I WORK AS A BROKER ON SOUTH BEACH SINCE SEVERAL YEARS NOW.I HAVE SEEN THIS AREA BECOMING WHAT IT IS NOW, A MARVELLOUS PLACE TO LIVE WITH PARKS, SCHOLLS ,MARINA AND BEACHES .RESTAURANTS AND CLUBS ARE THE NICEST ON SOUTH BEACH.AND VERY SOON WE WILL HAVE THE NEW DANY DE VITO RESTAURANT OPENING ON OCEAN DRIVE.SOME REAL GOOD DEALS ARE COMING OUT IN THE BUILDINGS AND I AM AWARE OF ALL OF THEM. 06/04/2007

Apogee really just Blows me AWAY.  Having seen many a luxury condo here in Miami Beach and South Beach, I am really not easily impressed.  But I am just in AWE of this luxury condo property.Apogee is the crown jewel of Jorge Perez's Related Group.  Apogee is the most expensive per unit project, Perez has done in his 25 year history. Apogee offers the most technologically advanced residences in all of South Florida. There are only four residences per each floor, and each residences has it's own elevator. Apogee is a 2.88 acre site with 500 linear feet of unobstructed bayfront views."Smart Lifestyle" technology includes keyless, fingerprint door entry, AMX interactive smart panel with access to valet, spa, pool, concierge and security.  Lutron Wireless lighting system. I'd be opting for t... 04/28/2007

Real estate is rewarding.  I like my job.  Sometimes, though, I get frustrated with my clients when they won't let me perform to the best of my ability. For example, I once listed a spectacular Penthouse here in Miami Beach.  Against my better judgment, we list the property at a price that I know is waaaay too high, of $3,800,000.  We immediately get an offer for $3,000,000.  Of course the owner is appalled at the "lowball offer".  I try to reason with him, to let him know that we should be seriously considering this offer.  I present him with all of the comps and the rationale for my thinking, but I just can't get through to my seller client. When you hire a professional to assist you in the sale of your home, do your best to take advantage of all that professional has to offer you.  W... 04/25/2007

Yesterday, an agent from Ft. Lauderdale showed some of my listings here in Miami Beach.  I must admit whenever I get a request from an out-of-area broker, I know I'm in trouble.  I won't drone on about the specifics, but I will tell you that on a Saturday afternoon she was 30 minutes late, HAD NO IDEA what she was showing AND worse yet, had no idea what HER CLIENT was looking for. It was clear from the moment that her client stepped into the condo, that this was not for him.  The agent started to 'needle' me about the neighborhood specifics, because she didn't know herself.  I decided to cut to the chase and ask HER what her client was looking for.  Long story short, he was looking for something completely different and in a different location. After looking around the condo, the client... 04/22/2007

I have a client who is in the business of buying companies for a very large company in NYC.  When I was working with him, I of course, asked him tons of questions about what he does for a living.  Basically, the first part of his job is doing due diligence on the company that his client is interested in.  This is real BIG-TIME stuff!  So by nature he is an information seeker and gatherer.  His motto, and I have 'annexed it' as well, is 'TRUST BUT VERIFY'. I love to have an arsenal of information (checklists) to reference for everyone I deal with, from my lady who handles all my investments, to my web developer, my accountant and so forth.  I received an e-mail from the IRS about two months ago inviting me to sign up for an 'IRS e-news for Small Businesses'. In today's timely e-mail was ... 04/18/2007

Trendy, fashionable and sophisticated are three words that can describe South Beach living.  Famous for its beach, shops, restaurants and nightlife, South Beach features luxurious and breath-taking waterfront properties along North Bay Road, Sunset Islands I - IV, and along the Venetian Causeway.  Prices range from $150,000 up to $25 Million. 04/11/2007

Miami and the surrounding islands offer a unique and distincitive communities with upscale waterfront and non-waterfront amenities and lifestyles designed to fit everyone's needs. Ocean, Bay, Canal and Intracoastal properties are found in many communities and in a great variety of price ranges.  Neighborhoods such as South Beach, Palm Island, Star and Hibiscus Islands, the Venetian islands, Normandy Island, Eastern Shores, Golden Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, Bal Harbour, Cocoplum, Gables Estates, Coconut Grove and Pinecrest, among others, offer numerous opportunities to purchase properties ranging in prices from $400,000 to over $50,000,000. 04/11/2007

The “mother” of all penthouses is now premiering at ICON South Beach.  Three levels, private indoor elevator, massive private rooftop with pool, private 7-car parking garage, 360-degree views of South Beach from the 41st, 42nd and 43rd floors.  All privat e and all yours.  Estimated 10,000 sf indoors and 7000 sf outdoors.  Ready for a custom build-out, create your own masterpiece.  Shown strictly by appointment.  You will never find a greater penthouse, anywhere.  Listing by Zilbert Realty Group - View the Listing Sheet here Searching for more Miami Condos and Penthouses?  Visit www.Miami.condoDomain.com You can have it today for an even $15,500,000 (but I am sure they will take $15M for it!)  Source: Condo Blog  02/27/2007

