Archive for May, 2010
Short Sale News From Miami’s Top Realtors
May 17th, 2010 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate Market Conditions
Every week on Sunday night I participate in a weekly ”TweetChat” with some of Miami’s top Realtors. Last night we discussed our experiences in handling short sales. Here are a few of the highlights:
- Short Sales continue to be the bain of many Realtor’s existence due to the time and energy that they require but in this market we all agree that they are par for the course.
- We are all seeing an increase in short sale fraud (where the short sale seller asks for cash on the side from the buyer).
- Banks make more money on foreclosures than they do on short sales due to the buyout from the Feds and deficiciency judgments. Also, it seems that the second lender is now the primary cause for major delays.
- Short Sales are no longer bringing down the market and frequently sell at market value.
- Short Sales are worth the time and energy for investors but not so much for end users.
- The average short sale turnaround time has been 90 to 180 days, if not more.
Follow along on Twitter every Sunday night at 9:00 on #MiamiRealEChat to hear advice, tips, and news on the Miami real estate market.
Great Tool Available Exclusively To My Blog Readers and Clients
May 14th, 2010 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
For those of you who have registered for a Market Snapshot you should be receiving your monthly report over the next few days. For those of you who haven’t, you are missing out on a great home buying and selling tool.
What is the Market Snapshot? The Market Snapshot gives you market trends and community information in your area of choosing.
See the below snapshot for a home in The Moorings one of Coconut Grove’s gated communities. The green flags indicate homes that are for sale, while the red flags indicate homes that have sold in the area. Scroll your mouse over the flags and it will give you a picture and more information of each property.
This is Real-Time MLS information!!
Also provided is public and private school information for homes within a 2 mile radius including number of students/staff/classrooms in each school and a summary of test results. See the below chart that includes schools such as – Ransom Everglades, Carollton School of Sacred Heart, Tucker Elementary, Academy of Arts and Minds etc.
The Snapshot report also comes with specific graphs such as the number of homes for sale vs. number of homes sold in your area of choosing as well as average asking prices vs. selling prices.
How do your receive this tool? Its easy, just enter in your information as a buyer or seller below.
4360 Ingraham Highway Sells For $1,375,000
May 12th, 2010 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
This week my buyers closed on the property located at 4360 Ingraham Highway for $1,375,000. The home is Caribbean Colonial style with a metal roof, double hung windows, rain gutters with rain barrels, oak floors, two fireplaces and many other special features. The home sits on a 33,948 square foot lot with tennis/basketball court and barbeque pit/grotto area.
The home was owned by an agent in my EWM office for over 30 years but once her children moved to Gainesville she decided to put it on the market for sale. She started out at a pretty high price of $2,679,000 hoping to snag that “one” buyer who would overpay for the house (I always say…..don’t doctor yourself, don’t lawyer yourself, and definitely don’t realtor yourself). The home generated some interest but nobody was willing to pay that price in this market. After several price reductions it was finally listed at market value and we were able to agree on a sales price and close on the home yesterday. Congratulations to my clients who now have room to grow!
I wish my colleague all the best in Gainesville!
Will Momentum Continue In Coconut Grove Real Estate?
May 11th, 2010 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
Coconut Grove real estate is up 50% this year in the single family home market. Will momentum continue now that the tax credit has expired?
Lets take a look at a few statistics:
- Gallup Poll says that 72% (3 out of 4) of Americans still believe that now is the time to buy.
- Real Estate as an investment is up! Move Inc. Survey reported that 17.2% of potential home buyers plan to purchase a home in the near future as an investment. Last year, that number was a little over 5%. Investors re-entering the market is a good sign that the market is stabilizing.
- The price of homes across America is back to March of 2003 prices. This figure would typically cause an increase in the number of sales but dont forget that you must look at the cost of the home not just the price. This leads us to interest rates, see below.
Will rising interest rates have an impact on the number of sales?
Now that the Fed has exited the market we can expect to see a rise in interest rates. After 3 weeks the rates remain stable but experts predict they will start to move up more dramatically from mid to late 2010. In my opinion once interest rates begin creeping up we will see a slight surge in home buyers who will want to lock in their interest rate now and a decrease towards the end of the year as rates may move up by as much as 1%.
Keep in mind that home prices may fall slightly in order to compensate for the higher interest rates.
So what is my prediction for Coconut Grove this year? As I said, we may see an increase in activity as interest rates start to rise and then a decrease in sales towards the end of the year as rates get much higher. We are lucky here in Coconut Grove because the Jumbo Loan market is seeing a comeback with better down payment requirements which will spur the luxury home market. An increase in higher end homes selling may pick up the slack created from the Fed exiting the market.
In The Nick Of Time – Saint Hugh Oaks Village
May 10th, 2010 | categories: Selling Real Estate in Coconut Grove
Sometimes when buyers may be feeling that they have seen EVERYTHING on the market and are thinking that they will never find “THE ONE”….the stars will align, the skies will clear and the perfect house will land right in their lap.
Recently my buyers had exactly that moment.
Let me start from the beginning. The buyers, lets call them “Robert” and “Andrea” are a lovely couple who contacted me back in December and were looking to buy their first home. Their budget was somewhere in the $300,000 price range and they were hoping to buy before the tax credit expired on April 30th. Day after day, month after month my team member Dominique Duque and myself took these buyers out to see property. Over the course of 5 months we showed the buyers over 60 houses. They were looking in all locations from Coconut Grove down to South Miami. We drew up 5 offers on various homes but due to problems such as roof, appraisal or structural issues the contracts were never executed or were cancelled. They felt as if they were never going to find the perfect house.
