The 'snowflakes' are coming! Hillsboro Beach condominium attracts new breed of buyers

Online, January 22, 2010 (Newswire.com) - HILLSBORO BEACH, Fla. - 1200 Hillsboro Mile, a new condominium located on both the Intracoastal Waterway and Atlantic Ocean in Hillsboro Beach, Fla., is attracting "snowflakes" as much as, if not more than, it is receiving interest from warmth-seeking "snowbirds" who historically come to South Florida to escape cold winters up north.

According to Keyes Company Realtors at Mizner Park in Boca Raton, the exclusive sales agent for 1200 Hillsboro Mile, "snowflakes" are a new, rapidly growing breed of vacation-home buyers. "They are finding their way to new waterfront properties such as 1200 Hillsboro Mile," said Keyes' Nita Summers.

"Like 'snowbirds,' 'snowflakes' generally originate from the Northeast U.S., Canada or other areas. But, instead of coming here in October or November, and staying until the end of the 'season' in April, they come for shorter periods of time, yet come and go frequently."

David DePaolo, executive vice president of land & development for Marrano/Marc Equity Corporation (the developer of 1200 Hillsboro Mile), believes - as Summers does -that "snowflakes" will become a highly significant social phenomenon in the years ahead.

Anthony DelPrete and his wife Camille from New City, New York, exemplify the southern "snowflake" migration. Their primary home is 40 minutes from Manhattan, and they are still working and well below retirement age. They have parents who live part time in South Florida and they enjoy the beautiful weather and the water. Consequently, the couple eagerly closed on a three-bedroom Intracoastal-front residence at 1200 Hillsboro Mile in September 2009. Since then, due to no-frills, low-cost airfares, they've flown back and forth four times to enjoy holidays and weekend getaways here. Sometimes their 21-year-old daughter joins them.

DelPrete, a pharmaceutical service provider executive, and his wife, a school teacher, had never heard of Hillsboro Beach until they went boating on the Intracoastal with relatives. A sign on the new building caught their eye.

"Camille and I visited 1200 Hillsboro Mile the next day and fell in love with it. We had looked for a vacation home in Florida before but weren't looking during that particular visit. Aside from having had a deal fall apart, we never found exactly what we wanted until discovering all that 1200 offers," DelPrete said. "We didn't want a high-rise or the country club lifestyle. We just want a place to unwind that's near the beach. Yet there are a lot of amenities in the building for its small size. Furthermore, the quality of construction and the details are superior."

Commenting further, he said that his family can be in South Florida within three hours by plane. As for the Intracoastal location, the DelPretes enjoy seeing the beautiful homes across the waterway and watching the boats cruise by. "There's life around us. Best of all, every time we leave1200, we can't wait to come back."

More than half of the residences in the 11-unit 1200 Hillsboro Mile's Intracoastal building are sold, and residences in a planned, 18-unit oceanfront building have been released.

"We are seeing a large increase in traffic and in interested prospects," Summers noted. "Consumers recognize that they will never see prices like this ever again, so they are purchasing rather than delaying their decisions. The prices at 1200 Hillsboro Mile present the kind of opportunity that people will look back on a year from now and say 'I wish I had bought.'"

The DePretes won't be among them.

Residences are currently offered from $650,000 to $1,149,900 in the Intracoastal building, where there are opportunities for immediate occupancy, as well as from $1,295,000 to $1,995,000 in the planned oceanfront building just across A1A.

Among amenities are a dock for overnight visitors' boats; a pool, pool house and spa; a designer-furnished lobby; a club/media room with an outdoor entertainment deck; a fitness center; and private, deeded beach access. Monthly homeowners fees are very reasonable compared to those in full-service buildings. Pus, the developer has secured access to financing for qualified buyers who want it.

1200 Hillsboro Mile's location is central to Boca Raton and Pompano/Fort Lauderdale.

For more information, call (954) 418-8033, or visit www.1200hillsboromile.com.

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