President-elect Donald Trump (credit: Getty Images)

Housing is already too expensive for the droves of would-be buyers that are shopping in a market with limited inventory.

This so-called “new housing crisis” may worsen under the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, according to some housing economists.

Trump said little about housing policy during his campaign, according to Matthew Pointon, property economist at Capital Economics. However, he proposed to loosen mortgage lending standards in a speech to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in August.

“Twenty-five percent of the cost of a home is due to regulation,” Trump said, according to the NAHB. “I think we should get that down to about 2 percent.”

Of course, what presidential candidates say on the campaign trail and what they end up doing after winning don’t always match.

But in this scenario, banks could loosen lending standards and lower the credit scores required to qualify for mortgages, Pointon said in a note Wednesday. This would boost mortgage lending in the short term, and give more people a pillar of the American dream: homeownership.

However, it could have ugly effects down the road.

“The higher demand for homes would push up house prices, and pretty soon the next generation would find themselves struggling to qualify for sufficient mortgage finance,” Pointon said. “And, as we learned just a few years’ ago, loosening lending standards can lead to dangerous housing and credit bubbles, which cause real damage when they eventually pop.”

Ralph McLaughlin, Trulia’s chief economist, said homebuyers in economically healthy Democratic states could be discouraged about the future of the US economy, and become less interested in making big purchases. In economically stagnant Republican states, however, homebuyers confidence and demand may rise.

He said investors are buying US mortgage-backed securities as a safe-haven asset, pushing down yields, and reflecting confidence in the relative safety of the housing market.

“Furthermore, the Fed is likely to delay a December rate hike because of global economic turmoil,” McLaughlin said in a note. “Both effects mean short term win for borrowers, and we’ll likely see an increase in mortgage refinancing if rates continue to plummet.”

Jonathan Smoke, the chief economist at Realtor.com, did not see Trump any immediate effect on the housing market.

“Because our November elections come at one of the slowest time of the year for sales, it’s unlikely we will see much disruption to the normal seasonal pattern,” he said in a note.

“However, if the outcome has a big impact on financial markets that lasts more than a few days, we could see some disruption beyond the usual seasonal decline. Unfortunately we don’t have a comparable period in history with good data to draw any sharper conclusions.”

Rendering of Turnberry Ocean Club. Inset: Jeff Soffer

Updated, 4:40 p.m., Nov. 9: Originally set to break ground in the spring, Turnberry Associates will begin construction next week on Turnberry Ocean Club, a luxury condo tower in Sunny Isles Beach. 

The developer, led by Turnberry co-chairman Jeffrey Soffer, is in talks with lenders for construction financing for the 154-unit, 650-foot tall condo tower, a spokesperson told The Real Deal. Soffer said in a statement that the number of new development projects, coupled with challenges of building a condo tower like his Sunny Isles Beach project affected construction timing.

Units at Turnberry Ocean Club, planned for 18501 Collins Avenue, start at $3.9 million and range from three to six bedrooms. The building hit 40 percent sales, up from the 30 percent reported in July. Buyers hail from Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Northeast, sales director Nikol Solares said.

The project opened a satellite office in Manhattan to continue to tap into that market and is registered in New York. One Sotheby’s International Realty is handling sales. Through a partnership with One Sotheby’s Corcoran Group broker Mike Fabbri, will handle on-the-ground sales in New York.

The all-glass building is being designed by Carlos Zapata, Robert Swedroe, Jan Clausen and EDSA. Amenities, which total about 70,000 square feet, include three lounge areas, three private dining areas, six floors of amenities, thirty-one ocean view cabanas and three swimming pools. Units will have balconies that are 11 feet deep, according to a press release.

Turnberry plans to complete its expansion of Aventura Mall by next year, and is also part of the joint venture building SoLe Mia in North Miami.

Hank Klein and photos from his book

Hank Klein, vice chairman of Blanca Commercial Real Estate in Miami and a leading figure in South Florida’s commercial real estate sector for more than three decades, recently published a book entitled “Miami, Real and Imagined,” a collection of 200 photos and enhanced images of iconic Miami scenes.

Klein used a Panasonic camera with a Leica lens to shoot the Freedom Tower, palm trees, local animals, parks, plants and other subjects around the city. He produced high-quality photos and then transformed them into images with brilliant, sometimes psychedelic colors and rich textures using digital photo editing.

