Morris Massre is a Realtor with Fortune International Real Estate

The South Florida real estate market has taken a turn for the worse since its collapse in 2006. The inventory consists of an overwhelming majority of short sales and foreclosures that by now only investors are interested in. And where are they investing all of their money?

Downtown Miami seems to be the hot spot right now, especially Brickell Ave. Foreigners, such as Brazilian investors, are buying up condos in the area by the boatload. And these units are not cheap; they are actually quite expensive, but this is where the market is trending.

Think about it. With gas prices through the roof, commutes and traffic getting longer and longer and families shrinking in size, it only makes sense that buyers are making their way to America’s downtown areas. Investors know this because they are leasing most of these units to renters who work downtown and want to be close to the action and save money on gas.

There is more to do in downtown Miami today than ever. I harken back to the 1940s era, when everything centered around Flagler St. For a time, everyone moved to the suburbs and downtowns died, including Miami Beach, which at one point pretty much became an old folks home. Case in point: just watch the beginning of the movie “Scarface” with the drug deal gone bad on Miami Beach. You will notice there is not a soul in the streets. This has changed drastically.

Now, living downtown is considered vogue. Imagine leaving your condo in the morning by foot to go to work. Then, eating lunch at a café nearby. After work you stop by a local grocery or café for dinner on your way back home. After decompressing, you walk to the gym for a workout, change and head to one of many bars and clubs to meet up with your friends. You really have no reason to leave anymore.

As a Realtor, that is the direction where you should be pointing your clients to purchase. Prices are much lower now and at this point you can still buy at pre-sale prices in a lot of buildings like Paramount Bay, Flagler First, and Icon Brickell. And the best part is that most of these developments are paying upward of 7 percent commission to agents. Whether you choose to live there as a primary or to rent as an investor,  you have nothing to lose by comparison with a single family home in Dade or Broward County, because the prices of these homes have not even begun to stabilize yet. If anything, you may be looking at 2015 before the market comes back to pre-crash prices. Even then they will not be anything like what sellers are used to.

This trend is not just happening here, but all over downtowns across the country, as well. And it will continue too as long as gas prices stay where they are now and downtowns keep improving. I can cite several examples of downtowns that have turned the corner and made extraordinary comebacks, including Tampa, Fla., Omaha, Neb., and Columbia, S.C. These were all dead and buried not too long ago, but have made remarkable comebacks.

Do not be afraid to take your clients to these downtown areas to show property, because in the end, you will sell and rent these condos so long as you do your homework. When a buyer hears downtown, negative images are conjured up in their mind, but once you take them on a tour of Miami, for instance, they can see the changes and activities first hand, such as the opera house, American Airlines Arena and Bayside. It is imperative, however, that you educate your buyers as to the value and future of buying downtown, because most do not stop when they are there or are not even from there.

Most, if not all, of these condos are offering free tours and grand openings to Realtors, and it is a good idea to take advantage of them. Just today I attended the pre-sale tour of Paramount Bay on Biscayne, a new luxury building designed by musician Lenny Kravitz. While there I took pictures and videos and met with a salesperson so that I had a contact when the time came to view with a customer.

For more information on these new developments you can also visit my website at www.myfloridarealty.net

Morris Massre is a Realtor in South Florida with Fortune International Real Estate. He can be reached at:

agentsunstate@gmail.com

www.myfloridarealty.net

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