At this point it was April 28th and we were 2 days away from the Tax Credit expiring. On that Wednesday night, I got an e-mail from a woman in Saint Hugh Oaks – a gated community of single family homes on the corner of Franklin Street and Douglas Road. This woman wanted to put her house on the market and wanted to sell quickly. I prepared a valuation of her home and made an appointment to see her and her house the next day.
When I walked into her house on the evening of April 29th I KNEW that this house was ideal for “Robert” and “Andrea”. After we signed the listing papers I immediately called Dominique and we scheduled an appointment for them to see it on April 30th. They fell in love (as I knew they would). We drew up an offer, accepted her counter offer, and by the evening of April 30th we had a signed contract! Whew….just in time for them to receive the tax credit!!
Keep your fingers crossed because we still have a few more days left until closing and this is a wonderful couple who really deserve to get this house.
If you or someone you know is interestesd in buying/selling real estate in Coconut Grove and are looking for a Grove Specialist, please contact me on my cell at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.
Need A Last Minute Gift For Mother’s Day?
May 7th, 2010 | categories: Buying Real Estate in Coconut Grove
Why not draw up a contract for this one of a kind home in De Garmo Estates? The pefect gift for any mother! This is a 1921 Spanish villa that has been completely restored to perfection. The home offers 7,761 square feet of living space on a 19,770 square foot lot. It has beeen featured in many architectural and design books and publications. Special details include a central courtyard, fountains, gorgeous kitchen, waterfalls and grotto.
This estate is located at 3701 De Garmo Lane and is currently priced at $3,250,000. For more photos and information of the property, click here.
The home is listed by Laura Mullaney of Coldwell Banker. If you would like to schedule a showing to view this home or any others in Coconut Grove please don’t hesitate to contact me at 305.342.1623 or send me a message here.
Foreclosure Flip Sells On Loquat Avenue
May 6th, 2010 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
The house located at 3907 Loquat Avenue in South Coconut Grove closed this week at a sales price of $618,000 ($286.00 per foot). The house had 2,156 square feet of living space, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths on a 7,150 square foot lot.
The house sold as a foreclosure in May of 2009 for $306,000. Below are some pictures I found of the house prior to the renovations.
If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can reach me anytime on my cell at 305.342.1623 or send me a message here.
Error Leads To Inaccurate Statistics In Coconut Grove
May 5th, 2010 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
Some people may call me a bit anal when it comes to certain things but I prefer to call it “paying attention to detail”. Because I am this way, I get aggravated at situations like this….
Once again a broker has entered in the wrong information on a closed sale in Coconut Grove. See the listing on 4191 El Prado Boulevard. The MLS shows a sales price of $12,000,000 on a home that was listed for $1,650,000. Obviously a data entry error.
The problem with the broker not correcting their mistake is that all of the websites (Trulia, Zillow and Realtor.com ) that generate housing statistics directly from the MLS will have the wrong information.
Just out of curiosity I took that $12,000,000 figure and plugged it into my own spreadsheet. The error caused the average “Price Per Square Foot” figure for Coconut Grove to jump from $259.00 to $340.00!!! It also caused the total amount of sold inventory for 2010 to be $34,955,000 instead of $22,955,000. As you know, I calculate my own Coconut Grove statistics by hand so rest assured that these types of errors don’t affect our figures here on blog.
We have reported the error to the Board about a week ago but as of today it has not been corrected.
Be Careful How You Use “Price Per Square Foot” Figures
May 5th, 2010 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
I am always giving my readers the average “Price Per Square Foot” figures for homes and condos in Coconut Grove. I offer these numbers because I think they are a great tool for tracking the market. By looking at the average ”Price Per Square Foot” of 2009 compared to the first quarter of 2010 I can see that as a whole the Grove market is now down by about $6.00 a foot. Using “Price Per Square Foot” within a specific category of homes is also extremely helpful such as waterfront homes, new construction homes or condominiums.
But you have to be careful in assuming that just because the average “Price Per Square Foot” in the Grove right now is $259.00 that every house should be selling for that price. Take for example my listing that sold last year at 4070 Matheson Avenue. The average “Price Per Square Foot” at the time was $265.00, but the house sold for $347.00 a foot. See pictures of that home below.
“Price Per Square Foot” is only one of many tools used in valuing a home. You must look for similar sold (and active) comparables in the neighborhood, age of the home, lot size, style, and condition. To get a true value, you must use the knowledge and expertise of a local agent.
New Listing In North Coconut Grove – 1645 Tigertail Avenue
May 4th, 2010 | categories: New Listings in the Grove
I have recently listed a new property located at 1645 Tigertail Avenue in North Coconut Grove and I am holding it open tomorrow (Wednesday) from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. Feel free to stop by and take a look at this great house.
This home features 5 bedrooms and 5 baths with 3,296 square feet of living space on a 14,500 square foot lot. The lovely front porch overlooks a large pool and lush landscaping. The home has been updated with a new high end kitchen, baths, new wood floors, crown moldings and 10 foot high ceilings. The Main House features 4 bedrooms and 4 baths while the guest house has 1 bedroom, 1 bath with full kitchen.
Guest House Below
Details of 1645 Tigertail Avenue:
- 3,296 Square Feet Of Living Space
- 14,500 Square Foot Lot
- 5 Bedrooms, 5 Baths
- Click here to view a Virtual Tour
- Asking Price: $1,200,000
If you are unable to make the Open House and are still interested in viewing this property, please give me a call at 305.342.1623 and we will arrange a showing for you.