South Florida Waterfront Property
5/19/2005 5:03:23 PM by JANA SOELDNER DANGER
Real estate professionals seemconvinced that the boomingSouth Florida market is not abubble, but rather a golden dome.Properties, they say, tend to move asfast as they come onto the market,particularly when they are on thewater. And, theres no sign of themarket slowing.
Nationally, home sales have been abright spot in the economy even duringthe most recent downturn.Appreciation of residential real estatein many areas of the country has beenat record levels.
Now, however, some prognosticatorsare predicting that the rise inprices cant go on forever, and thereal estate bubble is about to burst.Those in the business in SouthFlorida, however, are confident thatproperties here will continue toappreciate because the area is unique.
Were not dependent on oneindustry, so our market is very diversified.Were an international centerfor banking, healthcare, and tourism,and were also the headquarters forcorporations doing business not onlyin the U.S., but also in Latin Americaand the Caribbean, said Teresa KingKinney, CEO of the RealtorAssociation of Greater Miami and theBeaches. The market is incredible.
A variety of demographic elementsare pushing the rising marketnationwide, said Pat Dahne, chairwomanof the RAMB DevelopersCouncil, a group that brings togetherRealtors and developers. In SouthFlorida, those elements converge in asingle area.
We're fortunate to have all ofthose demographic factors here,Dahne said. Baby boomers areinheriting wealth from parents whoare passing away. The children of thebaby boomers are at the age wherethey are beginning to buy. Were veryattractive to the European marketbecause of the exchange rate, andHispanics are the fastest growing segmentof first-time home buyers in thecountry.
Add to that the second-homemarket and our resort type of environment,with beaches and views,Dahne continued. Plus, waterfrontproperties are limited, and prices inMiami have not yet risen as high asin cities like New York and LosAngeles.
The availability of boating isanother draw, Dahne said. SouthFlorida has very friendly waters forboating with the ocean, the bay, andcanals. We have some of the bestboating in the country.
Buyers are currently attracted toSouth Florida partly because the communityitself has become moreappealing, said Ron Shuffield, presidentof Esslinger-Wooten-MaxwellRealtors. Weve moved from being asleepy southern town to being a drawfor the entire world, he said.Everybody has South Florida ontheir radar screens. People want to bepart of the excitement of the growingarts community, the shopping, greatrestaurants, and our professionalsports teams and other entertainment.
In the 1980s, high crime rates andother problems earned Miami a badreputation, Shuffield continued. But,that was 25 years ago, and that perception is gone now, Shuffield said.A lot of people dont even rememberit. Now, South Florida is perceived bythe world as the place to live.
The four- and five-star hotelsspringing up have helped boost themarket for homes. Many peoplemaking their first visit here comebecause they can stay in one of thoseluxury hotels, Shuffield said. Thenthey look around, and decide to buy ahome here.
With so little waterfront propertyleft to be developed, new constructionwill necessarily be limited, notedMichael Goldstein, president of salesand marketing for the Trump Group,developers of Luxuria, an oceanfrontbuilding in Boca Raton. The marketfor ocean properties is never goingaway, he said. I call it liquid gold.We build units for people who wantto live here, not for investors. Forsome of our buyers, though, its athird or fourth home.
Ken Gross, senior project managerfor WCI Communities, developer ofMosaica on Miami Beach, said hisbuyers are coming mainly from theNortheast, the Midwest, and LatinAmerica. Many of them are secondhomes and investments, he said.Waterfront property here in SouthFlorida is the hottest product in thecountry, and it has tremendousgrowth opportunity.
This is South Florida, where peoplesprime interest is always waterfront,said Richard Lamondin, presidentof Cornerstone PremiereProperties, developer of The View inFort Lauderdale.
Many of Cornerstones buyers arelocal. A lot of them have homes outwest and want to move east, or theyalready had a home in FortLauderdale, but want to be close tothe beach, Lamondin said.
There's a limited amount ofcoastal property available, and theresalways been a demand for waterfront,said Hal Taylorson, director ofmarketing for Starlofts on the Bay.Theres so much activity now on theBiscayne corridor.
Will too many units that are currentlybeing developed come on lineat the same time and glut the market?By 2030, Florida should pass NewYork as the third most populous state.Arecent annual survey conducted bythe Association of Foreign Investorsin Real Estate in Washington, rankedMiami for the first time among thetop five most attractive places in theUnited States for foreign real estateinvestors to put their money.Washington D.C., ranked first in thesurvey followed by New York City,Los Angeles, San Francisco and SouthFlorida tied for fifth with Chicago.Meanwhile, the region receivedanother dose of good news by way ofa Moodys Investors Service reportconcluding that Miami-Dades realestate market is among the 10strongest in the country--Moodysplaced Miami-Dade fourth on the list.
Units in buildings that are uniquewill continue to do extremely well,Taylorson predicted. Those that arecookie cutters will be stagnant,because there are a lot of them comingonto the market. To ensure aninvestment, a buyer should get somethingindividual. This is the land ofbeing individual and different.
Quicksplash
FOR MOREINFORMATION
Teresa King Kinney: 305-468-7010
Ron Shuffield: 305-667-8871
Pat Dahne: 305-672-8063
Mosaic on the Beach:305-867-3340
Richard Lamondin, CornerstoneProperties, Hollywood Station(developer of The View inFort Lauderdale): 954-926-6363
Luxuria: 561-391-1330