Categories
Coral Gables Neighborhood News

Coral Gables Fire Fee Will Increase Taxes

On Wednesday, July 28, at 9:00 a.m. the City of Coral Gables Commission will hear the first reading of an ordinance that would create a new and separate Fire Rescue Assessment Fee, which is currently collected from ad valorum taxes.  There does not appear to be a guarantee that the current millage would decrease by the same amount of the new fire fee, so property taxes would increase and property owners would be paying twice for the same level of fire service.

Contact your Commissioners and let them know what you think.

Categories
Buying Luxury Real Estate Selling

Which Florida Cities Will Rank As Most Expensive in 2009?

Last year, Forbes’ 500 most expensive zip codes list included 11 in Florida, including the number 1 most expensive zip, 33109 in Miami Beach, with a median sales price of $3,850,000!  Miami Beach also ranked #369 with zip code 33154 which had a median home price of $745,900.  The list was based on sales between July of 2007 and June 2008, so it will be interesting to see what changes this year’s list holds for Florida cities.  Stay tuned, the list should be out in the next couple of months and I will post the results with a more detailed analysis.

Categories
Buying Coral Gables Luxury Real Estate Selling

Luxury Real Estate – Coral Gables in the Top 5 of Fastest Moving Luxury Neighborhoods

A recent Forbes article rated Coral Gables, FL as one of the fastest moving luxury neighborhoods in terms of days on gables-white-house2market.  Forbes’ rating system, which is based on the 500 most expensive zip codes,  is better than other housing indexes which cover too broad of an area to give an accurate picture of what is happening in a specific neighborhood,  but their assessment also has some flaws.  For example,  for Coral Gables, which was rated number 5 by Forbes, the zip code they used was 33146.  Don’t get me wrong, 33146 is an expensive zip code, but Coral Gables, which extends significantly further South from the better known business and restaurant district which is their formal downtown, has 7 zip codes!  Based on an MLS search today, there were 69 Active listings ranging in price from $13.5 million down to $395,000 in the 33146 zip code.  14 of those listings were waterfront.  However, there were a total of 261 Active MLS listings in the Gables, South of US 1.  The most expensive listing was $49.5 million and was in the 33143 zip code, which also had higher closed sales prices.  Having Forbes rate Coral Gables the 5th fastest moving luxury market, with an average of 66 days for the top 10 zips vs 115 days average for the whole 500 index,  is great news for Coral Gables, but it doesn’t tell the story for luxury real estate in the Gables.  There were several zips and luxury price ranges which had significantly longer days on market.  When pricing your luxury home for sale or making an offer on your purchase of one, make sure you check with a local luxury expert.

Categories
Selling

7225 SW 130 ST Pinecrest Florida Home For Sale

7255 SW130 Street is a tastefully updated, sophisticated home located in the beautiful Village of Pinecrest.  This tropically landscaped home is a private get away right in the middle of the best public and private schools in Miami-Dade County.  $899,000

  • 4 bedrooms, 3 baths
  • 3,758 square feet of living area
  • impact resistant doors and windows
  • crown moldings and baseboards throughout the house
  • amazing kitchen for entertaining with daily eating area
  • formal dining room
  • covered patio with built-in bar-b-que
  • pool

Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so take a tour for yourself.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU7mY9lN11Y[/youtube]

Categories
Hurricanes

Miami Counts Down to Hurricane Season

hurricaneflagI am not talking about the University of Miami’s football team here, which is a much anticipated season, but rather the real hurricane season, which is right around the corner officially beginning June 1.   Whether you recently moved here or have lived here for ever, now is the time to prepare your property.  There are a million hurricane guides, issued by everyone from the Miami Herald, the State of Florida, Miami-Dade County, and the University of Miami, to help students away from home prepare for a storm.

The links above are great for the specifics of how to address the main items you need to consider:

1) Have a plan.  Where will you go if you have to evacuate?  Will you be able to take your pets?  If you don’t need to evacuate, make sure you have all the supplies you will need to take care of yourself, family and pets for at least 5 days after a storm.  This includes cash, gas, food, water, flashlights/batteries and prescriptions.

2) Record and secure your belongings.  Take pictures or, better yet, video of your entire property: outside and inside, room by room.  Make sure you have all of your insurance and bank information in a safe place that you can take with you if you need to evacuate.  Make sure you have shutters or plywood before the season starts.  You don’t want to be running around at the last minute with all of the other procrastinators looking for supplies.

