Categories
Brickell/Downtown Miami Florida Life Luxury Real Estate

Miami is Loved By Residents, Wonder Why?

A Gallup study reported in today’s Miami Herald states, “Miamians love their city more than ever”.

Miami Paradise

What’ s not to love?  The tropical climate, beautiful beaches, colorful flora, variety of cultures, the views, the food, the number of never ending activities from sports, to dancing, dining, diving?  There is a reason my blog is ILoveSoFla!  Ever since I moved here from the San Francisco Bay area over 18 years ago, I have been able to say, “I love Miami”!

More reasons to love Miami can be found in the following posts:

South Florida is a Boater’s Paradise

Fishing in South Florida is a Bargain

New World Symphony to Host Stories in Music:  Concert for Kids

Looking For Something to Do?  Head to Pinecrest!

So Much To Do, So Little Time!

Free and Fun First Fridays Gallery Walk in Coral Gables, FL

Categories
Florida Life

New World Symphony to Host Stories in Music: Concert for Kids

Remember the great music in the movie, Peter and the Wolf?  How about the music that Sleeping Beauty and her prince waltz to when they first meet in the forest?  So many children’s movies contain great classical music.  The New World Symphony will  be presenting some of that music in their Stories in Music: Concert for Kids, on October 4.  In addition to hearing music that they may already be familiar with, your children will also have the opportunity to meet the musicians and see and play the instruments in the Instrument Petting Zoo.

The first video is the Disney version for your children

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-6fYCMqSN4[/youtube]

The second is Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty and is for your listening pleasure

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_oP2ltuNyk[/youtube]

Categories
Buying Coral Gables Key Biscayne Luxury Real Estate Market Summary Miami Beach Selling

South Florida Luxury Home Buyers Have Plenty of Buying Opportunities

According to Forbes’ America’s Most Expensive ZIP Codes, South Florida luxury real estate is not faring too badly, compared with states like California.  Granted, California has more expensive ZIPS according to the statistics used by Forbes and almost all of those ZIP codes show a decrease in price, but still, only four South Florida ZIPs made the top 500 list and only one, Fisher Island’s 33109 made the top 100 list.

Others on the list included Key Biscayne 33149 at number 199, Coral Gables 33146 at number 363 and Miami Beach 33154, which includes Indian Creek Village, Bay Harbor Islands, Bal Harbour, and Surfside, at number 494.

These South Florida cities have a high inventory, which will put a downward pressure on prices.  The only city that did not see a decrease in it’s median home price was Coral Gables.

Categories
Buying Foreclosures Investment Real Estate Selling

South Florida Real Estate Market: What is Going On?

question_mark2The following were all topics in the news last week and all of them have an effect on our real estate market:

South Florida home sales surge, prices plunge, mortgage rates fall to lowest levels since May, Florida’s unemployment rate is up, Florida foreclosures are up and may be increasing, another condo developer files for bankruptcy, developers selling in downtown Miami for $200 per square foot, the first-time buyer credit is expiring, school starts Monday,  Miami-Ft. Lauderdale real estate market is ready for a rebound, pending sales in Miami-Dade County up over 96% in July over same time last year, Florida loses population for the first time since World War II.

So just what is going on?  In short, there have been a lot of positive signs that our real estate market is at or near its pricing bottom, but that doesn’t mean we are going to see appreciation any time soon.  Closed sales are up and pending sales are up even further.  The fact that housing prices in Miami-Dade are at their most affordable levels in years, coupled with the government’s first-time homebuyer tax credit, has helped move a lot of the lower priced inventory.  The high unemployment rate will result in more foreclosures and our tourism and real estate dependent economy will take longer to recover from the recession than states with more diverse economies.  All this means is that the real estate market will go through up and down spurts from month to month, similar to what the stock market is doing, and that prices will stagnate for a while instead of appreciating.  Some months are going to see more sales than others.  Certain areas are going to continue to see decreasing inventories.  I suspect that with the start of school and the end of the first-time homebuyer credit at the end of November, the rate of sales is going to taper off a bit.  If you are buying, there are going to continue to be deals and you will still be in the driver’s seat.  If you are selling, pricing will be the most important factor.

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 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.

Befor
Before
After
After

Categories
Environmental Home Improvement

Composting is Beneficial for South Florida Gardens

Growing plants in South Florida is very easy.  When I first moved here, I remember someone  telling me,  “plant once and cut it forever” .  Well, after successfully growing tomatoes, jalapenos, and a variety of peppers by simply throwing seeds from my kitchen into assorted pots, I am convinced that growing just about anything is pretty easy.  The quality of what is grown, however, requires a little more effort.  I threw papaya seeds in the yard and grew massive papayas, which were disgustingly mealy, and my frangipanis, though flowering, could use a little more something.

Composting is an easy way to improve the quality of your plants while reducing waste.   A friend and neighbor of mine who swears by her composter and my sister, who lives in Italy and thinks composting is a no-brainer, have convinced me that composting is the way to go.   So, after years of procrastinating, I have decided to go more “formal” with my garden and will start composting.  Since the University of Florida has an amazing agricultural extension and an extremely informative website, I will be building vs buying my first compost pile.  I will post my progress on this blog and, hopefully, will be producing compost that looks as good as this person’s.Real_Compost

Categories
Buying Selling

$8000 Homebuyer Tax Credit Set to Expire Soon

taxcreditendsThe government’s first-time homebuyer tax credit is set to expire on December 1, 2009.  That gives buyers a little over 3 months to:

  • qualify for a mortgage
  • find their home
  • negotiate a contract
  • have inspections done
  • get an appraisal
  • get a financing commitment
  • and close on the house by November 30.

Any one of the bullet points above can derail your closing and put you back at the starting gate.   So, how do you maximize the time that is left?  If you are a buyer, make sure you are qualified for a mortgage before you start looking at houses.  If you are a seller, make sure you take advantage of this time by pricing your home appropriately for sale.  In this market, pricing is everything.  Buyers know that prices have come down significantly and aren’t going to over-pay for a house.  They may be willing to pay a little more than market if your home is in superb condition compared to comparable closed sales in your neighborhood, but you will still need your home to appraise.

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
Florida Life

Fishing in South Florida is a Bargain!

I found another reason to love South Florida, CHEAP fishing licenses!  I  purchased annual fishing licenses for my sons to go out for mini lobster season and thought I had been charged incorrectly.  The cost for an annual license was $17!  I paid $52.70 for an annual license in Pennsylvania so one of my sons could fish for two weeks.  Granted, I paid as a non-resident in PA and the non-resident in Florida is $47, but where do you think you get more bang for the buck?

Large mouth bass in Twin Lakes, PA
Large mouth bass in Twin Lakes, PA
mahi mahi
Mahi Mahi common Florida catch