South Florida hotels see record rates for February

The price of a South Florida vacation has never been higher.

Average hotel room rates in February climbed to new peaks in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties, according to data from travel research firm STR. The higher prices came as the U.S. economy continued to improve, gas prices stayed low and unemployment dipped to pre-recession levels.

Though the numbers aren’t in yet, March — historically the most-packed, highest-priced month of the year in South Florida — is shaping up to be another banner month for the hospitality industry.

During the month that brought Presidents’ Day weekend events and the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, hotels were more than 87 percent full in Miami-Dade with average rates topping $259 a night. In the Florida Keys, hotels were 90 percent full at average daily rates of $335.65. And Broward visitors paid just over $180 a night — if they could find a room; hotels were 93 percent full.

“It reminds me of Economics 101,” said Scott Berman, Miami-based industry leader for hospitality and leisure at PwC. “When demand gets very high, the market’s able to raise the pricing.”

The numbers themselves have never been higher, but adjusted for inflation, only room rates in pre-recession February 2007 could compete with last month’s prices in Miami-Dade. When the county hosted Super Bowl XLI, average rates in Miami-Dade were $231.72 — or $262.32 in today’s dollars. In Broward, the February 2007 prices amount to $202.46 in current value, and prices in March of 2008 were a few cents higher than last month’s when adjusted for inflation.

Inflation notwithstanding, destination marketers were counting their 2015 blessings.

Read More: http://www.miamiherald.com/

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article16949156.html#storylink=cpy

Home sales, prices up in South Florida

The median price and number of homes sold in South Florida in February rose year-over-year, according to data collected by local Realtors’ groups.

In Miami-Dade County, single-family home sales grew 14.2 percent last month compared to February 2014, the Miami Association of Realtors said. Single-family home sales were up nearly 2 percent compared to January 2015.

Existing condo sales were up 1.4 percent year-over-year and 10.4 percent compared to January, even as a glut of new luxury units goes up downtown and on the beach.

Inventory also rose year-over-year. The number of single-family homes on the market in Miami-Dade increased by 3.5 percent, rising from 6,113 active listings last year to 6,330 last month. Condo inventory was up 12.1 percent, growing to 12,023 from 10,723 listings.

In Broward County, single-family home sales increased by 6.4 percent year-over-year while condo sales rose by 1.2 percent, according to Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors.

Single-family listings grew 1.2 percent and condo listings grew 6.2 percent for condos compared to last year.

The housing market in South Florida has been growing steadily since it tanked during the recession.

Statewide, single-family home sales were up 19 percent year-over-year. Condo sales were up 7.4 percent.

Median prices also increased locally.

In Miami-Dade, the median sales price for a single-family home increased to $245,000, a 7.9 percent percent gain from last year’s figure. The median sales price for a condo rose to $189,000, up 6.8 percent.

Meanwhile, all-cash sales declined slightly from last year’s figures, falling from 62.5 percent of all transaction in February 2014 to 58.8 percent of all transactions last month.

Foreign buyers — who have fueled Miami’s real estate recovery —are more likely to pay cash. A strong dollar and tumbling currencies abroad have weakened the ability of foreigners to buy property in Miami.

Nationally, about 26 percent of sales were all-cash deals last month, reflecting the importance of foreign wealth to Miami’s recent growth.

Read More: http://www.miamiherald.com/

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article16095116.html#storylink=cpy

Think twice before installing security cameras in condominiums

By Lisa Magill

Does your condominium building have security cameras that were installed by the developer?  Have there been violations of the association’s security protocol, such as unauthorized use of key fobs and contractor access to the building without registering with the front desk?  If the answer to both questions is “yes”, would you think that installing a few additional cameras would constitute a material alteration or addition to the common elements, thus requiring unit owner authorization by vote?

