June 26, 2017 : From the Real Deal | Top developers mix it up | Market Overview
July 7, 2017MARKET OVERVIEW After a dismal 2016, condo developers were ready to put the year behind them. The election, the strong dollar, political instability in key Latin American markets — it all sounded like a broken record.
To make matters worse, the first quarter of 2017, which the industry had hoped would prove a turning point, instead revealed an accelerated slowdown.
South Florida’s condo developers are increasingly holding off on launch dates, extending timelines and even canceling projects. But these head honchos of real estate are not sitting idly by. The region’s top developers are shifting their attention from condos to multifamily and commercial development.
That means recent announcements haven’t been as sexy as those earlier in the cycle, with constant news of massive towers with luxury amenities and eye-popping price tags; instead, a steady stream of updates features a mix of projects more attuned to the current market.
In June, the Verzasca Group announced plans to build a luxury apartment tower on an Edgewater site originally intended for condos.
The Melo Group is also focusing on rental buildings — nine of its 12 projects this cycle are multifamily.
Property Markets Group has yet to make progress on the condo component of its 300 Biscayne Boulevard site in downtown Miami, but construction is moving quickly for its Vice apartment tower on the same property.
Miami-based Terra Group has ramped up its commercial development in Coconut Grove, Pembroke Pines, Doral and other suburban neighborhoods while laying off any new condo buildings.
And even condo king Jorge Pérez’s Related Group is moving fast on non-condo fronts, including affordable housing, mixed-use projects, rentals and more. As condo sales continued to slow this year, Related is breaking ground on two Wynwood rental projects, recently completed CityPlace Doral and is in talks with the city of Coral Gables for a massive mixed-use project that would be a public/private partnership.
Related has more than 9,500 condo units in the pipeline — proposed, planned, under construction or completed — since this cycle began in 2011. The firm leads The Real Deal’s ranking of the top 25 condo developers by units by more than four times the runner-up, JDS Development Group.
Source The Real Deal | Read Full Article : https://therealdeal.com/miami/issues_articles/top-developers-mix-it-up/