International Mango Festival This Weekend

This years Fairchild’s International Mango Festival features the mangos of Hawaii.

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Miami Real Estate: New Single Family Home Listings

New single family homes listed since July 1.

  • 8 in Coral Gables.  Priced from $349,900 to $13,475,000
  • 7 in Pinecrest.  Priced from $585,000 to $2,099,999
  • 5 in Coconut Grove.  Priced from $450,000 to $1,300,000
  • 3 in Miami Beach.  Priced from $399,900 – $8,650,000

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Majority Of Renters Still Aim To Purchase A Home

The National Association of Realtors released their 2011 National Housing Pulse Survey, which concluded that 72% of renters still want to own a home in the future.

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Pinecrest Real Estate – Market Summary for Single Family Homes

How does the housing market look in Pinecrest half way through 2011?  Below are the numbers for single family homes.  Note that all of these are going to change a little due to status changes that happen at the end of the month, but are not updated in the MLS until the following month.  As of 6/30/2011:

  • Closed sales: 90.  Low of $270,000, high of $4,000,000. 7 were bankowned (REO), 10 are short sales or approximately 19% distressed sales.  57 closed in the second quarter.
  • Pending sales: 48.  Low of  $265,000, high of $2,150,000. 3 are REO, 17 are short sales.  Almost 42% are distressed sales.
  • Active sales:  160.  Low of $269,900, high of $5,000,000 ($4,999,999 to be exact!).  3 are REOs. 14 are short sales.  Only 11% distressed listings.  64 were listed in the second quarter.

What does this mean if you are a seller?  If you want to sell your home during the end of the summer buying season, drop your price now.  Homes are selling and people are still looking to buy in Pinecrest because of the quality of the public and private schools, parks, and good size lots.  If your home needs a lot of work, you are going to have to drop the price even further.  Buyers are looking for homes that need minimal updates.  If you don’t drop your price now, you are going to have to drop it even further come the beginning of the school year.

If you are a buyer, the numbers mean there aren’t as many “deals” in terms of short sales and foreclosures.  Those that are on the market, are priced well, and in reasonably good shape are going to have multiple offers, because there are fewer of them.  If you are financing your purchase, you are better off using the numbers to make an offer on a well priced, non-distressed listing.

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Happy 4th of July!

America’s Birthday Bash At Bayfront Park

4th of July Picnic At the Barnacle

Miami Beach 4th of July Celebration

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Free Things To Do In Miami – Movies

The Dolphin Mall Free Summer Kids Movies

  • Veggie Tales, Cats & Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore  (July 5, 6, 7)
  • Evan Almighty, Marmaduke (July 12, 13, 14)
  • Despicable Me, Barnyard (July 19, 20, 21)
  • Yogi Bear, Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader  (July 26, 27, 28)
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    Miami Beach Real Estate: Market Summary for Single Family Homes

    We are half way through the year and the market has been moving.  Sales are up, mostly due to lower prices.    As of June 30, the single family home market in Miami Beach for the year so far is as follows:

    Closed sales:  94. Low of $190,000 to a high of $25,500,000.  9 of the closed sales were foreclosures, 6 were short sales.   Only 16% were distressed sales. 49 closed in the second quarter.

    • Pending sales: 57.  Low $200,000 to a high of $14,900,00. 2 of the pending sales are foreclosures, 23 are short sales.  Almost 44% distressed.  21 went pending in the second quarter.
    • Active sales: 282.  Low of $205,900,high of $49,995,000.  16 are short sales, 1 is a foreclosure. Only 6% distressed.  76 of the active sales were listed in the second quarter.

    What does this mean if you are a seller?  The good news is that the majority of the closed sales are not distressed sales.  If you are priced right for a buyer’s market, you have a closing window of opportunity to sell at a higher price than you will get later this year.  I think prices of active listings are going to come down as we come closer to the end of the summer buying season.

    What does this mean if you are a buyer?  Many buyers are still looking for a “deal” without realizing that they are already looking at one.  Just because a property is not a foreclosure or a short sale, does not mean it is not a good deal.  A lot of sellers have come down significantly in their pricing, in large part due to the pressure of distressed properties on the market.  As the distressed properties listed for sale decrease, they become less of a factor on the overall market.  If you are financing your property and only looking at distressed sales, you are going to have even more frustration as you are competing with cash buyers.

    Note:  These numbers are going to change a bit due to fluctuations at the end of the month when a lot of properties status changes, but those changes don’t get recorded in the MLS until the following month.

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    Free Things To Do In Miami – Wine Tasting Tonight

    FRIDAY’S Wine Tasting at L’Atelier Gourment
    SWEET VS DRY
    July 1st 6pm to 9 pm
                                                         
     ** L’Escloupey – Cadillac 2003
     
    Type: White Wine    Origin: France
     
    ** Château Nacaze – Gaillac 2008
    Type: Red Wine      Origin : France
     
    ** Chamarré – Jurançon 2003 (92 pts Wine Spectator)
    Type: White Wine      Origin: France
     
    Fournier – Sauvignon Blanc 2008
    Type: White Wine   Origin: France
     
    Château Grand Lartigue – St Emilion 2005
    Type: Red Wine     Origin: France
     
    Baron de Hoen -Gewurztraminer 2009
    Type: White Wine     Origin: France
     
     
    SPECIAL DEAL only during the wine tasting : ** BUY 3 GET 1 FREE of same wine

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    Miami Spa Month Starts Now!

    Miami Spa Month is actually two months, July 1- August 31, of discounts and specials to treat yourself during the hot, humid months of summer.

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    Student Housing Popular With Investors

    An article in CoStar regarding student housing, reinforced what I already know.  Student housing is a good investment and not all student housing is created equal.  As a parent with two students in college, and a third student one year away,  I spend a lot of money on housing.  My first experience was when we arrived in Gainesville four years ago.  We found that student housing is big business and extremely competitive in terms of rental rates.  For less than $600 a month, my son had his own room and bathroom in a fully furnished apartment in a student complex.  It was secure, had tons of amenities and activities geared around the college student.  Even though he wasn’t living in the dorms, I feel like he still had a dorm-like experience.

    Our second son is attending college in Fort Meyers and though he is living in the dorms, there is a student housing complex nearby identical to the one my son in Gainesville lived in.  It is expected to be completely rented out in the next couple of months because the university just bought up a large multi-family complex close to their campus to convert into off campus dorms.  In terms of investments, it is no wonder student housing is popular.  Remember, the closer to campus, the higher the premium.

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