South Florida’s luxury condo buyers have a literal bounty of ultra-high-end amenities to choose from: In the Porsche Design Tower, owners can transport their cars to their units using custom glass elevators. At the Fendi Château Residences, each unit’s cabinetry comes courtesy of the fashion house’s home line. The Armani Casa boasts a cigar room and two-story spa for residents, all designed and furnished, unsurprisingly, by Armani.
Branded condos are proliferating across greater Miami, as well as New York, Texas, and California, as developers seek ways to appeal to an international buyer base and command premium prices. A section of the real estate market once mostly linked to high-end hotels has expanded to a much broader swath of luxury, including fashion labels, car brands, and even a provider of high-end music festivals.
More branded buildings are on the way. In Miami, the Bentley Residences is targeting completion in 2028, as is a 90-story Dolce & Gabbana-affiliated tower. A 70-story project tied to the Swiss watch brand Breitling is in early stages, with construction set to begin in 2028 and finish in 2031. Hospitality brands, including the ultraluxury Aman, have projects in the works in multiple states.
“Brands are very appealing in markets where there are a lot of out-of-state and foreign buyers,” said Fernando de Nuñez y Lugones, CEO of Vertical Developments, whose projects include condos tied to Elle, Fendi, Armani, and yacht company Riva. “The brands act like third-party endorsements for buyers and brokers.”
Entrance sign to Armani Casa Residences in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. · felixmizioznikov via Getty Images
Much like with luxury handbags or cars, condo buyers will also pony up for name recognition. Branded condos can command a hefty premium — as much as 30% or more in some cases — compared to similar unbranded offerings.
Within the world of branded condos, offerings and price points vary. Hotel-associated condos are aimed primarily at buyers seeking expansive amenities and high-touch customer service. Fashion-affiliated buildings emphasize their design sensibilities. Locations can range from beachfront to downtown core.
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Hotels remain an obvious choice for branded condos, said Jon Paul Pérez, CEO of the Related Group, which has developed South Florida condo projects for Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, and Rosewood.
“You have the feeling of living in a hotel with all the benefits, and you don’t have to worry about transient guests,” Pérez said. “I think that’s a tremendous value for residential real estate.”
Still others are designed to capture niche but passionate fanbases, such as Porsche collectors who want to display their vehicles in their homes. Each apartment in the Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles Beach can accommodate two cars, and in the in-progress Bentley building, each apartment will have parking for three or four vehicles.
A rendering of the “Dezervator” in the Bentley Residences. Building residents can drive into the glass car elevators and transfer their vehicles to their personal apartment “sky garages.” · Dezer Development
For boating enthusiasts, the Riva Residenze in Fort Lauderdale is set to be the first yacht-branded condo complex, featuring a private marina.
At some point, condo brand deals will reach their limit, said Gil Dezer, CEO of Dezer Development, the company behind the Porsche and Bentley buildings, as well as Armani- and Trump-branded towers.
“There are only a few more prestige brands that are so prestige that they want to lend their names to buildings,” Dezer said.
High-end pricing
No matter the building, luxury branding commands luxury prices. Some high-end hotel-branded units start at $4 million to $5 million, although options like the pied-à-terre-focused Elle Residences in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood start comparatively low, at around $600,000.
In New York, listings at the Four Seasons Residences in the Tribeca neighborhood start at $2.4 million for a one-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom unit. The building wasn’t an immediate success when it opened in 2016, said Wei Min Tan, a real estate broker who specializes in helping international buyers purchase condos in Manhattan, and some early buyers took losses when they sold. But demand has since firmed up.
“Right now, they are transacting well,” Tan said. “I’m always on the lookout for the next good deal at the Four Seasons.”
The ultraexclusive Giorgio Armani Residences on the Upper East Side, meanwhile, was a more immediate success. All 10 units sold out before the building was completed, grossing nearly $170 million. Today, the cheapest available unit is a two-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom apartment asking $8.9 million.
The building’s penthouse fetched more than $30 million.
Claire Boston is a Senior Reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages, and home insurance.
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