 Regular readers of this blog are sure to know that Section 718.113(2)(a), Florida Statutes says:

“Except as otherwise provided in this section, there shall be no material alteration or substantial additions to the common elements or to real property which is association property, except in a manner provided in the declaration as originally recorded or as amended under the procedures provided therein. If the declaration as originally recorded or as amended under the procedures provided therein does not specify the procedure for approval of material alterations or substantial additions, 75 percent of the total voting interests of the association must approve the alterations or additions. This paragraph is intended to clarify existing law and applies to associations existing on October 1, 2008.”

Regular readers are likely aware of the “necessary maintenance” exception, vitiating the need for a membership vote where there is a convincing factual predicate that a particular task undertaken by the board is necessary to maintain or protect the common elements.  Several arbitration decisions have been issued supporting the board’s installation of cameras without a vote of the owners when there was a history of security breaches and/or criminal acts.

However, violations of security protocol did not substantiate harm to the condominium property or a sufficient threat to the safety of the residents to support the installation of cameras at the condominium involved in a recent arbitration decision.

In Warner Trust v. Azure at Bonita Bay Condominium Asn., Inc. the board installed 2 additional cameras in the building, one at the door from the parking deck to the garage and the other at the doors from the parking deck to the lobby.  The building was originally constructed with 3 security cameras at major entry points and the Board installed additional cameras several years prior to the case in the mail room, after a series of thefts.

Owners and guests typically accessed the condominium by use of a key fob.  The individually programmed fobs provided a record of who entered and exited the building. Rules governing contractor access to the building required contractors to register at the front desk and wear identification badges issued by the Association.  Contractors were only allowed to perform work during specified hours. Registration requirements are not unusual if the Association desires to verify licenses and whether the work performed has been approved (if applicable).  Moreover, it provides a record of who was in the building in the event of any damage, theft or other incident.  This rule was not adhered to by the owners, prompting the installation of cameras.

The arbitrator did not believe that this noncompliance with the rules established the factual predicate appropriate to apply the necessary maintenance exception and ordered the Association to take a retroactive vote of the members to approve the installation of the 2 cameras.

Community leaders should take precautions before having any work performed that could constitute a material alteration.  Here, as in other cases, if Association does not receive the requisite vote of members (2/3rds in this case), it will have to remove the security cameras and restore the property to its previous condition.

Read More: http://www.floridacondohoalawblog.com/

The 100-year story of Miami Beach

In the beginning there was a slender sandspit of mangroves and swamp, mosquitoes and crocodiles, palmetto scrub and sea-stroked beach.

And Carl Fisher said, “let dry ground appear.” So he spent a good part of his fortune to put fearsome machines to work for 15 years pumping up muck from Biscayne Bay, and it was so. Carl Fisher called the dry ground “Miami Beach” and saw it was good, and so did millions of people after him.

So thoroughly did founding father Fisher and his crews erase most traces of nature from what writer Polly Redford dubbed the Billion-Dollar Sandbar that it’s easy to forget today, as Miami Beach marks its centennial as an incorporated city in characteristically hyped-up fashion, just how completely a manufactured place it is.

Even the famed wide sandy beach is artificial, barged in from offshore in a latter-day echo of Fisher’s land-making. The one nature put there washed away years ago, its erosion accelerated by construction of the endless parade of hotels that made Miami Beach Miami Beach.

Read More: http://www.miamiherald.com/

VIDEO: More Sand for the Beach at the Pavilion

Watch Video here: http://iPavilionCondo.com

As discussed during the Public Meeting held on January 7 at the La Costa Condominium, and as authorized by the State of Florida, work to restore the beach in the area of 54 Street to 59 Street is expected to commence on Friday March 6. Approximately 20,000 cubic yards of beach sand will be trucked on to the beach, and then moved by large dump truck to the placement area.  The placement will start at 54 Street, and progress to the north.  Work will occur between the hours of 8AM and 4PM, Monday - Friday.   Areas of ongoing sand placement activities, including the use of heavy equipment (bulldozers, large trucks) will be restricted during the periods of operations.  These activities are expected to continue through the second week in April.

