Category: Buying

Tips to make your real estate buying experience a smooth one

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Buying Market Summary Selling

Miami Real Estate – Single Family Homes 4th Quarter Market Update

Below is a quick snap shot of what the real estate market for single family homes looked like for the fourth quarter of 2009.  These numbers are derived from the Multiple Listing Service and though they do not include For Sale By Owners and anything not listed on the MLS, they are indicative of what is going on in our local markets.  The closed sales may be slightly underestimated due to the lag time in posting the sale in the MLS.

Coconut Grove

  • Closed Sales: 23.  5 short sales, 3 REO. None of the closings in December were Short Sales or REO.  Highest Sales Price: $2.2 million. Highest Price/Square Foot:  $437.98. Lowest Sales Price: $154,900.  Lowest Price/Square Foot: $82.97
  • Pending Sales: 22, 14 of which went pending in the fourth quarter.
  • Active Listings: 165,  down from 217 at end of Sept.   Highest List Price: $18 million. Lowest List Price: $65,900.

Coral Gables

  • Closed Sales: 101.  6 short sales, 10 REOs.   Highest Sales Price: $5.15 million.  Lowest Sales Price: $250,000.
  • Pending Sales: 74
  • Active Listings: 421, down from 450 at the end of the third quarter.  Highest List Price: $49.5 million.  Lowest List Price: $89,500

Key Biscayne

  • Closed Sales: 13.  0 short sales, 1 REO.   Highest Sales Price: $6.15 million.   Lowest Sales Price: $820,000.
  • Pending Sales: 3.
  • Active Listings: 122.   Highest List Price: $24.950 million.   Lowest List Price: $985,000.

Miami Beach

  • Closed Sales: 41.  5 short sales, 7 REOs.  Highest Sales Price: $9.75 million.  Lowest Sales Price: $240,000
  • Pending Sales: 53
  • Active Listings: 380.  Highest List Price: $29.9 million.  Lowest List Price: $181,000.

Palmetto Bay

  • Closed Sales: 42. 8 short sale, 4 REO.   Highest Sales Price: $1.45 million. Lowest Sales Price: $140,000.
  • Pending Sales: 63
  • Active Listings: 139.  Highest List Price: $2.85 million. Lowest List Price: $165,000.

Pinecrest

  • Closed Sales: 45.  4 short sale and 5 REOs.  Highest Sales Price: $3.5 million.  Lowest Sales Price: $236,000.
  • Pending Sales: 29
  • Active Listings: 199.  Highest List Price: $5.9 million. Lowest List Price: $265,000.

South Miami

  • Closed Sales: 24. 3 short sales, 9 REO.   Highest Sales Price: $870,000. Lowest Sales Price: $87,500.
  • Pending Sales: 21
  • Active Listings: 71.  Highest List Price: $1.899 million. Lowest List Price: $57,270.


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Buying Mortgage information

Mortgage Rates Fall Slightly This Week

After rising for the past four weeks, long-term mortgage rates fell last week.  Freddie Mac reported 30- year fixed rate mortgages averaged around 5.09%, down from 5.14% last week.

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Buying Investment Real Estate

Foreign Investors Looking At U.S Real Estate

Now that the residential real estate market appears to have stabilized, investors are starting to look at U.S properties as potential investments.  According to Kevin Brass of the Wall Street Journal, groups of investors from Mainland China are still touring properties in the U.S.

With the decrease in real estate prices and the drop in the dollar in relation to other currencies, foreign investors are taking advantage.  Shouldn’t you be?

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Brickell/Downtown Miami Buying Neighborhood News

Miami Real Estate – Marina Blue Condominium

Port of Miami
Port of Miami

This is one of the many beautiful views from the 516-unit Marina Blue Condominium on Biscayne Boulevard.  This brand new building sits directly across the street from the Port of Miami, Miami Arena, and site of the future Miami Art Museum.  It is walking distance to Bayfront Park, Bayside Marketplace and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Perfoming Arts.  Convenient to South Beach (see it the the background to the left), Miami International Airport (15-20 minutes), and Brickell.  Easy access to public transportation.

