Category: Commercial Real Estate

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Commercial Real Estate Selling Small Business

Travel Adventures Start in South Florida

Traveling: Antigua Casona Hotel in Cusco Peru

One of my favorite things about living in South Florida is how easy it is to travel anywhere from here. Miami International Airport (MIA) is one of the busiest airports in the country with over 80 airlines serving 150+ places around the world. We also have the Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach airports, so plenty of airlines and airfares to choose from.

This year, my family was invited to a wedding in Lima, Peru. What an amazing country! They truly understand the meaning of customer service. Miami’s hospitality industry can definitely learn something from the Peruvians.

After the wedding, we took a side trip to Cusco and stayed at this amazing hotel, the Antigua Casona. From a real estate perspective, it was incredibly interesting as the owners rebuilt a falling down house into this intimate, boutique hotel. That in and of itself is enough for an entire blog post, but I’ll save that portion for another day.

What I found so compelling about this hotel was how they managed to integrate the local artwork,

the theme of the area (Incan architecture), the weather and altitude (almost 15,000 feet above sea level, which is rough on Miamians) and the food into an overall incredible experience.

Leaving the hotel at 5:00 a.m. for a Machu Picchu trek? No worries they have a picnic breakfast ready for you. Being affected by the altitude? Again, no worries, every night they bring a thermos with hot water and a local mint tea to help with the effects. In the morning, they have a coca tea to help. A little chilly? Every evening with the tea service, they place covered hot water bottles under the covers on each side of the bed.

The customer service and the attention to detail, anticipating what the client might want or need was beyond anything I have experienced in my travels and made me wonder, do I go far enough in providing that experience to my real estate customers? Does my company? If not, how can we do better?

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Buying Commercial Real Estate Florida Life Investment Real Estate Luxury Real Estate

Do You Love Where You Live & Work?

Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami

I was on the phone with a friend the other day and we were both talking about how grateful we are that we live in Miami/South Florida. Our main reasons were for the cultural diversity, the environment, the vibrancy of the city and people, and the ease with which you can travel anywhere in the world.

Traveling is one of my favorite pastimes, but I always love coming home. If you don’t love where you live and work, now is the time to consider a move. I invite you to come to Miami and see why so many people and companies are relocating to South Florida.

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Buying Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate Luxury Real Estate Selling

South Florida’s Hot Housing Market Will Help Commercial Real Estate

New Restaurants from Groot Hospitality Coming to Coconut Grove
New Restaurants from Groot Hospitality Coming to Coconut Grove

You can’t open a newspaper these days without reading about another company that is either relocating or expanding in South Florida. From hedge funds and private equity firms to tech companies, Florida’s business friendly environment is luring people to move here. The Miami-Dade housing market has surged, with total home sales up 16.2% year-over-year in October. Miami single-family luxury home sales transactions over $1,000,000 increased a whopping 122.1% year-over-year in October.

What does this increase in the housing market mean to commercial real estate? Although the virus has had an effect on hotels, restaurants, offices, and other businesses, which in turn bodes poorly for the real estate these businesses occupy, the number of people relocating here will eventually translate into increased demand for commercial real estate. I currently have investors looking for second generation restaurant space, which, amazingly enough, is not as easy to find as news headlines suggest.

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Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate

Fearless Friday

Mark Twain wrote: “There are two types of speakers: Those who get nervous and those who are liars”.

I used to be petrified of public speaking. I almost turned down a remarkable leadership opportunity because of that silly fear. As soon as I was asked if I would be the Commercial President for MIAMI Realtors, I could feel my stomach clench because I knew I would have to speak in public. A LOT! I told Brian Sharpe, the Commercial President who had asked me and who is a super suave public speaker, that I would think about it and get back to him. As soon as I hung up the phone, my head started going nuts and I pictured how anxious I was going to be every time I had to get up and speak. I could feel my heart beat faster just thinking about it. I was being irrational, of course, but that is the point. Most fear is irrational.

My public speaking up to that point had been presentations in class or in front of work groups or small audiences. I had benefitted from being around a lot of brilliant public speakers, who always seemed calm, cool, collected and interesting when speaking to large groups. I decided I would not let this fear keep me from a wonderful, much larger learning opportunity so I called Brian back and accepted the nomination of Commercial President.

Over the next year, while I was President-elect, I watched Brian and the other leaders who spoke so well. I prepared presentations I would have to give well in advance and gave them lots of thought, rehearsing what I would talk about during my morning runs. Teresa King Kinney, the CEO of MIAMI Realtors and a leader maker, also assisted by making every President and President-elect give impromptu speeches, often. After the first time, when I was caught off guard, I learned quickly that I always had to be prepared to speak in public and I am no longer afraid. Preparation is key to addressing so many fears, right?

