Sandra fulfilled her dreams of living in Miami permanently in 1998 when she moved from Germany to Miami... to work with a marketing company. A friend then talked to her about the local real estate scene and how she would be perfect for it. As they say, the rest is history.
Sandra Fiorenza
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Sandra Fiorenza
In an illustrious career that continues to this day, the Haute Agent has sold over $350 million in real estate, including $30 million just in 2020. The Miami real estate boom that began before the pandemic hit has seen the top movers of the industry like Fiorenza excel at marketing and achieving the promotion and sale of everything from mansions to single-family homes and luxury condos at a rate rarely or never seen before.
So how did all this start? "After asking myself why I would want to go into real estate, I said 'Why not?' and it ended up being a blessing," says Fiorenza. "I got my license in a week. Because I spoke several languages, I got my first assignment at The Yacht Club at Portofino in Miami Beach, where I sold 40 apartments in the first three months. After working on several developments in the South of Fifth neighborhood in development sales, I started doing sales on Fisher Island because I was already living there and sales happened organically there. Then I met my husband and decided not to do development sales anymore. I got married and had three kids and was very much involved in the Fisher Island community. I know how crucial community-building is to living a happy, fulfilled life. I love sharing that knowledge with my clients so they can thrive the way my family and I have in Miami.”
Organically servicing the Europeans as well as many Latin Americans who would look and buy from her on Fisher Island, Fiorenza became a force on the exclusive island just off Miami Beach. In 2009, she and her husband decided to build their own house on a waterfront lot in Gables Estates. They moved into their "dream home," a two-story neo-classical Italian-style villa, at the end of 2012.
Sandra Fiorenza's family estate in Gables Estates
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Sandra Fiorenza
During the building process of the home, Mayi de la Vega recruited her to join ONE Sotheby's International Realty, where she focused on the Coral Gables and Gables Estates, Cocoplum and Pinecrest areas, while branching out in other industries like yoga and cosmetics. "I was always very experimental and doing different things, but real estate is my passion," she says.
On the growth of the local real estate industry, she says, "Miami Beach was so different in 1998. It was an idyllic, vacation place, and now we have a cosmopolitan city. I said to myself back then, 'I don't understand why everybody does not want to live in Miami, it has everything in culture, weather, no pollution, and a great place to work.' I always make a point that I did not immigrate to the United States. I immigrated to Miami."
Fiorenza used the tools available to market her listings and grow her network at a time when there was no social media or email marketing. She advertised in newspapers, journals, and sent postcards and constantly networked, setting herself on a path that has not let up in achieving sales that placed her at the top echelon of the industry.
In a saturated business that has seen many people join the industry and getting their own licenses, she keeps expanding her services. "I think when you are ambitious and work hard, you can make it in real estate, but it also comes down to where you want to be and what kinds of connections you have,” she says. “At this point in my life, I am more into investing in real estate and giving investment advice; looking at broader lifestyle service offerings."
Her status among the world's elite professionals has afforded her clients ample access to luxury experiences in Miami style, whether in real estate or otherwise.
Accurately pointing out that there are more agents than homes for sale in Miami, Fiorenza explains the current challenge for every broker and agent. "You have to really get in there, work 12 hours per day and think, dream, and tap into all aspects of real estate. If you don't do it full-time, you will eventually give up because you have to put in a lot of energy."
M/Y Njord
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Espen Øino
Fiorenza is currently representing the ultra-luxurious travel experiences on the new 900-feet super yacht M/Y Njord, which is designed by Ocean Residences and will house 118 luxury apartments alongside helicopters, flat-bottom RIBs for Antarctica, and limousine tenders for the Mediterranean. “With Njord, we’re placing the world at your feet and allowing a few like-minded individuals to circumnavigate the globe from the comfort of their luxury homes.”
For more information, please contact Sandra Fiorenza at 305-281-4727 or sandra@fiorenza.cc
Sandra Fiorenza is the exclusive agent representing the Fisher Island, FL real estate market as a member of the Haute Residence Real Estate Network. View all of her listings here.
