Import-export firm Valor Investments has paid $3.4 million for the Grove Plaza office building in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood. The property, which is located at 2900 SW 28th Terrace, was sold by 1st United Bank. Brenner Real Estate’s Helen Weissman and Suzanne Lopez represented the bank in the transaction. Valor was represented by Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell’s Silvia Lorenzo and Chip Black. [more]

Key Colony in Key Biscayne

Just a few miles east of Brickell, Key Biscayne’s has remained relatively resilient to the downturn, with particular strength in the rental sector. As in Miami’s condominium market, many affluent South Americans and Europeans have buoyed Key Biscayne by plunking down cash for long-term rentals. [more]

2 Indian Creek Drive

A South American buyer has paid $14.5 million for a vacant lot at 2 Indian Creek Drive on Miami Beach’s Indian Creek Island, The Real Deal has learned. The property, which was listed for $16.9 million, was sold by an Indian Creek Property Investments, a Florida limited liability company based in Miami. [more]

Esslinger Wooten Maxwell has named Denise Sicuso sales manager of the firm’s Brickell/Downtown office. Sicuso has been with EWM since 2005. “I’m delighted to be taking on this important role with EWM,” she said. “I have an abiding respect for the firm and its longstanding history in the community. I look forward to working in this key market and furthering EWM’s growth with it.” — Alexander Britell

Chris Basick

Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realty has named Chris Basick managing broker of the firm’s Miami Beach office. Basick, who was most recently the managing broker of EWM’s Brickell-Downtown branch, will oversee daily operations on Miami Beach. “It is an honor to be appointed to this position and I look forward to working with this great team,” Basick said. [more]

A home for sale in Miami Beach

Miami’s downtown skyline may not have been built by Brazilians (the same cannot be said for the next wave of projects) — but it would not have the same bustle were it not for cash buyers from Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro looking for condominium bargains.

But while many Brazilians continue to look at Miami condo towers, a number of them have now shifted their focus to single-family homes in areas like Miami Beach and the Venetian Islands. [more]

Axis in Brickell

While its neighbors to the north in Canada, and to the south in Latin America, have made a sizable dent in South Florida’s real estate market, a strong portion of residential sales continue to come from across the pond. Buyers from Western Europe account for 11 percent of the foreign real estate buyers statewide, according to data from Florida Realtors looking at the entire calendar year of 2010. In the final part of a three-part series on foreign buyers in South Florida, The Real Deal takes a look at European buying patterns in the area. [more]

Clockwise from left: Jade Brickell, Philip Spiegelman, Kevin Tomlinson and Ron Shuffield

Miami’s residential sales surge in 2011 continues, and with inventory dwindling, prices are beginning to slowly creep up. Brokers say it’s foreigners who continue to lead the way for the market, with Brazilians dominating that sector. “[Miami-Dade] is still on track to sell more [Miami] homes than we’ve ever sold in history,” said Ron Shuffield, president of Coral Gables-based EWM. “Of course, the caveat is that values are still low, even though prices have come up quite a bit since January.” [more]

German real estate firm Engel & Voelkers, which entered the Miami market in 2009, has announced plans to expand with three more branches in the area. The three new branches will open in Pinecrest, Coral Gables and Coconut Grove. They will bring the firm’s total Miami office count to seven. “It was our intention, from the acquisition of the franchises back in 2009, to expand south,” said Phillip Yaffa, a licensed partner of Engel and Voelkers in Miami, who is leading the expansion with fellow partner Jose Luis Bueno. [more]

Continuum North Tower in South Beach

Miami’s home sales activity is the highest it has been in five years, according to a report from Douglas Elliman Florida. The number of residential sales jumped by 20.5 percent over the second quarter of last year, to 3,618 single-family and condominium units, according to the second-quarter report, which was prepared by property appraisal and consulting firm Miller Samuel. “Unquestionably, the report shows we’re heading toward a healthier market,” said Vanessa Grout, president of Douglas Elliman Florida. “You can tell that this is a market unlike anything we have ever seen — and just by seeing all of our pending contracts, I can tell you that it’s still strong, and we’re looking at probably an unusually high third quarter.” [more]