Category: Investment Real Estate

The difference between home ownership and investment real estate

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Buying Home Improvement Investment Real Estate Selling

Don't Underestimate the Value of Curb Appeal

In the current real estate market, a lot of attention has been given to staging a home to help it sell.   I am a big fan of staging, but think curb appeal is even more important.  After all, it doesn’t matter how nice your home looks on the inside if buyers drive up, take a look at the outside and drive on.  Here are some simple ideas to create curb appeal for your home:

  • Make sure the outside looks clean and fresh.  Remove cob webs and brush off dirt and bugs from outside walls.
  • Pressure clean walk-ways, pool patios, fences.
  • Paint any exterior that looks drab or dirty.
  • Remove weeds and dead leaves from plant beds.  Fill in bare spots with new plants and lay down a fresh layer of mulch.
  • Re-asphalt driveway
  • Paint or stain front door.
  • Thoroughly clean all outdoor light fixtures and make sure the bulbs are working.

Even if you are not selling your home, these small fixes can make your home inviting to your friends and make you fall in love with it all over again!  If you are a buyer or investor, look at homes that don’t have curb appeal.  Most likely they have been on the market longer than homes in the neighborhood that do and you can get them for less than you would a house that has a pleasing exterior.  Once the house is yours, you can add curb appeal and reap the benefits.  Your cost to create appeal should be minimal compared to the savings you got on the purchase.

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Categories
Buying Home Improvement Investment Real Estate Selling

Don’t Underestimate the Value of Curb Appeal

In the current real estate market, a lot of attention has been given to staging a home to help it sell.   I am a big fan of staging, but think curb appeal is even more important.  After all, it doesn’t matter how nice your home looks on the inside if buyers drive up, take a look at the outside and drive on.  Here are some simple ideas to create curb appeal for your home:

  • Make sure the outside looks clean and fresh.  Remove cob webs and brush off dirt and bugs from outside walls.
  • Pressure clean walk-ways, pool patios, fences.
  • Paint any exterior that looks drab or dirty.
  • Remove weeds and dead leaves from plant beds.  Fill in bare spots with new plants and lay down a fresh layer of mulch.
  • Re-asphalt driveway
  • Paint or stain front door.
  • Thoroughly clean all outdoor light fixtures and make sure the bulbs are working.

Even if you are not selling your home, these small fixes can make your home inviting to your friends and make you fall in love with it all over again!  If you are a buyer or investor, look at homes that don’t have curb appeal.  Most likely they have been on the market longer than homes in the neighborhood that do and you can get them for less than you would a house that has a pleasing exterior.  Once the house is yours, you can add curb appeal and reap the benefits.  Your cost to create appeal should be minimal compared to the savings you got on the purchase.

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Categories
Buying Foreclosures Investment Real Estate Selling

Buying Real Estate Needs to Make Sense

Two sentences in today’s Wall Street Journal article by Brett Arends sums up all of the often conflicting real estate news these days.  “A real-estate purchase needs to make sense on its own terms.  And measure it on cash flow today, not the hope for capital gains tomorrow.” This advice makes sense in any real estate market and, if followed, should make real estate a great long-term investment, whether it is your primary residence, or an investment property.

Categories
Buying Investment Real Estate

Buying Real Estate is a Long-Term Investment

“Long term Miami will outperform the rest of the country.  In 10,20, 30 years, prices will be rising faster in Miami than in the rest of the country,” states Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist of the National Association of Realtors.  The important item in this quote is the time frame.  Brickell 2 resize

Categories
Buying Foreclosures Investment Real Estate Selling

Miami Home Prices Continue to Decline, Presenting Buying Opportunities

Although today’s  S&P/Case Schiller Price Home Index  showed a slight 0.5%  increase in home prices between April and May, Miami had a 0.8% decrease.  Nationally, this was the first month to month increase in three years and has many people claiming that the real estate market appears to be stabilizing as price decreases level off.

Overall, this is great news as any stabilization in the housing market will help ease a lot of the economic problems that resulted in the market’s severe free fall.  This does not mean that prices will be going up any time soon, especially in hard hit areas like Miami, but rather that the decreases should not be as significant as they have been.  Home prices in Miami are down 25.2% over last year’s prices and the market in Florida still has a long way to go before we can say we have recovered.  Some facts that will keep our market trudging along slowly:

  • Florida’s real estate market still has a lot of inventory to work through;
  • Spring and early Summer normally have higher sales as families purchase and settle in before a new school year;
  • $8000 first time buyer credit expires at the end of November.  If you are a buyer that qualifies for this credit, hurry;
  • Interest rates, while still low, have started to move up slightly;
  • There are probably many sellers sitting on the sidelines waiting for the inventory to decrease a bit before listing their property
  • The majority of sales and listings are still short sales and foreclosures.

