Ryan Serhant pitched Netflix a Miami version of “Owning Manhattan.”
At The Real Deal’s New York Forum last week, he talked up the advantages of reality TV.
“There’s a real distribution funnel that comes from exposure from what we’re selling that you just can’t buy,” he said, referring to Netflix crews filming an episode of his New York show at the sales center for JDS Development’s Mercedes-Benz Places in Miami that also serves as a pitch for “Owning Miami.”
Serhant’s brokerage is leading sales for the planned Brickell condo project.
“Netflix has 300 million subscribers. You can talk all you want about reality TV and everything, but the proof is now in the pudding,” Serhant said.
Though the focus wasn’t on Florida, the Sunshine State came up a couple of times at the forum.
Serhant first expanded to South Florida via Delray Beach, a feeder market, where more value and opportunities exist. He called it the Walmart approach, as opposed to the Bergdorf Goodman approach.
“We’re able to move in with a practical adrenaline, instead of going into a market like Miami or Palm Beach to start,” he said, in response to a question from the audience.
Serhant, the brokerage, then expanded to the west coast of Florida. And instead of heading to Tampa, the brokerage opened up shop in Naples, then Orlando. (Naples has become a hot market, in case you missed last week’s newsletter.)
“Markets do not dictate your income. They dictate your strategy,” Serhant said. “You stick to your goals. You don’t negotiate goals, but you can pivot strategy.”
Serhant also said he’s piloting a private listings network in Florida, a controversial move in the battle between listing giants like Zillow and brokerages such as Compass, Douglas Elliman and the Corcoran Group.
What we’re thinking about: How will developers and local municipalities respond to the latest batch of tweaks to the Live Local Act? Send me a note at [email protected].
CLOSING TIME
Residential: Digital marketing firm CEO Jeffrey Herzog and his wife, Jill Herzog, sold their Delray Beach mansion at 9480 Bent Grass Court for $23.5 million. A land trust purchased the 13,900-square-foot mansion, which sits on a 2.6-acre property.
Commercial: Morning Calm Management sold the mixed-use office building at 205 Datura Street in West Palm Beach to Coco Group. Coco, a Toronto-based family office, paid $45.7 million for the nearly 72,000-square-foot, four-story building.
NEW TO THE MARKET
The 23,000-square-foot, five-bedroom estate at 1940 South Ocean Boulevard in Manalapan hit the market for about $85 million. Retired businessman Frank Mennella and his wife, Dolores, developed the oceanfront mansion on a 1.9-acre property they acquired from Billy Joel. The estate, which includes an underground tunnel that connects the main home to the beachside cabana, was completed in 2022. It’s on the market with Philip Lyle Smith of Luxury Resort Portfolio.
A thing we’ve learned
Scientists are predicting the state could experience the worst seaweed season on record, up 40 percent from 2022, the current record holder, according to the Miami Herald. The floating mats of sargassum cost millions to pick up and deter beachgoing tourists.
Elsewhere in Florida
- South Florida farmers are losing money as a result of President Donald Trump’s trade wars and immigration policies, WSVN Channel 7 reports. Miami-Dade County Farm Bureau President Heather Moehling, whose family owns the Homestead produce stand Robert Is Here, said it’s more cost-effective for farmers to plow through their crops instead of hiring workers to pick fruits and vegetables.
- Recent and proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are causing concern just weeks away from the start of hurricane season. The Trump administration’s proposed budget calls for a 27 percent cut to NOAA, which oversees the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. Florida’s weather offices are down 16 employees, according to the Miami Herald.
- Fewer Canadians have been traveling to Florida since Trump took office. From January to March, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Orlando International Airport reported the biggest decrease in monthly arrivals from Canadian airlines, Al Jazeera News reports.
