Colliers International South Florida Reports South Florida Again Undergoing an Historic Boom

Alex Morcate

CORAL GABLES, FL -- Alex Morcate, CCIM and Vice President of Investment Analysis, Colliers International South Florida, reports "It feels like just yesterday we were cautioning the potential problems associated with oversupply, lack of demand and unavailability of financing.

"In the span of roughly two years the market's outlook has come 180 degrees from one of caution and pessimism to one of enthusiasm and optimism.

 "Industrial landlords are in the driver's seat enjoying +6% year-over-year rent growth across virtually every submarket in South Florida.

"This is in addition to public investments that will surely spark demand over the long-term. Cap rates continue to decline, signaling confidence in the local market.

 "Land prices remain one of the most heady of headlines with "new" all-time highs being recorded every few months.

Miami skyline

"Multifamily has fallen into second place as the former flavor of the month, now behind industrial product, due in part to the lack of supply of sizable deals in core submarkets.

"Retail remains in vogue, especially for institutional investors with the long-term vision and comparative advantage to say places like Lincoln Road are inexpensive by global standards. Restaurants seem to be leading the retail recovery.

Fort Lauderdale, FL beaches

"Office product is now the diamond in the rough. The market as a whole has stabilized but remains moderate in comparison to other product types that are benefiting from external drivers like international investment or municipal stimulus."

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Crystal Proenza

VP of Marketing & Culture

crystal.proenza@colliers.com

alex.morcate@colliers.com

Marcus & Millichap sells 34-Unit Coral Gables, FL Apartment Portfolio for $4.28 Million

Landy Toledo

MIAMI, FL, Aug. 7, 2014 – Marcus & Millichap (NYSE: MMI), a leading commercial real estate investment services firm with offices throughout the United States and Canada, today announced the sale of a five property portfolio consisting of 34 units, located in Coral Gables, FL. The portfolio sold for $4,282,700.

Landy Toledo, a Senior Broker Associate in Marcus & Millichap’s Miami office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a limited liability company from Aventura, FL.

 He also secured the buyer, a limited liability company from Coral Gables, FL. Toledo, who joined Marcus & Millichap three years ago, has closed on the sale of 31 Coral Gables apartment buildings in the past 30 months.

The City of Coral Gables is one of Miami-Dade County's most desirable and highest performing rental markets. "Debt and equity continue to stream into the Miami-Dade apartment sector from local sources and out-of-area buyers attracted to solid asset performance and robust housing demand generators.

101 Antiquera Avenue, Coral Gables, FL

 The activity in Miami-Dade is dominated by sales of lower tier assets selling from $1 million to $10 million. The greater availability of financing is also bringing more buyers into the market,” says Toledo.

“This portfolio offered an outstanding opportunity for an investor to acquire stable, cash-flowing multifamily properties in an excellent location with upside potential through rent escalation and more efficient management,” he adds.

The portfolio is comprised of 28 one-bedroom/one-bath apartments and six studio/one-bath apartments. The properties are located within a short walk of the central business districts office corridor and Miracle Mile, a high-end shopping and restaurant area.

The addresses of the Coral Gables properties are:

·         101 Antiquera Avenue (12 units)

·         119 Santillane Avenue (6 units)

·         123 Santillane Avenue (4 units)

·         127 Santillane Avenue (4 units)

·         130 Santillane Avenue (8 units)

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Kirk Felici

First Vice President/Regional Manager, Miami

(786) 522-7000

Charles Dunn Company Completes Sale of 17-Unit Multifamily Property in West Hollywood, CA

Kimberly Roberts Stepp

LOS ANGELES, CA, Aug. 7, 2014 – Charles Dunn Company, one of the largest full-service regional real estate firms in the western United States, has completed the sale of a fully occupied 17-unit multifamily property at 909 N. Gardner St. in West Hollywood for an undisclosed price. 

Kimberly Roberts Stepp, senior managing director with Charles Dunn Company, represented the seller, a private investment company. The buyer was a California-based private limited liability company represented by Shah Noorvash of Coldwell Banker-BH South.

Built in 1988 and renovated in 2013, the non-rent controlled property includes controlled access, an elevator, gated parking, and fitness room. 

Each unit includes central air conditioning, fireplaces, dishwashers, recessed lighting, new upgraded cabinetry and kitchen appliances, quartz counters with under mount sinks and other upgrades.

Shah Noorvash

“Average apartment rental rates continue to grow in West Hollywood with a vacancy rate of just around three percent,” said Roberts Stepp. “Multifamily investments in this submarket continue to draw investors seeking long-term rental growth and property appreciation.”

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Darcie Giacchetto

D.G. Communications, Inc.

949.278.6224

Hotel Asset Management Association Offers Certified Hotel Asset Manager

  

Melissa Silvers

BOSTON, MA —The Hotel Asset Management Association (HAMA) announced that it now offers its Certified Hotel Asset Manager (CHAM) certification program to non-U.S. asset managers wishing to achieve the profession’s equivalent of the Certified Public Accountant (CPA). 

HAMA recently opened two affiliate organizations, HAMA Europe and HAMA MEA, adding more than 100 new members to the global organization.  Founded in the U.S. in 1992, HAMA also has affiliates in Asia Pacific and Japan.  

            “The responsibilities of hotel asset managers are far more encompassing than they have ever been in past, and the position has rapidly gained recognition in the real estate investment community,” said Melissa Silvers, principal for SCS Advisors and HAMA board member who spearheaded the CHAM program.