 

WHAT TO EXPECT:

• Heavy equipment on the beach between 53 Street and 59 Street.  Work will start at the south end (near 54 Street), and progress to the north. 

• Beach Access Restrictions. - Areas of the beach that are having active sand placement will be restricted due to the use of heavy equipment.  Restricted areas will be marked daily and will be fenced off using orange construction fence.  The "restricted area" will move down the beach as the area project progresses.  Fencing marking the restricted areas will be on the beach only during periods of work on the beach (i.e., put up in the morning and taken down at 4 PM).

• Noise - As large 'heavy equipment' (i.e., dump trucks, bulldozers, front loaders) will be used, the machinery/engine noise and safety alarms (back up bells and alarms) should be expected during the working hours.

For more information on this project, please contact Brian Flynn (305.372.6850) with Miami-Dade County or the City of Miami Beach's Environment and Sustainability Division (305.673.7010).

JUST BECAUSE IT’S YOUR HOME OR UNIT DOESN’T MEAN IT’S YOURS TO DO AS YOU PLEASE

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

So you just bought your new condo unit or home and you want to make the place look great.  Or, you have been living in your unit or home for what seems like forever and it’s time for one of those complete makeovers.  How far can you go without getting association approval, and/or approval from your local municipality?

  

 Let’s start by stating that in general, almost anything you do is going to require that a permit is pulled.  This applies for the installation of new cabinetry, the relocation of plumbing, any electrical wiring, the installation of new flooring and almost anything else you can imagine, absent a paint job.

  

 Often times, if the municipality is unsure as to whether or not your intended modification involves the common elements of the association, the municipality will require that you also submit written approval from the association.  So why won’t the association approve your request to spruce up the joint?  Often times it’s because owners seek to remove common element and/or load bearing walls,  the plumbing will be modified and interrupted as to other units, the floor is being installed without the proper sound proofing or the change will be seen from the exterior of the property. 

Sometimes, the association won’t allow you to make the change because you are actually attempting to change common element property and not your own.  Several years ago, I represented an ocean-front condominium in Broward. One owner’s balcony faced the pool deck and ocean but was located 22 inches above the pool deck.  This owner got tired of walking through the hallways, past the elevators and mailboxes to get to the pool.  He had a better idea.  He decided to get a chain saw and slice apart the common element balcony railing and turn it into a swinging gate, without first getting authorization from the association.  Now, he and his wife would simply hop down 22 inches to get to the pool deck and at the end of the day hop up 22 inches from the pool deck to get back to their balcony and get home.

  

The association was outraged and ordered that I do something about it.  I filed an arbitration suit and won.  The arbitrator told the owner to repair the gate.  The owner appealed and asked for a trial in Circuit Court.  After a trial, the judge ordered the owner to repair the gate. The owner appealed.  A three judge appellate panel ordered the owner to put the gate back.  The owner then tried to appeal to The Florida Supreme Court, which decided not to hear the case. At each stage of these proceedings, attorney’s fees were awardable.  One day, the owner went to his bank account, and it simply wasn’t there any longer.  I had garnished it.  All because he didn’t get permission to make that modification beforehand.  Had he asked first, he would have learned that he can’t modify the common elements.

            

 Don’t let that happen to you.  Review your governing documents before you make repairs or modifications to your unit or home.  Pull the permits if required.  The alternative can be much more costly.

Read Original: http://www.hoa-condoblog.com/

Miami Beach celebrates 100 years (Video)

View Video here : http://iPavilionCondo.com

Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, discusses the city's centennial celebration and plans for the next 100 years.

America’s Biggest Mall Planned in Miami

There will be hundreds of stores and an indoor ski slope. More surprising is the possibility of sea lion shows, submarine rides, and which group will likely be the most important customer base.

