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Archive for October, 2009

Happy Halloween!

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Coconut Grove vs. Coral Gables/ Pinecrest Real Estate

I have many clients who are relocating to South Florida and most of them want to look at homes not just in Coconut Grove but also Pinecrest and Coral Gables.  So here is a comparison, as of today, of the different markets.

You will notice that I have used the “median” numbers as opposed to the “averages” that I typically use for Coconut Grove because there are a few homes in Coral Gables priced higher than $25,000,000 which totally throw off the numbers.

Coconut Grove Single Family Home Market

Coconut Grove Homes For Sale: 178
Coconut Grove Homes Sold: 85
Coconut Grove Median List Price: $999,000
Coconut Grove Median Sale Price: $600,000
Coconut Grove Median List Price Per Sq. Ft.: $340.00 PPSF
Coconut Grove Median Sale Price Per Sq. Ft.: $250.00 PPSF

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Coral Gables Single Family Home Market

Coral Gables Homes For Sale: 448
Coral Gables Homes Sold: 270
Coral Gables Median List Price: $1,249,000
Coral Gables Median Sale Price: $652,500
Coral Gables Median List Price Per Sq. Ft.: $362.00 PPSF
Coral Gables Median Sale Price Per Sq. Ft.: $263.00 PPSF

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Pinecrest Single Family Home Market

Pinecrest Homes For Sale: 185
Pinecrest Closed This Year: 138
Pinecrest Median List Price: $1,399,000
Pinecrest Median Sale Price $854,500
Pinecrest Median List Price Per Sq. Ft.: $312.00 PPSF
Pinecrest Median Sale Price Per Sq. Ft. $246.00 PPSF

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Only 13 Gated Community Homes Currently On The Market In Coconut Grove

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I currently have a client looking for a home in a gated community in Coconut Grove.  Just like other high end properties there is a limited supply right now on the market.

We have a few for sale in Camp Biscayne, one in Hughes Cove, several in The Moorings, one in Treasure Trove, another in De Garmo Estates and a few more in Ye Little Wood.

The “Average List Price Per Square Foot” of these homes is $431.00 and the average List Price is $2,800,000.  Although that number seems high, there are 5 properties priced under $2,000,000 and don’t forget about the property I mentioned last week in Ye Little Wood that is priced at $890,000.

Click here to see ALL 13 homes in gated communities that are currently for sale in Coconut Grove.

To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here.

If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove, please give me a call at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.

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Total $$$ Sold In Coconut Grove

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Some interesting numbers.  In 2008 there was a total of $151,203,000 worth of single family homes sold in Coconut Grove.

So far this year there has only been $64,827,000 worth of single family home sales!!! Granted we still have a few more months to go in 2009, but chances are we won’t make up another $87 million in 2 months.

Considering that we are selling approximately the same “number” of homes as 2008 (if not slightly more), these numbers tell us two things about the real estate market here in Coconut Grove: prices have drastically come down since 2008 and buyers are purchasing the lower end homes compared to the higher end ones.

To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here.

If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove, please give me a call at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.

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Slim Pickings

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I have an out of town buyer who is looking at properties between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000.  She requested to see 15 houses, of those 15 only 5 are still available.  Some were short sales with multiple offers, some had pending contracts, a few were rented and one was sold.

Moral of the story: There is not a lot of good inventory between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000 on the market today.

Thinking of selling your home? Now might be a good time to put it on the market when we have such a limited supply of quality high end homes.  Please give me a call for a market analysis of your property.

To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here.

If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove, please give me a call at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.

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4070 Matheson Avenue In South Grove Sells At High PPSF

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My listing located at 4070 Matheson Avenue closed last week for $575,000.  As far as 3 bedrooms go, this is one of the highest “Price Per Square Foot” numbers we have seen all year in the South Grove.

It sold for $347.00 PSF, ($87.00 higher than the average in Coconut Grove).

The house had tons of charm and was turnkey ready which helps explain why we were able to secure such a price.

Details:

To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here.

If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove, please give me a call at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.

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Bidding Wars On Two Grove Properties

There have been two properties to go into bidding wars in the Grove recently.  The first, was a foreclosure located at 3520 St. Gaudens Court.  St. Gaudens is one of the premiere streets in Coconut Grove and this 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2,500 sq. ft. home was priced at $434,900.  There has not been a sale under $1,000,000 on this street in years.  Rumor has it that the property was bid up close to $200,000 over the bank’s asking price.

