The real estate industry is gearing up for Miami Art Week, one of South Florida’s biggest economic drivers.
For some, the week’s festivities have expanded significantly to include parties, brunches, and private dinners.
Brokers and developers continue to take advantage of the potentially huge affluent client base that art fairs provide. According to the agency, prospective home buyers are making reservations for sales galleries and luxury homes.
With the housing market still in a slump, some brokerages are pulling back on big-ticket sponsorship deals. (Not to sound like a broken record, but let me be clear: the market is not dead. Records are still being set.)
Still, top agencies and developers are hosting VIP events like boat tours to take advantage of this. To be honest, you need a boat to avoid the traffic.
This year, Coconut Grove-based Sotheby’s International Realty is sponsoring Art Basel Miami Beach. Sotheby’s replaced Douglas Elliman, who served as the show’s sponsor for nine years. One of Sotheby’s chief marketing officers told me that Sotheby’s has no intention of letting go of its sponsorship anytime soon. (The full text will be published tomorrow.)
Dora Puig, owner and broker of Lux Living Realty, told me in October that she is offering in-person viewings of her properties in the Venetian Islands, North Bay Road in Miami Beach, and Fisher Island. In order to do so, customers are making reservations several months in advance. It is a gorgeous island that can only be accessed by ferry, boat, and helicopter.
What we think: We often hear about a wave of new condominium projects stalling over the next six months to a year because developers are unable to raise financing or intentionally cancel sold-out projects because costs have risen too high. Which one might have the problem? Send a note to kk@therealdeal.com.
closing time
Residential: A hidden trust paid $32 million for the waterfront Sunset Islands home at 1826 W. 23rd Street in Miami Beach. Developer and restaurateur Matthew Massa has sold the seven-bedroom, 6,100-square-foot home he once rented to the wife of HFZ Capital Group developer Nir Meir.
commercial: Holidays Network Group paid $27 million for an apartment complex at 2618 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. A joint venture between investors Eli Dudon, Avi Disi and Richard Waserstein sold the site and approved construction of a 107-room hotel.
— Research by Adam Farens
newcomer to the market
Todd Michael Glaser and his partners have relisted a waterfront island property in Palm Beach for $218 million to $187.5 million. Glaser took the property at 10 Tarpon Island off the market over the summer. The 2.3-acre man-made island includes the original mansion designed by prominent Palm Beach architect Howard His Majors and built in 1930.
what we learned
Sperm whales have their own culture and follow a set of coded behaviors just like humans. Sounds and swimming patterns are two of the ways whales distinguish themselves. Some whale families time their dives, while others swim more directly.
Elsewhere in Florida
- State regulators warned that the city of Miami is operating without an effective budget and tax rate. The Florida Department of Revenue announced that the commission’s Sept. 28 budget vote was invalid because only four of the five commissioners participated. Former commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla had just been arrested and suspended. If the city doesn’t comply, it could cost taxpayers an estimated $56 million, according to a report in the Miami Herald.
- Florida Republican Party Chairman Christian Ziegler is under criminal investigation on charges of rape and sexual assault, which Ziegler denies. After a debate with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Mr. Ziegler should step aside while the investigation progresses. “He’s innocent until proven guilty, but you can’t put a party chairman under that kind of scrutiny,” DeSantis told reporters, according to the BBC.
Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ yacht is so large that it had to be docked in Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. Mr. Bezos paid $500 million for a 400-foot-long, 250-foot-tall megayacht that includes two pools, a hot tub, a lounge, a dining area, and more.