Related Reads:

Preparing for a Hurricane – A Way of Life in South Florida

Categories
Buying Investment Real Estate Selling

3 Reasons Miami-Dade’s Housing Market Will Take Longer to Recover Than Broward’s

The Miami Herald posted an article that Broward’s housing market is close to bottoming out, even though prices in both Broward and Miami-Dade counties continue to slide.  The article was correct in predicting that Broward will rebound faster mainly because:

1) Miami’s inventory was higher than Broward’s to begin with.  Last year at this time, Broward’s single family home inventory was 28 months and is currently 13.  Miami-Dade had a 42 month supply last year and a 17 month supply now.  Condos in Broward were at 31 months and are now at 17 month.  Dade condos were at a 53 month supply and there is currently a 27 month supply.  These supplies are only based on MLS numbers.  There are many more units being held by developers that aren’t listed on the MLS

2) Miami still has a lot of projects that are just now coming on line, especially in the condo market, which is already saturated.

3) Miami built more in outlying areas, especially in the southern part of the county and along the Biscayne corridor.

Categories
Buying Investment Real Estate

Miami FL – Commercial Real Estate is the Next Buyers Market

An Associated Press article last week highlights opportunities in commerical real estate.  Whereas many economists arebrickell-2-resize predicting that the housing market is at or close to bottom, the commercial sector is just starting to see massive defaults.  A skyscraper in New York that was purchased for approximately $50o million in 2006 just sold for $100,000!  The commercial real estate market is the worst in decades and there are billions worth of distressed properties in every market.  This creates an amazing opportunity for long term real estate investors.

Although Miami does not have the commercial density of New York or Chicago, it did go through a commercial building boom,  and there will be many opportunities in all commercial sectors over the next year.

Categories
Buying Market Summary Selling

Miami Real Estate Market May Be Turning

moving-on-upCould it be?  While it is too early to say for sure, there are definitely signs that real estate market in Miami-Dade County may be turning.   As I have said before, this recovery is going to be location and building specific, meaning some are going to recover faster and with less overall price decreases than others.

On a county-wide level, there are a number of positive signs, including:

  • Inventory is starting to move.  For single family homes it has decreased 30% over same time last year and for condos it is down 18%
  • Median prices are significantly lower.  Single family homes have plunged from their peak  of $381,000 in July, 2007 to $177,000 at the end of April, 2009.  Condos are down from their peak of $269,000 in April of 2008 to $139,000 in April of 2009.
  • Sales are up.  Single family sales increased 77%  and condo sales increased 60% over same time last year.

Related articles:

Pinecrest, FL Real Estate – Market Trends First Quarter 2009

Categories
Renting in Miami

Miami Rentals – Renters Will Benefit From New Law

for-rent-saleBefore President Obama signed the housing law last week, renters were often found being thrown out of a home when their landlord was foreclosed on.   Since Miami is almost ground zero for foreclosures, renters need to be cautious when renting in Miami and inform themselves of the protections that are buried in the new housing law.

  • Many homes and condos in Miami are currently listed on the MLS for both rent and sale.
  • Some of these are short sales which means the seller owes more money on the mortgage than the property is worth.
  • These properties often have owners who are experiencing financial difficulties.
  • If you rent one of these properties, the landlord does not have to use your rent to pay the mortgage and, in many cases doesn’t.
  • Have your Realtor check the tax rolls to see if there are currently any liens or lis pendens on the property.  Although no guarantee that your landlord will not be foreclosed on for the duration of your lease, at least you will know if they are already in the process.

Before the protections in the housing law were put into place, many tenants would find themselves out of a home with little savings to cover moving costs, which are usually first and last month’s rent plus one month’s rent for security deposit.  When the landlord is foreclosed on, there is little recourse for the renter to try to collect their deposit and last month’s rent since foreclosure terminates the lease.  New protections include:

  • Tenants with lease can stay in property for the remainder of the lease and 90 days thereafter.
  • Tenants without a lease (month-to-monthers) will have 90 days.

Categories
Buying Neighborhood News Pinecrest Selling

Pinecrest FL Rated the 10th Most Expensive Suburb to Live In 2009

The Village of Pinecrest was just rated the 10th most expensive suburb to live by Business Week.

The most expensive suburb in each of the 52 states were chosen based on:

  • cost of living
  • median home price
  • property taxes
  • mortgage and utilities

The article acknowledges that what contributes to the popularity and expense of these areas are:

  1. excellent public schools
  2. low crime rate
  3. gorgeous neighborhoods
  4. parks and recreational facilites.

Pinecrest has all 4 of the above and additional benefits that were not mentioned such as:

  • large lot sizes
  • small local government
  • tree canopy
  • proximity to marinas
  • variety of homes and sizes
  • international population

For more information on Pinecrest read:

Pinecrest FL Real Estate  – Market Trends First Quarter 2009

7645 SW 117 Pinecrest FL Is In A Great Location

Unbelievable Land Value in Pinecrest, FL – 7935 SW 134 Street- Builder’s Acre Under $550,000

Food Tasting and Entertainment at 7th Annual Taste of Pinecrest at Pinecrest Gardens

Looking for Something to Do? Head to Pinecrest!