Christie’s will be auctioning off The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor over 4 days in December, 2011. Starting in September, there will be a three-month tour, with stops in Moscow, London, Los Angeles, Dubai, Geneva, Paris and Hong Kong, highlighting portions of her collection. This is sure to be a historic auction.
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Miami just ranked 8, with a score of 72.5, in a walkability scoring of the 50 largest cities in the U.S. Having moved from San Francisco, ranked 2 with a walkability score of 84.9, I decided to check out my home’s walk score. I live in Pinecrest, a suburb, so I wasn’t too surprised to find out that my walk score was pretty dismal at 22. Not all areas of Pinecrest would score that low. If your home is in the western portion of Pinecrest, which is a lot closer to shops and U.S. 1, your home would score much higher.
Recent studies throughout the country have shown that more people want to give up commuting, and the accompanying high gas bills, and live in more walker friendly neighborhoods. So, what is your home’s walk score?
Before you start celebrating your executed contract, take a deep breath and realize you are only half way to the closing table. You still have to get through inspections and, if the deal is based on financing, the appraisal.
In order to make it through inspections, you may want to fix the little things you have been meaning to since you listed the house, such as the faucet that started dripping or the burned out light bulb. These things sound minor, but they can add up in an inspection report.
If you did not have a list of all of the upgrades you have done to the house, make sure to make one now and give it to the appraiser. In today’s market there are so many distressed properties, many of which are in poor condition, dragging down pricing, it can help to highlight your home’s main attributes, such as new appliances, roof, etc. Even if your house is in great condition, do not be surprised if your home does not appraise. Recent changes to the process have resulted in much more stringent appraisal standards.
As I drive around town, I am seeing a lot more new construction. This new single family home is going up in north Gables. I have seen other ones being built in South Miami and Pinecrest as well.
In addition to the new construction I have been seeing many remodeling projects. Significant additions are being added on to many existing homes.
All of this bodes well for the overall market. Are you remodeling or adding on to your house?
Rangers at Biscayne National Park offer snorkel tours of six shipwrecks. Or you can access them with your own boat and get to see an even more in depth tour by scuba diving them.
If this week’s sales vs listings in just one of EWM’s offices is any indication, the market is changing. Our Coral Gables office had 37 residential sales versus 10 new listings and 27 leases vs 8 new rentals. Our total for this week, which include the sale of a commercial property was almost $35,000,000. This market change doesn’t mean that prices are going up yet, but it does mean we are clearing our inventory. We are seeing an increase in rental rates, however, as more people decide to rent and the inventory decreases.
If you need to sell, now is the time to do it since inventory is decreasing and there is demand. Remember to price it right, however, since pricing is everything in this market. If you don’t need to sell, but want to take advantage of the current market, use it to move up, downsize, while you rent out your current home. Alternatively, stay in your home and buy a rental property.
If you are planning to buy, now is definitely the time to buy due to a combination of low interest rates and low prices. If you don’t buy soon, you may find yourself priced out of the market or with even more limited choices.
All below was taken directly from the Pinecrest Gardens, Garden Gossip Newsletter.
Photography for the Rest of Us, Tuesday, July 26 at 7:00 p.m.
A Free Photography Workshop
The Photography For The Rest of Us workshop was developed to teach the basics of digital photography. The goal is simple: to make a better photographer out of every person we can reach out to, no matter which camera you own.
In this fun and informative workshop, you’ll learn the basics about composition, use of flash, the shooting modes almost every camera offers and much more. The instructor, Ed Schneider, also the founder of Photography4us, is a professional award-wining photographer whose goal is to help you understand and enjoy taking photos. Ed’s experience and candid approach can virtually guarantee this event will change forever the way you take photos.
Thanks to a collaborative effort from Kendall Camera Club and The Village of Pinecrest, this is a rare opportunity to see Ed Schneider speak at an open event free of charge. Seats are limited. Register today for the Photography For The Rest of Us workshop.
Tomorrow is a Fee-Free Play Day at Deering Estate.
The Alliance Francais South Florida invites you to celebrate Bastille Day this evening starting at 9.
Okay, sellers. It is time to get real and face today’s Buyer’s real estate market. If you want to LIST your house, hoping you find an all cash buyer willing to over pay for your home, you don’t need to read any further. However if you want to SELL your home, please read on.
Today I took a cash buyer to see a very nice home in north Coral Gables. It is a 3 bedroom 2.5 bath, 1985 square foot home on a 7,000 square foot lot. It has an above ground pool (can’t believe that got permitted in Coral Gables, but that is the subject for another blog) and has been very nicely updated. The garage was converted into a playroom. As we were walking through the house, the agent kept pointing out all of the items that would not be staying: curtains, washer, dryer, some lighting fixtures. After we were done seeing the house, the agent told us what we already knew, “The house is overpriced”. When we asked her if what the sellers were thinking, she responded “They think their house is so nice and updated that it is worth more than anything in the neighborhood”. I told her it would never appraise. She said she knew, but to make an offer anyway, the sellers were motivated, they were buying another house and already had a contract on one. Here is the problem: the unrealistic sellers have the house priced at $690,000, down from $712,000. The absolute highest comp, based on tax rolls and the MLS put this house at $498,000. Even stretching, the highest price for a 3/2.5 in that area, but with larger square footage sold for $540,000. How does a buyer even begin to make an offer? They don’t. They go on to a more realistic seller.
The moral of the story is: If you don’t need to sell your house at today’s prices, then don’t. Wait for the time to come when the properties will appreciate. If you need or want to sell your house now, price it realistically.