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Buenos Aires, Lain American Art Fuels Art Basel Miami Beach

On December 2, 2010, In arts & entertainment, creative class, culture, vanityba, by laura
Art Basel Miami Beach

Latin American collectors descend on Miami Beach this weekend. (Photo: MCH Swiss Exhibition (Basel) Ltd.)

From December 2-5 Art Basel, the most important art event in the United States and one of the most important art shows in the world, returns to Miami Beach. The sister event to Switzerland’s Art Basel, which has reigned as the world’s most prestigious art fair for over 40 years, Art Basel Miami Beach has opened the door to an entirely new audience.

The South Florida location has allowed easy access to the emergent Latin American art market. It is the access and proximity to Latin America that has allowed Art Basel Miami to perform well despite the global economic slowdown. Sophisticated Latin American collectors as well as avant-garde Latin American artists have played a large role in the recent success of Art Basel Miami Beach.

And the tradition of collecting in this part of the world continues to grow. Says Alejandra von Hartz of the Alejandra von Hartz Gallery in Miami, “There are countries like Venezuela that have always had a history of collecting, but in other countries, as in my country, Argentina, the tradition of collecting is just starting… The interest in expanding, in seeing the similarities with international art, is fairly new.”

A prime example of this new tradition of collecting is found in Argentine businessman Juan Vergez and his wife Patricia Pearson. The couple began collecting the works of emerging Argentine artists but soon expanded their collection to include works from all over Latin America. The purchase of a photograph by Iranian artist Shirin Neshat changed their focus once again. “We had to ask ourselves ‘Who are we as collectors?’ We bought the photograph and we began to develop an international vision, says Vergez.

Their extensive collection is showcased in Buenos Aires’ San Telmo district and includes works from Latin American, European, and Middle Eastern artists. The couple, who call Art Basel Miami Beach “intense, fluid, one of the best [art fairs] in the world today,” represent a growing faction of Latin American art lovers with the means and the desire to develop meaningful art collections. Art Basel Miami Beach provides then with the perfect opportunity to do so.

For more information about the arts in Buenos Aires, download the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

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Argentina Real Estate Buyers Seek Sunshine State Bargains

On July 29, 2010, In foreign investment, real estate, by InvestBA
Watercolors

Argentine buyers are choosing Florida condos and townhouse projects like this for a variety of reasons.

Back during the go-go days of the Florida real estate boom, many Latin American cable subscribers were bombarded with round-the-clock programming and cheesy infomercials like Viva Florida pumping the you-must-buy-now-deal-of-the-century-luxury-lifestyle-and-resort-style-amenities in high-rise towers and gated communities throughout Central and South Florida.

When the market began to implode in 2007, many of those foreign buyers who reserved units got burned and either walked away from their deposits or took possession of units that lost anywhere from 30-80% of their value from the market peak in 2006.

Fast forward to today and Florida Trend says developers of high profile towers like Icon Brickell and Everglades on the Bay are now turning over thousands of unsold units to their lenders. Yet despite the market turmoil and the average U.S. buyer’s reluctance to jump back into the pool of real estate speculation, media sources say Argentinean buyers are doing their market research and coming to the Sunshine State in search of great deals on Florida real estate.

ElArgentino.com says most Argentineans still gravitate toward condominium investments: some in search of rental income, others seeking portfolio diversification and still others doing long-term planning in hopes their children will eventually study in the U.S. But condos aren’t the only properties attracting el inversor argentino in Florida. The report says Argentinean investors are now carefully weighing everything from townhouses to residential buildings with 4 or more units to small shopping centers and other commercial properties.

With improving sales figures and some recent indications of price stability, the prospects may ultimately be brighter for those argentinos who waited. For more information regarding Florida real estate opportunities, contact us directly.

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Polo’s Appeal Broadening to New Fans, Countries

On July 26, 2010, In argentina polo, arts & entertainment, lifestyle, tourism, by InvestBA
Polo Spectators in Buenos Aires

Savvy marketing and global events are boosting polo's appeal with the masses. (Photo: Fabiano Goldoni)

It may be winter here in Argentina, but the world’s polo elite continue the 2010 tour on the Northern Hemisphere fields of the U.S. and England. And if there’s a common theme we’re seeing on this year’s circuit, it’s the continued marketing maturation and well-coordinated attempts to broaden the game’s appeal to a much wider audience.

