Known as the “Hamptons of the South” and as Florida’s “Treasure Coast” Vero Beach is a 28-mile island connected by three bridges to the mainland. About 90 minutes southeast of Orlando, and 90 minutes north of Palm Beach, Vero Beach is served by its own airport with 26 direct flights a day (most importantly for New Yorkers to Newark and Westchester County). There are 15,220 people across 7,505 households of which 16% have children at home. The largest employer is Piper Aircraft in a city known mainly for tourism. And, as of 2021 the city hosts 14 private golf clubs and is the historic home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, “Historic Dodgertown”.
So, why Vero Beach? That’s what we want to know. This week we dig in for an in-depth conversation with Vero Beach’s top realtor Sally Daley of The Daley Group and top builder Bob McNally of Palm Coast Development to understand the market, where it’s been during the covid years and where it’s heading.
As Palm Beach prices skyrocket (average $3.3 million, $1600 per foot) is the same true in Vero Beach ($1.2 million, $504 per foot) or is this a secret waiting to be discovered?
Are values in Vero Beach one big hurricane away from “correcting” or has building technology improved to the point where we can say these luxury homes can handle it?
At the end of 2021 some economists were calling the Florida market overheated and overvalued by 40%. But other economists are saying that covid changed everything, that the new work-from-anywhere economy means Florida is no longer only for tourism. Where does Vero Beach see itself in the future?
Known for marketing savvy, boundless energy, and an ability to merge creativity with analytics, Sally is consistently among Indian River County’s top producers, and has represented buyers, developers, and sellers of properties on the river, ocean, and in between at virtually all price points. In her 15 year real estate career, she has amassed sales well in excess of five hundred and fifteen million dollars.
Her dedication to research and data analytics, relentless following of the markets, and her encyclopedic knowledge of the real estate market and Indian River County make her a truly unequaled advocate for her clients. Sally’s data-backed and research based approach stands alone in Indian River County.
Prior to her career in real estate, Sally owned a public relations + marketing firm just north of New York City. Her firm provided services for high profile clients like Citibank, Hyatt Hotels, Champion Paper, Nine West Shoes, and The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, among others.
Bob McNally is the CEO at Palm Coast Development. His company is unique in that it combines architecture, interior decors, and construction as the main functions of a full service integrated business. It has built significant landmark projects and high-end residences in Vero Beach and Stuart, Florida over the past 15 years.
The McNally’s hail from Morris County, New Jersey where Robert was the CEO of a major construction firm that was involved in the acquisition, planning, and construction of major communities involving well over 5,600 homes and 1,000,000 square feet of Class A office space.
Having been involved in over a billion dollars worth of construction projects the company decided to form an Architecture and Interiors Studio so that it could concentrate on custom projects; homes, small communities, mixed-use projects, condominiums, and Class A commercial projects.
The company houses a fully accredited Architectural Design Studio that allows it to directly interact with each client closely during design with the architect and owner of the company in order to carefully sculpt the design and cost of the project thereby avoiding the many inefficient pitfalls common to the construction industry.
In addition, the Company expanded and founded an aluminum fabrication company that is headed by their son, Austin McNally, that specializes in hurricane protection, trellis fabrication, pergola fabrication as well as custom gates.
John Engel – John Engel can be found at http://www.JohnEngel.com. He is a consistently top-producing agent in Fairfield County, Connecticut. John recently won the Realtor of the Year Award in New Canaan where he is has been Chairman of the Town Council and is currently a member of the Planning & Zoning Commission. John also brings an insight into internet-based marketing that is unsurpassed. Before going into real estate he was the founder of two successful internet businesses, Paper.com and e-Media for which he won the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Award. John spent his earliest years in Stuyvesant Town in lower Manhattan and went to New Canaan High School before attending Davidson College in North Carolina. After graduating, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army and spent some time leading a military intelligence platoon on the front lines of the first Gulf War. He currently lives in New Canaan with his wife Melissa and four children. In addition to hosting this podcast on the market each week, John Engel produces an easy-to-understand and in-depth monthly market analysis called the Market Report for the 16 towns of lower Fairfield County.
Roberto Cabrera – Roberto can be found at http://www.RobertoCabrera.com. With 20 years of experience, I have been recognized throughout the industry for achieving outstanding results: Ranked nationally by REAL Trends as one of “America’s Best Real Estate Agents” for avg. sales price of $4.350M. Sold a single family Townhouse faster than any other on the Upper West Side over $10M. I live with my wife and daughter on the Upper West Side, the neighborhood I have called home for the past 23 years. I was originally born in Richmond, Virginia and grew up in Maryland, just one mile south of the Mason Dixon line. After graduating with a degree in Mathematical Economics from Hampden-Sydney College, the 10th oldest school in the country, I spent 5 years in Washington, DC working as a financial consultant. I also studied at The National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts and I’m a former actor who once moonlighted as a stand-up comedian. Many years ago, I authored APPLE PIE – The Real Ingredients for Buying and Selling Your Slice.
