With Price Reductions Up To 60 Percent, Oceanside's Value Can't Be Beat

Advertorial | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

July 23, 2008

OceanSide's rooftop pool is as luxurious and impressive as that in any five-star resort. (July 23, 2008)

"The name of this article should be, 'wow,' " says Rigo Plasencia, director of sales for WCI Communities, Inc. at OceanSide, a luxury condominium project just steps away from the ocean in Pompano Beach. "That's the one word nearly everyone says when they see all we have to offer here."

The enthusiasm grows even stronger when prospective buyers hear about the significantly lower pricing WCI put in place at OceanSide at the end of June.
"We're now offering million-dollar units, views and amenities, starting in just the $400,000s," Plasencia says.

To see just how much your money can buy at OceanSide, though, you really need to tour the first phase of the project, a 17-story tower called The Plaza with 186 residences and even more amenities than WCI's most recent resounding success, One Bal Harbour, ideally located on Miami Beach.

"The two properties are distinctly different and appeal to different demographics, but from a branding standpoint, the success we've enjoyed at One Bal Harbour has instilled a lot of confidence in the prospective buyers we've had at OceanSide," Plasencia says.

Success beyond compare

Michael Patrizio, VP of Florida East Coast for WCI, was hired five years to work on One Bal Harbour, which took the luxury tower lifestyle to new heights -- literally.
"When we developed One Bal Harbour, the lowest condo was on the 40th floor," Patrizio says. "We purchased the land on which to build a massive tower for a record amount, ran a year late on construction due to typical problems such as labor delays, and then saw an influx of speculators purchase units during the height of the boom."

And, then, the bubble burst. While Wall Street and others predicted failure for WCI, the savvy builder/developer rose like a Phoenix from the ashes.

"We started closing on units at One Bal Harbour in November '07, with more than 50 percent successfully closed by the New Year. Six months later, we have 181 out of 185 units in the tower closed, which is unheard of in the current market," Patrizio says. "We built a tremendous project that is so far over the top people's jaws drop when they see it."
In April, Forbes.com named One Bal Harbour one of America's top second-home spots, which Patrizio attributed to a combination of international buyers and a great location. As Forbes.com reported, vacation-home sales decreased 30 percent in 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors, while the median price of a vacation home last year was just $195,000. Yet, the units at One Bal Harbour that were completed in 2005 and sold in 2007 and 2008 were listed from $1 million to $11 million.

In addition, One Bal Harbour's sister property, The Regent Bal Harbour, made Travel + Leisure's 2008 "It List" as one of the top 30 new hotels in the world. Travel + Leisure also included The Regent on its "15 to Watch" list for opting "classic décor over Florida flash, with crystal chandeliers and Anichini bedding."
With so much going for them, the powers-that-be at WCI did one more thing to make One Bal Harbour appealing to buyers: they priced it just below comparable properties listed on the MLS -- a decision which obviously made all the difference at the time.

"There was such high demand that people would look at a particular unit and be in disbelief when they called two weeks later to learn it had sold," Patrizio says. "Our WCI team can proudly say we successfully sold and closed the most expensive real estate product in the history of Miami-Dade County in what is turning out to be the worst real estate market downturn of most of our lifetimes."

Priced to sell

Now, WCI is adjusting prices at OceanSide -- albeit in a much more dramatic way than they had to do at One Bal Harbour.

"We've cut prices by as much as 60 percent to adjust to the current market," Patrizio says, citing a unit currently listed for $420,000, which was previously on the market for $875,000. "To be able to get into a luxury property like this in the $400,000s is unheard of, and will result in the same dwindling supply we saw at One Bal Harbour."
So far, the reaction has been even greater than WCI anticipated.

"Since we lowered our prices, several contracts have been written, and our call center has been buzzing," Plasencia says. "OceanSide is a tremendous value, with more amenities than WCI has ever developed. It's really resort-style living."
My tour of the amenities at The Plaza at OceanSide began with the social room, which, as Plasencia puts it, is "not your mom and dad's social room. It has a very different feel."