Launching the commercial division was an easy decision for the firm after it completed five large commercial transactions in the past 12 months. Now, company founder and president Mark Pordes is looking to expand the team to drive new business and to help out with new acquisition requests and commercial transactions.

Pordes Commercial has just listed a $1.75 million parcel for One West Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, a proposed 10-story professional office building at the corner of Andrews Avenue and Las Olas Boulevard in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

The 47,000-square-foot project will have premium ground floor retail space and nine floors of Class A office space. The units of 1,000 square feet or more can be owner occupied or leased. Units have open plans and large windows at a Las Olas address.

The building site is along Riverwalk, a short walk from the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Broward County courthouse and Florida Philharmonic. The offices will be just 10 minutes from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades.

Pordes has extensive experience in complex, large-scale commercial transactions. The company brokered the $125 million sale of 146 units at a luxury condominium at 2700 N. Ocean Drive on Singer Island. That deal satisfied the lender, relieved the developer of liabilities and provided the investors with a prime oceanfront property at an excellent price. The property has now been repositioned as Ritz-Carlton residences.

Other large-scale transactions include:

• Bulk sale of 98 units at NoBe Bay in Miami Beach in 2011
• Partnership to acquire, sell and market 42 condo-hotel residences at One Bal Harbour in 2010
• Bulk sale of 50 units at Fontainebleau Sorrento in 2009 and 2010
• Bulk sale of 170 units at Trump Hollywood in 2010

“….Sadov’s team closed 16 units in October, up from 14 in September and two in August. Of 580 total Canyon Ranch units, 140 remain unsold – down from 300 when Pordes arrived, Sadov said. Canadians and Brazilians are joining Northeasterners in sales traffic. A recent influx of Argentines resulted in eight deals last month, he added…”

To read the full article click here

When executives from Pordes Residential Sales & Marketing head south to Brazil later this month, we’ll be looking to do more than sell luxury residential real estate – like ocean front condominiums and condo-hotels – along Miami Beach and Bal Harbour. We’ll be looking to recreate fire.

The Pordes team at ONE Bal Harbour and Canyon Ranch Living Miami Beach already have reconnected with their Brazilian relationships. The result: More than a dozen sales in the last three months – with expectations of more in the near future.

In the 1990s, when I was named Director of International Sales for Williams Island in Aventura, I identified Latin America – and specifically Brazil – and a hot emerging market. The local currency – the real – was strong, but the political climate was unstable. Wealthy Brazilians were flocking to Miami – and bringing their liquidity with them.

So I took a team south to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. We built two, fully-equipped model / sales centers and staffed them with 16 full-time associates.

We partnered with luxury auto brands and high-end magazines. Threw over-the-top parties with celebrities and athletes. We flew in up to 45 wealthy families each month to stay in the condos. This went on for nearly six years.

And we eventually sold some $800 million in real estate.

The time’s feeling right again. There’s a huge, new influx of Brazilians in South Florida.

Over 10 days in May, I’ll dust off my Portuguese and speak the language of safe investing. We’ll reach out to our old contacts and partner with local brokers. We’ll host eight sales events, educational sessions, a webinar with Remax, and individual meetings with private buyers in Rio, Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte. We’ll be in hotel conference rooms, a yacht club and prospects’ homes.

We’ll be reaching out to people who see Miami as a trusted destination to invest in real estate.

In the 1990s, political unrest frightened many Brazilians into buying here. This time around, politics are stable. As recently as 2009, the Brazilian market was suffering the recession just like the U.S. Today, the real is near par with the dollar, making it very attractive for Brazilians to hedge and protect their currency by buying luxury real estate at a discounted value in today’s market – when compared to the prices paid over the last five years

Times change. So do motivations. But one reality seems certain: We’ll create fire – again.