Klein’s interest in photography goes back to the 1960s, when he was a staff photographer for The Miami News. At the paper, he took photos of The Beatles’ visit to Miami, President Harry Truman’s trips to Key West and Muhammad Ali’s training sessions in Miami Beach (when he was known as Cassius Clay).  Later, he became a staff photographer at the University of Miami. But Klein gave up his photography career in his thirties when he began working in the Miami real estate market.

Photos from the book

His colorful new book was not just a whim. It was a product of Klein’s multi-year battle to overcome a debilitating stroke that left him severely incapacitated in 2012 and forced him to put his real estate activities on hold. After a fall, a bone chip blocked the blood flow to Klein’s brain, leaving him unable to read, write or speak. He began taking photos again as he progressively recovered from the stroke.

A key player in developing new business and arranging major deals in Miami real estate, Klein joined Blanca Commercial Real Estate after serving as executive director for business development at Cushman & Wakefield of Florida. Earlier, he was vice chairman at Flagler Realty Services/Codina Group, and president and CEO of Codina Bush Klein Realty, the brokerage subsidiary of the Codina Group, managing four offices and 35 commercial brokers across South Florida.

The commercial real estate executive spoke to The Real Deal about his recovery and his new book during breakfast at a Coral Gables restaurant.

How did the stroke affect you in 2012?

“It was devastating, but it had nothing to do with my heart. It was caused by the fall. I was in the hospital for 17 days and I was close to death. After I left the hospital, I had intensive therapy for six months. Now I go for therapy six hours a week – four hours for speech and two hours for physical therapy.  

For awhile I could hardly speak. I couldn’t write. Reading and watching television were very confusing. When my wife and I went out to dinner with friends, conversations were just a jumble. The words didn’t mean anything.

Now, I’m close to 95-97 percent recovered from my stroke, but it took years of hard work. I owe that miracle to rediscovering photography.

Why did you decide to start taking photos again after so many years?

“As I was recovering, I would sit at home or on the beach and stare off into the distance. Sometimes I’d listen to music on my iPhone. I started taking pictures with the phone, and I was amazed at what you could do with it, using different apps. Then I bought a Panasonic LUMIX with a Leica lens and I started shooting wherever we went. We traveled to the Amazon River, the Galapagos Islands, Alaska and other places. In May of this year, I went to Cuba for five days and shot over 1,000 photos. Photography helped me reinvent myself as an artist.”

And you use apps to change your photos, to enhance them?

“I became a TD – a technological dude. I use my camera and iPad to apply all sorts of apps and filters that enhance colors and change and enhance textures. The book shows photos, and next to them, the enhanced images I developed. I’ll make eight to 10 alternative versions of a photo and then choose one. I’m always searching for new subjects and new ways to enhance my photos.

And your book of photos evolved from these new skills you learned?

“I took photos all over Miami-Dade and decided to put them together in the book. I’m the world’s best manipulator of images.”

Dan Kodsi, Shahab Karmely, Don Peebles and Jules Trump with Donald Trump in the background

As South Florida dealt with the stunning results of the presidential election, Miami’s real estate industry looked toward the future, mostly with optimism. For developers and brokers, a Donald Trump presidency is good for business, they told The Real Deal.

Developer Jules Trump sees a the president-elect as a boon to South Florida’s real estate market, at a time of volatility of the stock market and the decline in foreign currencies. “It sort of reinforces the belief that most of our buyers of real estate have, that long-term your safest investment is in high quality real estate,” he said,

The developer of Acqualina, Mansions at Acqualina and the upcoming Estates at Acqualina in Sunny Isles Beach, expects to see a business-friendly administration. 

“You have a president who comes out of the real estate business, and whatever anyone may say about him, he is clearly an accomplished businessman and will do things that are good for the real estate business, given a low interest rate environment and minimal alternatives to investment,” said Trump, who is a native of South Africa and of no relation to the president-elect. “We could be in for a very good time in real estate going forward.”

Ezra Katz, founder and CEO of Aztec Group, a Miami-based real estate investment banking firm, is particularly optimistic, citing Trump’s roots in the industry.

“Our future president is a very knowledgeable real estate and construction person, and he understands the world of real estate better than any politician, ever,” Katz told TRD. “He will create jobs that are positive for us and positive for the industry and create an enhanced opportunity for foreign investors to consider South Florida as a viable investment.”

Though Katz said he did not support either candidate — “I was equally dissatisfied with our choices,”  — he said he has faith in Trump to buckle down as president. 

