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Miami Real Estate – Single Family Homes Market Summary

jenniferwollmann — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:20:38 +0000

Below is a quick snap shot of what the real estate market for single family homes looked like in October. These numbers are derived from the Multiple Listing Service and though they do not include For Sale By Owners and anything not listed on the MLS, they are indicative of what is going on in our local markets. The closed sales may be slightly underestimated due to the lag time in posting the sale in the MLS.

Coconut Grove

Closed Sales: 14. 3 short sales, 1 REO. Highest Sales Price: $1.7 million. Lowest Sales Price: $154,900.
Pending Sales: 22
Active Listings: 177 down from 217 at end of Sept. Highest List Price: $18 million. Lowest List Price: $65,900.
Summary: Inventory is down from the end of the third quarter.

Coral Gables

Closed Sales: 33. 1 short sales, 2 REOs. Highest Sales Price: $5.15 million. Lowest Sales Price: $358,000.
Pending Sales: 89
Active Listings: 432. Highest List Price: $49.5 million. Lowest List Price: $235,000
Summary: Inventory decreased to 432 down from 450 at the end of the third quarter. The number of closed sales that were short sales or REOs are down significantly from the end of the third quarter, when there were 11 each closed short sales and REOs.

Key Biscayne

Closed Sales: 3. 0 short sales, 1 REO. Highest Sales Price: $3.5 million. Lowest Sales Price: $820,000.
Pending Sales: 4.
Active Listings: 129. Highest List Price: $24.950 million. Lowest List Price: $789,000.
Summary: Sales are down, inventory is the same as of the end of the third quarter.

Miami Beach

Closed Sales: 13. No short sales, 4 REOs. Highest Sales Price: $9.7 million. Lowest Sales Price: $240,000
Pending Sales: 53
Active Listings: 380. Highest List Price: $29.9 million. Lowest List Price: $200,000.
Summary: Inventory has decreased slightly. The number of closings that were short sales or REOs have decreased significantly since the end of last quarter.

Palmetto Bay

Closed Sales: 6. 1 short sale, 1 REO. Highest Sales Price: $625,00. Lowest Sales Price: $142,600.
Pending Sales: 52
Active Listings: 154. Highest List Price: $2.85 million. Lowest List Price: $155,000.
Summary: The number of closed sales due to short sales is down significantly from the end of September.

Pinecrest

Closed Sales: 14. 1 short sale and 2 REOs. Highest Sales Price: $2.6 million. Lowest Sales Price: $419,000.
Pending Sales: 35
Active Listings: 211. Highest List Price: $5.9 million. Lowest List Price: $349,000.
Summary: Although the inventory in Pinecrest decreased slightly from 227 at the end of September to 210 at the end of October, the current inventory level divided by the number of sales closed in October result in a 15 month supply of properties. The median price of current listings is $1.395 million and 30% of the listings are over $2 million.

South Miami

Closed Sales: 3. 0 short sales, 1 REO. Highest Sales Price: $325,000. Lowest Sales Price: $266,000.
Pending Sales: 30
Active Listings: 68. Highest List Price: $1.880 million. Lowest List Price: $62,300.
Summary: The number of closed sales is down slightly from the second quarter, which had 28 closed sales. Inventory is up from 28 at the end of June.

Miami Real Estate – Third Quarter Market Update – Single Family Homes

Jennifer Wollmann — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:56:33 +0000

Below is a quick snap shot of what the real estate market looked like after the third quarter. These numbers are derived from the Multiple Listing Service and though they do not include For Sale By Owners and anything not listed on the MLS, they are indicative of what is going on in our local markets. The closed sales may be slightly underestimated due to the lag time in posting the sale in the MLS.

Coconut Grove

Closed Sales: 36. 3 short sales, 7 REOs. Highest Sales Price: $1.55 million. Lowest Sales Price: $50,000.
Pending Sales: 28
Active Listings: 215. Highest List Price: $18 million. Lowest List Price: $79,900.
Summary: The number of closed sales and inventory are up from the second quarter.

Coral Gables

Closed Sales: 93. 11 short sales, 11 REOs. Highest Sales Price: $5.5 million. Lowest Sales Price: $124,000.
Pending Sales: 88
Active Listings: 450. Highest List Price: $49.5 million. Lowest List Price: $189,000
Summary: Both the number of sales (93 up from 82) and the inventory (450 up from 278) are up in the third quarter as compared to the second quarter of 2009. In both quarters, over half of the sales were listed under $600,000.

Key Biscayne

Closed Sales: 9. No short sales, 1 REO. Highest Sales Price: $3.75 million. Lowest Sales Price: $780,000.
Pending Sales: None.
Active Listings: 129. Highest List Price: $24.950 million. Lowest List Price: $945,000.
Summary: Sales are down, inventory is up and there are currently no pending sales.

Miami Beach

Closed Sales: 51. 6 short sales, 11 REOs. Highest Sales Price: $9.5 million. Lowest Sales Price: $141,750
Pending Sales: 57
Active Listings: 391. Highest List Price: $29.9 million. Lowest List Price: $200,000.
Summary: Inventory has increased from 264 at the end of the second quarter, while sales have remained at about the same from the second quarter’s 53.

Palmetto Bay

Closed Sales: 64. 4 short sales, 10 REOs. Highest Sales Price: $1.4 million. Lowest Sales Price: $125,000.
Pending Sales: 46
Active Listings: 159. Highest List Price: $2.85 million. Lowest List Price: $155,000.
Summary: The number of sales between the second and third quarter have remained relatively the same. The inventory has increased from 92 in the second quarter up to 159 in the third.

