Tag: buying real estate

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Buying Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate

Miami Real Estate – If You Are Looking To Invest, Miami Is Top Choice

brickell from sobeAccording to Mark Vitner, an economist for Wells Fargo, Miami is his top choice of a market poised for economic growth.  How can that be?  We have one of the highest unemployment, foreclosure and number of underwater homes in the country.  However, Vitner stated that Miami is currently posting some of the highest taxable sales and number of jobs created in the state.

Miami has always been blessed with gorgeous weather, colorful landscapes, tourquoise waters, and beautiful beaches.  One of the main reasons our economy has been chugging along better than most is due to our popularity with tourists, especially international ones, who have helped both our tourism and retail industries.

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Buying Florida Life Miami Beach

5601 Collins Avenue #810, Miami Beach, FL

IMG_0886According to AccuWeather.com, it was 29 degrees in New York and Boston yesterday, and 74 degrees on Miami Beach.   This is the view from every room in this beautiful one bedroom apartment, smack dab on the beach.  Instead of shoveling snow, you could be frolicking in the surf, playing volleyball or taking a leisurely stroll down the beach.

Wish you were here?

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Buying Foreclosures Selling

Miami Real Estate – Condo Inventory Continues to Shrink

According to Condovultures.com, only 16% of the 22,231 condo units built in Greater Downtown Miami during the latest boom are still available for sale.  If you continue to wait for prices to drop further, you will probably find you missed the boat.  That doesn’t mean prices are going to appreciated rapidly, or at all, in the next year or two.  We still have short sales, older construction, and regular owner foreclosures (vs developer foreclosures) to work our way through.

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Buying Renting in Miami

Miami Real Estate – It May Be Cheaper To Buy Than To Rent

According to Trulia’s Q1 Rent vs Buy Index, Miami is #1 on the Top Ten Cities To Buy vs Rent table.  The reason I titled my post “ It May Be Cheaper To Buy Than To Rent”  instead of “It Is Cheaper To Buy Than To Rent” is because Trulia arrived at their conclusion by comparing two-bedroom apartments, condominiums and townhomes, currently listed on their website.  If you want to find out if you are better off buying or renting, use their rent calculator and fill it in with your own rental costs and home specifications.

Obviously is more to consider than simply the cost when you decide whether to rent or own, but knowing your costs is probably one of the largest factors.

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Buying Foreclosures Investment Real Estate Selling

Miami Real Estate – Shadow Inventory

Shadow inventory is basically the number of properties that are projected to hit the market due to distressed owners, those who are behind 90 days or more on their mortgage,  or because they will be or already have been taken back by the bank.  There has been a lot of speculation lately about how this background inventory will affect the housing recovery, with many experts saying it will significantly delay it.

A CNNMoney.com article on Shadow Inventory states: “Of the 20 separate markets S&P analyzed, Miami was the only market of the 20 that S&P analyzed where shadow inventory did not did expand during the first three quarters of 2010.”

What does this mean for buyers?  Record high affordability and a wide selection of properties to choose from.

For sellers, it means a continued suppression of prices, with prices either dropping further or bouncing along the bottom for a while.  If you were thinking of selling your home within the next year or two, you may want to put it on the market now.  Or, if you have equity in your home and have entertained the idea of owning investment property, turn it into a rental and buy your move-up, downsizing, or retirement home at the lowest prices we have seen in a long time.

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Coral Gables Market Summary Pinecrest

Housing Reports Expected Next Week

While the local real estate news has been giving us a snapshot of what has been happening in Miami’s real estate housing market, several housing reports are due out next week, which will give us a national picture of how the housing recovery is fairing.

  • Tuesday –  S&P Case Shiller home price index:  this index tracks changes in the value of residential real estate at both a national level as well as in 20 metropolitan regions (Miami is one them).  Although it is calculated monthly and is released on the last Tuesday of every month, it is published with a two month lag.  Tuesday’s report will include values through December 2010.
  • Wednesday – new home sales :  this report is based on a survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau that starts with the number of building permits authorized for single family homes .
  • Thursday  – pending home sales :  this index is prepared by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).  Because this report looks a homes that are currently under contract, it gives a good picture of where the housing market is headed in the next couple of months.  Although many of the pending sales fall through due to a variety of reasons (buyer’s don’t qualify or they get impatient waiting for a bank to approve a short sale are the main reasons in today’s market), many of the sales will close thereby absorbing inventory.

As of today, pending home sales in Coral Gables currently stand at 72 (24 since 1/1/11) versus an inventory of 410 active listings (45 new listings since 1/1/11).

Pinecrest pending home sales are 30 (7 since 1/1/11) and active homes for sale are 196  (17 added since 1/1/11).

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Buying Foreclosures Selling

Miami Real Estate – Thinking of Selling, Now is the Time. Thinking of Buying? Now is the time.?!

How can it be both the right time to sell and the right time to buy?  Usually, if it is a seller’s market, prices are high and inventory is low.  If it is a buyer’s market, it is the other way around.  We currently have enough overall inventory of single family and condos in South Florida to make it a buyers market so, if you are a seller, you may think of holding off until the inventory decreases.  If you have the holding power, you are right.  If you need to sell, but were thinking of holding off for the Spring, read Steve Harney’s blog, Oswald Acted Alone and We Did Land on the Moon.

If you are a buyer and read the blog, you will be tempted to hold off, figuring prices will fall further and you could get a better deal.  The difference is that with a home buyer, unless you are purchasing with cash, the cost of the home is often more important than the price.  Another great Harney blog, 3 Questions You Must Answer Before Buying a Home, can help you determine if you would be better off waiting until the end of 2011 or purchasing now.

Remember, real estate is hyper-local and your specifications for a home or investment property, may be completely different from what is going on in a city, county, state or nationally.  Some areas experienced less price decreases, short sales, and foreclosures than others.

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Buying Mortgage information

FHA Loans – Minimum Credit Scores Reduced

Effective January 15th 2011, it will be easier to qualify for an FHA loan with Homes Services Lending.  The new FHA minimum credit scores will be reduced from 600 to lower thresholds as follows:

  • Credit score 500 – 579 allowed with maximum 90% LTV

  • Credit score 580 – 599 allowed with maximum 95% LTV

  • Credit score 600 – and higher allowed with maximum 96.5% LTV

Additional requirements may have to be satisfied.

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Buying Selling

Miami Real Estate – New Year Update

The inventory for single family homes in Miami-Dade County has inched up in the first few weeks of 2011.  There were 971 single family homes that closed in the month of December, but 723 new listings have increased our inventory from 7591 at the end of December to 8314 as of today.

This increase is not unexpected as foreclosures were put on hold while being investigated, and many homeowners don’t want to deal with showing their home during the holidays.

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Buying Market Summary Selling

Miami Real Estate – 2010 Snapshot

For single family homes as of December 2010:

  • Median Price $172,000 vs $400,000 peak in May of 2007
  • 8156 single family homes listed on the MLS vs a peak inventory of 17,070 in July of 2008
  • Currently there is a 10 month supply.  A 6-9 month supply is a stable market, so we are getting closer.

For condos as of December 2010:December 2010

  • Median Price $101,000 vs $215,000 peak in January of 2008
  • 15,116 condos listed on MLS vs 24,905 at peak in May of 2008
  • Currently there is a 12 month supply, so we still have a ways to go to stabilize the condo market.