“All the campaign rhetoric on both sides is gone and now we will deal with reality,” he said. “You have to run a country and be a leader in the world and that will be his focus, on the business side and on his statement that he is there to create jobs that are viable,” he said.

Developer Don Peebles, chairman and CEO of the Peebles Corporation, views Trump’s stance on both reducing the regulatory burden and restructuring and reforming the tax system as beneficial for South Florida’s real estate industry. He also lauds Trump’s promises of boosting entrepreneurship as promising for inner city areas of Miami.

“And as a real estate developer who has relied on foreign investment in his projects, I would expect him to make sure the regulatory environment will be conducive… and make it easier for foreign investment,” Peebles told TRD.

Yet, in a market as reliant on international business as South Florida, it’s yet to be seen how Trump’s strict stance on immigration — one he relied on heavily during the campaign trail — will play out in the local real estate industry.

Developer Gil Dezer, president of Dezer Development, a long-time business partner and supporter of Trump’s, pointed out that most South American investors don’t move their families or businesses to Miami when they buy properties here, meaning they wouldn’t be affected by any changes in immigration policy.

He said Trump’s election is also bound to raise consumer confidence, which in turn buoys all aspects of the economy, including real estate.

Outside of actual policy changes, Trump’s at times uncouth remarks have left bad tastes in the mouths of many foreign nationals watching the country’s election from afar. But that likely won’t stop the wealthy among them from continuing to invest in real estate stateside, according to EWM International Realty CEO Ron Shuffield.

Above all other demographics, ultra-high-net-worth homebuyers are tapped into the financial world and base their investments on its ebbs and flows, he said. Of the stock markets’ steady rise as the news of Trump’s victory broke early Wednesday morning are any indication, the financial world is reacting favorably to a Trump presidency. And that, Shuffield said, will probably translate into more luxury buyers pulling the trigger on a home purchase.

“All of these economies are built on confidence,” he said. “Really it’s just a psychology game.”

On top of that, Shuffield said, Trump began tempering his trademark vitriol and rhetoric in the months leading up to the election, which could be an indication that his behavior will change once he’s actually in office.  

Ironically, some of the city’s biggest real estate players were south of the border the day after the election for a development showcase, “Expo Negocios Inmobiliarios.” Among them: Jorge Perez and Carlos Rosso of the Related Group, who were unavailable for comment.

However, New York developer Shahab Karmely reached out to TRD from Mexico to say there are a host of other factors that weigh on Miami’s real estate market other than the election. He said currency exchanges, political turmoil in Latin America and housing oversupply are the most important metrics to keep an eye on.

He was also ready to put Trump’s questionable behavior on the campaign trail in the past.

“Time will tell what the ramifications of this election are,” he said. “I can tell it won’t be as negative as people think, or as positive as some are hoping for.”  

Alex Zylberglait, an investment broker with Marcus and Millichap, said that any unease among foreign and domestic investors is short-lived. The volatility of the equity markets will lead more investors to commercial real estate, he said.

“We may see more of a leveling off in commercial real estate because prices were high,” Zylberglait told TRD, but not because of a President Trump. 

Latin American investors, too, will keep coming to South Florida.

“Throughout Latin America, they’re still struggling generally speaking and they still see us as a safe haven to park their money,” Zylberglait said.

He and others dismissed Trump’s stance on immigration and foreign investment as just “rhetoric.”

Dan Kodsi, who’s developing Paramount Miami Worldcenter and Paramount Fort Lauderdale, also doesn’t expect to see a decline in foreign investors – although he did say a drop in Middle Eastern investors could be a concern.

Trump proposed banning Muslims from entering the United States late last year and has expanded his proposed immigration ban to include entire countries.

Kodsi, a registered Republican who “isn’t a fan” of Trump but said the country needed a change, thinks Trump’s comments regarding the Hispanic community are “more personal.”

“People in the business community are not as sensitive to their rhetoric,” he said. “… If anything, the market needed to shift. We were actually heading down the wrong road. Did we need four more years of what we’ve been through or did we need change?”

“It’s about the team. Not necessarily about the CEO,” he said.

Developer Moishe Mana appears to be in the minority of those concerned about Trump’s presidency. Mana railed against Trump for his anti-immigration policies, accusations of sexual assault and business practices over the course of the campaign.

“I could not be more disappointed,” Mana said in a statement. “There’s not much we can do now except band together as a nation and make it clear we will not stand for further xenophobia and racism. We must hold him accountable and ensure he does not bankrupt our country and values; the same way he’s bankrupt his businesses.”