This is not doom and gloom news.  Just a reality check.  There are great deals out there if you are a buyer or investor.  If you are a seller, be realistic with your sales price and your property will sell.

Categories
Buying Investment Real Estate Selling

3 Reasons Miami-Dade's Housing Market Will Take Longer to Recover Than Broward's

The Miami Herald posted an article that Broward’s housing market is close to bottoming out, even though prices in both Broward and Miami-Dade counties continue to slide.  The article was correct in predicting that Broward will rebound faster mainly because:

1) Miami’s inventory was higher than Broward’s to begin with.  Last year at this time, Broward’s single family home inventory was 28 months and is currently 13.  Miami-Dade had a 42 month supply last year and a 17 month supply now.  Condos in Broward were at 31 months and are now at 17 month.  Dade condos were at a 53 month supply and there is currently a 27 month supply.  These supplies are only based on MLS numbers.  There are many more units being held by developers that aren’t listed on the MLS

2) Miami still has a lot of projects that are just now coming on line, especially in the condo market, which is already saturated.

3) Miami built more in outlying areas, especially in the southern part of the county and along the Biscayne corridor.

Categories
Buying Investment Real Estate Selling

3 Reasons Miami-Dade’s Housing Market Will Take Longer to Recover Than Broward’s

The Miami Herald posted an article that Broward’s housing market is close to bottoming out, even though prices in both Broward and Miami-Dade counties continue to slide.  The article was correct in predicting that Broward will rebound faster mainly because:

1) Miami’s inventory was higher than Broward’s to begin with.  Last year at this time, Broward’s single family home inventory was 28 months and is currently 13.  Miami-Dade had a 42 month supply last year and a 17 month supply now.  Condos in Broward were at 31 months and are now at 17 month.  Dade condos were at a 53 month supply and there is currently a 27 month supply.  These supplies are only based on MLS numbers.  There are many more units being held by developers that aren’t listed on the MLS

2) Miami still has a lot of projects that are just now coming on line, especially in the condo market, which is already saturated.

3) Miami built more in outlying areas, especially in the southern part of the county and along the Biscayne corridor.

Categories
Buying Investment Real Estate

Miami FL – Commercial Real Estate is the Next Buyers Market

An Associated Press article last week highlights opportunities in commerical real estate.  Whereas many economists arebrickell-2-resize predicting that the housing market is at or close to bottom, the commercial sector is just starting to see massive defaults.  A skyscraper in New York that was purchased for approximately $50o million in 2006 just sold for $100,000!  The commercial real estate market is the worst in decades and there are billions worth of distressed properties in every market.  This creates an amazing opportunity for long term real estate investors.

Although Miami does not have the commercial density of New York or Chicago, it did go through a commercial building boom,  and there will be many opportunities in all commercial sectors over the next year.

Categories
Buying Investment Real Estate Market Summary Selling

Miami Real Estate – Quarterly Update For Miami-Dade County

Wow, EWM’s Coral Gables office alone had over $24,000,000 worth of transactions this week!  Does this mean the market has finally reached bottom?  Not necessarily, but if we are not there yet in terms of prices,  I think we are in terms of the decrease in sales.  Put in perspective, the lowest level of inventory for all single homes in Miami-Dade County listed on the MLS was in April of 2005:  2,973.  Based on the number of sales for the first quarter of 2009, our inventory peaked in July of 2008 with 17,070 single family homes.  The  inventory at the end of April stands at 11,936.  As you can see the from the graph below, inventory is starting to move.  Summer is the peak of purchasing season, especially for single family homes, so we should see significantly more movement over the nMiami Real Estate Market Trends ext several months.

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Buying Investment Real Estate Pinecrest

Unbelievable Land Value in Pinecrest, FL – 7935 SW 134 Street- Builder's Acre Under $550,000

This beautiful builder’s acre is located on a quiet, low-traffic street in South Pinecrest.  A house sits on the property, bucciero-land-resizedwaiting for you to continue the updates or tear it down and build new.  Take advantage of the current market; it has been a while since land value in Pinecrest was this low.   The Village of Pinecrest is a highly desirable neighborhood with may parks, great schools, a community center and library.