Builder aims to complete a vision [South Florida]

Builder aims to complete a vision [South Florida]

A developer who snapped up seven acres near the center of Coral Gables is banking on the spirit of city founder George Merrick to propel a new residential project.

How do you buy seven acres near Coral Gables’ densely developed Miracle Mile?

”You do it very quietly,” says builder Ralph Sanchez.

For nine months Sanchez went door to door asking homeowners if they would sell. After shelling out roughly $75 million, 17 homeowners agreed to part with their homes and move away. One person held out.

You can still make money in real estate

You can still make money in real estate

You wouldn’t believe Boyd Watkins is a millionaire from his small, slightly run-down house in Burien, but this is just one of 180 houses he owns.

Boyd is the king of real estate repo.

He buys repossessed properties at government auctions.

Within a few years of starting out in the 1970s, he went from being loaded with debt to being loaded.

Condo complex goes back to lender [Southern California]

Condo complex goes back to lender [Southern California]

A 280-unit Oceanside condominium complex from one of the county’s most prolific condo converters has been taken over by its largest lender.

Developer Maisel-Presley agreed to hand the keys to the River Oaks project over to Bank of America last month after the bank initiated a foreclosure proceeding, according to court records. The bank lent $48 million on the project in July 2005. It is owed about $35 million.

Though a couple of small conversions have defaulted on their loans, this is believed to be the first large project in recent years to go back to its lender in San Diego County, based on a search of county deed records by The San Diego Union Tribune.

A call to Maisel-Presley was not returned. But John Smaha, a lawyer who represented the firm in the River Oaks matter, said the bank and developer had a dispute over continued funding for renovation after a number of suppliers filed mechanic’s liens against the property.

Orlando homes sell at rate shy of record [Central Florida]

Orlando homes sell at rate shy of record [Central Florida]

The area still saw its 2nd-best year, with more transactions in 2006 than in ’04.

Orlando’s hot housing market lost much of its spark in the second half of 2006, though the year still wound up as the second-best on record for local existing-home sales.

The Orlando Regional Realtor Association reported Wednesday that 27,378 homes were sold last year through its members in the core Orlando market, down from the record 31,230 sold in 2005 but ahead of the 26,088 transactions in 2004.

Even as sales fell last year compared with 2005 — they were down more than 12 percent — the median price of the homes sold in 2006 continued to rise: The December median — half the homes sold for less, half for more — was up 4.2 percent to $250,000 compared with December a year ago.

Builder faces $7M foreclosure [South Florida]

Builder faces $7M foreclosure [South Florida]

Owner of J&J Homes is in an interest rate dispute over a mortgage on Venice acreage.

Sellers are foreclosing on a 141-acre property owned by Jacques Cloutier, the head of one of the region’s oldest and most prolific home builders, J&J Homes.

A consortium led by Dr. Robert E. Koch is trying to get the property back after a disagreement erupted about the amount of interest owed on the $7 million mortgage.

An attorney representing Cloutier said that the note has matured and refinancing is available for the loan, but Cloutier disagrees about Koch’s interest calculations.

Commercial deals heat up

Commercial deals heat up

The most recent deal: Glendale, Calif.-based real estate investment trust PS Business Parks (Amex: PSB, $69.43) edged 15 other bidders to acquire Boca Commerce Park and a portfolio of light industrial properties in Wellington. “We had institutional interest, private interest, condo converters both locally and from all over the country,” says Douglas K. Mandel, a broker with Marcus & Millichap who handled the deal along with Adam Tiktin and Ben Holzhauer.

There’s more to come, according to Colliers International’s 2007 Real Estate Forecast: “A wall of private capital will continue to scour the world.”

The real estate market isn’t gone. It’s shifted focus. Think rebar instead of residential. Dock loading is suddenly sexy. Warehouses are the must-have commodity.

As home sales sputter, South Florida commercial real estate has been quietly fueling the economy. And with some big wallets rolling into town it shows little sign of abating.