A barometer of South Florida house prices increased in May for a 17th consecutive month. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index, released Tuesday, rose 14.2 percent from a year ago.

Case-Shiller measures Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties and 19 other major metropolitan areas. All 20 posted annual price gains, with Dallas and Denver exceeding peaks established before the Great Recession.

San Francisco led the nation with a 24.5 percent increase, followed by Las Vegas (23.3 percent) and Phoenix (20.6).

South Florida and much of the country have too little supply to satisfy intense demand. Investors are scooping up homes in large numbers, often shutting out first-time buyers looking to take advantage of still-low mortgage rates.

Despite the ongoing damage, South Florida accelerated its recovery in May. Case-Shiller showed property values up 14 percent for the last 12 months, its best yearly increase since May 2006. Compared to April 2013, values are up just under 1 percent in May. A tiny gain, for sure, but also the 17th straight month of increases. That’s the best streak for South Florida in the Case-Shiller report since 82 months of straight gains ended in June 2006 as the pricing bubble in real estate was about to burst.

At its worst, South Florida real estate was down 51 percent on the Case-Shiller index. The trough came in November 2011.

Miami remains on average 41% off from its peak. Only Las Vegas at 51% as a larger difference in today’s market.

Veteran developer R. Donahue Peebles proposes Miami Beach Condominium – ct miami

It is clear that Miami is on a building spree not seen since the pre-bust of 2007-2008. R. Donahue Peebles is adding his name to a long list of developers proposing to build condominiums in South Florida adding to what may be another over saturated market.

Condo Vultures is reporting that Peebles plans to develop 6767 Collins Avenue fronting the Atlantic Ocean. In Miami Beach alone, developers want to build 18 towers with nearly 1,100 units.

Overall in the region developers are proposing nearly 20,000 units, according to Condo Vultures.

An affiliate that Peebles Corp., one of the largest African-American-owned real estate developers in the country, has proposed to build up to 16 stories with 13 units just south of Canyon Ranch on Miami Beach.

The regular units will average 5,620-square-feet and there is a two-story penthouse that will have 10,000 square feet. Additionally there are two oceanfront villas

Miami Judge Denies Tossing Out Civil Lawsuit Against Biogenesis – ct miami

A Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge denied a motion to throw out Major League Baseball’s civil lawsuit against Biogenesis.

Biogenesis is the alleged doping pipeline to baseball players and other professional athletes based in South Florida.

According to CBS4 news partner, The Miami Herald, the decision by Judge Dresnick, Monday, means MLB can use the legal system to force witnesses to give depositions regarding Biogenesis.

The depositions would substantiate Biogenesis founder Tony Bosch’s claims that his clinic supplied banned substances to baseball players for several years.

Among those subpoenaed by MLB: former University of Miami pitching coach Lazaro Collazo, who is accused of acting as an intermediary for clients of the clinic — an allegation he denies the paper reported.

Collazo is not part of the lawsuit, but argued for its dismissal.

In the meantime, MLB is considering suspensions of about 20 players connected to Biogenesis as taking banned substances.

Some of the players on the list include Alex Rodriguez, third baseman for the New York Yankees. The Miami native could be banned for life, the New York Daily news reported, Monday.

Bosch, his business partners and others are accused by MLB of interfering with the players’ contracts, which prohibits them from taking PEDs.

This Week in Miami Real Estate Update – ct miami

This week in Miami Real Estate from John Ellis at Robert Futterman & Associates

This week in Miami: 7.26.2013

• West Brickell – Yesterday -July 25th was the date for a city commission hearing on three parcels that are going for brownfield status. To be designated brownfield sites: defined as real property- the expansion redevelopment or reuse of which may be complicated by actual or perceived environmental contamination. The Richman Group wants to develop 1026 W Second Ave. (32 units of affordable housing), 144 and 152 SW Eighth Street (64 units of affordable housing and 850 SW 2nd Ave. (89 units of affordable housing). The developer is seeking the brownfield designation because of evidence of contamination – specifically an Exxon station, a BP station and a Citgo station in close proximity to the proposed development sites. If the properties are designated, the Florida Dept of Environmental Protection & Regulation will be notified. The developers will then seek to include (expand) these sites into the brownfield area- and these areas would then require remediation. The Richman Group and its affiliates have developed more than 19,000 residential units. Should have the results for you next week.

