Coldwell Banker zeroes in on new development in South Florida

Coldwell Banker is looking to capitalize on projects that may have gone stale in South Florida.

The brokerage has expanded the role of senior regional vice president of Southeast Florida, Duff Rubin, to include new developments and acquisitions opportunities throughout the state, Rubin told The Real Deal. 

Coldwell Banker is handling new development sales for 27 projects in Florida, including 16 in Broward County and two in Miami-Dade. Rubin said he’ll focus more on Miami-Dade, where there’s most opportunity. Maria Mena, who oversaw an Atlanta-based division of Coldwell Banker focused on new development, now reports directly to Rubin.

“Part of the challenge is a lot of these developers don’t want to get realistic about pricing. We’ve turned into a buyer’s market over the last six months,” Rubin said. “We think they’ll be a lot of opportunities to replace existing brokers because most developers are losing patience.”

The brokerage has had more success in the boutique to mid-sized project range, he said. In Miami-Dade, it’s handling sales for the 11-unit Villa Madeira in Coral Gables and the 28-unit 88 Hundred Collins in Surfside. The goal would also be to bring on larger developments.

Rubin said Coldwell Banker can’t get involved in the ownership of projects, so the brokerage is sometimes outbid by sales and marketing firms that can buy into a development. He expects developers to get “a lot smarter and a little sharper” because of the slowdown.

“I think most of them expected after the election that buyers were doing to be coming out of the woodwork,” Rubin said.