Mark Zilbert's Blog

Here is a quick update with real estate and other interesting news from in and around Miami Beach.
 
ART BASEL FESTIVAL RENEWED – Miami Beach’s Art Basel festival had its 7th year anniversary last week, and we feared that this may have been its last year in Miami.  Well, we just heard that Miami Beach has signed-on for another three years of the festival, and we are delighted.  This is one of the highlights of each year, with the festival taking place the first week of each December.
 
MIAMI BEACH PARKING METERS – Miami Beach has introduced a great new service for residents.  Coins are no longer necessary for using parking meters.  A new, portable device called the iPark is available.  You load the small device with an amount of prepaid parking fees, and when you park your car you activate the device and place it on your dashboard.  When you return to your car, you deactivate it.  Only the parking time used is charged.  And, you never need to fish for quarters again.  You can find details about this device at the Miami Beach city website:  http://web.miamibeachfl.gov/
 
RENTING CONDOS AND HOMES IN MIAMI BEACH – As we previously-announced, our new sister website is online at www.MySunBreak.com.  This site offers thousands of rental properties, including photos and virtual tours.  You can take a peek at some of our showcased rental properties on this special page:  http://www.mysunbreak.com/showcase.asp
 
Also, for anyone looking for a stunning apartment at ICON South Beach, we’re launching Unit 3901 for rent, a stunning 3-bedroom corner unit with the best views in South Beach.  Available immediately at $9000 per month.  You will love it!
 
BLACKBERRY STORM, MY NEW FAVORITE DEVICE – Blackberry’s new Storm has received mixed reviews since it first debuted a few weeks ago.  The New York Times trashed it, and many others complained about bugs and hiccups.  Well, I decided to give the new device a try, and on Verizon’s network, even though I have been a die-hard Blackberry 8800 user with T-Mobile for what seems like an eternity.  While my first day was a little shaky, after a few days I truly fell in love.  Old habits are hard to break (like typing on real keys), but now that I am almost at three weeks with my Storm, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  Read my full review on my blog:  http://www.zilbertblog.com.
 
MURANO GRANDE – A BEST SELLER – My sales team and I are celebrating some recent sales successes at Murano Grande, one of South Beach’s favorite luxury condos.  Our “Bill and Bryan” sales duo managed to list and sell Unit 2111 in a single day!  And, I was very pleased to have listed and sold Unit 1606 in just 10 days.  Sales like this are part of a suddenly-busy selling season that started in November.  Buyers are taking advantage of lowered prices, and are finding great value in putting together fast, cash closings.  By the way, we have a handful of amazing apartments at Murano Grande, most below market pricing.  Have a look:  http://www.zilbert.com/murano_grande/murano_grande.asp