• Downtown-County commissioners agreed to accept $145K annually for up to 4 years for beautification of the entrances to downtown. The $$ is from the Downtown Development Authority (DDA). The agreement provides for “enhanced levels of service required to attain the standard of landscaping and aesthetic improvements desired within the DDA district”. The DDA gets its $$ primarily from an added tax on businesses within the DDA’s boundaries. Hey its good news for the panhandlers who will now have a much nicer environment in which to “work” the entrance and exit ramps.

• Miami – Fountainebleau – Congrats to the folks at Regency for successfully closing on the Fountainebleau Square site this week. On July 11 Regency completed the $17.09M acquisition of the site. The project has a total budget of $51M. The proposed 320,000 SF Power Center on 37 acres will come on line by Q4 of 2014. Located at 10001 W Flagler (102nd Ave and Flagler) the former mobile home park is two miles northeast of FIU. The lineup will include Target, Publix, Panera Bread, Hair Cuttery, National apparel retailers and an excellent quick service restaurant lineup in what has been a quote “under-retailed” area. There are 180,000 people within the three mile radius. Kudos to Ross K. and Bob S.!

• Miami – Fountainebleau too. Also coming to this corridor is Related’s Fountainebleau Lakes project – a two phase residential apartment complex that is in the planning process. The Courtelis Company in partnership with Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds has a new project as well. Fountainebleau Park Plaza located at 9201 W Flagler Street. The 233,000 SF center (on 31.9 acres) will have a good tenant mix, which includes retail (Walmart), food, bank (TD Bank), fitness (LA Fitness), medical, education, day care, entertainment, and office users. And yes, the Johnson of Canyon -Johnson is Magic.

• Lincoln Rd- Apple will be moving from their current 738 address to a new building of approximately 14,000 SF at 1021-1025 Lincoln Rd. (currently the closed and papered Sosta Pizza and Quicksilver) in mid- 2014. They will be an adjacent part of the GAP flagship redevelopment that is underway. The current Apple store location is 5274 SF with only about 2700 SF of sales floor area. Apple reportedly did $135M in 2012 or $25,597 PSF. *If you base the number on the actual size of the sales floor its $50,000 PSF. That’s a MONSTER number! I think it’s safe to say they can afford some additional square feet…..

• Coral Gables – The closed and papered Campaniello home furnishing store at 301 Miracle Mile (at Salzedo St) will soon re-open as La Tagliatella restaurant. La Tagliatella is a European based Italian restaurant owned by AmRest Holding SE, the largest operator of independent restaurants in Central and Eastern Europe with more than 700 restaurants. There are more than 135 La Tagliatella restaurants globally in Europe, Asia, India and the US. The other US locations include Arlington VA, Charlotte NC, Midtown and Emory Point – both in Hotlanta.

• Hollywood- It pays to have good partners…. The developers of the $147M Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort closed on a $35M construction loan. The lender is Dallas based Bank of the Ozarks. Representing developer Lon Tabatchnick at the closing was his new partner Starwood Capital Group. The development team was required to show proof of at least $80M in financing to get the project rolling. Starwood offered this proof. No kidding. The Resort: 349 rooms, 35,000 SF of exhibition space, 30,000 SF of restaurant space, 6,500 SF of retail space, 1,056 car garage. You guessed it- Jimmy Buffett is a minority partner.

• Design District – A new 3000 SF lease has been announced in the first floor of the Majestic Building 35 NE 40th Street. The new tenant is Delpozo a Madrid based women’s fashion retailer. Delpozo is slated to take possession August 1st and be ready and open by Art Basel = December. Current neighbors on 40th St. are The Oak Tavern, Anya Povorovskaya, Dolcevita Cashmere, Bobby Berk Home and Christian Liaigre. I say current neighbors, because there are a lot of moving parts in the Design District and there is a lot of re- locating going on….. don’t worry you will know in due time.

