The area is vibrant! Greater Downtown Miami is alive and growing, and the construction activities have reactivated seriously. Apparently the condos that are already under way have attracted the attention of the Malaysian Genting Group, actually not a condo developer but a casino operator.

The Genting Group has turned to the Downtown area with a proposed mixed-use mega project, the Resorts World Miami, a 10-million square-foot project that will bring additional luxurious 1,000 residential units to the Biscayne Bay, and 5,200 hotel rooms. If it receives government approval, the Resorts World Miami would become a major engine for construction activities, job creation and tourism. It is projected to be the biggest project in town, with six towers overall, two for condos and the other four for what would sure be one very lavish hotel.

The area has already been acquired, at least by $236 million at what today are still the Miami Herald headquarters (pic above). This ambicious project has everything, including an envyable view and neighbour: the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts (pic at the right). Culture, world class entertainment and spectacles will sure be fueled by the conclussion of the Resorts World Miami.

We’ll be bringing more information on this project when news, hopefully, indicate that it has already been approved! In the meatime, wait for more entries on other luxurious waterfront condos proposed for Downtown Miami and Brickell!

They are more interested in Miami than in New York. According to recent data, their real estate investments have focused in Miami areas like Brickell, Downtown Miami and Sunny Isles Beach. These areas seem interesting for buyers coming from a market with elevated real estate prices, and with the interest in investing to rent fast.

In fact, Brazilians follow the steps of a smart investor. Most of them buy one or several properties, one for private use, and the others to rent fast under current favourable conditions, in a juncture of growing rental fees mainly in Brickell, Brickell Key and Downtown areas. They are interested in these areas for two reasons: The relation cost-benefit is high, as prices have fallen and the properties are top class; and, its central location, close to the Miami International Airport, to public transportation, shopping options and financial and business attractions, all of them enough reasons on their own to invest in the Greater Downtown Miami area.

The great flow of visitors coming from the verde amarelo country has carried airlines to broaden their itineraries, growing from 96 weekly flights in 2009 from Brazil to Miami every week, to 114 this year. Low interest rates kept like that to incentivate local consumption is bringing visitors who are the spirit of Miami’s economical recovery. We’ll be updating this information to bring you the perspectives and the state of the art of the local real estate market and its investors, to keep you interested in investing here yourself!

Information published between yesterday and today, by the Florida Association of Realtors and the Miami Association of Realtors, reflects the role that Brazilian buyers have had in the whole recovery of the Miami condo market.

The strenghtening of the Brazilian real in front of the dollar makes it quite affordable for Brazilians to buy new Miami condos in waterfront locations, the most wanted type of property these days. Since 2008, the real has had a 45% gain against the dollar, and local real estate prices have surged also.

Brazilian buyers have fueled the recovery of the condo market, and are the third most important group of international buyers, preceeded by the Venezuelans and the Canadians. According to data published today, Brazilians account for 9% of condos and townhouses sold from March 2010 to March 2011.

We will be updating and completing this information about this regional power and its influence in the Miami condo market. Our next post will contain additional info about other factors that impact the demand of Brazilians in the local market, how much they’ve been paying, what are their expectations about their new real estate assets, and what motivates them besides getting revenues.

Though there are still several factors that impede on calling a full recovery of the South Florida real estate market, there have been lately some very good news that bring optimism and provide confidence in the market, for buyers, selleres and builders.

The latest possitive trend monitored relates to the resale inventory, those properties that had to be put for sale due to economic turmoil. For the first time since the economy crashed in 2006, resale properties for sale are under 50,000. And what’s even more telling for us in the condo market, less

than 22,000 resale condos are available out there, as of June 13.

22,200 single family houses and 27,700 condos and townhouses are available at the resale market, according to a report by Condo Vultures. The thing is that this is the lowest level since 2006, which -bearing in mind the economy downturn in 2008- is a possitive sign about the high demand that South Florida condos have attracted in the latest years. In 2008, three years ago, there were still over 108,000 resale properties in the market, including 60,900 condos and townhouses. Cutting these levels by half in such a period of time under the given conditions, is quite telling.

The high demand is due to, of course, the foreign buyers that became so interested in South Florida real estate; these buyers have a positive balance between their currencies and the dollar, and available cash.

