Photo Credit: Justin Namon

How was the experience of selling at this high level with the pandemic still going?

It was challenging because of not having the freedom we had before, of coming and seeing the property as many times as you wanted. Everybody is more restricted. You have to be very knowledgeable of what buyers want because there's a limited amount of time with them, as they don't want to expose themselves to 20 houses. You have to know what they want from the beginning and guide them correctly, knowing what would be the home to suit them.

Photo Credit: Justin Namon

What were the prices for each?

For Birdman, the closing price was almost $11 million. For Ozuna, close to $5.5 million.

Photo Credit: Justin Namon

How has the real estate market in Miami and Coconut Grove been lately?

Right now, there is a great deal of activity. I believe that many more people will be calling Miami, Home. It's going to be where you want to be. People want space, air, and location. Miami is a young city with great qualities. It is becoming more sophisticated than it used to be in the past, and space is the new luxury. The market in Coconut Grove for single-family homes is beginning to take off. I have sold the last three non-waterfront properties in Coconut Grove priced over $5 million.

Photo Credit: Justin Namon

Why is an apartment better in Miami than somewhere else?

An apartment in Miami still provides space. Everywhere you go, like Old Cutler, Coconut Grove, and Miami Beach, there are places to walk. Miami is not as high-density compared to many other cities.

How has real estate changed?

The rule was "location, location, location." Now it's "location, space." We have seen a much higher demand for houses. People want areas that in a building might not be accessible, as we have seen during this pandemic. Fortunately for us in Miami, you can live in an apartment and (even with social distancing) still go outside, walk, and enjoy the outdoors year-round.

For more on Lourdes Alatriste, visit her Haute Residence profile.

The post Lourdes Alatriste Has Brokered Ozuna And Birdman Properties appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Haute Living's Seth Semilof introduced Cheryl Casone, who joined FOX Business Network (FBN) as an anchor in September 2007 and currently serves as the co-anchor of FBN:AM, which airs weekdays at 5 AM/EST. Casone is also a financial contributor on FOX News Channel (FNC) where she provides economic reports. Casone served as the host of the dynamic dialogue that included questions submitted by viewers. 

Semilof continued by welcoming the panelists for today's webinar:

• Louis Birdman, co-developer of One Thousand Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects. As Principal at BRD/Birdman Real Estate Development, has overseen the development of more than 18,000 residential units and 1,000 hotel keys valued at more than $5 billion.
• Edgardo Defortuna, Founder and CEO of Fortune International Group, who brings over 30 of experience in the real estate industry; a visionary and driving force in South Florida’s landscape.
• Jules Trump, developer of The Estates at Acqualina, the $1.8 billion ultra-luxury development in Sunny Isles Beach, FL.
• Michael Stern, Founder & CEO of JDS Development, an innovative real estate development, construction, and acquisition firm responsible for the creation of numerous residential, hospitality, and mixed-use projects in New York City and Miami.

Watch the full video below

Casone took over and engaged the panelists in an hour-long conversation that encompassed multiple real estate markets. They gave their thoughts on the best ways for real estate agents, brokers, developers, and the industry overall to deal with the effect that COVID-19 has had on business and the rest of the year.

"There have been many changes in the way we are all doing business," said Birdman. "Real estate is a face-to-face business, but that has changed with this outbreak. People still need to move, have leases coming up and other circumstances, so properties continue to get shown in different ways to ensure the safety of sellers, buyers and people working at properties."

Stern spoke on New York's state of real estate affairs since the Big Apple became the center of the Coronavirus pandemic in the US. "For New York, we closed our office three and a half weeks ago, completely working remotely except for construction," he said. Then, he continued to compare his company's activity in South Florida with New York. "In Miami, we have not seen much of a drop in manpower in construction. For the most part, we are doing construction in Florida and largely stopped in New York."

The construction of The Estates at Acqualina has continued while adapting to today's standards of social distancing and higher use of technology for marketing. "We are able to continue with the construction, but taking care of our workers," said Trump. He continued, "We are making great use of technology to share communications to tell the story of The Estates at Acqualina. We are in constant communication with our customers today, even more so than prior."

Casone asked Defortuna about the quick learning curve for the entire industry on how to conduct business from a distance. "Especially on the luxury side of the market, nobody needs to buy a second or third home," he said. "They buy it because they love it. From the marketing point of view, we have specialized in marketing to the entire world, providing tools to brokers to promote our projects in Latin America, Europe, and worldwide. Presentations of this type are happening all over the world. My brokers are saying they are busier now than before when they were doing presentations one-on-one."

Today's webinar followed on yesterday's session that featured Daniel de la Vega, President of ONE Sotheby's International Realty.

Top left: Edgardo Defortuna; top right: Jules Trump; bottom left Louis Birdman; bottom right, Michael Stern; center: Cheryl Casone

The post Watch: Louis Birdman, Edgardo Defortuna, Jules Trump And Michael Stern Join Haute Residence For Live Webinar appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.