Aerial view of construction in Brickell as of January

1. Related tops off on Paraiso Bay in Edgewater [The Next Miami]
2. Trump’s handpicked EPA transition team leader is bad news for Miami [Miami Curbed]
3. Miami voters authorize lawsuits against city [Daily Business Review]
4. Apartment complex sold for $15.6M, a 56% gain in 21 months [SFBJ]

— Sean Stewart-Muniz

Current reader favorites:

1. Trump is bad news for Miami’s Latin American investors, experts say
2. Luxury resi deals on hold until after the election, brokers say
3. Venezuelan developers launch condo project in Wynwood: WYN 26
4. Lombardi sells Wynwood building to Moishe Mana for $16M
5. North Carillon Beach condo association files new suit against Z Capital Partners

From the New York website: And then, global stock and bond markets proved all who predicted a Trump victory would lead to immediate financial turmoil wrong.

The S&P 500 stock index and 10-year treasury yields both rose over the course of Wednesday, indicating that markets weren’t too spooked about a future Trump administration. Among real estate firms, however, the reaction was mixed.

Office REITs with a heavy New York focus did well after an initial dip in the morning. SL Green’s stock was up 1.3 percent for the day. Vornado, whose CEO Steve Roth is visited as one of Trump’s economic advisers, saw its stock rise 1.19 percent. 

“I’d say overall it’s positive for real estate just because you have someone in office who is in the industry,” said Sandler O’Neill analyst Alexendar Goldfarb, adding that a Trump victory likely means the 1031 tax exchange is no longer likely to be scrapped.

Hotel REITs also rose Wednesday, while private-prison REITs saw their share prices shoot up. In August, the U.S. Justice Department announced that it would end the use of private prisons, sending shares into a dive. Investors evidently believe Trump will be more open to continuing the experiment. GEO Group, a Florida-based public company specializing in private-prison facilities, saw its stock price rise 21.27 percent Wednesday.

The site at 500 Alton Road and Russell Galbut

Over the objections of one of their colleagues, the Miami Beach City Commission voted 5-1 to allow developer Russell Galbut to seek approval from the city’s land use boards for revised development plans for the former South Shore Hospital site on Alton Road.

Galbut told commissioners the move allows him to meet with residents and homeowner groups in order to get their support while the city considers his separate application to increase the project’s height from seven stories to 25 stories.

“We are coming to you with a simple request to let us work with the community,” Galbut said. “If we can get consensus, we can move forward on an expedited basis.”

Galbut’s company, Crescent Heights, has plans to build 323 apartments, 63,000 square feet of commercial space and a clinic for Baptist Health South Florida at 600 and 700 Alton Road. However, the site also includes 500 Alton Road, which is where Galbut wants to place a 25-story tower with 100 luxury condos instead of the five-story building with 163 apartments that is currently planned.

In exchange for the height increase, the developer is offering Miami Beach 20,000 square feet of space for a five-story transit hub for the city’s proposed $400 million light-rail system. The Fifth Street transit hub would connect the train line with the MacArthur Causeway and the system circulating through Miami Beach. Crescent Heights would build the 25-story tower on top of the transit hub.

Galbut assured city commissioners Crescent Heights was willing to assume the risk of getting approved by the land use boards, if the height increase is denied.

However, Commissioner Michael Greico said Galbut’s request set a bad precedent. “My issue is the process,” Greico said. “There is nothing stopping public outreach without having an application in the system.”

Art in Public Places in Miami

Opposed months ago by the Wynwood Business Improvement District, a proposed city of Miami ordinance will require real estate developers to include visual art pieces in their building projects – pending commission approval next week. 

Called the Art in Public Places Program, the planned code revives a law the city of Miami enacted back in 1967, but, “due to changes in administration the program went dormant,” city documents show.

The new code will come before the Miami City Commission for final approval on Nov. 17 and is similar to that of other nearby cities such as Miami Beach, Coral Gables and Palmetto Bay.

When the ordinance was first proposed back in March, the Wynwood BID board opposed it, fearing that the citywide requirement for permanent art displays would kill the temporary murals that have flourished in Wynwood for years. But on Wednesday, the board unanimously backed the proposed ordinance after language was added granting the area autonomy to form its own Art in Public Places regulations.

