As predicted by Baum+Whiteman, experts at creating destination-dining attractions, 2018 has been the year for plant-based dining and Miami is no exception. Ranked number nine on PETA’s 2018 Top Ten Vegan Cities, Miami has a diversity of vegan restaurants.
In addition to the more informal dining options such as Choices, Eden and Eden, and Glam Vegan, there are some pretty upscale options as well. Plant at Sacred Space is one of my favorites and you can’t beat the beautiful location.
Since Food and Beverage continue to be the retail darling in many centers, if you are a landlord looking to bring traffic to your space, or if you have a unique setting, consider a restaurant such as one of these top vegan restaurants in Miami as a tenant.
As reported in Vizzda’s Quarterly Report For South Florida Commercial Real Estate, the total dollar amount of multi-family sales in Miami-Dade County rose to $232,943,000 in the second quarter of 2018, up from $196,115,503 in the first quarter. This is approximately half of the $462,372,302 worth of sales in the second quarter of 2017.
The largest transaction was for Sundance Village Apartments, a 304 unit complex at 11325 NW 7 St., which closed for $65,600,000 or approximately $215,789 per unit.
What will third quarter activity look like? Stay tuned for our next report or subscribe to our blog, so you don’t miss it. Mill Creek Residential just closed on a 127 unit apartment complex in Dania Beach for $37.2 million. Will it make the top 5 list of largest transactions in 3Q2018?
Affordability has become a real estate hot topic over the last several years and is going to continue to be one for at least the next 5 years. As both millennials and baby boomers age, their demand on residential and commercial real estate are driving up prices at a time when incomes are close to stagnant and definitely not keeping pace with rising construction and real estate prices.
With boomers living longer and opting to age in place and millennials’ ability to work remotely due to advances in technology, cities and states that remain affordable to these two age groups should fare well and be considered for potential investment properties.
In Florida, some of the cities that have made “affordable best of” lists include:
Although not all of Miami is affordable, according to Zillow the median home price in Miami-Dade County is $296,400, so there are pockets where both residential and commercial real estate is more affordable than in the higher priced areas, better known areas of the county. These pockets still have room for appreciation over the next 5-10 years.
In a sign of Florida’s continued attraction as a place to visit, live, work and invest, the National and Miami Association of Realtors 2017 Profile of International Activity states that foreign buyers purchased $153 billion of residential properties last year, approximately $50 billion more than in 2016. Though purchases were made throughout the U.S., Florida, Texas, California, New Jersey and Arizona accounted for 54% of the sales.
Out of Florida’s $24.2 billion of residential purchases by international buyers, South Florida accounted for $7.1 billion. Although the majority of these buyers were from South America, France and Italy were also in the top buying countries followed by Canada, Israel, Mexico, Russia and Switzerland. Increasing the diversity of South Florida’s population is great news and great for business! The top purchasing country in Miami-Dade was Venezuela 12%, in Broward it was Canada also with 12%, and in Palm Beach County Canada accounted for 31% of all international purchases.
Coconut Grove has been experiencing yet another revitalization. It has been through at least three cycles of boom to gloom since I moved here in the early 1990’s but, thanks to the commercial property owners, who formed the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District and agreed to tax themselves, this boom feels different. Why? Because the Coconut Grove BID has worked hard to create a community by taking on projects and neighborhood improvements that the City of Miami was not able or was unwilling to. From fixing sidewalks, trimming trees, and sponsoring three free community yoga classes a week through Dharma Studio, the BID has made the Grove a hangout for locals and tourists alike.
Popular Spill Over Restaurant
Since the BID formed in 2009, new restaurants such as Lokal and Spill Over, both by Matthew Kushner, Glass and Vine by Giorgio Rapicavoli, Strada, and Atchana’s to mention a few have moved in and prospered. SapientRazorfish, one of the largest interactive advertising companies in the world, moved into the Shops at Mayfair and Cocowalk is getting a much needed redesign and tenant mix. Any evening or weekend you can stroll through the shops, parks and restaurants and see the vibrant diversity of this popular neighborhood. If you like what you see, thank the commercial property owners and their BID!
Consumer Spending at Luxury Retailers – Miami Design District
It seems like you couldn’t open a newspaper or business journal in 2017 without the headlines screaming, “Retail Is Dead“. There are lists of store closures for 2018 and many large retailers are on those lists. Toys R Us, Macy’s and The Gap are just a few that are closing stores and more companies will probably be added as the economy continues to improve but companies fail to adapt to the changing retail landscape.
