April 19, 2018
Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolina Rainer.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Carolina. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started back in 2000 when I moved from Argentina to study a Masters Degree in Psychology. While searching different schools I got the opportunity to work at the Bentley Beach Condo Hotel. Miami was rapidly growing; it was the beginning of the real estate boom. Since then, I have been working in Development Sales, selling luxury condominiums for different renowned developers such as Riccardo Olivieri, Sieger Suarez, Trump, PMG and most recently I was the head of sales at 1 Hotel & Homes in South Beach for LeFrak. Today, I am the director of sales for developer Ugo Colombo’s Brickell Flatiron tower in downtown Miami.

At the same time, I’m a working mom. I have four kids: Santino 14, Franco 12, Valentina 10 and Renata 5. I manage my large family with the same skills I use to run my sales office. The key is to focus on a plan, get organized and find the right balance between my business life and my family. When I get home, I connect with my kids 100%, I review their homework and then we have dinner together, this is a must and it’s not negotiable. I do the same thing with my sales team, I am available for them 100% of the time, I spend time with each agent to review their pipeline and most of the time we have lunch together. With the little one, we have a bedroom routine. Once a week we have a special night. The key is to connect with them at the present moment. I’d rather have quality time than quantity. I think having a working mom teaches my kids that they have to work hard to get what they want; it teaches them to be independent and responsible.

Has it been a smooth road?
It wasn’t in my plans to do real estate but I was in the right place at the right time and I took the opportunity to learn the business. I was offered to work for International Sales Group, the pioneers of Development Sales as a Marketing Psychology Analyst. In no time, I was immersed in sales. The city was growing fast, it was a seller’s market, banks were requiring 20% deposits so buyers were purchasing multiple residences. I represented the most prestigious developers until the market crashed. It was a time of uncertainty, buyers were walking away from their deposits and there were no more new development opportunities on the horizon. I had to reinvent myself and opened my own brokerage firm to represent buyers and sellers, most of them were international buyers seeking opportunities. When there‘s crisis there’s opportunity so this time, I was the buyer‘s agent looking for the best deals for my clients.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Brickell Flatiron by Ugo Colombo’s CMC Group story. Tell us more about the business.
I work for Fortune International Group representing Brickell Flatiron. I specialize in development sales and I’m currently the head of sales at Brickell Flatiron. I’m proud of representing the finest developer in Miami. Ugo Colombo has the highest standards of luxury and I have a dream sales and marketing team. Since Fortune took over the project in October 2017, we’ve sold condos totaling almost $50MM in a buyer’s market. This says a lot about the strength of the developer, the uniqueness of the project and my dedicated sales team. What sets me apart from the rest is my attitude, my psychology background, my ability to negotiate and of course my 15 years of experience in luxury development sales. Everyone can have a real estate license but not everyone can close a deal.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
We’re seeing a shift in buyer demographics in Miami when it comes to a luxury real estate. We’ve seen a dramatic uptick in the number of northeast buyers scooping up Miami condos over the past 90 days since Trump’s tax plan was announced. At Brickell Flatiron, 8 out of 10 condo sales in the last 30 days were to buyers from the northeastern U.S. (places like New York, Chicago, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, etc.) – with an average sale price of over $1 million. To further illustrate the extent of the changes, this time last year, 70% of Brickell Flatiron’s condos were selling to Latin American buyers. Today, 80% of sales are to domestic buyers.

Pricing:

  • Residences at Brickell Flatiron are priced from the $500,000s to $2 million, with penthouses priced from about $1 million up to $15.5 million.

Contact Info: