Hooray for Hollywood!
South Florida real estate market showing signs of recovery
HOLLYWOOD BEACH, FLA.— The real estate tide is showing signs of turning in South Florida
While average property prices did not show any increase in 2011, Susan Scelfo, an agent for The Keyes Co. Realtors based in Hollywood, expects that to change. Especially for waterfront properties as the inventory of oceanfront Hollywood homes and condominiums for sale has dropped by about 50 to 60 per cent in the last year.
The demand is fuelled by foreign investors, mainly from Brazil and Russia, who are snapping up Hollywood beachfront properties at rock bottom prices.
“It’s crazy, we don’t have enough listings to meet the demand,” says Scelfo, who has been selling real estate in Hollywood for 16 years.
While Canadian snowbirds are also buying up “everything” from mobile homes to high-end oceanfront condos, a popular development with Canadians is across the Sheridan St. bridge from the beach, where condominiums can be picked up for a 30 to 60 per cent discount from the peak prices of 2006 and 2007, says Scelfo.
One example is a two-bedroom, two-bath condo listed at $139,000 (all prices U.S.) and located less than two kilometres from the beach and less than a kilometre from the Kolb Nature preserve.
“These homes are much more affordable and offer the best bargain because you can just walk over the bridge to the beach and they are in an immaculately kept complex,” says Scelfo.
According to the real estate watchdog site Zillow, similar units were priced at more than $270,000 in 2006. While there are even lower prices for Hollywood condos listed on Trulia (www.trulia.com), Scelfo cautions that many low-priced units are in older buildings in dire need of updating. Summer Greene, the president of Florida Realtors, is also optimistic. “Florida’s economy is continuing to strengthen, which is good news,” said Greene, regional manager of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Florida 1st in Fort Lauderdale.
Atotal of 87,581units sold in Florida in 2011, a gain of 15 per cent compared to 76,209 units sold in 2010. The statewide existing condo median price in 2011 was $88,300; it was $90,000 in 2010 for a 2 per cent decrease.
Scelfo cautions that one unknown factor is the number of foreclosed Florida homes that have not yet hit the market.
Florida banks — that once offered subprime, 100 per cent mortgages — are now cautious. “Many are not giving mortgages in South Florida, so most of our sales are cash transactions,” says Scelfo.
Deep-pocket purchasers at the Trump Hollywood didn’t appear to hold back in 2011as they snapped up 120 of the 200 units in the 41-storey, beachfront tower for a total of more than $176 million.
Greg Freedman, a partner in BH3, the company that took over the building after sales faltered following the market collapse in 2008, says that the Trump Hollywood has been a hot item with buyers from Brazil, as well as with buyers from Canada and New York.
The Trump Hollywood is not a hotel, but there is a concierge who looks after the residents
“Residents can enjoy all of South Florida’s dining, shopping and cultural hot spots, but then return here to their own quiet, secluded paradise,” says Freedman.
While the interior of the newly opened Trump International Hotel and Tower in Toronto is described by the Toronto Star’s Christopher Hume as “glitz, slickness and conspicuous consumption,” that’s not the case at the Trump Hollywood.
The expansive lobby and other common areas of the Trump here are designed by Toronto’s Yabu Pushelberg (www.yabupushelberg.com) and the feel is understated sophistication. There’s a similar feel to the model suites, which were designed by Interiors by Steven G. (www.interiorsbysteveng.com) to have an upscale modern feel.
The only connection that business magnate Donald Trump has with Trump Hollywood is that he licensed the use of his name for marketing purposes.
For those who can afford a price tag that starts at $1.4 million and tops out at more than $3 million, a Trump Hollywood condo comes with more than 3,000 square feet of living space, a private elevator and a location that overlooks the ocean in one direction and the Intercoastal Waterway in the other.
The Trump Hollywood is not a hotel, but there is a concierge who looks after residents’ every need and will order in food from one of the area’s upscale restaurants or arrange for a chef to come in and prepare dinner.
Ask any realtor if now is the time for Canadians to buy Florida real estate and they can’t give you a definitive answer, but with the Canadian dollar close to parity against the U.S. dollar, it’s tempting, especially when it’s 26C in Florida and there’s a blizzard in Toronto.
For information on Trump Hollywood call 954-925-4447 or go to www.trumphollywood.com. Email Scelfo at suscelfo@bellsouth.net or call her at 954-895-0447 Roberta Avery is a freelance writer who specializes in new homes and condominiums for sale in cottage/ski country and sun destinations. Email her at robertamavery@gmail.com.