With all of the new construction, both currently under way and proposed, comes new architecture. Here are some new non-residential examples.
Looking for something to do with the family this weekend? Start out tomorrow with a fee-free P.L.A.Y Saturday at Deering Estate in Palmetto Bay. P.L.A.Y stands for Preservation, Learning, Adventure, Year-Round and the day incorporates all of these in a beautiful, bay-front setting.
In today’s Miami Herald, there was an article about the new Centro Lofts that are going up in downtown Miami. This building will not have a parking garage and will instead opt for a Car2Go, bike racks, and public transportation to get it’s residents around. I moved from San Francisco and love the idea of not needing a car, but I am not sure Miami is quite ready for buildings without parking. First of all, it is hard enough to park downtown without all of the residents that are moving down there and this will only work if residents don’t have cars, not if they have cars and just park them elsewhere. The second thing is that it will work for people who work downtown or in an area with Metrorail service, but south Florida’s discombobulated public transportation system is not conducive for no car. How would someone who works in Doral get there? Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea, I am just asking do you think Miami is ready to go carless?
I recently visited Ecuador and enjoyed running on the Chiquinan Trail, a 20 km bike and running trail converted from an old railway trail.
While I was running, I thought it would be great if Miami-Dade had something similar. I was thrilled to find out it does, though most of it is still in the making. It is called Bike 305 and so far 130 miles, out of the 5o0 planned, have been completed. The current routes include Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay. I have run along several of the routes, without even knowing it was part of a grander plan to interconnect greenways, bike lanes, and trails. I look forward to running more portions of the route as they come on line!
As of the time of this post, the Miami real estate market has yet to hit the summer doldrums even though many buyers are taking time off to travel with their out-of-school-children. This week EWM’s Coral Gables office did over $16 million in sales and last week we did almost $30 million. Given the lack of inventory, in spite of all of the fact that Florida leads the nation in foreclosures, it is amazing that we are selling that much real estate.
It must be our beautiful views, waterfront properties, international clientele, and numerous outdoor and cultural activities that keeps drawing people here.
Sorry, I had to remove the video because the unit rented in one day!
One of my favorite things about summer is that it is mango season. This year, Fairchild’s Mango Festival features the mangoes of Mexico. I have no idea where the mangoes I buy from my neighborhood pop-up mango stands are from but they are all delicious. When you are done at the Festival, drive through the streets of Pinecrest and stop by one of the stands. They are Miami’s version of the kid’s summer lemonade stand up north and if you get more mangoes than you can eat, freeze the overripe ones for making smoothies, deserts, and salsa, long after the season is over.
If you still have your Sunday, July 7 copy of the Miami Herald, there is $2 coupon for the Fairchild Festival on page 3M.
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Happy 4th of July!
I will be spending the 4th of July at a friend’s house, celebrating her birthday. If you don’t have plans for the day, here are some ideas on where to celebrate and watch fireworks:
On land (FREE)
At Sea:
Many of my clients have been calling me, shocked at how rapidly home prices have risen over the last year and questioning whether the South Florida real estate market is entering a new bubble. Although this graph confirms that prices have gone up, we are a long way off from the peak. Given that we arrived at inflated pricing due to speculation, easy and bad mortgages, and fraud, I think we will stay off the peak for quite a while.
The reason for our current rise in prices is due to a lack of inventory. Many homeowners who bought at the peak are still under water and will be for quite some time; foreclosures and short sales have been slow to work through the backlog; there are investors with large amounts of cash looking at real estate; mortgages are still difficult to get; and appraisals have been off of what buyers with mortgages are offering thereby keeping owner/occupiers out of the housing market. Now that builders have started to construct new homes and buildings, inventory should start to creep up again.
Based on the Miami Herald’s Economic Time Machine in the July 1 Business Monday, at the current pace of value increases, we won’t hit a new peak until July of 2018.
Today is the beginning of Miami Spa Month, which is really two months since it lasts through August, where you can get $99 treatments at some of Miami’s most luxurious spas. I tried the Aquavana Experience at Canyon Ranch and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am looking to squeeze in a couple more before the end of August.
