The Loan Committee™

Some 2,500 new hotel rooms are expected to come online in Miami in 2015, according to the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. While new hotels are expected to be added across all price points, now more than ever the industry is filling in at low- to mid-level offerings and across many Greater Miami neighborhoods, from Brickell to Surfside. read entire article… Author: Nina Lincoff. Source: Miami Today.

What’s going on in CRE regarding data? While the CRE data conversation has mostly revolved around what CoStar/LoopNet and Xceligent are up to, there’s a lot more going on than that. Yes, I’m talking about big data. But everyone in CRE seems to be thinking small.  There’s way too much emphasis on property and listing data. And most of it is “out there” already. You just have to do some work to get it – or pay for it. Except in a few markets, agents complain about the cost and the quality offered by current aggregators. And unless there is more competition, don’t expect pricing to get any better.  read entire article…  Source: CRE Outsider.

The U.S. manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace in 2½ years last month, an industry report showed on Monday, while the pace of hiring in the sector also accelerated. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity rose to 57.3 in November—its best showing since April 2011—from 56.4 the prior month. view entire article and video… Source: Reuters / CNBC

MIAMI—Cranes are again rising over this city, as the poster child for the real-estate collapse enjoys a new condominium boom fueled by foreign investors looking to park their money in U.S. real estate.  read entire article… Authors:  Arian Campo-Flores and Conor Dougherty.  Source:  The Wall Street Journal.

Empty strip malls still plague U.S. shopping centers, as the commercial sector continues to struggle with oversupply from last decade’s housing boom, according to a report from Reis Inc., a real estate research firm.  read entire article…  Source:  Realtor® Mag.

Valentino, Fendi, Tom Ford, Dolce & Gabbana, Harry Winston, Givenchy, Giorgio Armani and Van Cleef & Arpels.  All those ultra-luxury fashion and jewelry brands — and many more — will soon open their gilded doors in Miami’s redeveloped Design District, joining other high-end designers like Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Berluti, Emilio Pucci, Prada, Celine and Cartier, which have already set up shops.  Read entire article…  Author:  Ina Paiva Cordle.  Source:  The Miami Herald-Business Monday.

When the 2,200 seat Carib Theater opened on Lincoln Road in 1950, it was a state-of-the-art facility featuring a moving ceiling.  Now, new owners are planning to convert the building into a multi-level retail center.  read entire article…  Source:  exMiami.

photo credit: Phillip Pessar via photopin cc