Archive for May, 2009
Coconut Grove Real Estate Market Remains Steady In May
May 31st, 2009 | categories: Coconut Grove Video Updates
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This Week In Coconut Grove Real Estate
May 29th, 2009 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
3 Coconut Grove Foreclosures Got Snapped Up This Week
There were 3 foreclosures to go under contract this week in Coconut Grove. The first is 1835 Opechee Drive priced at $612,500, which I wrote about last week in a post titled “1835 Opechee, Is It Worth It?”. The house has been in and out of contract several times over the past few months. The second was 4243 Lennox Drive priced at $549,900. The third was 4365 Ingraham Highway priced at $365,900. All three of the above homes were in poor condition and needed significant repairs.
$100,000 Price Reduction On Barbarossa Avenue
In a willingness to stay competitively priced and in light of the pending sale on Irvington Avenue, my client at 4054 Barbarossa Avenue has reduced his price by $100,000 and is now listed at $1,395,000. In my opinion, Barbarossa is the best new construction house in the South Grove. You can see pictures and details of the home here. Now priced at $303.00 per square foot, this house is a great value.
5 Coconut Grove Townhouses Sold In May
The Center Grove has been particularly active this month thanks in part to myself and Berk Boge. Together we sold 2 of the 5 townhouses that closed in May. The other 3 townhouses that sold were foreclosures.
If you are looking to buy or sell real estate in Coconut Grove, I would be happy to assist you in your real estate needs. Please give me a call at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.
Today’s Broker’s Open Houses | New Listings
May 27th, 2009 | categories: New Listings in the Grove
As you all know, Wednesdays are Broker’s Open Houses here in the Grove (you probably noticed all of the Open House signs around town). One that really caught my eye today was located at 2421 Inagua Avenue (click for more information) in North Coconut Grove. It is a charming Grove style bungalow that is turn-key ready with a beautiful yard and a white picket fence. The home features 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths with 1,572 square feet on a 6,073 square foot lot. It is priced at $599,000, broker is ReMax.
I also held my new listing in the South Grove open today at 3625 Bougainvillea Road (click for more information). The reaction from the other agents was great, and thanks to all those who turned out. It is a 5 bedroom, 5 and a half bath house with 4,442 square feet of living space on an oversized lot. The home is Mediterranean style and features a gorgeous patio and pool area, a terrace outside the Master Bedroom, and a separate guest room with bath. It is priced at $1,499,000.
If you are interested in viewing either of these homes I would be happy to arrange a showing for you. Please send me a note here, or give me a call at 305.342.1623.
For Sale Signs
May 26th, 2009 | categories: Selling Real Estate in Coconut Grove
I was driving in the North Grove and noticed this cluster of signs on the corner of Darwin Street and Tigertail Avenue. Some condo associations won’t let Realtors put their signs up on the exterior of their buildings because (a) it looks tacky to have a bunch of signs out there and (b) it detracts from the value of the building if it appears that everyone is selling. But as you can see, other condo associations don’t have such rules. Awhile back I had a listing on Bird Avenue and there were 5 or 6 “For Sale” signs in front of the building. Much like this. All of the listing agents got together and decided that it would be to all of our benefit to remove our signs. After all, who wants to buy in a building where it appears that everything is for sale?
There are different sizes when it comes to “For Sale” signs. Coral Gables laws require them to be no larger than 5″ by 7″, whereas the City of Miami-Dade allows them to be 18″ by 24″. I leave it up to my clients to decide what they want to do with the sign. They can choose to put up a large one, small one, or have nothing at all. I have several sellers who don’t want any signs in front of their house because they don’t want their neighbors asking questions about why, when and where they are moving.
Do buyers come from the signs? In my opinion, there are more and more people out there who want to work directly with the listing agent of a property and are therefore calling the agent directly.
Pending Sale Will Help Set The Market For New Construction
May 24th, 2009 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
Considering that there have only been 3 closed sales this year priced between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000 in the Grove, I was happy to see that my colleague at EWM Judy Zeder’s new construction listing went under contract. It was priced for $1,395,000 and located at 3839 Irvington Avenue. It will be interesting to see the sales price, as it will help to set the market for other new construction listings for sale in South Coconut Grove. I will keep you posted.