Canyon Ranch Living Miami Beach was featured in a CNBC TV segment and article for its recent sales surge and its lavish party that just passed on March 10, 2011.  The sales team, Pordes Residential Sales & Marketing, threw a party for potential investors, complete with massage therapists, a climbing wall and a yoga team to greet you at the door. 

An independent Residential Closings & Occupancy study commissioned by the Miami Downtown Development Authority reveals that 85% of the 23,628 condo and apartment units constructed since 2003 are now occupied, reflecting a 31% increase since June 2009.

The report found that sales activity is accelerating, prices are rising, and absorption ahead of schedule. At Pordes Residential, we’re finding this to be the case in other key condo markets, including Miami Beach and Bal Harbour. Read the entire report here.

Condo buyers from Latin America, New York and the Northeast are finding remarkable deals across the marketplace, especially as lenders rework their portfolios to reposition product and relaunch them for sale this season.

In fact, lenders and developers are aggressively working the assets in their portfolios to take advantage of new-found – and high-profile – product awareness.

Many lenders are looking now to keep what they have and go into a retail sales mode. Over the past few larger sales, lenders have brought in skilled, fresh sales and marketing organizations to retool and reposition their assets in hopes of maximizing the recapture of their investments.

In fact, Canyon Ranch is an ideal example of this strategy. Taken over by the lender that originally financed the deal, that lender decided to reposition the property and sell individual units – as opposed to bulk sell the property. Pordes Residential Sales & Marketing orchestrated the deal and continues to work closely with the lender. The results have been remarkable. The Wall Street Journal in February profiled success at Canyon Ranch Miami Beach [ insert link ].

Other examples of this strategy include the Icon and Viceroy. Both were on the market for a period, only to have the lender realize it was more advantageous to go to market at the retail level. The lender brought in new sales and marketing management, repositioned the property, and began a revived sales initiative.

At 2700 North Ocean in Singer Island in Palm Beach County, Pordes Residential approached the developer, who then worked closely with the lender to orchestrate a $125 million residential bulk sale – one of South Florida’s largest in 2010. The buyer, a private equity fund from New York, added value to the property by rebranding it as Ritz-Carlton Residences – adding immeasurable value and vitality to the sales process beyond simply reselling units.

These are the types of creative strategies that savvy lenders and new bulk purchasers in today’s market utilizing to reposition properties in today’s condo market.

To be sure, this is a case-by-case scenario. Some lenders don’t want to hold real estate; they find bulk-sale buyers in hopes of moving the property off their balance sheets. For its part, the cachet of the “Canyon Ranch” name convinced the lender to work closely with Pordes to sell.

As the dust settles in 2011, we anticipate seeing more such activity. Lenders will reassess their investment portfolio, possibly engage consultants versed in the sales and marketing process, then make their decisions. In many cases, those who had considered taking a write-off or selling in bulk – and haven’t as of yet – might look to partner with the right sales and marketing organization and return to the retail market.

The results of the past six months are an undeniable trend. We believe the revived sales activity of late 2010 and Q1 2011 will lead to a strong Q2 and Q3. People who had been waiting on the sidelines are entering the market and buying second homes or investment properties. This, combined with lenders’ work-out plans, will be just the spark the South Florida condominium market needs to maintain its current, resurgent course.

The real questions should be, “What do real estate investors hope to achieve in a real estate recovery?” and “How is that different from what condo / hotel investors are looking for?”

At Pordes Residential Sales & Marketing, we’re witnessing a robust real estate recovery. Inventories are falling as buyers and investors from across South Florida, New York and even Latin America and Europe return to the market in earnest.

What we’re seeing mostly is people interested in two distinct types of properties with two distinct purposes: Condominiums for strictly investment use, and condominium / hotels for personal use part of the time – and as an investment vehicle when not for personal or even business use.

In both cases, buyers who’ve tired of ill-performing investments want properties that will at least cover ongoing expenses. That’s the case with most condominium investors / buyers. They’re generally looking at condominiums that they can rent out to at least cover such carry costs as maintenance and taxes, and possibly insurance premiums. Given the market’s recovery, these investors should be able to earn roughly 5% to 7% return on their money.

