It is no longer just international developers purchasing luxury waterfront real estate in Miami. New Yorkers are also asserting their buying power on an array of beachfront and waterfront properties for investment purchases.

Sam Tawfik, a New York developer and investor, purchased 27 waterfront apartments and penthouse units for $12 million off of Biscayne Boulevard. Many are hoping Midtown Miami becomes the new SoHo.

“This is the time to be a New York seller and a Miami buyer,” said developer Sam Tawfik, who owns commercial property in Manhattan and shopping centers in the tri-state area. “The upside is better and competition less intense in Miami. Every hedge fund and international investor wants to buy in New York. Midtown is like a mini-boomtown.”

The majority of the one and two-bedroom condos he purchased are already rented. The rent ranges from $1,700 to $3,000 per month.

“I think to be a mover and shaker in Miami with a New York get it done mentality can be very profitable,” Tawfik said. “This area has a cool demographic. It’s chic and sophisticated but not pretentious. You can feel the energy on the streets like it felt in SoHo or Trebeca 20 years ago. Look at those places now.”

New York developer iStar Residential has two, nearly sold out buildings in Miami. Ocean House, a boutique building located in an exclusive South Beach neighborhood, has only 18 units left. The units range from 4,500 square feet to 7,000 square feet, and the prices are upwards of $7.5 million.

“This is American Riviera,” Tawfik said. “It’s 80 degrees outside. People think this market is all about the foreign buyer. New Yorkers love it here, too.”

Source: New York Daily News

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