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Coral Gables

Vampires and Werewolves, Oh My!

No, this is not an early Halloween blog but rather one about Books and Books, our Manhattan-style bookstore. Mitch Kaplan, Books and Books owner and a co-founder of Miami Book Fair International, has done an incredible job bringing distinguished authors to speak, read, and sign books over the years, but none got my teen daughter’s attention until Stephenie Meyer showed up on September 15 to talk about Eclipse, the latest in the Twilight Series.

I was lucky, or crazy, enough to attend the Books and Books Vampire Ballsponsored Vampire Ball, guest starring Stephenie Meyer, with my 13 year old daughter and hundreds of other fans. The Coral Gables War Memorial was packed but the event was extremely well organized. Fans waited in line for asked questions of the author and then waited to get their books signed.

It was wonderful to see so many young readers and would-be authors enjoying a Saturday afternoon with their parents, friends, and books. Thanks, Mitch!

Categories
Coral Gables Pinecrest

4 Reasons Buyer's Aren't Rejoicing Over High Inventory Levels

All we have been hearing for the past several months is how bad the housing market is. High inventory, high foreclosure rate, slow sales. All of that is true, especially in Florida, California, and Nevada where speculation ran high. In 2006, Business Week did a story on absorption rates and came up with the following cute summary of inventory absorption rates. Business Week Absporption rateIn addition to their four categories, I have added two of my own based on Miami-Dade’s inventory levels: 18+ months “ugly”; over 30 months “downright depressing”. I came up with these catagories after learning that as of July, 2007 there were a total of 38,672 condos and single family homes listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) compared to 1,100 closed sales during that same time period. Based on those numbers, we have a 32.9 month supply of condos and single family homes! Now that is depressing, if you are a seller.So why aren’t buyers rejoicing and buying since interest rates are still low?

  1. Some sellers are still in denial and have not dropped their prices significantly enough to bring buyers off of the fence (basic economics tells you that if supply is high and demand is low, prices need to come down, right?).
  2. Property taxes have not come down enough and are still a huge chunk of a buyer’s monthly housing expense.
  3. Insurance rates are still high.
  4. Since lenders require insurance and tax reserves up front at closing, the amount of money required at closing is significantly higher than it has been.
  5. Who would want to buy when all of the news in the media is negative (okay, that’s a freebie and wasn’t on my original list).

That being said, since real estate is all about location, location, location, individual local markets can be doing better than others or the county’s in general. Coral Gables currently has a 22.4 month inventory based on closed sales which 1925 Old Spanish Granada Blvdrepresents 582 homes for sale vs. 26 sold. 22.4 months isn’t great, but its better than 32.9 months, especially since that inventory is for the entire Coral Gables market. The inventory level for homes between $600,00-$899,000 is 18.5 months.Pinecrest has an 18.1 month inventory with 253 homes on the market in July of 2007 vs 14 sold. Again, still depressing if you are a seller but better than the county as a whole.Whether you are a buyer or a seller, find out what the inventory level is in your local market and price range to help assist you in buying or selling your home.

Categories
Coral Gables Pinecrest

4 Reasons Buyer’s Aren’t Rejoicing Over High Inventory Levels

All we have been hearing for the past several months is how bad the housing market is. High inventory, high foreclosure rate, slow sales. All of that is true, especially in Florida, California, and Nevada where speculation ran high. In 2006, Business Week did a story on absorption rates and came up with the following cute summary of inventory absorption rates. Business Week Absporption rateIn addition to their four categories, I have added two of my own based on Miami-Dade’s inventory levels: 18+ months “ugly”; over 30 months “downright depressing”. I came up with these catagories after learning that as of July, 2007 there were a total of 38,672 condos and single family homes listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) compared to 1,100 closed sales during that same time period. Based on those numbers, we have a 32.9 month supply of condos and single family homes! Now that is depressing, if you are a seller.So why aren’t buyers rejoicing and buying since interest rates are still low?

  1. Some sellers are still in denial and have not dropped their prices significantly enough to bring buyers off of the fence (basic economics tells you that if supply is high and demand is low, prices need to come down, right?).
  2. Property taxes have not come down enough and are still a huge chunk of a buyer’s monthly housing expense.
  3. Insurance rates are still high.
  4. Since lenders require insurance and tax reserves up front at closing, the amount of money required at closing is significantly higher than it has been.
  5. Who would want to buy when all of the news in the media is negative (okay, that’s a freebie and wasn’t on my original list).

That being said, since real estate is all about location, location, location, individual local markets can be doing better than others or the county’s in general. Coral Gables currently has a 22.4 month inventory based on closed sales which 1925 Old Spanish Granada Blvdrepresents 582 homes for sale vs. 26 sold. 22.4 months isn’t great, but its better than 32.9 months, especially since that inventory is for the entire Coral Gables market. The inventory level for homes between $600,00-$899,000 is 18.5 months.Pinecrest has an 18.1 month inventory with 253 homes on the market in July of 2007 vs 14 sold. Again, still depressing if you are a seller but better than the county as a whole.Whether you are a buyer or a seller, find out what the inventory level is in your local market and price range to help assist you in buying or selling your home.

Categories
Coral Gables

Reasons Why Inventory Isn't As High As It Seems

Yes, the amount of single family homes and condos for sale in Miami-Dade County is high. 38,672 were listed on the MLS as of July 2007. That being said, people are still buying homes and condos and when they start looking, they realize the inventory isn’t as high as it seems. Why?

  1. Because real estate, especially when it is for a primary or secondary residence, is extremely local.
  2. Buyers have specific wants and needs, such as the # of bedrooms and/or bathrooms.
  3. Some of these wants and needs are non-negotiable, such as a school district or distance to work or public transportation.
  4. Buyers have a price limit that they can not go above.

 

So, how many single family homes are really on the market in Coral Gables for someone looking for a minimum 1500 square foot home under $600,000? 40. While that still may seem like a lot to choose from (and for a Realtor to have to show), that inventory will decrease when I start to remove those that are not in the desired school district or are too far from work or public transportation.

To find out what the inventory in your neighborhood is, click on My Neighborhood Market.

 

Categories
Coral Gables

Reasons Why Inventory Isn’t As High As It Seems

Yes, the amount of single family homes and condos for sale in Miami-Dade County is high. 38,672 were listed on the MLS as of July 2007. That being said, people are still buying homes and condos and when they start looking, they realize the inventory isn’t as high as it seems. Why?

  1. Because real estate, especially when it is for a primary or secondary residence, is extremely local.
  2. Buyers have specific wants and needs, such as the # of bedrooms and/or bathrooms.
  3. Some of these wants and needs are non-negotiable, such as a school district or distance to work or public transportation.
  4. Buyers have a price limit that they can not go above.

 

So, how many single family homes are really on the market in Coral Gables for someone looking for a minimum 1500 square foot home under $600,000? 40. While that still may seem like a lot to choose from (and for a Realtor to have to show), that inventory will decrease when I start to remove those that are not in the desired school district or are too far from work or public transportation.

To find out what the inventory in your neighborhood is, click on My Neighborhood Market.