The new code requires developers to acquire and publicly display artwork that is in excess of 1.25 percent of his project’s construction costs or to pay 1 percent of his project’s value into an Art in Public Places fund. Building projects in excess of $1 million or ones that have at least seven residential or commercial units are targeted by this code. Also, developers who are building private projects on land owned by the city or county will be required to pay 1.5 percent of their project’s cost into the fund.

The code won’t affect projects that are “deemed to have a complete application by the director of the Department of Planning and Zoning,” prior to the code’s passage, according to the proposed ordinance. Projects that have obtained building permits within 12 months of the code’s “effective date” are immune from the Art in Public Places code, too. And exceptions are also made for properties designated historic (unless they are being renovated to add size or occupancy), religious facilities, non-profit groups, improvements made to comply with fire code or Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, grant funded projects, and repairs to buildings caused by fire, flood, and “acts of God.”

The ordinance’s broad definition of an original “visual art piece” includes paintings, sculptures, engraving, carvings, frescos, stained glass, mosaics, mobiles, tapestries, murals, photographs, videos, fountains, decorative furnishings, monuments to a commemorative event, and other art forms. Reproductions, copies, and mass produced objects are forbidden. Signage and “directional elements” also won’t count as art.

A future Art in Public Places Board, appointed by the Miami City Commission, will also have the power to judge which art pieces are worthy or not of being publicly displayed at private projects.

While the BID now supports the proposed ordinance, it still has its opponents. Nick Hamann, managing partner of the Urban Atlantic Group, said that the program creates additional costs for developers at a time when construction fees are climbing.

“I believe the legislation is flawed, as it places an unfair burden on property owners and discourages investment in challenging areas where developers, property owners, and tenants are already struggling with rising construction costs and housing affordability,” Hamann wrote in a Sept. 14 email to the city.

Erin Ankin of Waterton UC Owner, LLC stated in a July 13 letter to Commissioner Willy Gort that the Art in Public Places ordinance will make it more costly for the company to build a 100-unit apartment building for medical students and nurses in the city’s Health District.

“The ordinance, if imposed on our project would add over $200,000… in direct development costs in order to secure a building permit,” Ankin wrote.

But the ordinance has letters of encouragement from art galleries, neighboring cities, nonprofits and the Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs.

“As stewards of one of the country’s largest and most respected public art collections, we can affirm that the implementation of the City of Miami’s public art ordinance will serve to advance the city’s progressive leadership position in urban design and contribute to transforming ordinary public places into great civic sites that can lift the spirit and connect with the city’s diverse and vibrant neighborhoods,” Michael Spring, director of the Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs, stated in a June 7 letter.

Calder land in Miami Gardens. Inset: Marshall Loeb, president and CEO of EastGroup Properties

EastGroup Properties picked up 61 acres of land in Miami Gardens with plans to develop an industrial park on the site.

Records show Calder Race Course Inc., an affiliate of Churchill Downs Inc., sold land next to the Calder Casino and Race Course to EastGroup Properties for $26.5 million, which breaks down to about $434,000 per acre.

The publicly traded real estate investment trust plans to develop the site into an 850,000-square-foot industrial park, which would front the Florida Turnpike.

The land was part of the 232-acre Calder Casino and Race Course at 21001 Northwest 27th Avenue, which Churchill Downs still owns. Churchill Downs purchased the racetrack in 1999 and added the casino in 2010, according to its website. It’s also near the Hard Rock Stadium.

Earlier this year, EastGroup applied to the city of Miami Gardens to build a multi-tenant complex of distribution warehouses and a commerce center.

The Jackson, Mississippi-based REIT has about 36.6 million square feet of industrial space in its portfolio, including development projects in lease-up and under construction, according to its website. In Miami-Dade, that includes the Executive Airport Distribution Center in Fort Lauderdale and the Sample 95 Business Park in Pompano Beach.

EastGroup said it also just acquired the Weston Commerce Park for $14 million.

Wynwood Walls (Credit: Phillip Pessar)

When the news first broke in August that Wynwood was an active transmission zone for Zika, the fallout was drastic. The normally packed neighborhood was left practically empty even on the weekends, cutting into local businesses’s pocketbooks.

But now, two months after Gov. Rick Scott announced Wynwood was Zika-free, the situation appears to be improving.

Albert Garcia, vice chairman of the Wynwood Business Improvement District, said Wynwood stores and restaurants are recovering from the Zika scare that saw their profits slashed in an otherwise booming neighborhood.