To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here
Is It Worth It? 1835 Opechee Drive
May 24th, 2009 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
When the foreclosure at 1835 Opechee Drive first came on the market there were more than several bidders lined up to buy the property on the first day. It appeared to be a steal. After several failed contracts and backed out buyers, the property is back on the market. The issue? I have heard that there was some asbestos found on the plumbing and wiring along with many other problems.
1835 Opechee Drive features 14,160 square feet of land with 3,359 square feet of house and the listing price is $612,500. The lot is gorgeous and the street is good. There is a main house, separate guest house and separate garage. The condition of the interior on all structures is suspect.
With land currently running between $40.00 and $45.00 per square foot in Coconut Grove, this house is worth buying for the property alone. Assume you purchased it at $550,000, you would be paying only $38.00 per square foot of land. If you decided to keep the structures, and paid $550,000, you would be paying only $163.00 per square foot (far below Coconut Grove’s current market price). Although all structures need major renovation (if not demolished altogether) I still feel that 1835 Opechee is potentially a good buy.
By the way, my favorite part of the whole property is the gorgeous coral rock wall that surrounds it. That alone would cost you $100,000 in todays market to duplicate.
If you are interested in seeing this property, I would be happy to arrange a showing for you. Please give me a call at 305.342.1623. Broker is Exit Realty.
You might also be interested in reading: No Wonder Lehman Brothers Failed – 1835 Opechee Drive
Gone In One Day…North Grove House
May 21st, 2009 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate, What Is Selling In Coconut Grove Real Estate?
Boy has the market changed. I listed and put this house under contract in the same day. Located at 1780 Chucunantah Road, it was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath charming home that was totally renovated. In my opinion, it was priced perfectly for today’s market at $499,000. Although I cannot discuss sales price because it is still a pending contract, I feel that it was a fair transaction for both buyer and seller. It was refreshing to have a deal where both parties feel comfortable in the end. The house has 1,200 square feet of living space on a 6,500 square foot lot.
For those of you who don’t know where Chucunantah Road is, its a little dead end street that runs off of Coacoochee Street in North Coconut Grove. You can access Coacoochee Street from Tigertail Avenue.
Foreclosures and Expletives
May 20th, 2009 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
Today a foreclosure came on the market in the South Grove at 3690 Stewart Avenue, priced at $924,900 (pictures above). There is 4,634 square feet of living space with 5 bedrooms and 4 baths on a 13,950 square foot lot with a pool. I went to check it out immediately, the bank needs to reduce it about $200,000. The house is a complete disaster inside and needs about $250,000 worth of work. The owners started renovations and then stopped. In 2005 it sold for $2,100,000 and 4 months later it resold for $2,900,000. It was obviously a case of mortgage fraud. With so much square footage in a great gated community, the house has potential if it could be bought for the right price. Broker is Miami Realty Group.
On another note, I got an interesting email from a reader today about my first video blog. I think it went something along the lines of “blah-blah-blah” and “I’d rather #!@!$%$ than watch this video”. Maybe he’s just bitter about the state of our market, or maybe it was just me. Either way, I will forge ahead with my video blogs, as I think that in this fast paced world people would rather listen to a 1 minute video clip than read line after line of text.
Recent Coconut Grove Closed Sales
May 19th, 2009 | categories: What Is Selling In Coconut Grove Real Estate?
3830 Crawford Avenue | List Price: $799,000 | Sale Price: $730,000
The home featured 2,346 sq. ft., 3 beds, 3 baths on a 7,800 sq. ft. lot. This house was only on the market for 2.5 months before it went under contract. It seems to me that the average “days on the market” for a home in Coconut Grove is 5 to 8 months right now.
1861 Tigertail Avenue | List Price: $690,000 | Sale Price: $650,000
The home featured 2,797 sq. ft., 3 beds, 2 baths on a 13,438 sq. ft. lot. This home was on the market for over 1 year and was initially priced at $1,100,000. It basically sold for land value.
3514 Crystal View Court | List Price: $915,000 | Sale Price: $885,000
The home featured 3,305 sq. ft, 3 beds, 2.5 baths on a 6,250 sq. ft. lot.
You can see from these sales that the final selling price was not too far off from the final list price. This dispels many seller’s fear that they need to build in an extra cushion in the asking price because they believe buyers are automatically taking a significant percentage off the list price. None of the above homes were foreclosures or short sales.
To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here
High Turnout For Sunday Open Houses
May 18th, 2009 | categories: Coconut Grove Video Updates
Click on the below image to watch the first of many video blogs here on The Real Estate Coconut.
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Viddler video.To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here