Downtown Miami and Brickell seem ready to retake its amazing growth. Swire Properties and Genting Malaysia Berhad, The Related Group is also reactivating its construction activities, and are taking a massive bet on the state of the real estate market.

The Related Group CEO, Jorge Perez

The Related Group is the largest condo developer in the whole Miami area. Counting on its associate International Sales Group (ISG), a Miami-based marketing firm conceived by The Related Group to sell its condos in Latin America, this major participant is proposing six new condo projects, three of them located at Brickell.

To monitor the sales pace, the developers will first introduce two of the condos, one in Brickell and the other at the Hallandale Beach/Hollywood area. Depending on the reception and the demand from Latin American buyers, they will start building the other four projects, which include a waterfront building in North Miami.

The ISG is implementing a new sales strategy, which is a key feature that incentivates The Related Group to propose these massive projects. The idea is to sell condos “the Latin American way”. The American way includes only a downpayment during pre-construction. But in South and Latin America it is common to close a sale with a downpayment, and make payments during pre-construction and construction phases that reach 80% before concluding the project. This

North Miami Beach area

sale strategy brings more security to developers, and sure commits the trust that The Related Group is having in the interest of Latin American cash to the condo market in attractive areas like Downtown Miami, and the beach areas of North Miami and Hollywood.

We will be looking forward to hear more details on these new condos coming ahead. The first two waterfront projects are expected to be finished by the end of next year. Let’s see the dazzling ideas that The Related Group will bring to this aleady luxurious market!

The Downtown Development Authority has published periodic updates about a key hint on the health of the real estate market in our featured areas, Brickell and Downtown. The occupancy rate has been growing steadily, from 62% in 2009 to 74% in 2010, and finally to 84% this year. In real numbers, 70,000 residents call Brickell and Downtown Miami home.

The Brickell Irish Pub. (Jason Henry - The Wall Street Journal)

This affluence has motivated new restaurants, bars and cafés, activities that seemed once unthought for this area that recovered from being an unsecure zone. Now, dazzling waterfront condos addorn the avenues, and luxurious projects are ahaed, as Swire Properties and Genting Malaysia Berhad have decided to bet on the recovery of this submarket, and are formulating amazing megaprojects, like Swire’s CitiCentre, and Genting’s 14-acre waterfront property, a project that includes restaurants, bars, and more.

New projects are coming ahead, though they depend mostly on South American buyers. This fact is crutial to put a tone to the calls on the slow recovery, that emphasize that still foreclosure and employment rates are not favourable for a long term recovery. Although slowing foreclosure rates and rising prices of the properties available for sale is key to a long term recovery, we have to bear in mind the reality that new projects are being thought for Latin American investors, who realize the situation is right to buy, and who are aware that a real estate investment under current market conditions is long term investment, not a middle-term to sell soon. Right now, owning and renting is the best way to gain revenues in the short and middle terms, due to the growing rental fees and the growing interest of young professionals and their families to join the nascent Brickell vibe.

The Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce hosted the Commercial Real Estate Outlook, a panel of experts aimed at evaluating the situation of commercial estates in Miami-Dade County. The conclussions of the panel are quite possitive, and they are a thermometer for residential real estate as well as a comsequence of the activity in this sector.

The panel addressed matters like foreign investment, leasing activity, industrial and commercial vacancy and rental rates, the expansion of the Panamal Canal and the Port of Miami dredge project. The overall situation looks bright as economy keeps on stabilizing at a firm pace, although some experts pointed out that this recovery was slowest than in previous crisis. Despite this, slower recovery may mean a stronger one in the middle and long terms.

Same as residential estares, industrial and commercial properties are fueled by foreign buyers. These buyers were initially interested in residential properties from attractive markets like Brickell, Brickell Key and Downtown Miami, those central spots so much wanted by Latin and South American buyers, as well as by Canadians and Mexicans. Once they established their pressence in the area, they became aware of the bussiness opportunities that Miami has to offer. With upcoming projects like the dredge of the Port of Miami to reach the 50 feet required to held big cargo ships, and with the expansion of the Panama Canal, commercial activity will soar next year.

These projects are bringing down vacancy rates in commercial and industrial properties, like warehouses, and pushing up its rental fees and offering prices. They are bringing dynamism to areas like Doral and Coral Gables, where office vacancies have fallen considerably. Other areas, though, like Hialeah, haven’t been a competence in front of Doral -both being strategic locations near the Miami International Airport-, because they offer mainly second-generation space, instead of new modern warehouses like Doral’s.

