Third quarter commercial sales decreased 70% across the board from last year’s third quarter sales. The price per square foot fell
- 12% for office
- 14% for multi-family
- 23% for industrial and
- 9% for retail.
Author: jenniferwollmann
Spend the next 6 months relaxing by the pool, bar-b-queing with friends, or just enjoying the gorgeous views from one of these fully furnished 3 bedroom 3 bath condos.
30 minutes to downtown Miami, 15 minutes to Coconut Grove and downtown Coral Gables, 5 minutes to Pinecrest, the Falls and Dadeland. Unit 604 comes with club and golf privileges for additional monthly charge.
Fairchild’s 6
9 annual Ramble, South Florida’s largest garden party, is taking place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9:30-4:30. $5 off admission makes this an affordable event that the whole family will enjoy.
The third annual Latin Jazz Festival takes place on Friday, November 20 at 7 p.m. at the Kendall Campus. Artists include
- Arturo Sandoval
- Nestor Torres
- Albita
- Ed Calle
- Roberto Perera
- Negroni’s Trio
- Federico Britos
- Los Herederos
- Palo!
- Sammy Figueroa
- Edwin Bonilla
- Paquito Hechavarria
- Cheito Quinones
- Jeff Carswell
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Sunset on Biscayne Bay
Another beautiful sunset after a day on the bay…. I love South Florida!!1
As part of November’s Miami’s Celebrate Architecture + Design 2009, the Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables Home Tour is offering a self-guided tour today from noon to 4 with a lecture reception at 10:45 a.m. at Hava Head, a 1936 home built for Charles Baker. Tickets can be purchased at the start of the tour at 4320 Santa Maria Street for $30.
Cavas Wine Tasting Room & Cafe is having their first neighborhood wine expo at their South Miami location tomorrow, from 2-6 p.m. A $20 tasting fee allows you taste over 100 wines. $10 of the tasting fee will be applied toward any wine purchase you make. What a wonderful way to spend the day… tasting wine and strolling along downtown South Miami. After the wine tasting, head over to Blu, Town, or Cafe Pastis, all of which have tables outside, and enjoy our beautiful Fall weather.
Although the number of homes in foreclosure decreased in October from the same time last year, the overall number of foreclosures are still high and some experts think it will rise. According to RealtyTrac, there were 7, 741 foreclosures in Miami Dade as of October. Most of the first round of foreclosures were sub-prime and adjustable-rate mortgages that became unaffordable once interest rates reset. The potential for another round of foreclosures is due to the large amount of negative equity many people currently have in their homes and the high unemployment rate, 11.3%, in Miami-Dade County.
This new round of foreclosures will keep real estate prices low, and may push them lower, unless the current sales trend continues and a balance is reached where inventories are stable at a 6 – 9 month supply. The recently extended and expanded First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit, continued low interest rates and real estate prices that have retrenched, should help keep sales moving and inventories decreasing. The graph below is for single-family homes and condo sales for Miami-Dade County. Some areas within the county are already at a 6-9 month supply level.
You would think I ‘d know better. I am in real estate after all. But I got too caught up in the mortgage/real estate/job market/Wall Street mess, and the whirlwind of media negativity, to see that mortgage rates had dropped SOOOOO LOW that I could have saved a lot of money EACH month, if I had refinanced. Luckily I wasn’t too late to miss the boat in its entirety. I had grown complacent with my 5.75% interest rate since I had refinanced it several years ago when rates were at “historic lows”. I saved on my monthly mortgage from when I originally purchased my home, so thought I was okay. I did the calculations last week and, based on a rate of 4.625% for a 15 year loan, realized I would save $544.77 each month and that in less than a year that savings would pay for the closing costs associated with refinancing.
If I were to take a portion of my monthly savings and use it to pay down the principal balance on my loan and another portion to invest in my retirement fund, I would still have a little extra spending money! Needless to say, I filled out the paperwork today. What are you waiting for?
According to the National Association of Realtors third quarter report, sales are up throughout most of the country. The biggest increase in sales was in Florida at 36.8%. This is no surprise considering that we are also the state with the highest number (9 out of the top 15) of metro area price decreases in the double digits. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach metro area had a price decrease of 24.6 percent. What this means to you depends on whether you are a:
- Seller – Pricing is everything in this market. Although sales are up, the high unemployment rate and continued high inventories mean that prices will not be going up any time soon.
- Buyer – If you are waiting for the bottom of the market, you probably missed it, but high inventory levels, low interest rates and the extension and expansion of the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit, still equal a great time to buy.
- Investor – There are and will continue to be good buys but the high unemployment rate and inventory levels will continue to put downward pressure on rental and vacancy rates across the commercial/investment sector.-
More detailed information regarding specific real estate markets in Miami-Dade County can be found in Miami Real Estate – Single Family Homes Market Summary