Every day, The Real Deal rounds up South Florida’s biggest real estate news, from breaking news and scoops to announcements and deals. We update this page at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET. Please send any tips or deals to tips@therealdeal.com
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Howard Lorber doesn’t fear a recession. As the Douglas Elliman chair prepares an entry to Houston, Texas, he has dismissed fears that recession would impact the brokerage business. “Could things slow down? Yeah, they could,” he said. “I’m not sure they will, but it’s not something I worry about.” [Houston Chronicle]
Rapper Birdman’s Miami Beach home just got another price cut. Bryan “Birdman” Williams’ home is now asking $13.5 million, a 33 percent reduction from its original 2017 asking price of $20 million. Williams purchased the home from Rockstar Energy Drink founder Russell Weiner for $14.25 million in 2011. [Page Six]
Codina Partners and USAA Real Estate broke ground on a 148,000-square-foot building at Beacon Logistics Park in northwest Miami-Dade. The Class A industrial building will have units available for lease from 17,280 square feet and up, according to a release. Once completed, Beacon Logistics Park, at Northwest 145th Place and Northwest 107th Avenue, will span more than 1.3 million square feet of space.
Blackstone bought a giant industrial portfolio west of Miami International Airport for $56 million. Airport Trade Center, which lists Haim Yehezkel as one of its principals, sold three warehouses to Blackstone amid rising demand for industrial properties, especially those near the airport, due to the rise of e-commerce. [TRD]
Harrison LeFrak is the latest family member to buy a home in South Florida. LeFrak’s Collins Surf Apartment LLC paid $10.1 million for penthouse 11 in the south tower of the Four Seasons Residences at the Surf Club, next to a unit owned by his father, Richard LeFrak, chairman and CEO of his company, LeFrak. [TRD]
Risky loans to homebuyers are on the rise. Protections put in place following the 2008 financial crisis that bar borrowers from taking out loans they can’t pay back, are being avoided by a new mortgage category known as non-qualified loans. Last year $45 billion of these loans were issued, and 2019 is on track to top that figure. [WSJ]
Melo Group has finally unveiled its plans to build two 60-story waterfront residential towers in Edgewater. The Miami-based developer is planning to build 782 units and 9,000 square feet of ground floor retail and commercial space at the property at 700 Northeast 24th Street. [TRD]
Here’s how Zillow Offers will buy and flip homes in South Florida. Zillow Offers launched in South Florida this week, leaving potential buyers, sellers and agents with questions about how the iBuying program works. In South Florida, it’s working with Laurie Reader as its broker-partner. Reader will represent Zillow on all acquisitions and resales in the tri-county area under the Zillow Offers program, she told TRD. [TRD]
Trader Joe’s is finally opening its Miami Beach store on Aug. 27. The popular California-based grocery store is part of 17 West, a five-story, mixed-use development with residential units and a parking garage at 1698 Alton Road. The developers, Rock Soffer of Turnberry Associates, Elion Partners and members of the Sredni family, financed construction with a $34.5 million loan from Fifth Third Bank in 2017. Trader Joe’s is taking 11,500 square feet of the building’s retail space. [Miami New Times]
From left: Rotem Rosen, Zina Sapir, Tamir Sapir, Bella Sapir, Elena Sapir, and Alex Sapir (Credit: Getty Images)
Alex Sapir is being accused of mismanaging his family’s fortune in court documents filed by his ex brother-in-law, Rotem Rosen. Rosen isn’t just seeking $103 million from the estate of Tamir Sapir. Rosen claims Alex Sapir “mishandled and misused” assets from the elder Sapir’s estate — by making improper distributions to beneficiaries, hiding certain assets and investing in companies (on behalf of the estate) in which he holds an interest. [TRD]
Steve Wynn and 1960 South Ocean Boulevard (Credit: Sotheby’s and Getty Images)
Embattled casino mogul Steve Wynn paid $43 million for an oceanfront estate in Palm Beach. Emma Cisneros of 1960 South Ocean Blvd. LLC, part of the billionaire Venezuelan family that owns a media conglomerate, sold the eight-bedroom, 24,600-square-foot mansion at 1960 South Ocean Boulevard. The buyer is 1960 LLC, in the care of a Las Vegas company tied to Wynn’s Wynn Fine Art. [TRD]
The yield-curve inversion is hitting mortgage REITs where it hurts. It turns out a strategy of borrowing short-term to buy long-term doesn’t work so well when the short-term debt is costlier. Three of the largest mortgage REITs have cut their dividends so far this year. [TRD]
Kohl’s reported declining sales for the third straight quarter. The department store chain posted strong growth for most of 2018, but the recent slide has caused concern among investors. The company’s shares are down about 43 percent over the past year. [WSJ]
Compiled by Katherine Kallergis