Developer Fernando de Nuñez y Lugones knew the Elle Residences wasn’t necessarily an easy sell when the project was revealed. For most, the development begs the question: how can a magazine brand translate to real estate?

But for de Nuñez y Lugones, that’s not the reality. “From our point of view, there is a misconception about what Elle is really about,” he said. Elle is the fashion and design magazine, yes, but the brand “has grown well beyond the publishing world.”

Miami is the branded residential capital of the Western Hemisphere, second only in the world to Dubai. Developers regularly target brands, which can offer buyers more value, sometimes a markup of 20 to 30 percent.

But the sheer number of hospitality-branded condos has led developers to partner with more experimental brands, taking on bigger risks — and inviting ridicule — in the process. Meanwhile, some established brands are in danger of brand dilution, with multiple projects underway in the same region.

Elle is one of the roughly 40 brands teaming up with South Florida developers on condo projects. Sixty-six developments with nearly 15,000 condos and condo-hotel units are planned, under construction or recently completed across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to an analysis by The Real Deal. (The list does not include developers’ in-house brands.)

Three-quarters of those projects are concentrated in Miami-Dade. And more are on the way.

But is there any room left in South Florida’s branded condo boom?

“There’s no question that Miami’s branded residence market has become increasingly competitive, but I don’t necessarily see that as saturation,” said Jay Roberts, whose firm Prosper Group is co-developing Bugatti Residences.

Others aren’t convinced.

“Car brands, fashion houses, a magazine-branded building, a Frida Kahlo building. It’s getting a little silly,” said Compass agent Ivan Chorney. “Developers are stretching really far, and the brands themselves are diminishing their prowess by taking everything.”

Hospitality leads the pack

Established hospitality brands have historically been the easiest sell for developers. The brands have a proven track record in service, and buyers can test out the brand by staying or dining at a brand’s hotel and restaurant.

With the Four Seasons, Nadim Ashi’s Fort Partners continues to beat its own records. A penthouse at Fort’s Seaway at the Surf Club, which shares amenities with the Four Seasons, traded for $86 million.

Besides the Four Seasons, the Ritz-Carlton, W, St. Regis, Standard, Rosewood, Mr. C, Waldorf Astoria, Mandarin Oriental, Viceroy, Auberge, Edition and the Gale all have a condo presence in South Florida. Under the same umbrella, restaurants or restaurateurs are also getting in on the action, including Major Food Group and Jean-Georges Vongerichten. (Casa Tua and Cipriani straddle both lines.)

Most hotel brands have areas of protection, meant to shield themselves from market cannibalization. But the plethora of projects has made it harder to stand out.

And for brands with multiple projects underway, success can be uneven. While one Mandarin Oriental-branded condo in Brickell Key secured $1.7 billion in presales, another in Boca Raton is in limbo, tied up in lawsuits and stalled construction.

“I like the brands that I would like to live in. I was also thinking about my kids, that would be a super cool brand for them to be associated with,” said Carlos Rosso, who teamed up with Alex Vadia on the 228-unit Standard Residences project. He added, “There are other brands that I don’t understand how people think it’s accretive to adding value.”

Bippy Siegal, a partner in the planned Fouquet’s Hotel & Residences in the Design District, was more blunt.

“The market has been polluted by brands that don’t have soul,” he said.

The other brands: from cars to clothing brands
Amid the rising scaffolding of Ritz-Carltons, some developers are trying to carve out space for unexpected brands.

There are the car brands, like Riviera Horizons’ Pagani Residences and Dezer Development’s Bentley Residences. But the launch of Miami’s latest car-branded condo project, Bugatti Residences, drew mixed reviews and hit a nerve on social media, with observers pushing back against the crowded branded condo landscape.

“Another luxury slop with a branded name that won’t be on the building years down the road,” wrote one reader on TRD’s Instagram post about the brand reveal.

Another commenter was more specific. “How’s that going with the Mercedes building? How about the Aston Martin? How are those luxury car brand buildings holding up?”

They were referring to JDS Development Group’s stalled Mercedes-Benz Places, a partially built development in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood, which is tied up in foreclosure litigation, as well as an Argentine developer’s completed Aston Martin Residences, which is at the center of buyer lawsuits over the quality of construction and allegations of financial mismanagement and self-dealing.

Roberts, whose firm is co-developing Bugatti Residences, pushed back on the idea that the branded market is oversaturated.

“A recognizable name may initially attract buyers, but it’s no longer enough to differentiate a project,” he said in a statement.

There are also the fashion brands: Dolce & Gabbana, another JDS project, and the stalled Diesel Wynwood project. JDS is seeking an equity partner on the former, while Diesel’s original developer brought on a new partner two years ago and still hasn’t moved forward.

And then there are the brands that don’t fit neatly in one category.

A Breitling tower is planned somewhere in Brickell, but the developers have repeatedly declined to name where.

At Elle Residences, competitors were quick to question the brand identity. But presales are nearing 50 percent, and the developers signed their term sheet for construction financing.

“Elle has a strong identity around fashion, design and lifestyle. That is all that Miami is about,” developer de Nuñez y Lugones said. “Some brands make more sense than others. We understand the demographic.”

For de Nuñez y Lugones, Elle made sense for several reasons: marketing power (Elle is owned by The Lagardère Group), a dedication to staying true to the brand’s identity, and finances.

“If Elle would have cost us 5 percent [of the budget], I would not have done it. That’s the truth,” he said.

Unit prices for remaining units range from the $600,000s to about $1.5 million. Europeans and Latin Americans are part of the buyer pool, as South Florida’s large number of international buyers look for familiar names when choosing their homes.

At the planned Frida Kahlo Residences, co-developer PMG’s Ryan Shear said the developers wanted to embrace the Mexican community that’s been increasingly buying Miami real estate. After launching sales earlier this year, Shear said they are 40 percent presold. “Mexico may be our No. 1 market in the past two years,” he said.

What it takes to succeed

While the branded market has become more saturated, the right brand and location still command a higher premium over a comparable non-branded project, said Related Group’s Nick Pérez, who heads the firm’s condo division.

“Is the premium as great as it was four years ago? Maybe not,” he said. “I always say you can’t have a bad project and put a brand on it and think it’s going to make it better. It has to be a good, great project, and the brand makes that better.”

Pérez said Related has always focused on working with brands that have a history of service. In a competitive market, he added, “people go to a name they recognize, and that helps with the velocity of sales, especially in the beginning of a project.”

That’s part of the success of PMG and E11even Partners’ E11even towers, branded after the nearby 24/7 nightclub. The developers sold the project out so quickly during the pandemic that they decided to launch a second.

This summer, PMG and its partners launched sales of the Palm Tree Residences Miami in the same district. While the more out-there brands attract attention, the yet-to-be announced pipeline of developments leans more toward hospitality, sources said. The same brokers and developers who caution about the oversaturation of branded residences haven’t given up on the trend.

“We have to pick brands that connect to buyers. Some are successful. Some are not,” Shear said. “Translating brands to real estate is very complicated. It’s not easy. You really need to define what it means.”