As the prices of condos keep rising, so do buyers’ expectations — and if a room isn’t equipped to keep neighboring sounds out, the high-end product can feel cheap.
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Amid an uptick in lawsuits over condo developers not delivering on their promises, developers have started to home in on the little luxuries. Acoustics have become a new focus for developers looking to increase the value of their projects, panelists said at Bisnow’s South Florida Architecture, Design and Interiors Conference.
“Everyone in the industry, all of our clients, all of a sudden have now discovered acoustics,” Bishop Design’s Paul Bishop said onstage Tuesday at the Hyatt Regency Miami. “It seems to be the hot topic.”
Room acoustics can be affected by the shape of the room, the types of furniture within it, like carpets and soft sofas, and the thickness of the walls.
When it is done well, it often goes unnoticed. Done poorly in a hotel or restaurant, it can lead to noise complaints or make it difficult for patrons to converse, neither of which reflects positively on experiences, Trinity Consultants associate principal Adam Paolino said.
But soundproofing is even more important in the luxury condo market, where wealthy buyers are spending millions for high-end experiences that feel private.
The median sale price for a condo is $1.8M, a 3.9% year-over-year increase, according to a fourth-quarter Condo Blackbook report. But Miami’s luxury segment typically starts around $2.5M, and ultra-luxury units range from $10M to $15M, according to the report.
“If you're going to spend that type of money on a luxury condo, you expect a lot out of it,” Paolino said.
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For some of these buyers, the promise of luxury has fallen short, leading to heightened scrutiny on developers of recently completed projects.
In February, the condo association of the $1B Aston Martin-branded condo tower sued the developer, Argentine grocery magnate German Coto, over allegedly broken promises of a luxury experience and siphoning millions of funds from the owners.
The pressure on developers to incorporate acoustics has become even more prevalent in branded condo projects.
For brands like Ritz-Carlton, it is nonnegotiable, and developers have to reach a minimum level of acoustics, Flag Luxury Group Chief Operating Officer and President Dayssi Olarte De Kanavos said.
“I can't just skimp on that,” Olarte De Kanavos said.
But unless developers have experience building luxury developments, it is unlikely they will choose to invest in acoustics, she said.
While it may be more expensive to incorporate extensive sound dampening into the beginning stages of the design process, the investment can make or break the buyer experience.
“The luxury side of it, yes, it's going to cost money to do it, but if you do it well, then sometimes silence is actually OK,” Paolino said. “I'd like to get a pat on the back to say, ‘Hey, that's a cool job that you did.’ But sometimes we don't get that, and it's if there's no noise complaints, then we've done a good job.”
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