There are currently 39 units listed on the MLS ranging in price from $299,00o for a 950 square foot, one bedroom one-and-a-half bath unit up to $3.3 million for a 4,198 square foot three bedroom three-and-a-half bath unit on the 57 floor.

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Buying Selling

Robert Shiller Discusses Housing Market Volatility

An interesting article by Robert Shiller, Yale Economics Professor and one of the creators of the Case-Shiller home price index, discusses the idea that perceptions as to land value is what has driven a lot of the housing market increases.  He argues that a growing global economy and increasingly transient population that values economic freedom versus the perceived land value will create a more volatile housing market.

What do you think about the issues raised in the article?

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Brickell/Downtown Miami Foreclosures Neighborhood News

Icon Brickell To Be Turned Over To Lenders

Icon Brickell, the three-tower 1800-unit complex with views of the Miami River and gorgeous grounds is being turned over to the developer’s lenders in a friendly foreclosure.  Only two of the three towers have been built.

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Buying Mortgage information

Interest Rates Will Start Increasing in 2010

The Fed’s Mortgage Backed Security (MBS) purchase program ends on March 31, 2010.  This purchase program is what has kept mortgage rates so low for the better part of 2009 and once the Fed stops purchasing MBSs  the demand will drop.  Since the supply of MBSs is still high, this will have a downward affect on bond prices which, in turn, will make home mortgage rates rise.

This will affect the purchasing power of home buyers.

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Foreclosures

Happy Holidays from Citigroup

Citigroup announced that it will suspend foreclosures for the next 30 days in order to work on long-term alternatives to foreclosure.  This will be happy news to an estimated 4,000 borrowers.

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Buying

Short Sales Starting to Pick Due to New Treasury Rules

At the end of November, the United States Treasury Department released new rules attempting to encourage banks to speed up short sales.  The rules create a uniform process and documents that all banks must use as well as provide cash incentives to banks willing to participate.  The new rules are starting to work…I actually had a previously unapproved short sale close faster and with less problems than a regular sale that went under contract at around the same time.

This is great news for buyers and sellers as it will help us move through the inventory levels that much faster.  In order to qualify, a seller must:

  • use the home as his/her primary residence
  • have taken the loan out prior to January 1, 2009
  • must be delinquent on mortgage or likely to default on it
  • have a loan that is less than $729,750
  • have a monthly mortgage payment that is more than 31% of before-tax income

Categories
Buying Mortgage information

Buying Real Estate? Bring Plenty of Patience if You Are Financing

I just came from a closing that almost didn’t happen because of the strict lending requirements lenders have.  Mind you, the Buyer has been under contract on a regular sale for over a month and was putting 40% down.  Last night the bank decided it needed more information on the source of his original $5,000 deposit, given back in early October.  When he provided his bank statement showing the $5,000, the latest bank statement also showed a significant deposit, a gift from his sister to help with the down payment.  This initiated a request from the lender for a letter from the sister saying it was a gift.  He got the letter, but this morning they wanted a copy of the sister’s account where the money came from.  She forwarded the statement showing the debit being made to her account.  Unfortunately for all parties involved, the sister is married and doesn’t share her husband’s last name, which lead to another request for information.  We finally closed a little before 9:00 p.m.

I have no problem with lenders tightening up their lending requirements and wanting to track the money.  I do have an issue with them doing so the day before the closing, jeopardizing the transaction, and stressing out all parties, who are usually stressed out enough on the day of a closing.

Moral of the story?

  • Create a paper trail of where all the money you are using for the closing is coming from and provide it to your lender or mortgage broker at least several days before the closing.
  • If you are getting money from a family member, get a gift letter to go along with it.  The letter should be specific as to where the funds are coming from and include a bank statement showing the funds.
  • Make sure the name(s )of the accounts match the name(s) in the gift letter.
  • If you are running short on time, sign an addendum for a one-two day extension for the closing and make sure all parties to the original contract sign it before the end of the contracted closing date so that you are still in contract.
  • Be patient.  Lenders are backlogged with new buyers and new regulations.