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Archive for the 'Selling' Category
Investors Taking Advantage of Strong Rental Market
Over the last several months I have written about different signs, see blog links below, that the real estate market is changing. Today’s Miami Herald article, Rents rise as overseas buyers invest, talks about some of the reasons why.
More Proof Miami-Dade’s Housing Market is Turning Around
Investors Are Taking A Bite Out Of Inventory
Miami Real Estate – Commercial Construction Also Picking Up
Miami Real Estate: More Signs the Market is Improving
Miami Real Estate: The Market is Changing
Investors Are Taking A Bite Out Of Inventory
I had a buyer call me today wanting to buy a 2 bedroom 2 bath in Kings Creek for under $90,000. I told her there weren’t any on the market in that price range at the moment. She responded, “What happened to all of the inventory”? I explained that investors were snapping up the lower priced units, usually foreclosures and short sales, and turning around an renting them.
At every single one of EWM’s weekly office meetings over the last several months, we have been selling and renting more than we have been listing. Inventory has been decreasing steadily and the pickings right now for buyers are slim. That may turn around if the back log of foreclosures come on the market, but the banks are also getting smarter and are finally starting to agree to short sales. If you are a buyer, you might want to get off the fence. If you are an owner with equity, you may want to consider selling. There are buyers out there without a lot to choose from.
The Importance of Inspections
An inspection buyers had done on a house the other day reminded me of how important inspections are, no matter how great the house looks. Many homes that have been updated have improvements and upgrades done by licensed roofers, plumbers, electricians, etc. Permits have been pulled, work has been inspected and the permits have been closed. However, there are also many properties that have had work done by handymen, miscellaneous relatives, or Tim Allenesque do-it-yourselfers. It is in the latter instance where a home inspection really pays off. As a buyer, you want to make sure you are paying for real upgrades and improvements, not what in Spanish we call “pura pinta”, which basically translates into just the paint. If your are a buyer, ALWAYS, get an inspection. As a homeowner, make sure you have the work done properly. What turns out cheap today, may come back to bite you when you decide to sell.
San Jose Island, Panama: How Big is 11,000 Acres?
San Jose Island, Panama For Sale
Okay, I have already posted that it is twice the size of Key West, but maybe that is still hard to put into perspective. So, I will compare it in size to other famous islands. Using AskNumbers.com conversion table, I came up with the following:
Cayman Brac: 14 square miles =8,960 acres
Little Cayman: 10 square miles = 6,400 acres
St. Barts: 10 square miles = 6,400 acres
Virgin Gorda: 8 square miles = 5,120 acres
Basically, 11,000 acres is big enough for you to build your own town, or two!
What Do The Free Trade Agreements Have to Do With Real Estate?
Congress should hurry up and enact the pending Colombia, Panama, and South Korea Free Trade Agreements. Columbia and Panama are two of South Florida’s largest trade partners. The Obama Administration estimates that the FTA with Colombia alone will increase U.S. exports by $1 billion and that the one with South Korea will add 70,000 jobs.
South Florida will benefit from this increase in trade. Increased trade equals increase in employment equals a more stable real estate market.
Need To Short Sell Your Home?
Banks Offering Up To $20,000 Incentives
As the economy continues to trudge along, many South Florida homeowners are still struggling with unemployment and mortgage payments. If you are thinking of short selling your home, you should be aware that several banks have incentives for you to short sell versus going through the lengthy, in Florida it can take close to two years, and extremely credit-damaging foreclosure process.
Wells Fargo and Chase offer up to $20,000 in incentives to qualified homeowners and Bank of America just launched a similar pilot program in Florida.
Miami Real Estate: Appraisals Still An Issue
There is still some confusion in the market in terms of what a house is worth. A seller puts a price on it, the buyer makes an offer based on what they have seen in the market, and then comes the appraisal. In the last couple of months I have had a home that should have appraised, but due to the lack of comparables of its size in the same area, the appraiser went over into a whole different area and it came in grossly under the purchase price. The comps were homes of the same size, year, and approximate lot size, but in a whole different city, school district etc.
In another case, I had a home with a purchase price that was questionable as to whether or not it would appraise due to a lack of comps and low comps in the area, come in at $30,000 over the contract price.
It has always been argued that appraisals are an art and not a science, but in both instances above I would argue there is a huge difference between a Monet and Kindergartener’s painting.
Private Islands: What The Rich and Famous Are Buying
The Exhumas, Bahamas is where the rich and famous are buying islands, according to an article in the July 28 edition of the Wall Street Journal.
Some of the issues that arise with developing these islands, such as importing electricity, cell phone towers, water purifiers, the building materials and even, in some cases, the palm trees, can make development extremely costly.
San Jose Island, in the Pearl Islands off the coast of Panama, does not have a lot of these issues. Granted, at 11,000 acres, approximately twice the size of Key West, it is a much larger island than the ones in Exuma. It has its own rivers and streams, providing fresh water, as well as a water treatment facility capable of producing 3,000 gallons of water an hour, and a 10,000 gallon storage tank. It has a 5000 linear foot landing strip, lots of trees, including palm trees, mooring facilities, and a boutique resort, Hacienda del Mar.
A short 20 minute flight to Panama City, Panama, means you are in close proximity to world class entertainment and medical facilities, including John Hopkins at Punta Pacifica Hospital.
Compared to the most expensive island for sale in the Bahamas, Cave Cay, at $440,000 per acre, San Jose Island , at $22,545 per acre, seems like a downright bargain. Oh, I almost forgot…Panama doesn’t have hurricanes!
One of 57 Beaches on San Jose Island
Elizabeth Taylor Collection to Be Auctioned By Christie’s
Christie’s will be auctioning off The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor over 4 days in December, 2011. Starting in September, there will be a three-month tour, with stops in Moscow, London, Los Angeles, Dubai, Geneva, Paris and Hong Kong, highlighting portions of her collection. This is sure to be a historic auction.
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How Walker Friendly is Your Home?
Miami just ranked 8, with a score of 72.5, in a walkability scoring of the 50 largest cities in the U.S. Having moved from San Francisco, ranked 2 with a walkability score of 84.9, I decided to check out my home’s walk score. I live in Pinecrest, a suburb, so I wasn’t too surprised to find out that my walk score was pretty dismal at 22. Not all areas of Pinecrest would score that low. If your home is in the western portion of Pinecrest, which is a lot closer to shops and U.S. 1, your home would score much higher.
Recent studies throughout the country have shown that more people want to give up commuting, and the accompanying high gas bills, and live in more walker friendly neighborhoods. So, what is your home’s walk score?
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