Anita Funtek is the chief executive at the Miami New Construction Show

Every week, we ask a real estate professional for their thoughts on the top trends in real estate. 

This week, we talked with Anita Funtek, CEO at the Miami New Construction Show. 

Miami Agent (MA): What benefits can agents and other industry professionals expect from attending this year’s Miami New Construction Show?

Anita Funtek (AF): Business development leads. Many exhibitors are a cross-section or industry veterans but also start ups looking for traction in the real estate market. Some are launching new products or promoting their company. For agents, the show is a viable alternative to generate leads that drives sales, especially in a competitive market when other revenue streams are stalling or declining. At the MNCS (Miami New Construction Show), agents and salespersons have a captive audience of buyers targeting specific projects and neighborhoods they are already interested in. That’s a lot more productive then chauffeuring clients around town to multiple listings with no tangible results.

MA: If a company or an individual want to exhibit at the show, how can they best prepare so that they can maximize the opportunity?

AF: Bring 25,000 brochures and enough business cards so you don’t run out. Seriously, the show is a unique marketing and networking opportunity for exhibitors. It was not conceived to be like other real estate events that cater exclusively to brokers and sales people, although they are an important segment of the attendees. Visitors are a blend of local, national and international buyers and investors, second home shoppers, real estate professionals, design enthusiasts and, like many of our exhibitors, just about every type of vendor providing services to the industry. The volume of leads generated at the inaugural show stunned everyone, including many exhibitors. There is something for everyone, so our advice to exhibitors is to have their deal books ready and be prepared to ink new clients on the spot.

MA: What are the new construction trends you see taking off in 2016?

AF: Colombian, Panamanian and Bahamian developer projects are competing with developers in Miami as a result of the strong U.S. dollar. Now, U.S. buyers also have the advantage of purchasing stateside. While international buyers are seeing investor units with cheaper construction and downsized square footage for their money, they still don’t want to lower their expectations so they’re saying “let me put my money outside the U.S.” Flight capital investment in Miami continues, but we’ve noticed it’s been a slow summer for agents. Prices in Miami and the Beach are competing with New York prices. We are also seeing a lot more diversification in the product offered, from high-rise towers to mid-and-low-rise boutique projects to multi-family and single-family homes spreading west to areas such as Doral and north to Broward County. For 2016, there’s not much confidence in Downtown Miami and Edgewater. Traffic is so slow on the beach and downtown and infrastructure upgrades are struggling to keep pace with all the construction.

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