It’s summertime at Fried On Business, and I recently took advantage of the slower pace to give my thoughts about some assorted topics.
Multifamily real estate
Residential land financing for multifamily housing is right in my wheelhouse. I’ve been handling it for years, and right now I’m seeing a disconnect in the market for multifamily housing land.
Landowners are sitting on their properties, and prices are sticky. It’s not a good time to buy land unless you stumble into a very favorable situation.
And one favorable circumstance would be what I call a cash-flowing land bank. Those are pieces of cash-flowing real estate on top of well-located land that offers the opportunity for assemblage or re-purposing at a later time.
I’m working on a number of those deals right now. I believe the apartments that are coming will fill up quickly. People, at least in South Florida, want to drive less and live more. They want to reside in walkable urban areas that provide a live-work-play environment.
Not many more condos will get financing at this point. Most of the new projects are being built all-cash.
Hotels
Lots of new hotels are going up, but hotel developers should take notice of an emerging trend. I want to an Urban Land Institute event a couple of months ago. An executive with Airbnb was there to meet with apartment and condo developers and help them design their units to be more amenable to sharing services like Airbnb.
A lot of the demand for hotel rooms is going to go to these shared condo units. The “Uberization” of hotels is coming.
Retail
Ground-floor retail is the next trend. It’s ready-made for the new apartments that are going up.
Office
Office space hasn’t been built for quite a while, but I think now is the time to build office in smaller markets like Wynwood and Edgewater. Again, this capitalizes on the trend toward walkable communities.
Industrial
Industrial is being built everywhere. Buy your land now. Units are being leased as soon as they’re ready. A lot of it is due to the continuing expansion of online retail. All of that fulfillment has to be done somewhere.
Self-storage
This is the king of cash cows. Self-storage is being built everywhere, and there’s plenty of money available for projects.
Family offices
Working with family offices is challenging. You won’t see any of the family members at the conferences. You’ll see their functionaries, and you may get a chance to speak with one of them at the after-party.
That’s your chance to generate credibility and trust. You make sure they know that it’s all about them. You’re there to help them achieve their goals.
Beyond that, you wait for them to come to you. And when you finally get the call, make sure they know – again – that it’s all about them.
Vivian Fried Kidney Transplant Update
Shifting gears away from the real estate discussion, my wife Vivian has had a tough summer. It’s hot, and she can’t drink any fluids to cool down because she’s fighting end-stage renal disease. She goes to dialysis every day.
Our search for a kidney donor is very urgent, and we’ve recently became involved with Renewal, an organization that helps kidney donors walk through the complicated process of organ donation.
You can give the gift of life by becoming a kidney donor. If you can help, please contact me at 305-773-6300.
Summer in Miami
I talked about some fun stuff, too:
– Driving in summer in Miami.
– Phone call dead zones.
– How to take a vacation.
– Fun at the Miami Marlins games.
Click here to listen to the full discussion of summertime at Fried On Business.