Pinecrest

Closed Sales: 53. 2 short sales and 2 REOs. Highest Sales Price: $3.3 million. Lowest Sales Price: $283,000.
Pending Sales: 32
Active Listings: 227. Highest List Price: $5.9 million. Lowest List Price: $369,000.
Summary: Both the number of sales (53 up from 50) and the inventory (227 up from 143) are up in the third quarter as compared to the second quarter of 2009.

South Miami

Closed Sales: 22. 8 short sales, 8 REOs. Highest Sales Price: $1.3million. Lowest Sales Price: $20,000.
Pending Sales: 22
Active Listings: 66. Highest List Price: $1.880 million. Lowest List Price: $72,300.
Summary: The number of closed sales is down slightly from the second quarter, which had 28 closed sales. Inventory is up from 28 at the end of June.

5 Criteria You Must Meet to Qualify For a Jumbo Loan in Miami, Florida

jenniferwollmann — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:29:57 +0000

So, you have decided to get off the fence, take advantage of the steep price decreases and finally buy your dream home. You have surfed the Internet, looked at pictures, maybe even settled on a neighborhood. STOP! Before you go any further you need to talk to a mortgage broker and find out if you could get a mortgage. As you have read in the papers, the banks are not handing out money very easily.

Jumbo Loan

Any loan mortgage over $417,000 is considered a jumbo loan.
The minimum down payment required is 30%.
You will be required to provide your last two years tax returns.
Your credit score will need to be at least 720.
You can lower your rate by 1/4% if you go through EWM mortgage and have a bank account with Wachovia.

Stay tuned for information on other types of mortgages.

Why Homeownership is Like Drinking Red Wine

jenniferwollmann — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:41:44 +0000

Both are good for your health! According to a recent U.S. News & World Report article there are more than just economic benefits in owning your own home. "People have more extensive social support systems, and that has a potential positive impact on health," according to William Rohe, professor of city and regional planning at the University of North Carolina. Although the individual health benefits of homeownership are unclear and other factors such as education and income level may come into play, there is proof that homeownership is good for children, because it provides stability, and the community because homeowners have a reason to invest in their community through voting, philanthropy, and volunteering.

Like the health benefits of wine, however, the benefits of homeownership can turn into liabilities if you overindulge. Too much wine on a short-term basis can cause a nasty hangover and in the long run can lead to liver damage. Kind of feels like today’s real estate market.

8 Reasons Why Now is the Perfect Time to Buy Real Estate

jenniferwollmann — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:33:52 +0000

Okay, so things are scary out there. You can’t open a paper, turn on the t.v. or listen to the radio without hearing doom and gloom news. Layoffs, no one is shopping, increasing unemployment, the stock market fluctuates wildly. But, since people are scared and aren’t buying much of anything, it is the perfect time to buy real estate. As Warren Buffet once said, “…attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.” Reasons now is the time to be greedy:

Interest rates are at an all time low . Rates on a 30-year mortgage are currently below 5%, the lowest they have been since Freddie Mac started tracking the data in 1971. The average rates dropped to 4.96 percent.
There is more inventory now than there has been in years. There are currently over 15,000 single family homes and 23,000 condos in Miami-Dade County in all price ranges listed on the MLS.
Prices have gone down significantly . The median priced home in Miami-Dade County in January 2007 was $390,000. At the end of December 2008, it was $225,000. The average price per square foot has dropped during that same time period from $248 per square foot to $162 per square foot. Condos median price in January 2007 was $260,000 and in December 2008 down to $165,000. The price per square foot has dropped from $302 to $225.
First-time home buyers credit up to $7,500 only applies to purchases made before July 1, 2009. This credit, which is really more of an interest-free loan that must be repaid in equal installments over a 15 year period, is 10% of the purchase price of the home up to $7,500. The credit reduces your tax bill, or increases your refund, dollar for dollar. Since it is fully refundable, the credit is paid out even if you don’t owe any tax or if the credit is more than the tax you owe. To qualify, you must earn less than $95,000 a year if you are single or $170,000 if you are a couple filing jointly.
Real estate appreciates over time . I know it is hard to believe in today’s market, but real estate has a tendency to appreciate over the years. If you plan to be in your home 5 years or more, you should buy now. For example: if you purchased a single family home in Miami Dade County in January 2002 at the then median price of $155,000 and were to have sold it at December 2008′s median price of $225,000, that is a 45% increase over 6 years! By comparison, on January 1, 2002 the Dow Jones was 10,021.60 . The close on January 15, 2009 was 8,212.49, a decrease of 18%.
You can’t time the market. Individuals and investors alike have always tried to time markets, whether they are real estate, commodities or stock markets. The reality is that you by the time a trend is spotted, the peak or trough has already past.
The number of sales increased in the last quarter of 2008. The number of sales in the MLS for single family homes increased 55% in the last 3 months of 2008 over the same time in 2007. Condo sales increased 43%.
Inventory is starting to slowly decrease. From May 2008 through December 2008, we saw a slow but steady decrease in inventory in Miami-Dade condos for sale on the MLS. During that time, the inventory decreased by 9%. Granted, we still have a 38 months supply in all price ranges, but it is starting to decrease. During that same time period the decrease in inventory for single family homes was 12%.

For more information on why now is the perfect time to buy real estate read:

Easing Credit Market Brings Back Jumbo Mortgages and Low Down Payments
Is It Time To Be Fearful Or Greedy in the Real Estate Market
The Bottom of the Housing Market…Are We There Yet?