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'Porsche' living

Last Updated 23 April 2015, 16:58 IST

We have all heard of posh homes and wanted to live in them. But have you heard of Porsche homes? Yes, the world-famous car brand is now setting its sights on the real estate industry with designer-label homes. A first of its kind, this uber-luxurious project is wowing buyers in Miami Florida. For years, the selling point for Miami’s skyscraper condos has been the dazzling view of the Atlantic Ocean. But now, people flocking to Miami are asking for more!

Currently under construction, the Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles Beach Florida is catering to a wide range of nationalities – Argentineans, Brazilians, Chinese, Russians, and French – some of whom are escaping higher taxes at home, and some are fleeing political instability. Also, at stake is the devaluing potential for their own currency like Pesos, Rubles and even the mighty Euro.
Shaped like a piston driven into sand, the concrete-and-glass Porsche Design Tower has 60 stories and 132 units and is a collaborative project between Porsche Design Group and Gil Dezer, an iconic Miami beach developer. The most fascinating part is that the structure will contain three car elevators. Each can whisk a convertible, yes a Porsche too, up 60 floors and then slide it into the owner’s personal steel-reinforced garage. The owner can stay in the driver’s seat till he reaches his own home. Not to compromise on luxury, Porsche has introduced curved windows that capture a vista of blue-green ocean with waves billowing along the shore.
“What we’re selling is luxury. The buyers already know the brand. They like the style, they like the look and that’s why they feel more comfortable buying it,” said the developers.
Designer labelsWith a slew of residential and hotel developments, Miami is embracing the
notion that homes, like cars, handbags and jewellery, should carry deluxe designer labels. On the plus side, their emergence has spawned thousands of skilled construction jobs. Yet, it has also produced an epic surge in home prices. And it’s walled off Miami’s coastline behind a multitude of skyscrapers that has isolated low and middle-income residents. Many have had to buy farther inland. Consequently, local residents are not going to be able to enjoy the beauty of Miami shores.

“Branded homes are helping attract some buyers who weren’t familiar with Miami’s luxury housing. There is a marketing benefit of having a brand that is recognised outside the market. There is an element of trust,” said Liam Bailey, global head of research at a London-based real estate consultancy.

The main targets of the developers are the uber-rich class. Roughly 1,73,000 individuals worldwide are worth more than $30 million. This population keeps rising and the numbers are expected to increase by 34 per cent over the next decade. When the Porsche Tower was conceived, the developers sent 1,500 packages to potential buyers and it generated 62 sales. 90 per cent of the building is sold out now.

If you’re looking for a bargain, look elsewhere because the prices here started at $4 million and rose to $30 million for the penthouses. Just the idea of the car elevator was enough to persuade Juan Pablo Verdiquio to buy at the Porsche Design Tower. For Juan, who drives a Porsche 911 4S, the Tower seemed a perfect fit. 

A Russian who bought a $1-million home in Miami last year would have spent the equivalent of 34 million rubles. Because the ruble has plunged since then, that home is worth roughly 60 million rubles. A similar trend has played out for the euro, the Brazilian real, and the Colombian peso. So much so that buyers look at these designer apartments as not just posh living or Porsche living, but as bank accounts. So, there’s no reason not to jump at it, right?

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(Published 23 April 2015, 16:58 IST)

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