Metropica, a master-planned community in Sunrise, is the latest South Florida condominium to receive conditional Fannie Mae approval, as developers try to lure domestic buyers.
Once Metropica receives final approval, buyers will be able to purchase qualifying residences with as little as a 5 percent down payment on primary residences, 10 percent for second homes and 20 percent for investors, the developers said.
Lender New Penn Financial assisted Metropica through the process of obtaining Fannie Mae approval, and serves as the development’s preferred mortgage lender, Jeffrey Brown, manager of the Developer Services Division for New Penn Financial told The Real Deal. The loan program, backed by the federal government, is only available to domestic buyers.
Metropica Holdings LLC, a venture led by real estate developer Joseph Kavana, CEO of KGH International Development, LLC, is developing Metropica. The $1 billion project will span 65 acres in southwest Broward, and will include eight residential towers with 1,900 units, 400,000 square feet of retail, 650,000 square feet of office space, and landscaped parks, the latter of which will be designed by EDSA. When completed, the community will include a health and wellness center, a resort-style beach club and elevated recreational amenities such as tennis courts and mini soccer fields. Chad Oppenheim is the lead designer.
In November, Kavana closed on $38 million in construction financing for Metropica.
So far, construction is underway at the first residential tower, Yoo at Metropica, which broke ground in October. The 28-story condominium with 263 units and 10 penthouses is now 50 percent sold, the developers said.
As foreign economies falter, developers are increasingly turning to the domestic market for buyers and are seeking Fannie Mae approval as an incentive.
Canvas, a condominium tower planned to rise in Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District, last month received conditional project approval from Fannie Mae, which agreed to purchase or securitize mortgages on individual units in the 513-unit property being developed NR Investments. Brown said Penn Financial helped secure the approval.
In January 2015, the developers of the Crimson in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood also received Fannie Mae approval, in anticipation of a drop in foreign buyers looking to buy Miami condos.