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Archive for the 'Selling' Category
Miami Real Estate: Not All Pictures Are Worth 1,000 Words
This house is listed for $1,340,000. Do these pictures do the listing justice? When most buyers start their search for a home on-line, good quality pictures are extremely important. They could be the difference between someone calling to schedule a showing or moving on to the next house for sale.
Foreclosure Freeze: Good For Distressed Owners, Bad for South Florida Real Estate Market
The recent decision by some banks to freeze their foreclosure process while they investigate their procedures for handling foreclosures has a mixed effect on South Florida’s real estate market. While it may be a good thing for distressed owners who really want to keep their homes, it is probably not a great thing for current buyers and the overall real estate market. The reality of too many homeowners who bought at the height of the market, owners who are currently underwater, unemployed, or simply bought way more house than they could afford when banks were in a lending frenzy, means the majority of homes in foreclosure now probably will still be there at the end of the investigation. Yes, there are stories of homes foreclosed improperly, including that of an owner who had paid cash on the house, and many of the banks and their foreclosure attorneys have become mills that may have filed paperwork incorrectly or downright fraudulently (this is the fraud capital of the United States, unfortunately). These procedures should be investigated, stopped and punished. In the meantime, buyers who are currently under contract are in limbo and the real estate market, which has been slogging through high inventories, may slow since approximately 40% of the home sales in South Florida are made up of bank-owned properties.
Too Much Technology?
Yesterday was my tech meltdown day. I am a people person, but I have been buying all of the latest gadgets to simplify my life. I use my iPhone 4G for giving “live” walk-throughs of properties for my customers; an iPad to show comparable properties to buyers and sellers and make presentations on the fly; and a computer for e-mailing, blogging, preparing mailers and flyers etc. Yesterday, my phone froze up completely and wouldn’t hold a charge and my e-mail was so full it would not let me send e-mails out and actually required my contacting tech support (of course it was after 6 pm). So, for what I needed yesterday, all of my technology was useless.
After a brief freak-out on how dependent I have become on technology, I went back to the basics and printed out hard copies of the lease and sale and purchase contract I was preparing and hand-delivered them to my customers. I really like what technology can do to help me make my job easier, but nothing beats the face-to-face meeting and conversations!
New Provisions of FAR/BAR “As Is” Residential Contract For Sale and Purchase
The new “AS IS” contract has changed to clarify areas that were vague in the previous contract. These clarifications include, but are not limited to:
- An itemized list detailing the personal property that Buyer and Seller agree is to be included in the sale. Note: if there is a specific light fixture you want, to include/exclude from the sale, you should specifically note it in this section. A chandelier can easily be changed and is not considered a fixture.
- Clarifies that “All deposits paid or agreed to be paid” are the deposit and it is this entire amount that is in jeopardy should the purchase not go through and the deposit be in dispute.
- Clarifies that an executed copy of the contract needs to be delivered to all parties in order for it be accepted.
- States that if “Property related conditions of the Loan Commitment have not been met (except when such conditions are waived by other provisions of this Contract) that Buyer can get the Deposit back. So basically, getting a commitment with conditions is only worth the paper it is written on.
- Specifies the costs to be paid by Buyer and Seller.
- Has a special “Miami-Dade/Broward Regional Provision” for providing title evidence and insurance.
- Uses Calendar days instead of Business days in computing time periods.
Overall, these changes help both the Buyer and Seller by setting the expectations for each party. Let me know if you would like a copy of the new “AS-IS” contract. For clarification of the contract and legal opinions, please contact your attorney.
Housing in Miami, Florida vs Charlotte, North Carolina
Just heading back from Charlotte, North Carolina, where the real estate market is still really slow. This 1993-built, 1472 square foot, 3 bedroom 2.5 bath, pool home in a neighborhood close to an amusement park, shopping and downtown is being offered at $164,900, which is less than the the median home price in Miami-Dade, ($182,900 in August, 2010). Although the pricing is lower than our median price, they have had very few showings since it was listed. For the most part, single family houses in Miami-Dade under $300,000 are selling fast and with multiple offers. There are currently only 74 active listings in Miami-Dade on the MLS that were built in 1993 or later, with 3 bedrooms 2.5 baths, under $200,000.
Luxury Homes Sales – EWM is #1
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List with me and your home will show up on the major real estate websites! Maximizing exposure on the web increases the chances of selling your home.
Deering Bay, Coral Gables, FL – Progressive Brokers Open
Are Real Estate Sales Really Up in Miami?
If you read the papers, listens to the news, or talk to friends, neighbors and acquaintences about the real estate market, you could be very confused as to what is “real” about it.
- Foreclosures and short sales are still high.
- Unemployment is still high and actually rose more vs. high and dropping.
- Inventory is still high.
Yet, week after week, our EWM office in Coral Gables is selling more than we are listing. This week alone, we had over $28,000,000 (yes, that is million and it was closer to $29) in sales and leases, the majority in sales. We had 29 sales vs 8 sale listings. What is even more amazing about the sales in our office this week:
- 11 of them (38%) were over $500,000 vs 9 that were under$300,000, which is where most of the market has been this year;
- 7 of them were over $1,000,000 so the high end market is starting to move.
What is especially important in these numbers is that the higher end sales are not relying on the first time home buyers tax credit, since they don’t qualify, and they are buying anyway. This leads me to believe that the real estate market is starting to stabilize, especially in certain areas.
Home Buyers Tax Credit Ends April 30
If you are planning on using the Home Buyers Tax Credit to purchase your home, time is running out.
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