Hialeah could learn from the experience of Midtown, a once abandonned industrial area that has become the hottest entertainment spot in Downtown, and is the home of a massive residential-retail combined project of Swire Properties.

So, those international buyers coming to Miami interested on the newest waterfront condos from Brickell and Downtown are aware of the great opportunity that being in Miami posts for business. The lower vacancy rates in commercial and industrial estates is the second of the effects in this recovery times. First, residential estates became available for buyers from Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, and even Asian countries, whose currencies had gained value in front of the dollar; later, these buyers looking to invest in residential estates became aware of the great opportunity to be present in a bilinguial and trilingual market like Miami, with the doors open to the massive Latin American market.

Great opportunities come out of a crisis, they say. This is one of them. Owning a residential property in Miami seems to be the first step for great business!

April was a good month to sell luxury properties in Brickell and Downtown Miami markets. Several luxury condos moved their penthouses, including the Marquis Residences (at the picture), the Epic Miami, 500 Brickell Condo and the Plaza on Brickell. The units include a two-story condo at the Epic, sold for $4 million.

The amount sold was of $13 million total, in a single month. Quite impressive for condos that had been steady for months. The buyers include locals, businessmen from other states in the US, and of course, Latin Americans; buyers from Colombia and Venezuela are included in April’s sales. Other origins include Greece and Switzerland.

This great balance is yet another proof of the great location for both business and recreation that Brickell and the whole Downtown area are. Some buyers made a strategic call with perspectives to expand their businesses to Latin America, while some others with permanent residences in Latin American countries wanted to have an excellent getaway in this central location.

Sure, more penthouses and other incredible luxury units in top floors are still available for sale and rent! Surf our page to find the ideal condo for you!

The 148 full luxury rooms that the exclussive Viceroy Hotel brought to the Downtown area have been traded for $36.5 million, so now the third of the towers at the ICON Brickell complex belongs to Pebblebrook Hotel Trust. The management of the property, though, will continue in hands of the Viceroy Hotel Group.

The buyers have acknowledged the convenience of owning the hotel at a time when Downtown has become an interesting spot for tourists. Its attractive as the heart of the financial district, the most important business cluster of South Florida, appeals greatly to business tourists, mostly from the expanding markets of South America.

The Downtown area has seen over 10 new luxury hotels in the past years. 2,000 new luxury rooms have added up to this area. The Viceroy Hotel is one of the newest hotels, and it is an acertive business to have acquired it. The confidence in the market put by Pebblebrook Hotel Trust shows that the real estate market is strong and has a great projection of growth in upcoming years.

The Wall Street Journal Photo Journal blog just recently posted a very cool album of original photos taken by Jason Henry in exclussive to the WSJ. It pictures the vibrant life in Brickell and Downtown Miami. This was a very needed resource, because there wasn’t a single major media on the web with original (and recent) content to show how Downtown Miami and Brickell have become three years from now in a very busy place.

The pictures collection (find it here) starts with content from indoors the most exclussive and acknowledged real estate projects. Luxurious waterfront condos like the ICON Brickell or the Epic Miamiare shown from the inside out, in a way that puts the reader or the expectator closer to the experience of actually visiting these amazing projects. For example, the typical picture of the ICON spa (left) looks really different if you actually put real people in it.

It no longer looks like the failed project it once was, in those times when the ICON wouldn’t sell two units in a whole month; it looks more like the succesful exclussive condo it now is, 80% sold out of its three towers, and definetly one of the most appealing projects in the area.

The same effect for the Epic. The pictures of people just hanging really emphasizes the fact that the whole Downtown area has had a rapid population growth in the last few years, and it has become a serious contender to the traditional attractive of South Beach. Although these are different areas, Brickell and Downtown has a peculiar characteristic: It is practically all waterfront, it is well planned, it is a very central location and it is at the core of the Financial District, the “Wall Street of the South”.

Thanks to the Wall Street Journal for the new media, that shows several different aspects of the new lifestyle in Brickell. Young professionals with young families, waterfront condos in privileged spots, the green spaces, the incredible nightlife, and the fresh places to take a break along a busy day. Go and check all of the pics!