In August the U.S. Center for Disease Control imposed a “no-travel” advisory for pregnant women journeying to Wynwood after 18 cases of Zika, which is linked to birth defects, were reported there. The result was a huge drop in foot traffic, despite the county’s huge mosquito control campaign.

“Wynwood was the first neighborhood in the continental United States that got infected with Zika,” Garcia said during Wednesday’s BID meeting. “We were the test case.” During that test, business plummeted by more than 50 percent, Garcia said.

The travel ban was lifted in September when state health officials declared Wynwood Zika-free. However, new Zika zones have since been declared along the Miami River corridor and over the entirety of South Beach and Mid-Beach.

To combat Wynwood’s stigma, property and business owners hosted a series of social events to bring the crowds back to the neighborhood. Garcia said the most recent event, Wynwood Fashion Night Out on November 3rd, attracted a big turnout — a sign that the local business community may be in for a change of fortune. During that event, 36 bars and restaurants pooled their resources while East End Capital and Goldman Properties offered their vacant lots as free parking. “Business was up 125 percent year to date that day,” Garcia told The Real Deal.

Overall, Wynwood merchants are now reporting a 10 percent decline from last year or less, Garcia said. “We really came out stronger than ever,” he said.

Landlords and real estate brokers planning to rake in rent money from pot dispensaries, in the wake of Florida voters approving medical marijuana by 71 percent, will have to wait a little longer in Miami Beach.

The hugely popular Amendment 2 requires state officials to wait 60 days to create rules for the medical marijuana industry, including dispensaries that sell cannabis to patients.

But on Wednesday, Miami Beach city commissioners voted 5-1 to initiate a four-month moratorium on retail pot businesses. Commissioner Ricky Arriola, who is sponsoring the measure, said the legislation allows the city time to craft regulations that will determine where dispensaries can be located, hours of operation, and any permissible fines for marijuana businesses that don’t comply with city code.

Arriola came up with the idea for a temporary ban to address the issue now before residents and businesses start complaining about medical pot retailers operating next door to them. “I voted in favor of this myself,” he said. “I don’t want to go against the will of the people.”

Commissioner Michael Grieco voted against the moratorium because it appears the city is ignoring a majority of Miami Beach voters who cast ballots for medical marijuana. Grieco also noted state officials may enact rules that supercede anything Miami Beach passes.

“We should do this smart,” Grieco said. “‘The state could come out and say we are going to circumvent all local rules on this.”

Delray Beach and Boca Raton have also placed a temporary ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, and Palm Beach County overall has been looking into how zoning regulations would apply to a dispensary. Earlier this year, Orange County put a nine-month moratorium on development permits for medical marijuana shops in unincorporated parts of the county.

Tracking real estate transactions involving legal pot retail shops and warehouses where marijuana is manufactured is still unchartered territory. However, CBRE recently reported that asking lease rates for industrial warehouses in northern Colorado, where the state raked in $996 million in marijuana tax revenue last year, reached $8.40 per square foot in the first half of 2016.

And there are firms like Manhattan real estate company Kalyx Development that specialize in leasing properties to indoor cannabis growers in states that have rapidly expanding legal marijuana markets.

From the New York November issue: Let’s face it. Stories about people’s taxes don’t typically lend themselves to juicy scoops for journalists. The federal IRS code is complex and confusing even for the most erudite tax specialists. And given the privacy of individual filings, the facts can be difficult to nail down and will likely involve making a presumption that no one other than the person in question, and his or her accountant, can confirm.

Still, when the New York Times revealed that the then-Republican nominee Donald Trump (now president-elect) posted a staggering personal loss of $915.7 million in 1995, it was the biggest story of the 2016 election campaign season. [more]

Miami Beach. Inset: Airbnb founders Joe Gebbia, Nathan Blecharczyk and Brian Chesky

Miami Beach city commissioners on Wednesday delayed approval of new regulations impacting Airbnb and other short-term lodging websites. 

The commission will now take up the matter at its December meeting to give city lawyers time to review tweaks suggested by the San Francisco-based company.

“In the spirit of compromise and the spirit of trying to work with the city, we would encourage you to add these amendments,” said Brian May, a lobbyist for Airbnb. “The city of Miami Beach is a high-profile, important place for Airbnb and other platforms.”

However, City Attorney Raul Aguila told commissioners his staff had not be given ample time to review Airbnb’s suggestions. “I don’t think the city has ever taken a position to work against Airbnb,” Aguila said. “However, I haven’t had time to look at the proposed amendments to consider the impact to the city.”

