Super Bowl mania struck real estate, too: inquiries soared for these luxury condos
Tens of thousands visited Miami for the Super Bowl. But some came for more than The Big Game.
Developers of area luxury condos saw an uptick in inquires. Eight real estate professionals said tour bookings doubled the week before Super Bowl LIV. To kick up interest, a number of properties hosted exclusive events.
“We are in a competitive marketplace,” said Ernesto Cohan, director of sales and marketing for Oceana Bal Harbour. “There are some projects that need more attention than others.”
▪ 57 Ocean
The development team behind the 18-story condo at 5775 Collins Ave. held a dinner party in its onsite sales gallery with guest host and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, said 57 Ocean developer Marcelo Kingston.
Kingston, the managing director for the development firm Multiplan, said 50 people attended the event, including a mix of prospective buyers that frequented the condominium’s webpage or had shared their interest in a unit to the sales team.
There is no shovel in the ground for 72nd and Park yet, but its co-developer Matis Cohen of Kahunah Properties provided daily tours of the surrounding area near the site for the 22-story mixed-use tower in North Beach. Throughout the week, he guided some 40 developers through 15 blocks between Sixty-ninth Street and Seventy-fifth Street. All of the guests came from Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Canada.
“The purpose is to get get them interested in the area for them to know about development opportunities,” Cohen said. “No one project makes a neighborhood.”
Swire Properties held an exclusive dinner for 50 at the Rise condo, co-hosted by GQ staff writer Clay Skipper at the Rise condo.
“Developers are being strategic with their approach to target new buyers with private events, geo-targeting, broker incentives,” wrote Maile Aguila, senior vice president of residential sales for Swire Properties, via email. “We have seen success with intimate events, as they are one of the creative ways that Swire and our sales team connects with potential buyers and brokers and gives them a small taste of the urban lifestyle that awaits them at Reach and Rise Residences at Brickell City Centre.”
The condominium at 10201 Collins Ave. spent more than $4,000 on events, including a Sunday watch party. Homeowners were encouraged to bring friends.
“Birds of the same feather hang together. That’s one way to introduce the building,” said Cohan, the marketing director.
Earlier that week, Cohan said, his team hosted a private open house for select brokers. He provided several tours comprised of four-to-five brokers. Most brokers were based in Miami but a few flew in from New York.
The goal, Cohan said, was “to create awareness.”
In days leading up to Super Bowl, tour requests for the 61-story condominium at 1000 Biscayne Blvd. nearly doubled. The building was designed by the late Pritzker Prize-winner Zaha Hadid.
“On average, brokers see about 30 to 40 inquiries to view a unit or set appointments per day,” said Louis Birdman, the co-developer of One Thousand Museum.. “Those numbers have more than doubled.”
One Thousand Museum also hosted two events Friday for about 200 people.
“Now that the building is complete, we are doing a couple of VIP events,” said Birdman.
Among the pre-game events: a daytime panel for 200 hosted by Dow Jones on sports and media, and another evening event hosted by SuperYachts for 60.
The cost of security and valet,were well worth the exposure, Birdman said. “The profile of the people attending these events we want to expose them to One Thousand Museum because they are the similar profile of buyer of One Thousand Museum.”
The condominium allowed celebrities and influencers to stay for free at some of the building’s available units, said Dan Kodsi, the project’s developer and CEO of Royal Palms Companies.
Two NFL-affiliated organizations hosted their celebrations in the 7th floor sky lounge of the 60-story tower at 1010 NE Second Ave.
Thursday, former coach Mike Ditka and Ron “Jaws” Jaworski hosted a cigar party, Stars Super Bowl Party 2020. Friday Thuzio, a sports marketing firm, hosted a welcome party with more than 20 professional athletes in attendance. Residents and their guests had access to the invitation-only events.
▪ Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach
The recently completed Ritz-Carlton Residences on Miami Beach at 4701 Meridian Ave. is hoping some high fliers will stick around post-game.
On the 7 1/2-plus acre project will host about 400 guests to tour select areas of the condominium.
“We know a lot of prospective buyers will be in town,” said Ophir Sternberg, CEO and founding partner of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach development firm Lionheart Capital.
Sternberg sees the most interest in the condo luxury market in a long time. He believes that it’s tax flight, not the Super Bowl, that is drawing most of the attention for potential buyers to Miami.
“New Yorkers were talking about moving to South Florida and finally people are pulling the trigger,” Sternberg said.
On an average week, 20 to 25 guests tour the Turnberry Ocean Club’s sales gallery, said Jim Cohen, president of residential development for Fontainebleau Development. The week of Super Bowl, Cohen said, “We saw 20 to 25 guests per day.”
Guests came from California, along the east coast and other countries, Cohen said.
But, Cohen said, “It didn’t take the Super Bowl to get them here.”
He credits the attention to the nearly completed 54-story project at 18501 Collins Ave. to several factors, including the building expected to be completed by May and tax flight from high income-tax states.
More sales will close, Cohen said, for people on the fence. “Now, they are here it is decision time. They don’t want to come back a year from now; they want to take the final look and make their decision now.”
This story was originally published February 3, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
