Miami Ranks Third on Knight Frank’s Q1 2013 Prime Global Cities Index

It is no secret that the Miami luxury real estate market has performed remarkably over the past twelve months.  The latest report from Knight Frank confirms this.  The Miami luxury real estate market ranked third behind Jakarta and Bangkok on Knight Frank’s Q1 2013 Prime Global Cities Index.  Year-over-year, eight cities recorded double digit price growth for luxury homes but Jakarta, Bangkok and Miami led the way, recording annual price growth of 38.1%, 26.1% and 21.1% respectively.  Surprisingly, prices for prime property in New York City declined 7.1% in the same time period, according to the same report.

Echo Brickell – Brickell’s Latest Pre-construction Condo Development

It appears that a luxury pre-construction condo development named Echo Brickell will begin accepting reservations next week.  The Miami Herald reports that the skyscraper will rise 750 feet , or 60 stories, and feature large floor plans with up to 250 total units.  The penthouses are expected to span over 7,000 square feet – unusually large by Brickell standards.  Once completed, Echo Brickell will be the second tallest building in the neighborhood.

Unlike the handful of other pre-construction condo developments in Brickell that have been announced over the past couple of years, Echo Brickell will be located directly on the famed Brickell Avenue.  The development will be erected at 1451 Brickell Avenue – a corner lot between The Four Seasons and St. Jude Melkite Catholic Church.  Echo Brickell will be developed by Property Markets Group – the same development group which recently had a very successful launch of a 190-unit condo development in Aventura called Echo Aventura. World famous architect, Carlos Ott, has been chosen to design the luxury high-rise.  Units at Echo Brickell will feature 10, 12 and 14-foot ceilings.  The article states that plans for Echo Brickell include a swimming pool, which will encompass an entire floor about midway up the building, along with a fitness center and spa above it.  The units will be sold move-in ready.

No mention of pricing was included in the article.  However, in the coming days, I plan to get more information regarding Echo Brickell…so stay tuned!

The Future of Real Estate Marketing

In an earlier blog post, I had mentioned that several big changes with my real estate business had taken place over the past couple of months.  Well, one of those big changes was transferring my real estate license to a new broker.  I now have my real estate license hung with Luxe Living Realty.  While many may have never heard the name, those who keep close tabs on the Miami luxury real estate market, and its practitioners, likely will have heard of Dora Puig. She has over 23 years of experience in selling high-end, luxury real estate and, over the past couple of years, has grabbed huge market share from her competitors (ie. other local brokers and agents specializing in Miami luxury real estate).  She is the same Dora Puig who sold a penthouse at Icon South Beach last December for $21M.  At this time, Dora personally has over $140M worth of real estate listings, including the $39M penthouse listing at Continuum South Beach South Tower, the $18.5M penthouse listing at Ocean House and, recently, a $14.5M combination residence at Continuum South Beach North Tower with just under 5,000 interior square feet.  Dora has beat out competitors when interviewing for big listings such as these by continually thinking outside the box and coming up with innovative yet glamorous ways to market her luxury real estate listings.  It was a no-brainer for me when presented with the opportunity to work under her new brokerage and learn from one of the best in the industry.

Just a few weeks ago, Dora was one of three finalists for the “Most Innovative Method of Marketing Award – Real Estate Agent” presented by the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce.  Her nomination came as a direct result of her social media efforts over the preceding year.  In my opinion, when it comes to social media, no one in the local real estate market does it better than Dora Puig.  The level of engagement she has with her followers on various social media platforms is quite impressive.  These outlets have allowed her to stay connected with past and current clients by keeping them informed of any news affecting the local real estate market.  Social media has also allowed her to expand her network and earn new followers who at times later convert into business.  In a world where a friend’s referral or public “Like” can mean all the difference, the importance of social media can no longer be ignored.

Unfortunately, Dora did not take home the crown last month for the “Most Innovative Method of Marketing Award – Real Estate Agent”.  She did not sulk about it though.  Instead, Dora began to question “Is there a better way of doing things?” –  not for the sake of winning an award but for the sake of effectively marketing her listings and, therefore, providing an even higher level of service to sellers.  I have always been a proponent for using video to market real estate.  I suggested that she give it a try.  Being open minded and innovative as she is, Dora jumped on it.  I wanted her to do real video though.  Picture slideshow videos would no longer cut it for these types of listings.  Her $10M+ listings deserve true-to-life, HD-quality video tours – something akin to what you would see on Million Dollar Listing.  Her video crew delivered in spades.  The video below is a guided video tour of her $14.5M combination residence listing at Continuum South Beach North Tower (50 South Pointe Drive #3301-03, Miami Beach, FL 33139).  I don’t know of a single other real estate agent in Miami who is doing video quite this way.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is the future of real estate marketing – especially for a market like Miami where the impact of the foreign buyer is so obvious.  No one is saying that these luxury real estate videos will entice foreign buyers into purchasing a $10M+ property sight-unseen.  However, I am certain that these types of videos stand a far better chance of convincing a potential buyer into booking an airline ticket to Miami to take a look in person than pictures do alone.  Take a look for yourself and see what you think.  I would love to hear your comments.

Penthouse Floor Plans Released for SLS Brickell Residences

Preliminary floor plans for the penthouses at SLS Brickell Residences have been released.  You will see below that there will be a total of seven floor plans on the penthouse level but only five of them will have unique layouts when compared to the other floor plans in the building.  The five uniquely designed floor plans will essentially combine one and two bedroom floor plans from other levels to create larger spaces which will range from 1,845 to 2,332 interior square feet.  Unfortunately, these units will not have a rooftop terrace or other distinguishing features which are typically associated with penthouses.  There will, however, be a rooftop pool but that will be for all residents in the building to enjoy and not just those who own a penthouse.  Regardless, if you are excited about SLS Brickell Residences but feel that the floor plans are too small, the penthouses might be a great opportunity to look into. However, being that there are only five combination units in the entire building, I do not expect availability for these to last long.

A $100,000 deposit is required to reserve a penthouse at SLS Brickell Residences.  The balance of 20% will be required at contract, which should take place sometime between May and July.  Contact me if you have an interest in reserving one (or heck, all five) penthouses at SLS Brickell Residences.