South Florida is still the place to be, despite some distress, a slowdown in deal volume, the high cost of development and more.
That’s the consensus among real estate brokers, developers, lenders and attorneys who spoke at The Real Deal’s South Florida Real Estate Forum last week. More than 6,000 people attended the two-day event, held at Mana Wynwood in Miami.
The event kicked off the morning after the presidential election. The mood was light, energetic and giddy. Brokerages, developers and other sponsors decked out their booths in the showcase portion of the conference. There was no shortage of caffeine.
Our headliners included Adam Neumann, the billionaire co-founder of WeWork who has shifted his attention to rental apartments. Our founder and publisher, Amir Korangy, pressed Neumann on how Flow properties are different from other apartment developments. “It’s a feeling,” Neumann said. (Full transcript here.)
TRD’s Editor-in-Chief and CEO Stuart Elliott spoke with developer David Martin about his projects and effectively working with government and NIMBYs. They also had a thoughtful conversation about Martin’s perspective on life growing up with an awareness of death — his grandfather owned a funeral home business.
Douglas Elliman’s new CEO, Michael Liebowitz, took the stage for his first major public appearance since filling Howard Lorber’s role. Liebowitz talked about his plans to make more money, but he didn’t address the specific allegations around the investigation into the “sexually charged work culture” that led to Lorber’s sudden resignation.
Here’s are some of the speakers’ other key takes:
- On the multifamily market: “When you look at what happened in New York a few years ago when everything stopped, they are now at record rents. Not because of anything else, but there was a dramatic loss of supply,” Nitin Motwani said. “We are living through that right now . And as supply decreases, we are going to see a lot of the same boom in rents in South Florida, which will prompt us to move forward.”
- On the booming trend of branded condos: Related Group’s Nick Pérez said the “more luxurious, more expensive the product, the better it sells.”
- The resi agents to the 1 percent of buyers agreed that buyers all want new homes, close to great schools. And billionaires don’t cold call them. “There’s usually someone that I know that they know,” Jill Hertzberg said.
- While the majority of speakers expressed optimism about the president-elect’s economic policies, PMG founder Kevin Maloney called Trump’s proposed tariffs a “ridiculous thing,” as they will be passed down to developers. “As a builder we are certainly deeply concerned about moving into an administration that believes in tariffs,” Maloney said.
We hosted over a dozen panels or talks, two VIP breakfasts, two after parties, filmed many videos, drank a lot of coffee (did I mention that already?). We covered the office market, the Live Local Act, building for billionaires, the Brickell boom and more. Keep an eye out for more event coverage this week.
What we’re thinking about: President-elect Donald Trump is expected to tap more Floridians to fill his administration once he takes office in January. Who in South Florida real estate may be on that list? Send me a note at kk@therealdeal.com.
CLOSING TIME
We’re playing catch-up. Check back in next week for the priciest sales!
NEW TO THE MARKET
The oceanfront 1.2-acre estate at 701 South Ocean Boulevard in Delray Beach hit the market for $74 million. The 14,425-square-foot, six-bedroom, nine-and-a-half-bathroom mansion was developed by Mark Timothy Luxury Homes. It’s on the market with Premier Estate Properties’ Pascal Liguori. The property has 120 feet of oceanfront and a heated saltwater pool, according to the listing.
A thing we’ve learned
The Live Local Act’s property tax exemption can save developers $300 to $350 a month per unit on taxes, said developer Asi Cymbal. In that example, rents would be lowered “anywhere between $50 to $150 a month” to comply with the new state law, so a developer could net more than $200 per unit, per month.
Elsewhere in Florida
- The Biltmore Hotel’s longtime operator completed unauthorized renovations to the historic property in Coral Gables. The city issued a stop-work order and notified Seaway Hotels Corp. that it will be in default of its coveted 50-year lease if it doesn’t correct the violations within 45 days of being notified, according to the Miami Herald.
- Sugar heir Alexander Nicolas Fanjul, the eldest son of Florida Crystals’ executive Alexander Fanjul Sr., pleaded guilty to charges of petit theft, criminal mischief and felony battery and sentenced to four years of probation. The charges are tied to his arrest in January after a physical confrontation with a woman, the Palm Beach Post reports.