Foreign purchasers have long comprised a
large share of home buyers in South Florida. But this year,
they are being outnumbered by California and Northeast U.S.
transplants, who viewed the pandemic as a catalyst to
relocate from their dense urban areas and high-tax states.
The result? Record-low inventory levels of single-family
homes in South Florida, leading naturally to cutthroat
rivalry for larger, three-bedroom condominiums.
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The view from a terrace at 57 Ocean, Miami Beach. |
“The demand for larger
units is mainly due to the fact that out-of-state buyers are
planning on spending more time in Miami,” says Marcelo
Kingston, managing partner of Multiplan REAM, the developer
of 57 Ocean. “They are looking for residences that are ample
and more comfortable with expansive outdoor spaces and
direct access to nature. Which is why in the last couple of
months, the demand for our Sky Residences has picked up
tremendously. We are about to be sold out of this coveted
floor plan.”
Greater demand for larger units has spurred GFI Development
Company to recently unveil The Villa Collection at The
Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach. These two-story,
freestanding villas, with interiors and exteriors by
internationally-acclaimed Italian architect Piero Lissoni,
offer a dozen distinct layouts with three-, four- and flex
five-bedroom choices. Extras include sprawling private
terraces, two-car garages, fenced yards, private
infinity-edge pools and luxuriant water’s edge tropical
frondescence. Ten of the exclusive collection’s 15 villas
have sold just since sales launched February 1.
“The Piero Lissoni-designed villas offer a very unique
product to the South Florida market that blends the
five-star amenities, service and lifestyle of a condominium
with the privacy and control of a single-family home,” says
GFI Development Company vice president Andy Ashwai. “Our
buyers understand the unprecedented value of the
Ritz-Carlton tradition of unrivaled service and quality for
owners in an extraordinarily quiet, waterfront neighborhood.
This has been paramount to our sales success.”
Going big
Other examples of the trend toward living large include the
Monaco Yacht Club & Residences in Miami Beach, scheduled to
be complete this fall. Driving the interest in this
boutique, Piero Lissoni-designed bayfront development and
marina are its selection of bigger residences. Among them
are three- and four-bedroom homes delivering flow-through
floor plans and unobstructed water and city perspectives.
Another instance of more spacious digs is found at Jade
Signature in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., which in the past year
has sold seven turnkey residences to upscale purchasers
seeking ways to undertake a quick and easy pandemic-era
relocation. Developer Fortune International Group recently
showcased the tower’s new $29.5 million, two-story furnished
penthouse, featuring more than 19,230 square feet and
encompassing all of the 56th and part of the 57th floors.
Finally, there is The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Sunny Isles
Beach, developed by Fortune International Group and Chateau
Group. The oceanfront high-rise completed, delivered and
closed its prestige collection of four penthouses featuring
private pools. The quartet were purchased by domestic East
Coast buyers, and in an almost unheard-of happening, each
sold before the tower even opened its doors.