Honestly, if most don’t have to come out of pocket for any costs, they’ll be pleased with the return.

Condominium / hotel buyers are a different lot. They want to enjoy their property. But when they’re not staying on property, they want the “hotel” component to earn favorable returns.

This is where the two investment properties – condominiums and condo / hotels – are remarkably different. Where investment condominiums often are rented seasonally or annually by an agent, broker or even the owner, condo / hotels are best managed as a traditional “hotel.” This means the owner’s returns are dependent upon average daily room rates (ADRs) and the nature of the rental management agreement (RMA) in place at the condo / hotel property.

In our opinion, condo / hotels are not designed or best utilized as commercial investments. They’re better when used as second homes or vacation getaways; the turnkey nature of the management rental component ensures that income from the property covers at least part of the owner’s ongoing expenses.

Moreover, a good RMA provides peace of mind to the owner that the management company handles all the details, from finding guests, handling security deposits and rental fees, and ensuring the process is hassle-free.

Regardless your investment intentions, now is a good time to purchase South Florida real estate. The bottom long-since passed, though we’re still at 30% to 60% off the height of the market. Buying right can ensure the investment is sound, now – and in the future.

Talk has been brewing in South Florida and other luxury condominium markets about a real estate “double-dip.” Already having suffered one recession, some believe markets like Miami Beach, Brickell and Sunny Isles – as well as New York, Las Vegas and other prime American markets are set for a second market fall.

In our opinion, we see nothing of the kind coming….at least not in South Florida

At Pordes Residential, we’re convinced that sound fundamentals related to correct pricing, marketing and economic forces are driving the continued and sustained market recovery.

We’re not blind to market realities. It’s still tough out there. The recovery path we’re currently on is strong – but not definitive. Yet, South Florida is different from other national markets, for a number of reasons:

Our recovery has been fueled by the same forces that historically have driven South Florida’s luxury market: Attractiveness to domestic and international buyers.

We draw from a wider audience. Europeans, Latin Americans and still buyers from the Northeast U.S. are looking for second-home or vacation properties in a multi-faceted, near year-round destination. New York, Las Vegas and California cannot begin to compare to South Florida. From climate and lifestyle, to the business community and our role as a gateway to Latin America and even Europe, no other market shares our attributes.

Pricing is stabilizing. To be sure, South Florida’s prices have dropped from what they were two years ago at over 50%. But prices recovered over last year as the markets have recovered.

Little new product is coming online and supply is getting absorbed. From the Biscayne corridor through downtown south to the the Brickell Village area, inventories are continuing to shrink. This further strengthens values and pricing. At the same time, from South Beach through Miami Beach straight up to Sunny Isles, new development has ceased. In fact, Canyon Ranch Living Miami Beach is one of the only new developer product available in quatity. Most of the inventory at Jade, Trump and some other developments have been getting absorbed over the past 12 months and are at a minimum, Everything else is resale. While we may see new product construction in 24 months or so, the economic rule of “supply and demand,” at least for the moment, is holding true in South Florida.

Bank lending is returning, in part through availability of Fannie May financing. This gives both domestic and international buyers even more incentive to shop (that said, many sales are all-cash; simply put, international buyers remain bullish on the long-term strength and value of South Florida real estate).

Peering into our crystal ball for a moment, we, too, are bullish. And deservedly so. That South Florida saw only a two-year dip during one of the worst worldwide recessions ever is testament to this market’s stability. The dollar continues to strengthen against global currencies. Political instability and economic uncertainty in various Latin American markets (like Venezuela and Argentina & Brazil, for example), make real U.S. real estate desirable as a secure, long-term investment.

For all these reasons and others, South Florida may escape the “double dip” that New York, Las Vegas and various key luxury real estate markets are expecting.