The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers aren’t the only ones hoping to score a big win this weekend in South Florida.
As Super Bowl LIV ticket holders descend on Miami this week, ahead of the big game, luxury residential brokers and agents are holding open houses, setting up meetings with athletes and wealthy attendees, hosting events, and rolling out targeted social media campaigns.
Mark Zilbert of Brown Harris Stevens Miami calls it “the biggest week of the year.”
“We’re ensuring that our properties are available. Things can happen at any time. We’re really on standby,” Zilbert said. “We’re working more. We’re more available. We’re out in the street. We’re making sure that our property owners are ready.”
He’s working with a client from Chicago who has been looking to buy a four-bedroom condo in Miami Beach, who just purchased tickets to the Super Bowl and will be back to look at more condos.
Zilbert said the online chat on his website has “never been busier than the last couple of days.”
Ben Moss of Compass is also using football’s biggest weekend to network. Moss, who works with professional athletes, will be meeting with his clients, and using the game to reach out to potential buyers. He’s also helping them arrange high-end short-term rentals, acting as a “concierge of sorts.”
Open houses are also on tap leading up to the game.
Danny Hertzberg of Coldwell Banker’s The Jills Zeder Group is among a group of brokers hosting open houses on Tuesday and Wednesday for 12 properties on Palm, Hibiscus and Star islands in Miami Beach. The properties are priced from $6 million to $26 million, with a total dollar volume of about $170 million.
101 North Hibiscus Road (Credit: Realtor)
The openings are aimed to give brokers previews before their clients touch down in Miami. Hertzberg said. The houses include 101 North Hibiscus Drive, asking $25.9 million; and 29 Star Island Drive, on the market for $24.9 million.
The Jills Zeder Group is scheduling appointments during open houses, which Hertzberg said “indicates the level of people coming for the Super Bowl.” His team also has showing requests for clients who plan to arrive via yacht.
Meanwhile, the group is boosting social media posts in and around Miami Beach for buyers who are staying in hotels. Agents are using the opportunity to target buyers from high-tax states like California, the 49ers home base.
“The intention of the trip is the Super Bowl,” Hertzberg said. “But if they’re also considering a move here, they’re using that trip to look for real estate.”
2204 North Bay Road (Credit: Zillow)
Nelson Gonzalez, a top agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty, said a client who bought a Miami Beach house is hosting a big party that Silicon Valley CEOs are expected to attend. That client suggested Gonzalez “tee up a few of [his] most expensive homes,” which includes 2204 North Bay Road, asking $24.5 million; and 10 West San Marino, asking $23.5 million. Gonzalez will have tours of properties over the weekend.
Evening events are also planned.
Corcoran Group President and CEO Pam Liebman will be in town this week, attending a broker event at a $20 million Venetian Islands mansion on Thursday evening for about 60 to 70 agents, said Corcoran agent Julian Johnston. Johnston is hosting high-end, invitation-only cocktail hours and catered dinners at two Miami Beach houses, one listed for $18 million, and another for $22 million.
And Virginia Hornaday of the Ginger Hornaday Group at One Sotheby’s International Realty is partnering with Victor G. Harvey Sr. and Flo Rida’s VG Vodka to sponsor events leading up to the game. The events include a media cruise on a yacht, a celebrity basketball game, and a Super Bowl kick-off party.
Angelica Garcia, with One Sotheby’s, is sponsoring a party with Nationwide Mortgage Bankers on a yacht docked on Star Island Friday night.
Some real estate agents are using the week to launch new listings.
St. Regis Bal Harbour penthouse (Credit: Douglas Elliman)
Scott Gerow of Douglas Elliman is listing a 6,261-square-foot, five-bedroom penthouse at the St. Regis Bal Harbour for $82,500 a month. The condo, combined units 2702 and 2703 at 9701 Collins Avenue, can be rented for a minimum of six months, and is fully furnished.
It’s the most expensive long-term condo rental on the market in Miami-Dade, Gerow said. Property records show Safe Harbor Equity managing partner Ralph Serrano owns the double-unit, with more than 2,000 square feet of balcony space, six bathrooms and one half-bathroom. Gerow plans to have private showings for celebrities and athletes in town.
“The timing is absolutely perfect,” Gerow said. “All eyes are on Miami.”