FINCEN renews order looking at cash purchases, Barry Sternlicht is eyeing an economic slowdown: Daily digest

A daily roundup of South Florida real estate news, deals and more for Nov. 8, 2019

Every day, The Real Deal rounds up South Florida’s biggest real estate news, from breaking news and scoops to announcements and deals. We update this page throughout the day. Please send any tips or deals to tips@therealdeal.com

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Financial Crimes Enforcement Network extends its order that looks into cash purchases of real estate for another six months. The order requires all U.S. title insurance companies to identify natural persons behind shell companies used in all-cash purchases of residential real estate. The purchase amount remains at $300,000 for each metropolitan area, which includes Miami, New York City and Los Angeles.

 

Bloomberg v. Trump: Real estate edition. Despite their many differences, Donald Trump and Michael Bloomberg do have a few things in common. Both are billionaires, both may be vying for the same office now that Bloomberg is considering a presidential run, and both men have a penchant for luxury residential properties. [TRD]

 

Barry Sternlicht is eyeing an economic slowdown. Starwood Property Trust’s CEO Barry Sternlicht sees an economic slowdown in the near future as the country faces a new presidential election. Net income was $140.4 million, up 66 percent from $84.5 million in the same period of 2018, reflecting increased interest income on loans outstanding. [TRD]

 

South Florida home sales rise in Q3. Home sales, dollar volume and median prices rose across South Florida in the third quarter, driven by an influx of buyers from high-tax states and declining mortgage rates. [TRD]

 

Michael Shvo to unveil tropical gardens with LaLanne exhibit at the Raleigh. Developer Michael Shvo will unveil a LaLanne exhibit at the Raleigh hotel in Miami Beach ahead of Art Basel, a move that draws parallels to his marketing efforts at the Getty in New York City. [TRD]

 

Shareholder litigation against WeWork’s major players has begun. Co-founder Adam Neumann, SoftBank head Masayoshi Son and board members of the embattled office-space company were sued this week by a minority shareholder who accuses them of self-dealing and unjustly enriching themselves. [TRD]

 

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Realtor.com’s parent is eyeing the mortgage business. Side businesses may be coming to Realtor.com. The site’s parent company Move Inc. will be moving into offering “adjacencies,” such as mortgages, as the overhaul of Realtor.com’s lead generation platform continues, said News Corporation’s CEO Robert Thomson in an earnings call Thursday. News Corp. owns Move. [TRD]

 

Zillow tries out a closing-services platform. In an effort to become a one-stop shop for home buying and selling, Zillow is testing a closing-services platform in an undisclosed number of markets. The new platform will work in tandem with the company’s buying and selling platform, Zillow Offers, with a goal to improve the economics of each home sale or purchase, according to Inman. [TRD]

 

The Underline obtains a $22 million grant. Friends of the Underline snagged a $22 million grant from Miami-Dade County’s Department of Transportation and Public Works to complete the Underline, a 10-mile long park for people to run and bike on. The new money will allow the Underline to connect to Coral Gables.

 

Sears said it will shut down 96 more Sears or Kmart locations. Sears announced it will continue to shut down locations and will have just 182 Sears or Kmart stores, down from 425 locations as of February, according to the Wall Street Journal. Five years ago, the company had nearly 2,000 locations. [WSJ]

 

Zillow’s Rich Barton (Credit: iStock)

Zillow’s revenue doubled in the third quarter. The company’s revenue grew to a record $745.2 million during the third quarter, driven by its year-old iBuying program. For the first time since the Seattle-based company launched an instant home-buying feature, revenue from its “Homes” segment eclipsed that of agent advertising. [TRD]

 

Rendering of Legacy Hotel and Residences with Dan Kodsi and Peggy Olin

Rendering of Legacy Hotel and Residences with Dan Kodsi and Peggy Olin

Developer Dan Kodsi plans hotel-condo tower at Miami Worldcenter. Dan Kodsi, who recently delivered the luxury condo tower Paramount Miami Worldcenter, revealed plans for his next building, Legacy Hotel and Residences, also at Worldcenter. [TRD]

 

Has Compass eased recruiting? Four months after filing a wide-ranging lawsuit accusing Compass of “predatory” poaching, Realogy CEO Ryan Schneider described a dramatic drop in Compass’ hiring. During an earnings call, Schneider said the firm’s “recruiting intensity” in October was down almost 50 percent from September and 67 percent from August, according to Realogy’s calculations [TRD]