South Beach Condos Blog

Every Friday at 5:30 p.m. in the summer; 4 p.m. in the winter; a 90 minute boat tour highlighting Miami Beach’s history and architecture departs from 65th Street and Indian Creek Drive.

The tour started by the North Beach Development Corporation, a nonprofit that promotes the North Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, cruises along the Indian Creek Waterway, Biscayne Bay, Surprise Waterway, Surprise Lake and the Flamingo Waterway.

During the cruise you’ll get to see the incredible mix of architectural styles that make Miami Beach as interesting as it is. This is a great way to learn more about where we live and the history behind facades and see it from a new perspective, the water!

The tour is $30 per person. For reservations call North Beach Development Corp., at 305-865-4147 or www.gonorthbeach.com.

Today I went to a presentation by the Canyon Ranch Miami developer. To give you a little background on me and my history of this project, I have been a fan of this project since BEFORE the project was launched over three years ago. The project consists of three towers on OVER 6 acres of oceanfront property which encompasses 1100 linear feet of prime Miami Beach ocean frontage. The 21 story south tower, which are condo residences only, has 143 units, the 16-story center tower, which is the historic Carillon building, has 151 condo-hotel units (floors 2-10) and 80 condo residences (floors 11-16). The north tower, which is the tallest building at 35 storys, has 207 units including 7 direct oceanfront townhomes

Canyon Ranch: More Than Just Real Estate

Since the inception of this project, my focus has been on the real estate side of the project for the obvious reasons. After today’s presentation, I am even more excited about this project and what it brings to Miami Beach because it is SO much more than just another condo or condo-hotel. Canyon Ranch Living Miami Beach, which is dubbed “where the wealthy get healthy”, is more about the amenities and healthy lifestyle than the real estate.

The “Power of Possibility” is their slogan and today I learned exactly what it means. Many people come to “The Ranch” to change their lifestyle, to de-stress, get in shape and learn healthy living habits. I saw this incredibly interesting video where a 54 year-old man went to Canyon Ranch in Tucson, AZ and Lenox, MA for four months. They tested him at the beginning of his stay and determined that two of his arteries were 70% clogged, he had numerous ailments and he said he was taking about 17 Advil a day! The doctors estimated that this 54 year-old man had the body of an 84 year-old. After his four month stay at Canyon Ranch, his arteries showed NO SIGNS of blockage, lost 30 lbs. and doctors estimated that the 54 year-old NOW had the body of a 52 year-old man. Fascinating!

Update: Closings to Begin in Late July

The south tower (condo residences) is estimated to begin closings in late July. The center (Carillon) tower closings are estimated to start in September. The hotel and spa will have a soft opening by year’s end.

Back to Business

The reason why I continue to like this project so much is because throughout Miami and Miami Beach the branded projects like Setai, ICON and W South Beach continue to do well even in today’s market. Comparing other branded projects to Canyon Ranch is not fair because Canyon is so much more than just a brand it is a destination! The south and center (Carillon) towers have been SOLD OUT for about two years! There are re-sales available in south & center towers and the developer has great buys on the remaining units in the north tower. Prices in the north tower are about $1000-$1100 p.s.f. for western exposure, and $1100-$1200 p.s.f. for oceanfront units, which is a very fair buy for direct oceanfront luxury property.

Rumor has it that Vitri South Beach - just north of the “SoFi” neighborhood (ICON, Murano Grande, Apogee) is returning deposits and considering a change of use to a hotel. From what I know the units on the lower end of the price range sold well, but the penthouses, which were priced @ $1100 p.s.f., were not moving. The 66 residence low-density development is being developed by Leviev-Boymelgreen (Marquis in downtown Miami and many other projects in the New York City area). Pricing started in the $600Ks and up.

It has been confirmed that the developers of the Savoy South Beach, located at 455 Ocean Drive in SoFi, have decided NOT to go forward with the project. The 112 unit project which called for 30 oceanfront residences, 57 condo-hotels and 24 lofts (at another location) will be renovated and continued to be run as a hotel. The developer is CMA companies and Broker was Elliman Florida, who brought on NYC power-house broker Dolly Lenz to help market the project.

When I started thinking about who would be best able to offer consumers the most insight on the use of Blogs, I immediately thought of Brad Carroll. Brad is the owner of Dakno Marketing and is a marketing consultant to some of the top Agents, Speakers and Coaches in the real estate industry.

Since Brad eats, breathes and lives real estate web design and blogs, he brings a unique perspective on how consumers can get the most out of real estate blog sites.

Kevin: What can consumers get out of a blog that they can’t find on a standard real estate website?

Brad: I think a big thing is fresh information. Since most standard websites don’t timestamp their articles, it can be hard to determine the age of the article (and more importantly, if it’s still accurate). Blogs on the other hand usually focus on the here and now. In addition, most blogs allow visitors to comment on specific blog post. This gives consumers a chance to connect with the agent.

Kevin: Can you go into a little more detail about “connecting” with the agent?

Brad: I won’t win many real estate agent friends saying this, but a consumer should really use the blog as an opportunity to interact with the agent without having to give up their identity. That’s the beauty of blogs. The consumer can stay in control. If they have a question, they can simply submit a comment on the blog without revealing their contact information. You quickly find out if the real estate agent is going to go the extra mile and be a true information resource. If an agent is willing to answer your question on their blog, then it shows that they truly have the interest of the consumer in mind.

Kevin: That’s a great point. I know website visitors hate it when agents make the visitor give up their identity before giving them any information.

Brad: Yeah, this still amazes me. The internet is a vast information resource. If a website makes me “sign up” and holds the information hostage, I will just go somewhere else. I think I speak for most consumers when I say that I want to be educated before I contact someone. That’s where some real estate agents go wrong. To be honest, I don’t understand why they don’t get this. After all, wouldn’t they rather work with an educated consumer anyway? That’s why I love your website so much. There is an amazing amount of information about Miami Beach Condos! And it’s freely available without any strings attached. I think that is also why blogs have caught on so fast. It’s free and relevant information.

Kevin: Yes free, but not always reliable. How can consumers sort though the true information and the sales gimmicks?

Brad: What? You mean not everything I read on the internet is true? But I am bidding on eBay for this great ocean front property in Kansas! But seriously, there are a few things that help weed out the people who just use their blog as a bait and switch sales tool…

1. See if the real estate agent credits their references. Most legit blogs will often reference other opinions in their blog (in the form of links) additionally; they will credit any quotes or statistics that they used in their blog.
2. Check other sites for relevancy. Is anyone else in the blogosphere (the blog community) discussing this same topic? Is their data in line with other sites?
3. Check the date and frequency. People trying to use their blog as a sales gimmick are typically lazy. They will try to get the most mileage with the smallest amount of work. So check the date of the last post, and check how frequently they add content to the blog.
4. Use your gut. Typically, just looking at the blog from an objective point of view will help determine if you smell a rat!

Kevin: You mentioned other blog sites. Where can consumers find other real estate blogs?

Brad: My two favorite places to search blogs would have to be Technorati and Google Blog Search. You can search by keywords in a post such as your City, or by specific blog sites.

Kevin: Any more advice for consumers using blog sites?

Brad: Just remember that a blog should provide an inside peak at the way the real estate agent thinks and operates. It can reveal their expertise (or lack thereof) about the market, the area, and more. At the end of the day, consumers want an expert in their corner. They like having the opportunity to research agents via their blogs, before diving in and emailing or calling the agent direct, and giving them their contact information. Anonymous posting of comments, gives them that opportunity.