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South Florida Real Estate
Archive for the 'Buying' Category
Pending Home Sales Up 46% in Miami-Dade County
Pending home sales from March through November are up 46% in Miami-Dade County. The number of homes pending is important because there is normally a one to two month lag between the time a property goes under contract and when it actually closes. Once a home is pended in the Multiple Listing Service it does not show up as available inventory. Although not all pending sales actually close, it is a pretty good indicator of future home sales.
Miami Beach South of Fifth Condos – Direct Ocean Views!
There are currently 23 one to 3 bedroom units on the market in the South of Fifth area of Miami Beach. This is a great area of Miami Beach to be near every thing without being too close to the night clubs and heavy tourist area. Your neighbors include Joe’s Stone Crab, The Big Pink, Nemos, Prime 112, Nikki Beach, Smith and Wollensky, DeVitos, Opa, and many more restaurants. The shopping along 5th street, including the new Publix, make leaving your car at home easy. Plus you have miles of beach for walking, jogging, or just soaking up the sun, and great parks nearby.
Miami Beach Condos – Best Buys under $300,000
Even though the week of Thanksgiving normally kicks off the “slow” time for most real estate sales, in Miami it often kicks up the second high season. With the opening of Art Basel, Miami this week and the start of winter up North, traffic increases again, especially for condos on the beach. Here is a run down of some of the best buys for one and two bedroom condos on Miami Beach, all in waterfront buildings. Since most of the current sales are under $300,000, I started there. The listings from 1980 – current include all waterfront buildings whereas those from 1979 and older are only oceanfront and direct ocean views. The bulk of the condos are from 1960-1979. To view additional pages, click on the arrows at the top left hand corner. To view additional pictures for any particular listing, click on the number box inside the first picture.
Under $300,000 built after 2000
Under $300,000 built 1990-1999
Under $300,000 built 1970-1979
Under $300,000 built 1960-1969
Under $300,000 built up to 1959
Go to Property Search to look for properties in other price ranges.
Miami Beach Condos Have Many Different Architectural Styles
There are so many different styles of architecture on Miami Beach, it is no wonder that just about anyone can find their ideal building or home on the Beach. From the Art Deco and post war buildings of passed decades to the current luxurious high rises, there are plenty of options in all price ranges for condo buyers.
Sales Under $250,000 Drive October’s Existing-Home Sales Surge
48.5% of the increase in sales reported by NAR were under $250,000. In the South, 51.6% of the sales were under $250,000. The increase in sales was largely due to the expiration of the first-time homebuyers credit, which President Obama ended up extending and expanding. Most experts expect the next couple of months sales to slide back a bit.
Commercial Property Sales In Miami Down 70% In 3rd Quarter
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.
Miami Foreclosures – Down For October But Probably Will Increase
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.
Single-Family Homes and Condos in Miami-Dade County
South Florida Real Estate – Third Quarter Summary
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
Good-Faith Estimates To Improve Dramatically
On January 1, 2010, new rules adopted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development go into effect. These rules
are going to give borrowers a much more realistic estimate of what their closing costs are going to be so there are fewer surprises at the closing table.
- Good-faith estimates will now be on a uniform form, so borrowers can more easily compare settlement fees and loan charges among lenders.
- The form will break-down fees into three categories: those that can’t increase from original estimates, those that can increase by as much as 10% and those that the lender has no control over. Fees that can increase up to 10% are limited to a total 10% in that category so, if at closing, two items increase by 10%, the most the borrower will pay is the 10%.
Although the new rules do not guarantee a borrower’s actual closing costs will be exactly what the good-faith estimate states, it will be a lot better and closer to reality than many of these estimates currently are. The fact that these new uniform good-faith estimates are also going to be included in a new HUD-1 will allow borrowers to compare what they were told with the actual charges. The new HUD-1 will also break out the title insurance premiums so that the borrower can see what percentage is going to the insurance and what portion is a fee to the title agent.
What should you do if you are shopping for a mortgage now and plan on purchasing a home before the new rules come out? Use HUD’s shopping for a mortgage brochure to get you started.
First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit Extended and Improved
What does the bill that President Obama signed into law on Friday mean to you if you are a first time homebuyer? It means that you did not miss out on the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit and may be able to qualify for it now, even if you didn’t before. Why? Because the new First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit:
- expanded the credit to higher income individuals and married couples,
- expanded the credit to existing sellers who are looking to move up or downsize their primary residence as long as they owned and occupied the residence for five consecutive years out of the previous eight,
- extended the deadline until April 30, 2010 to be under contract as long as closing takes place by June 30, 2010
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