Today we discussed two new Florida laws that went into effect July 1, 2010. The first being the change which gives condo associations the authority to collect rent directly from tenants if the owner is delinquent on their homeowners association dues. The second being that no-limit poker is now permissible throughout the state of Florida. This will not only attract the big money tournaments but also some of the world’s best poker players.
Looks like Miami will continue to be the “Bright Lights, Big City” of the South. The Miami City Commission, earlier today, approved a change in a zoning ordinance which would allow developer Marc Siffin to erect a pair of electronic billboards atop an eight-story parking garage next to the Adrienne Arsht Center which is located in the Arts + Entertainment District of Miami. According to the Miami Herald’s report, Siffin will pay an annual permitting fee of $2.2M to the city and has agreed to contribute $8M toward the construction of Museum Park as part of a concession package.
Over the past couple of months, we’ve been working on a project that we hope will separate ourselves from other South Florida Realtors and allow us to disseminate market news and information to our audience in an efficient and innovative way. The video that you see below is the result of an idea that was born a few months ago. We decided to launch a real estate video show. This initial video provides an overview of what we have in mind for our video show and demonstrates how we’ll utilize the iPad in conjunction with it.
In today’s edition, The Miami Herald reported that April 2010 pending home sales in Miami-Dade County are up 71 percent year over year and up 6.6 percent since the prior month. The data was released Tuesday by the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches.
A few weeks ago, The Miami Herald reported that the city of Miami, along with the Hollo family, acquired a one-acre parcel along Brickell Avenue which will be converted into a park by the end of this year. There has been a dire need for more green space in the Brickell area over the past couple of years as an influx of people have moved into the area. I had a chance to take an aerial shot of the site yesterday afternoon while showing property at Santa Maria.
Today was a record setting day in Miami, Florida according to NBC6. Earlier this afternoon, temperatures reached 89 degrees which set a new recorded high in Miami for the month of December. I swear, we’re just too spoiled here.
Time magazine’s portrayal of Miami has changed substantially since the Time article entitled “Paradise Lost” was published in 1981. A city once described as being infested with crime and drugs has now been replaced with imagery of a paradise city. The recently published travel-oriented piece called “Miami: 10 Things to Do in 24 Hours” provides compelling reasons for why Miami has become one of the top travel destinations in the United States.
I learned late last week that Hyperion Onyx Partners, LLC, an affiliate of Hyperion Development Group purchased the note for Onyx on the Bay. The note was held by the now defunct Corus Bank and was acquired just days before the Chicago-based bank was taken over by the FDIC. Hyperion Development is the developer behind Marina Blue, one of the few recently constructed condo developments that have been able to close 100 percent of their units. This represents Hyperion Development Group’s first soiree into asset acquisition. Details of the transaction have yet to be disclosed.
Onyx on the Bay is a 118-unit bayfront condo development located in Edgewater Miami at 665 NE 25 Street. Condo closings began on July 31, 2007. It’ll be interesting to see at what price the unsold condos at Onyx on the Bay are priced at if Hyperion Development Group chooses to resell them immediately. There are currently 11 condos available for sale on the MLS at an average price per square foot of $368. 3 of the 11 condos are short sales. There are currently zero pending sales and a condo hasn’t closed at Onyx on the Bay in over a year. My guess is that pricing will need to be at around $175 per square foot in order for the unsold inventory to move.
I was told that the new Publix at Mary Brickell Village opened on June 6, 2009. Last week, I had a chance to walk its aisles. Overall, I was pleased. It’s the nicest Publix that I’ve visited in Miami but not quite as nice as the one in South Beach on West Avenue. The aisles of the Publix at Mary Brickell Village were wider than most of the Publixes in Miami. Now, they just need to add one in Downtown Miami or the Arts District. Better yet, maybe Whole Foods will change their mind again and decide to open at Met 2 when it’s completed after all.
