Investors vy for the waterfront as condo prices rise

Investors paid $11.2 million last month for a pair of waterfront development sites on a once-sleepy and now-booming barrier island in Northeast Miami-Dade County, the latest sign of developers’ race for land in South Florida’s heated real estate market.

A group of local and international developers are planning nearly 1,000 new condo units for the 20-block stretch of Bal Harbour, Surfside and Bay Harbor Islands, a trio of tiny communities north of Miami Beach, according to the report.

The success of the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort & Residences, where new condos are selling for an average $1,500 per square foot, is driving attention up the beach, Condo Vultures principal Peter Zalewski said in the report.

“After years of limited new development, Bay Harbor Islands is suddenly a hot market,”he wrote. “Right now, investors are descending upon the…area looking for developable land in an attempt to try to capitalize on the strong pricing.”

Across South Florida, developers are planning more than 130 condo tower projects that would collectively offer about 18,000 new units, according to CraneSpotters.com.

It is unclear whether the land buyers – Bay Harbor Residences LLC and Bay Village Condos LLC – are related. The individual ownership information was omitted from corporate documents but the registered agent for both groups is listed as Jennifer Snyder with the same Biscayne Boulevard address in Aventura, according to the Florida Division of Corporations. [CondoVultures.com] –Emily Schmall