I went on a run the other day, and within a half mile of my house I saw two people riding horses, a large iguana munching on leaves on the side of the road, and a beautiful peacock. I didn’t have my camera during my run, but on my way into work I had to stop for a peacock crossing the road. Luckily, I had my camera this time!
The Coral Gables/South Miami area is so lucky to have two great cupcake places to choose from. Many of you have probably already heard of or tried Misha’s Cupcakes. The red velvet cupcakes are amazing and her cakes made out of individual mini-cupcakes are works of art as well as being convenient for parties…no plates or wasted cake.
A couple of blocks away on Sunset Drive is Buttercream Cupcakes and Coffee. Although they don’t make mini-cupcake cakes and their minis have to be special ordered, they have a larger variety of flavors. Their chocolate peanut butter cupcakes are amazing. Try both of these neighborhood places and let us know which one is your favorite.
Two Methods of Eating Cupcakes
I came across a great article that explains the effect of interest rates on your purchasing power so well, that I have to blog about it. Now that inventories are decreasing and we are running into an April 30, 2010 deadline for tax credits, you have to read it if you have been on the fence about whether or not now is the right time to buy real estate.
The article, If You Don’t Buy a House Now, You’re Stupid or Broke may have an offensive title, but the graphs that it contains illustrate historic interest rates and increasing trends and the explanation on how an increase in rates affect what you will pay in principal in interest are easy to understand. In a nutshell:
Okay, you have been hearing that now is the time to buy a home, but maybe you are still unsure of why, when there is so much inventory on the market and so much insecurity in the economy. Here are 7 specific reasons:
Now, you may be a naysayer and agree with someone who stated that the price of real estate is going to go down another 33%, but those of us that are active in the market are not seeing it. We are seeing inventories decreasing, foreigners and investors coming back into the market that they had shied away from during the boom years and buyers getting some very good buys. Miami is on sale and many properties are selling for less than what it would cost to build the exact same structure on the same lot. Are you going to be someone who says, “Shoulda, woulda, coulda” or someone who feels lucky that they got into the market when they could?
In an attempt to work through the more than 110,000 open foreclosures and the 7,000 new ones that are filed each month, Miami-Dade County has put them on-line. Registration is free and allows you access to the county’s foreclosures. If you want to bid, you will be required to put down a refundable 5% deposit.
The 7th Annual Pinecrest Gardens Fine Arts Festival will take place this Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Take a stroll through the beautiful gardens while viewing a variety of artwork from nationally recognized artists. There will also be food and music.
Attending this event counts as one the New Year Resolutions for South Floridians!
According to CNNMoney.com the national vacancy rate for rental apartments rose to 8% at the end of 2009 up from 6.7% a year ago. High vacancy rates translate into lower rents, so if you are getting ready to go into a lease or renew your existing one, negotiate the price. Keep in mind that many corporate landlords will not want to decrease the monthly rent because it hurts their books, but they will throw in a free month’s rent or some other benefits/improvements, that will bring your effective rent down.
Below is a quick snap shot of what the real estate market for single family homes looked like for the fourth quarter of 2009. 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
Coral Gables
Key Biscayne
Miami Beach
Palmetto Bay
Pinecrest
South Miami
After rising for the past four weeks, long-term mortgage rates fell last week. Freddie Mac reported 30- year fixed rate mortgages averaged around 5.09%, down from 5.14% last week.
Now that the residential real estate market appears to have stabilized, investors are starting to look at U.S properties as potential investments. According to Kevin Brass of the Wall Street Journal, groups of investors from Mainland China are still touring properties in the U.S.
With the decrease in real estate prices and the drop in the dollar in relation to other currencies, foreign investors are taking advantage. Shouldn’t you be?