“CHAM certification was designed to confirm the institutional/fiduciary role and expectations of senior asset managers.  

"As the role of hospitality asset managers expanded over the last several years, it became increasingly important to offer certification to our international members to demonstrate that they have achieved the same level of expertise as our U.S. members.”

Ruby Huang

            The CHAM designation places primary emphasis on experience in determining a candidate’s qualifications in the area of hotel asset management.  

To be eligible for certification, candidates must demonstrate a minimum of seven years of lead hotel asset management experience and provide letters of professional recommendation.  

  Upon approval by the CHAM advisory panel, the candidate may take the CHAM exam as the final step in the CHAM certification process.

            The four-hour CHAM exam consists of 200-multiple choice questions covering six key areas of knowledge, including the Asset Management Process, Operations, Real Estate & the Physical Asset, Contracts and Legal Aspects, Benchmarking and the Investment Decision. 

  CHAM candidates receive a comprehensive content guide to assist in studying for the exam, and an accompanying resource guide with more than 40 reference materials. 

  Once certified, candidates are required to recertify every five years, to ensure on-going, active involvement in the hospitality asset management field.

            “The CHAM designation is the world’s only advanced certification available to accomplished hotel asset management professionals, and we anticipate that this certification will not only help asset managers highlight his/her qualifications, but also will assist owners, lenders and the real-estate community more easily identify qualified industry leaders,” said Ruby Huang, senior vice president of Starwood Capital Group and president of HAMA.

            For additional information about the CHAM certification process, please contact certification@hamagroup.org for further information.  Hotel owners, lenders or real estate investors, please visit the HAMA website www.hamagroup.org for more information on the HAMA organization and a comprehensive list of CHAM certified members.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Chris Daly                                                    

chris@dalygray.com

(703) 435-6293                                                         

Berger Commercial Realty Arranges Sale of Mixed-Use Property in Boynton Beach, FL

Steve Hyatt

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - Berger Commercial Realty Senior Vice President Steve Hyatt recently handled the $300,000 sale of an office and residential portfolio located at 444-450 W. Boynton Beach Blvd in Boynton Beach.

 Sold by Boynton Professional Center, Inc. to KMG Holdings, LLC, the portfolio consists of a 1,288 square-foot duplex apartment building and a 3,000 square-foot office building on nearly half an acre of land.

 KMG Holdings plans to open a counseling center and a new residential development. The property previously sold for $950,000 in 2004.

 Hyatt represented the buyer in the transaction.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Marielle Sologuren

Pierson Grant Public Relations

msologuren@piersongrant.com

(954) 776-1999, ext. 226

RealtyTrac Reports 34 Percent of U.S. County Housing Markets Now Less Affordable for Buying Than Their Long-Term Averages

Daren Blomquist

IRVINE, CA, Aug. 7, 2014 — RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for real estate data, today released a report analyzing affordability for buying a residential property in more than 1,000 counties nationwide, which shows that as of the second quarter of 2014, one-third of the counties analyzed have surpassed their historical averages for income-to-price affordability percentages since 2000 — making them less affordable now than they have been on average over the last 14 years.

The report calculated both the percentage of median income needed to make monthly payments on a median-priced home in each county in May 2014 as well as the historical trend in each county’s income-to-price affordability percentage going back to January 2000. It also analyzed the impact of rising interest rates on affordability, calculating the percentage of median income needed to make payments on a median-priced home if interest rates rise by a quarter percentage point, a half percentage point, three-quarters of a percentage point or a full percentage point.

“The good news is that none of the nearly 1,200 counties we analyzed for the second quarter has regressed to the dangerously low affordability levels reached during the housing price bubble, and even if interest rates increased 1 percentage point, only 59 counties representing 2 percent of the U.S. population would be at or above bubble levels in terms of affordability,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. 

“But the scales are beginning to tip away from the extremely favorable affordability climate we’ve seen over the last two years, with one-third of the counties analyzed — representing 19 percent of the total population in those counties — now less affordable than their long-term averages.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Jennifer von Pohlmann

PR Manager

Office: 949.502.8300 ext 139

jennifer.vonpohlmann@realtytrac.com

Expedia, Inc. Partners with Cruise Inn to Generate Travel Demand for RV Parks and Campgrounds

Scott Anderson

BELLEVUE, WA- Expedia, Inc., one of the world's largest travel companies, debuts a first-of-its-kind partnership with Cruise Inn, an outdoor hospitality leader in RV Parks and campgrounds.

Starting today, travelers seeking an escape to nature will be able to select from U.S. RV Parks and campgrounds that offer cabin accommodations, and book directly at all Expedia, Inc. sites.

Expedia Inc. will first introduce Cruise Inn’s cabin offerings on its websites as part of a broader strategy that will grow to encompass Cruise Inn’s RV and tent sites. Travelers from all over the world will have access to this unique offering through Expedia Inc.’s diverse brand portfolio.

“Cruise Inn, with its network of RV parks and campgrounds, has been recognized as one of the most innovative concepts in the hospitality industry,” noted Scott Anderson, president and CEO of Cruise Inn. 

“Becoming the first outdoor hospitality brand to partner with Expedia, Inc., which continues to lead the OTA space in terms of scale, technology innovation, and marketing power, was the natural complement to our strategy.”

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Chris Daly

Chris@dalygray.com