E-commerce, demographics and consumer tastes are all contributing to the shift in, not death of, retail. As Arden Karson, Senior Managing Director of South Florida for CBRE, emphasized in her presentation at the 2018 CCIM Commercial Real Estate Outlook Conference, it isn’t that the consumer isn’t spending, or if they are they are only spending online, but rather that consumer spending is shifting. In what she calls an economic bifurcation, where consumers are shopping at luxury retailers, such as Louis Vitton, and discount retailers, such as Home Goods, consumers are shunning the department stores. Guess who makes up a large part of the closing lists? Yep, department stores.
As to whether or not Amazon will be the final nail in the coffin to brick and mortar retail, according to eMarketer Amazon accounts for 4% of online sales. Although online sales as a percent of consumer spending are increasing, they account for approximately 10% of retail sales and a lot of those sales are multi-channel, such as ordering online and picking up at the store or ordering online and then returning in the store. My experience with a lululemon gift from my husband is a great example of how shoppers are changing how they shop.
Lululemon Creates A Great Customer Experience
I love lululemon workout clothes so my thoughtful husband ordered me new running pants and a top as a gift. They were perfect, except the top was too large. Instead of packing up the top, printing out the return label, taking it to the UPS store to return, tracking the return and the credit, and then ordering another top that hopefully fit, I will be returning it to my nearest lululemon store, where I will try on tops to make sure they fit. So is retail dead? I don’t think so. The retailers that are doing well are adapting to what the consumer wants by making the entire purchasing process a pleasant experience. Today’s consumer is more interested in the shopping experience than in shopping itself and they share that experience, whether or good or bad, online.
If you haven’t been to the Miami Design District lately and still need a 2018 New Year’s resolution, here is an easy one. Go visit the Miami Design District. It is so Miami! In case you need more reasons than that, here are 5:
Interesting architecture – Okay, between Miami Beach’s art deco district and an abundance of starchitect buildings Miami is full of interesting architecture. However, in the Miami Design District just about every single building is interesting. Some have textured exteriors, others vivid colors or geometric designs. No two buildings are alike and unlike some areas of South Florida that crave and even demand uniformity, the Miami Design District is definitely outside of that box.
Christian Louboutin– Miami Design District
Plenty of public art – If the architecture isn’t enough to keep you entertained as you explore, there are public art installations sprinkled throughout the district.
Carole Feuerman Sculpture – photo credit: House & Hive
Unique stores, shops, and restaurants in addition to the luxury brand names. If small, local, independent shops appeal to you, don’t let the concentration of luxury, brand name designer shops fool you. There are plenty of small delightful stores and restaurants with a variety of products that you won’t find elsewhere. The spaces themselves are inviting and the people that I met manning them were helpful, charming and friendly.
Roses et Pivoines
Institute of Contemporary Art It is free! A generous gift to Miami’s entire community by Miami Design District Associates, who donated the majority of the land, and Norman and Irma Braman, ICA is a bright, open space with installations sure to get you thinking and an outside sculpture garden perfect for selfies.
The art starts on the outside of ICA MIAMI
Great public spaces to sit and chat, people watch, or enjoy our beautiful weather – the sculpture garden at ICA, the walls around the various planters and water fountains and the meeting bowls are just a few places to grab a seat. If sitting around is not active enough for you, come up with creative videos to post on #MeetingBowls. For inspiration, click on the link below.
Meeting Bowls – A Public Art Project (and meeting space!) by mmmm…
If you are a landlord signing new leases in 2018, remember that the state sales tax on commercial leases has dropped from 6% to 5.8%. As a result, the sales tax rate in Miami-Dade County will drop to 6.8% and in Broward it will drop to 5.8%. Although the drop in rate may not sound like much, it amounts to an estimated $60 million a year savings to businesses.
Florida is the only state in the nation that charges a sales tax on all commercial leases and Florida Realtors, Florida Chamber, International Council of Shopping Centers, Florida Ports Council, and many others have been working diligently to get the tax reduced in order to keep Florida competitive with other states. The sales tax is levied on all businesses leases, large and small, regardless of profitability and therefore disproportionally affects small businesses and start ups. Florida Realtors will continue to work with legislators to get the tax on leases reduced further.
Though the pace of commercial real estate transactions in South Florida has slowed down a bit, Miami continues to rack up big sales with the recent purchase of The Conrad Brickell Hotel for $72 million by Mast Capital and Angelo, Gordon and Company. The 203-room hotel will be managed by HEI Hotels & Resorts, it’s first property in Miami. At a time when the number of hotel rooms has outpaced demand, this purchase shows that experienced investors believe in the long term viability of Miami as an investment. Both Mast Capital and Angelo, Gordon, and Company like to purchase value-add properties and it will be interesting to see if they hold onto it or sell it once the planned renovation is completed.
Ten-X’s U.S. Retail Market Outlook listed the top five markets for investors to consider buying retail real estate. Three out of those five were Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. Robust employment and increasing population in all three cities are pushing the demand for retail space in all of their respective counties.
