Trend Watch

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava – Spotlight: Surfside, Sustainability & Growth in Miami | Ep. 61

Daniella Levine Cava was elected Miami-Dade County's first-ever woman Mayor in November 2020. She entered the Mayor's office following a 40-year career as a relentless advocate for South Florida families in public service and elected leadership.
In this episode, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava joins us for a conversation about some of the important issues that impacted Miami's real estate community this year, and hot topics going into 2022. She reflects on the Surfside building collapse tragedy (2:09); addresses the need for sustainable growth in Miami and Miami Beach, following a year where New Yorkers and Californians emigrated to Florida in mass (8:26); and shares her take on why improving public transportation in Miami’s metropolitan core is critical in the years ahead (11:13). 
As Miami-Dade County's Mayor, Daniella Levine Cava oversees a metropolitan government with more than 28,000 employees serving nearly 3 million residents, managing an annual budget of approximately $9 billion. 
Hosts: Omar De Windt; Alicia Cervera LamadridProducers: Octavio Alvarez; Veronica Aizpurua
Follow: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / YouTube

Eyrus – How To: Improve Construction Cost, Accuracy & Operational Demands| Ep. 59

Eyrus is a construction technology start up on a mission to leverage technology and data to provide value to everyone throughout the construction process. Their solutions focus on cost, accuracy and the operational demands of each unique construction project.
 
About Alexandra McManus:
Alexandra McManus is the co-founder and CEO of Eyrus, bringing to the company over two decades of professional experience in the construction technology space, across business development, operations, leadership, and more. She provides a constant stream of vision and intuition for Eyrus alongside her co-founder and COO, Hussein Cholkamy. Together, they launched Eyrus to generate the ultimate workforce visibility platform by leveraging automated data collection and IoT hardware. Eyrus provides simple and seamless solutions that enhance levels of workforce insight and support construction professionals in delivering their projects on time and on budget. To meet today’s challenges around COVID-19, Eyrus combines workforce data with site zone information to provide solutions for protocol mandates in the workplace, streamlining workflows, increasing collaboration, promoting safety, and supporting compliance.
About Hussein Cholkamy:
As Co-founder and COO of Eyrus, Hussein brings over 20 years of global experience in real estate development, construction and design.  He began his career as an Architect after obtaining his bachelor’s in Architecture from the University of Arizona. He then crossed into real estate development and project management after achieving his MBA from The George Washington University. Throughout his early career, Hussein worked on over 15 million square feet of construction and development globally. His dynamic understanding of construction project complexities, along with experience in business development and operations have founded the success of Eyrus in today’s market. 

Jeff Ransdell – Spotlight: Silicon Valley and The Miami Tech Boom | Ep. 57

Jeff Ransdell is the founder of Miami-based Fuel Venture Capital. He previously appeared on the podcast in 2018 and helped contextualize Miami’s booming tech scene for listeners. Since then, venture capitalists from Silicon Valley and New York together with tech entrepreneurs from across the globe have flocked to Miami in the wake of COVID-19. Jeff joins us today to revisit the conversation about how tech is making Miami's real estate market boom, from the perspective of an "insider." 
 
Enjoy the show, and join us weekly on Thursdays for new episodes of the Miami Real Estate Podcast. 
 
About Jeff:
Jeff Ransdell is a venture capitalist helping to develop more than 20 technology companies through Fuel Venture Capital, the Miami-based venture fund he co-founded in 2017 and heads up as managing director. Prior to launching Fuel Venture Capital, Jeff was a managing director and market executive of Merrill Lynch, managing more than $130 billion of global private client investment assets, a P&L of $2 billion, and over 2,000 employees across the bank’s Southeast Wealth Management Division. Fuel Venture Capital has invested more than $100 million in startups based all over the world, and its portfolio includes Taxfyle, Bolt Mobility, Curve, Boatsetter, and more. Jeff is regularly called upon to share his insights on the global economy with outlets such as CNBC, CBS and American City Business Journals. Keep up with Jeff and Rokk3r Fuel via Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Josh Midgal – Spotlight: 2021 Mortgage Market Outlook | Ep. 56

Josh Migdal is a founding partner of Miami-based complex commercial litigation firm Mark Migdal & Hayden and a mortgage expert. He has been tapped numerous times to provide his expertise and insight on the housing cycle as well as its ramifications, especially now with the widespread pandemic. In this episode, Josh shares his thoughts about the 2021 mortgage market outlook, in addition to:
How foreclosures will affect the mortgage market and signs that it will be similar to the aftermath of the 2008 Great Recession
What a successfully deployed vaccine could mean for the mortgage market (i.e. employment recovers, borders open, etc.)
Why extremely low mortgage rates could create an environment for fraud
Factors that will affect the refinancing boom and other related industry topics
About Josh:
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, Josh recovered in excess of $30,000,000 for his clients by implementing an innovative legal theory that pinned liability on title insurers for mortgage losses suffered by banks and government-sponsored entities. He is one of only a handful of attorneys in Florida that stridently advocates securing this type of recovery from title insurers on such claims. He was also recently inducted into the University of Miami’s Citizens Board - a prestigious board comprised of more than 270 business, professional and civic leaders who support the university’s programs and philanthropic efforts - as a member of the Class of 2019.