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The second property was located at 84 Bay Heights Drive and was part of an estate sale.  The home needed total renovation, but did feature a very large living room, large screened terrace with vaulted wood ceilings and a full underground basement.  The home had 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2,912 square feet of living space on a 9,547 square foot lot.  The list price was $399,000 and it was listed by EWM.  Word is that this house has at least 12 offers already.

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To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here.

If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove, please give me a call at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.

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$2,000,000+ Worth Of Short Sale Contracts Up In The Air…

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Waiting is the name of the game these days when it comes to short sales.  I added up the amount of short sale contracts that my clients have pending right now in Coconut Grove and it comes to over $2,000,000 worth of property.  It is impossible to know how many, if any, of these will close (and when).  As an agent, closing short sales requires a big leap of faith (that the bank will accept the offer and that the buyer won’t back out).

One thing that is necessary when you are the seller of a short sale is to hire the assistance of an attorney, preferably a short sale specialist.  Trust me, it is worth every penny.  The attorneys have experience in negotiating with the banks, they are familiar with each bank’s negotiating strategies, and are also familiar with the internal workings of the bank to make the process go faster.  For the buyer, the one thing that is required is an extreme amount of patience.  I have recently had one client back out of a short sale property after making an offer because he just couldn’t wait any longer and wanted to move on to new properties.

The shortest short sale process will probably get handled in 3 months and in the extreme case within 9 to 12 months of the offer being submitted.

Coconut Grove Short Sale Update

There are currently 23 short sales (single family) currently on the market in Coconut Grove, 9 under contract, and 11 closed so far this year.  Surprisingly, the average “sale price per square foot” for short sales closed this year in Coconut Grove is $256.00, only $4.00 lower than a non-short sale property.  This is just an indication that for the most part, the banks are doing their homework and not willing to take such drastic price reductions as once thought.

To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here.

If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove, please give me a call at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.

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Ye Little Wood, What Is For Sale?

There are currently three properties for sale in Ye Little Wood, one of Coconut Grove’s most charming gated communities.

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The first home features 4,262 square feet of living space, 5 bedrooms, 5 baths on a 16,533 square foot lot.  They are asking $1,995,000.  The home was purchased in 2005 for $1,707,200.  The List Price Per Square Foot is $468.00.

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The second home is great for someone who is looking for a project.  The home features 2 bedrooms, 2 baths in the main house and 1 bedroom, 1 bath in the guest house.  There is a total of 2,504 square feet of living space and 14,000 square foot lot.  I was in the house with the listing agent before she put it on the market and the home has great bones.  You could certainly live on the property while you did your renovations.  This is a great chance to live in one of Coconut Grove’s gated communities for under $1,000,000.  The List Price is $890,000, and they are asking $355.00 per square foot.

Finally, there is a 12,000 square foot piece of land available for $899,000.   Although there is surely a premium for being in Ye Little Wood, at $74.00 per square foot of land these sellers will have a difficult time finding a buyer.  To give you a reference point, I just sold a 21,600 square foot piece of land on Park Avenue a block away (not in a gated community) for $29.00 per square foot.

To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here.

If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove, please give me a call at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.

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Should You Update Your Home Before You Put It On The Market?

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If you attended my real estate talk last night you now know that prices have fallen significantly in Coconut Grove in the past year.  The average Single Family “Sale Price Per Square Foot” in October of 2008 was $343.00 and the average is now $260.00.

In years past, the decision whether to update your home before putting it on the market was easy because it was pretty much guaranteed that the improvements (kitchen, bath, floors, etc.) would increase the value of your home and you would recoup the money.

Since Coconut Grove homeowners have already experienced such a large drop in value over the past year, many people are not so keen on the idea of putting MORE money into their house before they place it on the market.

I tell my clients that they need to think about it this way….you are not putting more money into your house in order to make a profit.  Instead, you are putting more money into your home in order to make it stand out and get it sold!!

There are 178 houses on the market in Coconut Grove right now and very few are in move in condition.  So unless you are willing to price your home under market value, updating your home is another way to get your house sold quickly in this market.

Need more motivation? The average house that has sold this year has sat on the market for 9 months.  One thing that you can do to get it sold faster is to make it turnkey ready!

To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here.

If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove, please give me a call at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.

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