As proposed in the new regulations, properties rented out to visitors and tourists via Airbnb and similar websites and mobile apps would be classified as “transient short-term rentals.” Owners seeking to rent out their properties would be required to notify the city in order to determine if the homes or condos are located in areas of the city where short-term rentals are allowed.

If a property is within the zones where short-term rentals are allowed, owners would be required to submit a sworn affidavit to the city that the home or condo has obtained the appropriate business tax receipt and resort tax registration certificate. If the property is located in a condo, an owner would have to provide proof the condo associations allow transient short-term rentals. Unit owners in an apartment-hotel or condo-hotel not affiliated with a primary hotel operator would have to disclose that fact to potential guests.

Airbnb is suggesting the city allow property owners to submit a verification form as opposed to a sworn affidavit because it is less cumbersome, May said. “A sworn affidavit would require it to be physically notarized,” May said.

The city has doled out more than $1 million in fines to violators of their short-term rental laws, which the commission increased in December from $500 to $7,500 to fines starting at $20,000.

May also said Airbnb and other providers can allow property owners to file the forms with the city digitally on their websites or mobile applications. “We can facilitate that through the online platform,” May said. “Normally, we have done this through memorandums of understanding with other jurisdictions. We would like to pursue that with the city.”

The hotel industry has also been a big proponent of regulating and taxing Airbnb and similar websites.

Michael Llorente, an attorney for the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, argued Airbnb’s suggestions were significant amendments made at the last minute. “We would urge the commission to move forward with the legislation as it has been drafted,” Llorente said. “I personally don’t see the need to push off the entire process because of a litany of suggestions made at the 11th hour.”

Cheers over beer

UPDATED Nov. 10, 6 p.m.: The Miami City Commission will decide if establishments operating on Wynwood real estate will be able to serve liquor until 5 a.m. instead of 3 a.m. during Art Week, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4th.

Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and Miami City Commissioner Keon Hardemon sponsored the resolution to extend the hours, which will be heard at the city’s next commission meeting on Nov. 17. It would affect properties located in the Wynwood Café District, an irregular shaped district where up to 40 liquor serving establishments are permitted to operate.

The ruling would also allow businesses to play amplified music or host live bands outdoors until 3 a.m. Normally, the cut-off time for outdoor music is 11 p.m.

A spokesperson for the Wynwood BID said there are no plans to permanently extend hours for Wynwood bars and clubs.

Art Week is highlighted by Art Basel Miami Beach at the Miami Beach Convention Center, with many satellite fairs planned for Miami and Miami Beach. Collins Park in Miami Beach also will feature 20 international artists exhibiting outdoor installations.

Correction: A previous version of this story had an incorrect hour for the desired extension of music.

Construction cranes and Donald Trump (Credit: Evan Guest)

While much of the nation is still trying to understand what a Donald Trump presidency means for the United States, the stock market is giving early signs of how real estate industries are coping.

Stocks related to construction and engineering firms spiked in value on Wednesday, indicating builders around the country are feeling good about the president-elect.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had promised to earmark $1 trillion for select infrastructure projects around the country over 10 years, an expectation that helped drive shares of engineering firm Aecom up 13 percent, as well as its competitor Jacobs Engineering Group by 10 percent.

Material suppliers and machinery manufacturers also saw a surge in stock prices Wednesday, the Journal reported, with shares of Vulcan Materails Co. rising 10 percent and crane builder Manitowoc Go. ballooning 14 percent.

It’s still unclear what specific policies and funding strategies Trump will adopt once in office, but the Journal reported that he’s previously floated a tax credit system to help fund road, bridge and airport work.

He’s also put forward that his infrastructure plan could boost the government’s $1.1 trillion worth of construction spending each year by at least 60 percent.

Outside real estate industries have had much more mixed reactions. In both New York and Los Angeles, brokers and developers expressed either shock or jubilance at the election’s outcome. For Miami, some of real estate’s most prominent figures are expressing optimism — if not outright excitement. [Wall Street Journal] — Sean Stewart-Muniz

The Ellington in Miami Gardens. Inset: listing broker Peter Mekras

RAIT Financial Trust has sold a bulk apartment and condo property in Miami Gardens for $36.2 million to a private investor.

The 347-unit deal includes 260 apartments and 87 condos within a 412-unit complex at 701 Northwest 210th Street and 21010 Northwest Seventh Avenue, CREC Senior Vice President Peter Mekras told The Real Deal. The property, called the Ellington, was built in 1974. The sale price breaks down to $104,000 per unit.