If a proposal first revealed this week in the Miami Herald is approved and actually built, the suburbs of Miami would become home to the largest mall in the U.S. It’s been estimated that the megamall will cost $4 billion to complete, but that’s hardly the only eye-popping factoid attached to the monumental project. Here are a few more:

It’ll occupy a whopping 200 acres. That’s roughly double the acreage of the Mall of America in Minnesota. The Miami megamall, dubbed the American Dream, has been proposed by a Canadian company called Triple Five. The firm also owns and manages the Mall of America, as well as another American Dream, a much-maligned complex near the East Rutherford, N.J., sports venues once known as Xanadu that’s taken more than a decade to develop and still isn’t open; and North America’s largest mall, the 5.3-million-square-foot behemoth with two hotels, a water park, and 800+ stores in West Edmonton, Canada.

It’ll be neighbors with two other enormous malls. As the Miami New Times pointed out, the proposed American Dream mall is planned to be built in Miami Lakes, at the intersection of the Florida Turnpike and I-75. Given the location and scope, it would likely compete directly with two existing monster malls in greater Miami, the Aventura Mall and Sawgrass Mills—which currently rank, respectively, as the third- and seventh-largest malls in the U.S.

Read More: http://time.com/

Miami Herald Report: Downtown condo market to cool down

A new study confirms the latest chatter from real estate watchers: Miami’s sizzling downtown condo market is cooling down. Skyrocketing construction costs, overheated land prices and falling foreign currencies have finally caught up with a housing market that boomed after the lean years of the recession.

But unlike the last go-around, when highly leveraged projects brought the house of cards tumbling down, few observers expect a crash.

One sign of the current cool-down: the growth in resale prices for downtown condos is slowing.

The average resale price went up to $431 per square foot in 2014, a 16 percent increase from the year before, but still down from jumps of 22 percent in 2013 and 27 percent in 2012. Those numbers come from a report by the semi-autonomous, tax-funded Downtown Development Authority.

Downtown-area developers currently have more than 22,000 condos units in development, with the majority slated for Brickell and the downtown urban core. Some projects are nearing completion, while others are still in the planning stages.

The average price per square foot, excluding ultra-luxury projects such as 1000 Museum and Echo Brickell, is $563, according to the report. Prices are higher on the water in Brickell and Edgewater and lower further inland.

A shortage of skilled workers isn’t helping either. The number of construction workers in South Florida has fallen from about 168,000 in 2006, at the peak of the boom, to 106,000 last year.

And land prices are going up, up, up. Recent eye-popping sales include $125 million for the 1.25-acre Epic Marina site last July and $80 million for 2.05 bayfront acres at 300 Biscayne Boulevard in December.

 Read More: http://www.miamiherald.com/

Miami Beach Renourishment Project

As discussed during the Public Meeting held on January 7 at the La Costa Condominium, and as authorized by the State of Florida, work to restore the beach in the area of 54 Street to 59 Street is expected to commence on Friday March 6. Approximately 20,000 cubic yards of beach sand will be trucked on to the beach, and then moved by large dump truck to the placement area.  The placement will start at 54 Street, and progress to the north.  Work will occur between the hours of 8AM and 4PM, Monday - Friday.   Areas of ongoing sand placement activities, including the use of heavy equipment (bulldozers, large trucks) will be restricted during the periods of operations.  These activities are expected to continue through the second week in April.

 

WHAT TO EXPECT:

• Heavy equipment on the beach between 53 Street and 59 Street.  Work will start at the south end (near 54 Street), and progress to the north. 

• Beach Access Restrictions. - Areas of the beach that are having active sand placement will be restricted due to the use of heavy equipment.  Restricted areas will be marked daily and will be fenced off using orange construction fence.  The "restricted area" will move down the beach as the area project progresses.  Fencing marking the restricted areas will be on the beach only during periods of work on the beach (i.e., put up in the morning and taken down at 4 PM).

• Noise - As large 'heavy equipment' (i.e., dump trucks, bulldozers, front loaders) will be used, the machinery/engine noise and safety alarms (back up bells and alarms) should be expected during the working hours.

For more information on this project, please contact Brian Flynn (305.372.6850) with Miami-Dade County or the City of Miami Beach's Environment and Sustainability Division (305.673.7010).