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Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate Selling Small Business South Miami

Record US Retail Sales

Retail in South Miami

According to economist Ted C. Jones, US retail sales and the demand for goods resulted in the freight rates for 20 foot containers from Shanghai to the US to increase approximately 125% in the past 12 months.

Another economist, Elliott Eisenberg PhD, also states that retail sales are terrific and that though we are buying goods online and curbside during the pandemic, it shows that consumer consumption has recovered.

What does that mean for commercial real estate in general and retail space specifically? I think there is a lot of pent up demand for going out, mingling with people, touching, feeling and trying on what people want to buy. With all of the people moving to South Florida, I think retail is going to rebound and will do so quickly. The products and services may change, but people still want an experience when they shop. At least I do!

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Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate Small Business

Happy National Entrepreneur Day!

Downtown Miami

If you live in Florida, you live in one of the top 10 states to start a business.

In WalleHub‘s Best Big Cities For Starting A Business, Miami ranked number three and, with almost 240 startups per 100,000 residents, it is the city with the most number of startups.

Although not for the faint of heart, entrepreneurship offers many rewards and I think South Florida is the place to start a company or investing in real estate, which is entrepreneurial, than in South Florida.

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Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate Restaurants Small Business

Miami Restaurants Should Benefit From Boost in Visitors

Yellowfin Tuna Tostones - Mamey Restaurant
Yellowfin Tuna Tostones – Mamey Restaurant

According to economist Elliot Eisenberg, PhD, “Of the 9.9 million economy wide jobs lost, 2.1 million or 21.2% are in restaurants.”

I am hoping that the jump in air travel to Florida reported on Squawk Box today helps our local restaurants during this holiday season. The temporary zoning changes allowing more outdoor dining options should be a big help.

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Commercial Real Estate Florida Life Investment Real Estate Restaurants Small Business Things To Do

Cauley Square: A Charming Snapshot in South Florida’s History

Caboose at Cauley Square

Built as a result of Henry Flagler’s Railroad, Cauley Square is a charming collection of small businesses. Connected by meandering walkways under a lush tree canopy, it is far from the rowdy place it was in the early 1900’s.

Saved from demolition at two different times by women investors, Mary Anne Ballard in the 1970’s and Frances Varela in 2001, the historic cottages, 10-acre grounds, and fountains, have been beautifully restored. Come spend the day visiting restaurants such as the Tea Room, pictured above, and charming shops that are located throughout the property. It offers such a nice change of pace to the hustle and bustle of everyday life in Miami.

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Coconut Grove Commercial Real Estate Neighborhood News Restaurants Small Business

A Good Pandemic-Related Change

Fuller Street in Coconut Grove Closed To Traffic Open to Outdoor Dining

It may sound strange, but there are several things that resulted from the pandemic that I am grateful for. One of the ones that I hope will stick around is the increase in street narrowing or closing to allow for more outdoor dining. It always struck me as strange that South Florida doesn’t have a lot of outdoor dining. I know summers get hot and sticky and we can get severe thunderstorms, but we also have a lot of beautiful days and evenings that are perfect for outdoor dining.

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Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate Pinecrest

Wild Fork Foods Continues Expansion

Wild Fork Foods Opens More Stores
Wild Fork Foods Opens More Stores

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I had a socially distance dinner with our neighbors on their back patio. Dinner was delicious and when I raved about the meat, they raved about Wild Fork Foods, which had recently opened their Pinecrest location.

I had heard about Wild Fork before, from a foodie friend of mine who also happens to be a great cook. He had told me about their salmon and said he was so impressed by the quality. Now that I had heard about it from two reliable sources, I was ready to go visit a place I had been curious about, since I had seen its storefront in Coral Gables, across from the University of Miami.

Their Pinecrest space is approximately 5,000 square feet, typical of their store size, full of freezers and nicely displayed food options, from plain ingredients up to fully cooked. They have a variety of meat, including some specialty meats, such as alligator, yak and elk. They also have frozen sauces, side dishes, veggies, fruit and desserts. Based on their pricing, strategic locations, quality, and the fact that the pandemic has made people change their shopping habits to go out less frequently and order groceries on-line, I think Wild Fork is going to see success in the Florida market and will continue to expand. If you own a retail center, you may want to consider them as a tenant.