Miami tower’s Brazilian side

Brazilians have overtaken Canadians as the top overseas visitors and property buyers in Miami as the city shrugs off the after-effects of the 2008 real estate crash, América Economía reported.

“There is a love affair between Brazilians and Miami, which has helped the economy in both places,” Rolando Aedo, executive vice-president of the Greater Miami Office of Tourism and Conventions, told the online magazine. Brazilians’ stamp on South Florida’s economy has been “incredible,” Aedo said. [more]

From the May issue: South Florida’s office market isn’t as robust as its residential one — just like much of the rest of the country — but the slower pace of leasing comes with an upside: The surplus of inventory is keeping prices in check for tenants.

Less than a fifth of the commercial space in Miami-Dade and Broward counties — 18.1 percent and 18.7 percent, respectively — is available, about the same amount percentagewise as what’s available statewide, according to CBRE, the real estate service firm. Palm Beach County has roughly a quarter of its office space open. [more]

Maya Brennan

South Florida tops metro areas in the U.S. where working families are under the most strain from housing costs, according to a Center for Housing Policy report.

In 2011, 41.2 percent of working households in the tri-county region, including renters and owners, spent more than half their incomes on housing costs, the report said.

Despite falling mortgage interest rates and home prices far below peak levels, a robust rental market and anemic salary growth are keeping housing costs in proportion to income high in South Florida. [more]

Peter Reed

In the world of South Florida office leasing, it’s set to be a tenant’s market in 2013. Already, tenants in Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale are negotiating for better deals and concessions on their leases, the Sun Sentinel reported. ”Building owners are going after quality, credit tenants very aggressively,” said Kevin McCarthy, a vice president with Jones Lang LaSalle in Palm Beach County. Competition for those tenants is stiff. Meanwhile, rates and occupancy levels remained reasonably consistent throughout 2012 and some brokers are confident that the market has bottomed out. “I think we’re bouncing along the bottom,” said Peter Reed of Commercial Florida Realty Services in Boca Raton. [more]

Compiled by Condo Vultures Realty using the South Florida Shared Multiple Listing Service. Active listings are properties where no current sale contract exists; pending sales are properties in which a contract for sale has been executed, but not yet closed. Listing brokers control the status of a property listing. —Christopher Cameron

Compiled by Condo Vultures Realty using the South Florida Shared Multiple Listing Service. Active listings are properties where no current sale contract exists; pending sales are properties in which a contract for sale has been executed, but not yet closed. Listing brokers control the status of a property listing. — Alexander Britell

Foreign buyers. The foreclosure crisis. New development. The South Florida real estate market is as active as it’s ever been. So we want to ask you – what do you think is the biggest issue in South Florida real estate today? Is there something in our market that you think we should be covering? What would you like to be reading about? Let us know. Send your thoughts to our South Florida Bureau Chief, Alexander Britell, at ab@therealdeal.com.

Hillsboro Executive Center North

Colliers International South Florida has been named the exclusive leasing agent and property manager for the Hillsboro Executive Center North in Deerfield Beach, the brokerage announced. The 171,155-square-foot property is located at 350-600 Fairway Drive. It consists of six two-story buildings. Robert Listokin, executive vice president at Colliers, will lead the leasing effort for the 60,000 square feet that is available. He will be joined on the assignment by Kevin Rude and John Crotty. — Alexander Britell

The number of properties with foreclosure filings in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties rose 3.5 percent in November compared to the same period in 2011, according to data released today by RealtyTrac. There were a total of 9,477 properties with some form of foreclosure filings, up from 9,157 in November 2011. [more]

Nikolas Kozy

Nikolas Kozy, a first vice president at CBRE, is joining the brokerage’s Private Capital Group South Florida Retail Investment Team, it announced today. Kozy was formerly a member of the CBRE National Retail Investment Group for Florida from 2007 to 2012. “Demand in the private capital market has rebounded nicely in South Florida as market fundamentals have stabilized and financing has become more prevalent,” said Ken Krasnow, CBRE Managing Director for South Florida. “We are looking forward to growing our platform dedicated to this important market segment.” The team includes David Donnellan, Todd Weintraub and Charlie Manuel. — Alexander Britell