First it was the Polo World Cup on South Beach, then Nacho Figueras joined forces with Moet Hennessey for New York’s Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, and finally tens of thousands turned out for London’s second annual Polo in the Park in June. The Financial Times says these events clearly demonstrate polo’s marketing evolution from game for the elite to sport for the masses.

“Initiatives are under way to make polo more accessible and to create a more compelling business proposition, but at the same time,” FT adds, “there are signs that the game is healthier than ever at the grassroots.” David Woodd, the CEO of the Hurlingham Polo Association says shaking up polo’s traditional patron-based funding system could open the door to expanded global TV coverage and greater fan loyalty.

The creation of a true Polo World Cup would also be a dream event for fans and marketers alike, says Woodd, even though the outcome may be somewhat predetermined. “We need a World Cup for polo, Mr Woodd says, “and to just accept that Argentina would win it.” (Full Article)

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Foreign Banks Rethink Buenos Aires Branch Strategy

On April 28, 2010, In competitiveness, foreign investment, franchises, us companies, by InvestBA
Banks in Buenos Aires Argentina

Next window please: Foreign banks are shifting operations, employees to Miami & Montevideo.

“In Puerto Maderero and Recoleta these days, the executive suits are everywhere. Suddenly, we are seeing more limos and formally-dressed men entering and leaving meetings in cafes and luxury hotels,” says Argentine daily Clari­n.

And while these meetings between wealthy Argentines with investments abroad and their financial advisors used to take place in local offices, new Argentine Central Bank regulations are forcing 14 foreign banks to reconsider their BA presence.

In addition to limiting consumer choice and stifling competition, the measures offer a glimpse of what could happen in the U.S. if the federal government succeeds in creating what the Wall Street Journal calls a new “Super Regulator.”

The measure in question, A4981/09, began changing the rules of the game for foreign banks providing wealth management services to clients in BuenosAires. In essence, it makes it more difficult for these banks to take new deposits locally and invest them abroad. If they maintained a physical presence with local branches, these foreign banks would only be able to offer financial advisory services to clients who had previously shifted their funds abroad.

The subsequent decision by several banks including Wells Fargo, HSBC, Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse to move employees and operations to Miami and Montevideo should not, however, be viewed as a defeat or even a retreat. On the contrary, videoconferencing and Internet-enabled money transfers will allow the banks equal or better interaction with their clientes bonaerenses, hence a happy ending: creativity and technology trump bloated bureaucracy every time. (Full Story)

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Gimme Shelter: Miami or Buenos Aires?

On March 25, 2010, In foreign investment, lifestyle, real estate, tourism, by InvestBA
Condo inventory is moving again in Miami, but BA makes a better case for flight to quality.

Condo inventory is moving again in Miami, but BA makes a better case for flight to quality.

Crisis meant opportunity for investors in Buenos Aires real estate back in 2002, so—perhaps sensing blood and short sales in the high-rise waters of Miami-Dade—one BA investment advisor wonders if similar opportunities await Buenos Aires buyers in Miami in 2010.

“Median prices in Miami have already fallen 35% from the 2006 peak…and the average recession lasts five years,” writes Marcelo Elbaum of Convexity Asset Management. The abundance of finished units and foreclosures, he reasons, offers investor groups the ability to be picky and even purchase entire buildings from developers, sometimes for as little as $50,000 per unit.

Recent reports from Miami suggest that, of the 23,000 new units built in the Downtown/Brickell/Biscayne Corridor, only 7,300 remain unsold. In addition, high-rise inventory in the under-$300,000 market is down to a six-month supply; much of it snatched up in recent months by foreign investors.

But before pulling the trigger on a condo in the 305, Elbaum brings his readers back to Buenos Aires and recommends a calm, comparative analysis in their own backyard. This pause for additional due diligence reveals a market where the advantages may be greater for the individual investor. Statistics show there is considerable strength in the BA market for properties priced under-$65,000, while sales of 1 and 2-room apartments jumped 53% over last year.

Furthermore, BA real estate advisors will tell you the continued buying motivation in BA is a refugio de valor. And therein lies the main difference with Miami, where the recent buying surge is less emblematic of a flight to quality and perhaps more indicative of a Sunshine State sequel: Return of the Flippers.

For more information about Buenos Aires real estate opportunities, download IncomeBA and the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

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