Call any time Toll free at 1-888-38-DREAM/37326 to chat Miami & the Beaches local market conditions. Now is an ideal time to buy in Miami Beach! WHY? Great inventory, low interest rates (for those who need financing) and some very motivated seller's.This current South Beach market is still growing and is a great place to invest for the long-term. With very limited space, the exciting nightlife scene, incredible outdoor activities & restaurants, the Performing Arts Center (PAC) in Downtown, American Airlines Arena (Miami Heat games,concerts) the Financial District of Brickell and the Amazing Beaches, make this a very desirable place to live. Panoramic Ocean, Bay & Cruise ship views entertain from luxury high-rises and waterfront homes. Our South Beach market is surprisingly still underva... 02/24/2007

The Miami Beach Arts Festival 2007 is happening right now and it's sponsored by none other than Coldwell Banker - February 10th and 11th at Ocean Terrace, between 73rd and 75th Street.  The Arts Festival is packed with booths where artists from all over showcase their talent.  From painting, to sculpture, ceramics, photography and even jewelry.  There's also great food, a great atmosphere and we could not have asked for better weather.  Coldwell Banker's booth was full of great give-aways from balloons to backpacks to even RICK AND INES soft, stretchable Frisbees for the kids.  Here you can see Rick in action.Here are some more photographs of the event, depicting the people, artists as well as Miami Beach.    We had such a great time today and it doesn't hurt that the festival was fille... 02/10/2007

In Miami Beach from December 7th-10th - Miami Beach Convention CenterThis is an incredible opportunity to see ART, ART, ART!!!  Art like you have never seen before.  From a portrait of Jacqueline Picasso, which has not been displayed over 40 years worth over $4.5 million, to a 2,000 lb black marble statue by Henry Moore worth about $11.5 million, to Miros, Chagalls, Margrittes, Jackson Pollocks....just to name a few.  The most incredible exhibitions that take your breath away.    Courtesy MCH Swiss Exhibition (Basel/Zurich) AGArt Basel Miami Beach is an international art show and is the sister event of Art Basel in Switzerland, "the most important annual show worldwide for the past 37 years". It's a new type of cultural event which combines an art show, special exhibitions, parties and ... 12/05/2006

The average high is 90 and low temperature is 59. Miami Beach has a lot to offer. We have beautiful beaches, restaurants, shopping and activities year round. Miami Beach is made up of 56,584 households with a total residence count of 114,151. The median income in Miami Beach is $34,973 and the median age is 40.53. The single family market in Miami Beach consists of 381 Active listings ranging in price from $369,111 to a high of $22,000,000. Closed sales since January 1, 2006 are 91 and pending sales are 29. The market has changed a lot in one years time.The Condo, townhomes and villas market in Miami Beach consists of 3644 Active listings ranging in price from $56,000 to a high of $29,000,000. Closed sales since January 1, 2006 are 913 and pending sales are 275. The condo market has see... 11/09/2006

I've written a couple of blogs about local, South Florida, content and each time it leads to a different post.  From shopping in Miami, to MOCA, to the New Performing Arts Center in Miami. This time, prompted by Eric Bouler's comment "You will have to do another on places to eat", I decided to write about an exquisite experience Rick and I had last weekend. It was Sunday night, the babysitter was in place (Rick's mom:  Thank you Joyce).  Our last business meeting was at 9:30 PM (talk about having priorities messed up), and we decided to take a trip to The Shore Club, which was recommended by a dear friend. The Shore Club is a hotel located in Miami Beach and is part of the Morgan's Hotel Group (The Delano is part of the same chain).  You come into an exquisite lobby with sleek Terrazzo ... 11/07/2006

Welcome to the very first DOWNLOADABLE Real Estate Listing Directory of it's kind, Podcast Realty®!       Podcast Realty® is the VERY FIRST, ORIGINAL and ONLY searchable real estate listing directory with downloadable audio listing descriptions as Podcasts and videocasts since 2004. This is combined with digital photography, virtual tours and even video podcasts. Now, knowing what's available to buy, sell or rent anywhere in the world has been made even easier. You can now download, listen and even view real estate listing descriptions as described by the listing agents themselves on your computer anytime at your convenience. If you can download a song into your iPod, or any listening device you prefer, you can download our listings. We are now featured in iTunes and many other downloa... 10/27/2006

I wrote a post called Architecture in Real Estate some time back that did not get much attention from the Active Rain Community.  But from there Dave Rosenmarkle suggested the idea of offering “a series of short blogs about types of architecture”.  So thank you Dave, here is my first attempt at enlightening our AR friends, with a style that hits close to home, since we have the largest compilation of Art Deco Architecture worldwide, right here in The Historic Miami Beach Art Deco District.  Hope you find this helpful and let me know if any of you would like to hear about other “styles”, and I promise that if I don’t know enough, I will not mind doing the research.  Also please keep in mind that I am truly simplifying and hope not to do injustice to the historical period represented.    ... 10/26/2006