pied-à-terres, to enjoy a few months of leisure
  • Investors looking to purchase at big projects like the W Downtown and the St. Regis Bal Harbour
  • Students attending college, usually at the University of Miami. Our country attracts many foreign students, and let’s face it — what 20 year-old wouldn’t love to spend four years here?

The really interesting phenomenon is that many of these Middle Eastern college students become the “gateway” for other family members, encouraging mom, dad, grandma and others to join them in Miami. Family is extremely important to Middle Eastern buyers, and real-estate professionals should be prepared to find housing for them that is suitable for and capable of expansion, or has more available units nearby.

No Trump Concerns

While President Donald Trump’s Middle Eastern travel/emigration policy (or “Muslim Ban,” as it has been described) draws international headlines and lots of cable news chatter, you might be surprised to know that clients from that region pay it little attention.

Prosperous Middle Eastern individuals do not feel unfairly “targeted” in any respect and feel no need to protest or complain. Their concerns are about finding safe, secure and reliable investments should they need to flee their home countries due to political, religious or military turmoil. This would be the case regardless of who occupies the White House.

While the region continues to be very unstable and capable of dramatic change, a mass influx of Middle Eastern buyers is not expected to Miami in the near or distant future. However, the trend of more wealthy individuals choosing Miami over major U.S. cities like New York or Los Angeles is here to stay, and Turkey and other Arab countries may become regulars on that list of online real-estate Web searchers.

 

Source: Miami Herald

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Miami CRE: Neighborhoods Emerging, Transforming

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When Avra Jain bought the Vagabond Hotel in Miami’s MiMo district two years ago, she couldn’t capture the interest of traditional real estate investors.

Comparable rates along Biscayne Boulevard were $60 a night — or $20 an hour, she quipped. Now, after redeveloping the property into a boutique hotel with financial backing from friends and family, off-season rates stand at $159 a night, and the coming season will command $229 to $259 per night.

Changes taking place in the commercial real estate market in neighborhoods like MiMo and Wynwood are spurring widespread revitalization in Miami and creating other newly emerging areas, panelists said Friday at the Miami Association of Realtors’ RCA Super Conference, held at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.

In MiMo, Jain realized that dilapidated motels were hurting the area, so she purchased seven motels along the Biscayne Boulevard strip and shut them down. “And that is when the neighborhood started to change,” she said during a panel, “Emerging Miami: Miami River, Lemon City & Little River.”

Much more change is on the horizon. In a year, the MiMo District “will be lit up with neon and restaurants and will surprise everybody,” she told more than 100 conference attendees. Retail rents are rising rapidly, and now stand at about $50 to $70 per square foot, and $45 for second floor office space, Jain said.

Meanwhile, as Miami’s once gritty Wynwood transforms and rents there rise as well, art galleries, local businesses and creative types are being priced out, and are moving to more affordable and newly emerging — yet historic — areas like Little River and Lemon City, the panelists said. That’s where Thomas Conway’s MADE, a new co-working space for creative entrepreneurs, has recently opened. Creating a sense of place is key, the panelists said.

“We’re basically being the stewards of revitalizing these neighborhoods,” said Tony Cho, founder and CEO of Metro 1.

With investors redeveloping property, Wynwood has quickly become a thriving neighborhood, with a curated collection of new shops, restaurants, bars and breweries that attract a pedestrian crowd at all hours of the night. “It’s remarkable,” Cho said of the transformation. “It has exceeded my original expectations.”

Along with that, commercial rents are now as high as $80 per square foot on Northwest Second Avenue in Wynwood — compared to $10 per square foot 10 years ago, Cho said. In fact, Starbucks and other national retailers are starting to look into the area. That poses a challenge to retaining the neighborhood feel, the panelists said.

“People are fearful that Wynwood will turn into Lincoln Road,” Cho said.

The speed of transformation is accelerating, and with so much commercial activity in Miami, Jain said she does not worry about a downturn similar to what South Florida experienced in the last cycle.

“I don’t think Miami necessarily has to be roller coaster any more,” Jain said, citing commercial markets in Miami that are still underserved and the continuing demand for boutique hotels. “I’m starting to see it differently.”

 

Source: The Real Deal

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Four Miami-Dade Communities Rank as Top Places to Invest in Florida Real Estate

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A budding technological industry, a nationally renowned art scene, and several recent multibillion-dollar retail ventures have played key roles in turning Miami into one of the world’s most attractive and dynamic global cities.

Miami’s median single-family home prices – which have registered four years of consistent growth and sit at $245,000 according to the latest MIAMI Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI) report – remain affordable compared to other similar international cities.

The region’s long-term housing appreciation helped four Miami communities – Doral, Bal Harbour, Homestead, and Miami Lakes – finish as the top-four places to invest in real estate in the entire state of Florida, according to a new study from consumer finance site NerdWallet. Miami communities comprised seven of NerdWallet’s top-10 places to invest, and 12 Miami-Dade County locations made the top-25. The San Francisco-based NerdWallet analyzed 227 Florida cities using U.S. Census and Florida Department of Revenue data. Municipalities were scored using Census vacancy rates, affordability, and 10-year home value appreciations.

MiamiDadeCommunitiesDoralDoral

Doral topped the list because of its relative affordability, low unemployment rate (4.4 percent or more than a full percentage point lower than the statewide rate), and strong population growth, NerdWallet said. The Miami-Dade County city has increased its population by 14 percent, or 6,000, from 2010-13.

MiamiDadeCommunitiesBalHarbourBal Harbour

Bal Harbour in Miami-Dade finished second mostly because of its speedy residential sales, NerdWallet said. According to NerdWallet’s 0-10 scale for speed of sale, Bal Harbour scored 8.66. Bal Harbour’s percentage of housing value has increased 62.06 percent in the past 10 years, according to NerdWallet.

MiamiDadeCommunitiesHomesteadHomestead

Homestead in Miami-Dade is the third-best place to invest in real estate in Florida, NerdWallet said. About 56 percent of Homestead’s homes have increased in value over the past 10 years. Homestead prices averaged $79.42 per square foot, the most affordable in NerdWallet’s study.

MiamiDadeCommunitiesMiamiLakesMiami Lakes

Miami Lakes was named the fourth-best place to invest in Florida because of it price appreciation the past 10 years, NerdWallet said. About 57 percent of the city’s homes have increased in value the last decade while vacancies have dropped by 3.6 percent. Buyers are paying an average of $152 per square foot for a Miami Lakes home.

NerdWallet’s Florida Rankings:

1. Doral, 2. Bal Harbour, 3. Homestead, 4. Miami Lakes, 5. Marianna, 6. Hialeah Gardens, 7. Aventura, 8. Pinecrest, 9. Cape Coral, 10. Winter Garden, 11. Cooper City, 12. Callahan, 13. Miramar, 14. Key Biscayne, 15. Hialeah, 16. Cutler Bay, 17. Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, 18. Surfside, 19. Freeport, 20. Wellington, 21. Weston, 22. Coral Gables, 23. Palm Springs, 24. Parkland, 25. North Miami Beach.

 

Source: Brickell Community Newspaper

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