• Brickell – La Mexicana Cantina & Grill will be opening at 1451 South Miami Avenue in just a few weeks. The owner, Gerardo Barrera De Negri owns a chain of bars/restaurants.

• Miami Beach – Zara has announced that it will be opening a 26,000 SF flagship store on Lincoln Road. The location will be in the 420 Lincoln Road building, and sources say it will be opening this winter. Also on the beach, Chicago based Siena Tavern will be expanding to South Beach. Behind this will be Lucas Stoioff and David Rekhson of DineAmic Group. No word on where the exact location will be as of yet.

• Sunrise – Versace has opened an outlet at the Colonnade at Sawgrass Mills. As part of the 40,000 square foot high-end retail expansion, Versace joins Diane Von Furstenberg, Robert Graham, Ippolita, and Wolford. Versace has an additional location at the Bal Harbour Shops.

• South Beach – Goldman Properties has sold the iconic 125 room Park Central hotel on Ocean Drive. The buyer was Park Central Partners, LLC, a group headed by Miami Real Estate broker/businessman Ricardo Tabet, and Houston developer Giorgio Borlenghi. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but county records indicate combined sales of the hotel and surrounding property topped $39 million.

• National – Big Apple – Calypso St. Barth and Equinox have just signed leases at Brookfield Place. Calypso’s 1,400 square feet of space will open for business in the fall of 2014 when the $250 million dollar renovation of 200,000 square feet of retail space will be complete. Equinox will be taking 35,000 square feet of 2nd and 3rd floor space at the complex. Once complete, Brookfield Place will be comprised of several luxury users and top restaurants. Other fashion retailers who have signed at Brookfield Place include Burberry, Michael Kors, and Hermes. Along with the 400,000 square foot mall being built at the World Trade center, Brookfield place will further fuel the massive growth of downtown retail in Manhattan. Has it really been 12 years since 9-11? Nice comeback.

• National- Boston – Ice Bar is coming to Faneuil Hall on the second floor above American Eagle Outfitters. Delivery has begun this week of the more than 50 tons of ice that will become what the owners claim is the largest permanent ice bar in the world. Ice Bar originated in Scandinavia and has since expanded to Las Vegas, Orlando and New York. What is actually made of ice? According to the owners, the walls, the stools and even the cocktail glasses are made of ice. Re-defines the old saying “lets meet for a cold one”.

• National Retail – A number of fashion retailers posted strong gains this week- especially Wednesday. This from WWD: The S&P; 500 Retailing Industry Group gained 0.4 percent, or 3.15 points, to 836.50 — better than the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 0.1 percent gain to 15,555.61 — and several fashion players moved up strongly. Under Armour led the pack, up 12.2% to $69.38 per share. Also showing strong gains were Destination Maternity Corp., up 8.1 percent to $31.29; Pacific Sunwear of California Inc., 6.1 percent to $4.20 and The Jones Group Inc., 5.3 percent to $17. Now let’s see if we can keep this momentum through the summer and into the real buying seasons: back to school and the holidays.

• International- Shake Shack London has opened in touristy Covent Gardens to a very English (understated) reception. According to Metro UK the lines were long and the response was mostly positive. UK Metro writer Christopher Hooten said this: ” Shake Shack falls between a McDonalds experience and a sit down gourmet burger experience.” “The flavors are great and the price is modest”. I have been to Covent Gardens which reminds me of a Faneuil Hall experience with more alcohol. The classic Punch and Judy Pub is nearby and Shake Shack will be a good place to eat = absorb alcohol.

• Facts:

o Home sales rose 8.3% last month to an adjusted pace of 497,000.* This is below the 700,000 number that reflects a healthy economy, but up overall 38% in the past 12 months – the highest annual gain since 1992 .

o Each new home built creates an avg. of three new jobs and spurs spending at furniture and home supply stores.

o $52.96 – Average rent PSF on the Miracle Mile in the heart of Coral Gables – (Between LeJeune and Douglas)

o 4.3% – Vacancy rate of Miracle Mile (lowest in nine years)

o 90 Towers and 15,285 units. Number of proposed projects for Miami Dade County alone, as of July 17, 2013.