The complex is on County Line Road, just west of US 441.

CREC listed the property, receiving more than 200 inquiries during the bidding process, according to a press release. Mekras declined to name the buyer, but said the investor was not represented by a broker.

Records show Ellington Development Florida LLC, a RAIT entity, paid nearly $32 million for the apartment component in 2011. RAIT also sold an apartment portfolio near Miami Executive Airport in December for $17.5 million.

South Florida’s multifamily market has seen billions of dollars’ worth of deals trade this year.

In August, AION Partners sold an apartment complex in Miami Gardens to a company controlled by New Yorker Benny Tenenbaum for $22.7 million, or about $97,000 per apartment. 

While rent growth is starting to slow in South Florida, Mekras said the market is facing a short-term absorption challenge and not a long-term supply and demand imbalance.

To commemorate its luxury Gale Residences Fort Lauderdale condo project going vertical, Harvey Hernandez’s Newgard Development Group recently hosted a private soiree at the bayfront construction site.

More than 125 brokers, their well-heeled clients and even a pair of commissioners came to check out the 12-story condo tower’s progress two months after it broke ground. The fête was catered with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, and pop violinist Timothee Lovelock performed for the crowd.

Construction workers recently poured the first floor of the 129-unit Gale at 401 Bayshore Drive, with the expected opening now slated for early 2018. Newgard is financing construction with a $36 million loan from HALL Structured Finance, a private lender based in Dallas, Texas.

Units at the building range in size from 800 square feet to 2,100 square feet, with prices starting in the mid $500,000s. Newgard is also renovating the historic Escape Hotel in Fort Lauderdale into a 96-room Gale hotel, which will be managed by Menin Hospitality when it opens. Dev Motwani’s Merrimac Ventures is a partner in the development.

The developer said 75 percent of the Gale’s units have so far been sold. Amenities include a lounge deck on the eighth floor, swimming pool, private theater and a gym. — Sean Stewart-Muniz

Tauriello & Co. Real Estate’s office, and from left, Jay Parker, Ingrid Carlos and Sue Tauriello

Douglas Elliman just purchased a Delray Beach brokerage firm, bringing its roster of offices to 19 statewide as it expands along Florida’s coast, The Real Deal has learned.

The firm bought Tauriello & Co. Real Estate, founded in 2000 by Sue Tauriello. Tauriello’s 60 agents and office at 900 East Atlantic Avenue will all become part of Douglas Elliman, Jay Parker, CEO of Elliman’s Florida brokerage, told TRD. He declined to disclose the purchase price.

Tauriello will remain with Elliman as a realtor, as the firm’s total number of agents now tops 900 in the state.

The New York-based brokerage has been eyeing Delray Beach and Tauriello & Co. for some time, Parker said. Tauriello’s “homegrown” nature made the firm an attractive target in the growing market, known for its trendy restaurants, boutiques and nightlife, that has become an increasingly popular destination for Northeasterners and others, he said.

“We had identified Tauriello as a possible candidate for acquisition probably a year-and-a-half ago as we began our search to move into the Delray Beach market,” Parker said. “[Douglas Elliman Chairman] Howard Lorber and I both agreed Delray was a nexus market for us.”

Ingrid Carlos, manager of Douglas Elliman’s Boca Raton office, will become the managing broker of the new Delray Beach operation. Parker said the office will expand with another 1,000 square feet of leased space and plans to boost its number of agents.

“We’re looking to add key agents that can help us expand our reach into that market and service that market,” he said. “There’s no real agent goal. It’s just about making ourselves well positioned to attract the best agents.”

South Florida brokerages have been on a buying spree in recent months. In September, Elliman bought Turnberry International Realty’s office in Bay Harbor Islands, taking over the lease and the sales team. In October, One Sotheby’s International Realty acquired Crescendo Real Estate in Bay Harbor Islands. And in June, Brown Harris Stevens closed on its purchase of Ocean Club Realty in Key Biscayne.

David Beckham and a proposed rendering of the stadium

1. Beckham to make major announcement about soccer club by year end [The Next Miami]
2. Venetian Causeway construction starts Monday [Miami New Times]
3. All Aboard Florida lawyers get extension as line seeks more bonds [Miami Today]
4. Modern or contemporary: What’s the difference in home styles? [Wall Street Journal]

— Sean Stewart-Muniz