Friday, March 2, 2012

As New Miami Condo Boom Starts, Related Group Diversifies Into Brazil


MIAMI, FL---With various developers already planning 24 new condo towers for coastal South Florida, the tricounty region's largest vertical residential builder - the Related Group with Jorge Perez (top right photo) - has announced ambitious plans to begin constructing up to $1 billion in residential projects in South America's most populous country, Brazil.

After two years of analyzing the Brazil market, Perez is teaming up with Stephen Ross (top left photo) of New York-based Related Cos. to launch Related Brasil to be headquartered in that nation's largest city, Sao Paulo, according to the Miami Herald.  

Daniel Citron (middle right photo) -  a former head of the Brazil operations for the real estate development firm Tishman Speyer - has been selected to lead the initiative to develop residential and commercial projects in the growing Portuguese-speaking country of nearly 206 million that is slated to host upcoming World Cup and Summer Olympics events in the next four years.

Perez - whose company has built or managed more than 80,000 residential units in Florida - told Reuters: "Of all the possibilities we looked at, the country with the best growth prospects for the next 20 years to 30 years is Brazil. We see in Brazil many of the characteristics that the United States had some years ago."

Related's strategy to diversify outside of the U.S. market has been in the process even before the nation's housing market crashed.

Related's international efforts "debuted" with the luxury ICON Vallarata condo (middle left photo)project on the Pacific Ocean coast of Mexico, according to the company's website.

"Beyond Mexico, Related International plans to erect upscale condominiums and hotels in other tourist locations such as India, Brazil, Panama, Argentina, Uruguay, and the Caribbean," according to Related's website.   

Related's Brazil announcement comes as South Florida's condo market is showing signs of recovery as unsold developer units from the last boom are acquired and resale inventory dwindles in recent years. 

(Brazil beaches, lower right photo)

It is against this backdrop that several developers - including Related - are proposing to put up more than 4,500 new units in the tricounty South Florida region despite nearly 4,300 unsold units being available as of Dec. 31, 2011, according to an analysis based on the Condo Vultures Official Condo Buyers Guide™ series.

At least four projects have already hosted groundbreaking ceremonies in the last year, according to a recent CondoVultures.com report. 

According to the CondoVultures.com Preconstruction Condo Projects list, developers are planning to construct two dozen towers in the tricounty South Florida region as follows:





Miami-Dade County

- 10 new towers in Greater Downtown Miami;
- five new towers in Sunny Isles Beach; 
- two new towers in Key Biscayne;
- a pair of new towers in Miami Beach;
- a new tower in Aventura;
  
Broward County

- two new towers with more than 130 condo units in the Hollywood / Hallandale Beach market,

Palm Beach County

- two new towers in West Palm Beach market.

Several residential rental towers - that could be converted to condominiums in the future - are also being planned as buyers compete for development sites east of Interstate 95 near the coast in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, industry watchers said. 
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Condo Vultures® LLC is a real estate consultancy and marketing company based at 1005 Kane Concourse, Suite 205, Bal Harbour, Florida, 33154. You can reach Condo Vultures® LLC at 800-750-0517.

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