Fernando Alvarez – Spotlight: Why Property Insurance Rates are Rising | Ep. 55

In this episode with Miami real estate insurance expert Fernando Alvarez, we discuss the various exposures properties will face in 2021 and how to create a comprehensive risk management strategy. With over a decade of experience, Alvarez explains candidly how the real estate insurance market works, and how his own company aims to offer a transparent and honest experience to his clients at JAG.  
Recorded mid-December 2020, the episode covers the following topics:
Understanding the tidal wave of property insurance rate spikes
Why insurance rates are rising for commercial real estate owners
The changing claims process and InsurTech role on underwriting
Catastrophic claims: How the overall claim environment affects insurance rates regardless of one’s proximity to losses from wildfires and hurricanes.
Best practices and practical tips for homeowners
Fernando Alvarez is an athlete, entrepreneur, principal of JAG Insurance Group, podcaster, and host of The Transition: Life After Sports Podcast.
About JAG Insurance Group: With nearly a decade of hard-earned industry insight and high-level expertise, JAG continues to pave a forward-thinking approach in the commercial insurance and risk management landscape. JAG offers extensive, integrated business solutions across a multitude of sectors, including, employee benefits, property and casualty insurance, and financial and private client services. 
The Miami Real Estate Podcast is brought to you by the Cervera Newsroom at Cervera Real Estate. Learn more at MiamiRealEstatePodcast.com.

Sebastian Jaramillo – Spotlight: Commercial Real Estate Post-COVID | Ep. 54

This week, Miami Real Estate Podcast co-hosts Omar De Windt and Alicia Cervera Lamadrid discuss current events, share thoughts on the Thanksgiving Day holiday, and a "Hot Take" on whether now is the time to buy or rent if you've recently sold your single-family home. Then, a Commercial real estate state-of-the-market with Sebastian Jaramillo of Wolfe & Pincavage. 

Teresa Kinney – Spotlight: State of the Miami Market Q4 2020 | Ep. 53

Miami real estate expert Alicia Cervera Lamadrid shares her thoughts on why Miami condominiums are still a good investment despite the popularity of single-family homes, and whether or not U.S. presidential elections will impact the real estate industry in this week's MREP "Hot Takes." Then, a conversation about the state of the Miami real estate market between Alicia and Omar with special guest Teresa Kinney, President of Miami Association of REALTORs. 

Alicia Cervera Lamadrid – How To: Sell New Construction | Ep. 52

Miami real estate expert Alicia Cervera Lamadrid answers questions about what Miami's real estate economy will look like post-COVID-19 in this week's Miami Real Estate Podcast "Hot Takes." Then, MREP's "Ambassador to Brazil" Mariana Lima talks to Alicia about how easy it is to sell Miami condominiums as an outside broker. They address the benefits, safety, and reasons why cooperating brokers have so much success selling new construction in Miami. The Miami Real Estate Podcast is brought to you by the Cervera Newsroom at Cervera Real Estate. Learn more at MiamiRealEstatePodcast.com.

Shane Neman — How To: Relocate From NYC to South Florida | Ep. 51

Shane Neman is a forward-thinking problem solver, consummate optimist and serial entrepreneur. A prototypical businessman of our modern era, his experience and expertise in business spans numerous industries, from technology and telecommunications to real estate and hospitality.
In 2014, Shane relocated his family from Manhattan to South Florida. In this episode of the Miami Real Estate Podcast by Cervera Real Estate, he provides a detailed account of what the process entails legally, emotionally and financially. Shane breaks down what other New Yorkers need to know before making the leap and answers the big question: was it worth it?
We also spoke about the importance of having a diversified real estate portfolio as an investor, new opportunity zones that savvy South Florida real estate investors should keep their eyes on and advice for would-be entrepreneurs looking to start a new venture.
About Our Guest:
After leaving NYU Medical School early, Shane started three industry-shifting tech startups (two of them – EZ Texting and JoonBug – acquired) with hundreds of employees and tens of thousands of customers. As an insightful startup backer, Shane’s portfolio includes companies such as Convoy, Prose, Impossible Foods, Universal Standard, Apostrophe, MeetMindful, MapAnything, VinePair and Smylen. Shane is also a prolific real estate developer and investor. From commercial shopping and industrial centers to residential buildings, he owns more than two dozen large-scale properties across the U.S.
He holds a degree in Computer Science from New York University, where he received the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater scholarship and was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society.
You can read more about Shane’s transition from New York to Miami in his blog “Know this before relocating to Florida from New York City.”

Alicia Cervera Lamadrid — Spotlight: What COVID-19 Means for Miami Real Estate | Ep. 50

Is Miami's real estate market destined to repeat the crash of 2008 in the wake of COVID-19? Local real estate expert Alicia Cervera Lamadrid provides us with an economic outlook for South Florida real estate and shares her thoughts on what the future holds for this all important industry within the Magic City. Leaning on more than four decades of experience navigating Miami's real estate cycles, she helps us put COVID-19 into context while dishing out words of wisdom for real estate professionals, investors and the Miami community at large.