The Daily Soak - November 10

Buyers Lining Up For 70% Discounts at Palm Beach Auction

At least 1,000 people have expressed interest and over 200 are officially pre-registered for an auction of condo units in a new West Palm Beach high-rise. Half of the units in the 307-unit The Edge project located here. The developer, Wood Partners, plans on putting 41 of the 156 unsold units up for auction this Saturday, November 15, and prices are being discounted 40-70% from the original asking prices. While surprised the majority of those registered are older than 50, Jay Jacobson of Wood Partners speculates that volatility on Wall Street may be the impetus for a renewed interest in Florida real estate. "They've watched their stock market holdings go down and they want to put their money in Florida real estate," Jacobson says, "They feel it's bottomed out." For more information on Saturday's auction, please visit the developer's site.


Will $500 Million Renovation of Miami Beach Icon Pay Off?

The Fontainebleau is considered one of the most architecturally and historically significant hotels on Miami Beach. South Florida's largest resort originally opened its doors in 1954 and quickly became a favorite playground of the Rat Pack, Elvis and Jackie Gleason. After falling into a sad state of disrepair, the resort was purchased in 2005 and renovations and construction of two new condo-hotel towers began in 2006. 679 new units have been added to the resort's existing 876 room inventory, and all are set to debut this Friday. According to the Miami Herald, the developers had to sell half of the resort to a group of investors led by the Dubai government for $375 million in order to cover cost overruns at the new Fontainebleau Las Vegas. For a closer look at the renovations, visit the Fontainebleau website.


Leaving Florida: "The Carolinas Are Where There's A Lot of Work"

Alexis Wittrock and her husband, Mike, moved to North Port during the boom for six-figure jobs in the home building business. That was then, this is now. Today Alexis is holding a yard sale to raise some extra cash while Mike delivers pizza, the only job he could find in this Southwest Florida town recently gutted by the HousingBath. The Herald-Tribune sums assesses the damage, "The exodus of people who had planned to raise families here is leaving holes in neighborhoods and changing the fabric of the city with Sarasota County’s lowest median age. The impact is hard to measure, but it is evident in the abandoned homes on many streets, the declining number of students in the city’s schools and the struggle of local businesses to attract patrons." As for the Wittrock's, they are leaving North Port and relocating to the Carolinas.