Properties that were in communities near public transportation with frequent routes did 42% better in maintaining their value than those that were not near public transportation. As real estate sales in Miami continue to rise, neighborhoods near public transportation are some of the areas with the tightest inventories.
Many communities, such as Brickell and Coral Gables, have added trolleys and many suburban communities, such as Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay, have added People Movers.
Congratulations! You have purchased or rented your new home. Now is a busy time with moving, forwarding mail, and starting utilities but FPL has automated their connection and disconnection for electrical service to make connecting easier. Properties that have been unoccupied might not have service when you move in, so be sure to get it connected before your moving day.
You can start your service online at www.FPL.com/startservice or by calling 1-800-226-3545. For same day service, you must call before 2:oo p.m. Before having the service connected, turn off inside breakers, electronics, and appliances, and remove items that are on the stove.
When you sell your property or terminate your lease, empty, open and unplug the refrigerator and call or log on to disconnect the service so you do not incur charges .
Learn more online:
If you are a landlord, consider joining FPL’s Automatic Connect program to ensure you have power when you
need it in the properties you manage. Visit
http://www.fpl.com/customer/autoconnect.shtml.
I work with a lot of international clients who buy and sell real estate in Miami and often recommend they speak to a local attorney and/or CPA to discuss the tax implications of owning property here. I came across a great article from Bilzin Sumberg Attorneys that addresses tax planning for foreigners buying real estate .
You know what they say about real estate, location, location, location, and boy does 1542 Drexel Avenue #205 have it. Location: 2 blocks from Lincoln Road. Location: 1 block from Espanola. Location: 3 blocks to the Ocean. In the heart of Miami Beach, yet on a quiet, low traffic street, this fully furnished unit is the perfect Miami Beach Pied-A-Terre. Rarely available one bedroom. The last one bedroom for sale in this boutique building was in 2011!
If you are looking for an investment property instead of a weekend get-a-way, the last fully furnished unit that rented in this building was a studio that rented for $1500 per month! Listed for sale, fully furnished (minus the art work) for $170,000.
Several recent articles have highlighted the issue of preservation vs private property rights. I want to clarify that I am for historic preservation of relevant buildings but I think if it is done retroactively, it infringes on private property rights.
Both the Miami Herald building, sold to Genting Malaysia, and a Robert Browning Parker home in Gables Estates, currently listed for sale by Helen Nicastri of Coldwell Banker, have come before preservation boards with different outcomes.
A home in north Gables on Minorca and another in Miami Beach on Star Island are further examples of preservation boards trying to designate properties as historic when new owners purchased the property and applied for demolition permits.
If a property is designated as historic, it cannot be torn down and there are restrictions on the amount and type of renovations that can be done. You can check with local preservation boards to see if the property you are purchasing is on their list prior to purchasing, but if it is not on the list should a local board be able to designate it when you apply for permits to demolish or refurbish? To protect your investment, if you are planning to purchase a property built in the 1920’s-1960’s (Old Spanish, Art Deco and MiMo architectural styles) and want to renovate or demolish it, contact the local historic preservation board during your due diligence/inspection period.
I have had several long-time customers ask me what I think is going to happen to the Miami real estate market come January. Although I don’t have a crystal ball, and the real estate market in Miami in general has been doing well with inventories down and prices up, with bidding wars happening as multiple offers come in, I decided to use a building that I am currently working on to throw a bit of a reality check into the current market euphoria.
In October of 2011, one bedroom units in this building were selling for between $45,000-$50,000. The last sale this year was for $90,000 and there are multiple offers on a foreclosure listed for $99,900. According to property tax rolls, nine out of the 39 total units in the building are in some stage of foreclosure. Whether or not any or all of them will go into foreclosure, short sale, or have a loan modification worked out, is yet to be seen, but if you look at the iMapp, Inc. snapshot of what is going on around this building, I have to believe that there are still going to be buying opportunities out there next year and that prices could go down. All of those little hammers are properties that are in the foreclosure process. Since the process takes over a year, where these all are in that process and how fast they come on the market will all come into play in the supply and demand cycle of 2013.
Not all markets look like this. Brickell has a lot less hammers. If you are a buyer, find out what the foreclosure map in the area you are considering purchasing looks like. Don’t be discouraged, just be realistic in your offer and your expectations as to where the market really is. If you are a seller, you also need to look at the map in your area. The map, along with relevant sales in your area, will help you set your list price in a range where your property will sell. Whether you are looking short term or long term, your perspective on where the real estate market is headed in 2013 depends on whether you are a glass half full or half empty person. Oh, and then there is the fiscal cliff…. Where do you think Miami’s real estate market is headed?
 |
 |
Unit 208 is an updated 1 bedroom 1.5 bath that would be great for an investor. Rented until April of 2013.
EWM’s Coral Gables office had another amazing week in sales. Over $23,000,000 in sales and leases this week, the week before schools start. That follows last weeks’ $19,800,000+ in sales and leases. The fact that sales are so high the last two weeks of summer vacation is a sign that the real estate market in Miami-Dade County continues to recover. The number of sales (25) equaled the number of leases this week and were only slightly lower last week (21 sales and 25 leases). This week we had 14 new sales listings. Last week we had 8 new sales listings.
These numbers show that the luxury market is starting to recover, the lower priced inventory has significantly dropped as investors pick up properties, and demand in the middle price range is still strong. If you are in the market to buy or sell, give me a call to discuss prices in your specific area.
At the height of the typical summer selling season, there are only 10 homes, out of 147 currently listed, for less than $500,000 in the Village of Pinecrest. None are foreclosures, two are short sales.
Pinecrest, long coveted by families because of great schools, large lots, and plenty of parks and family activities, has an average list price of over $1.6 million for 2012. The average sales price through May of this year is $882,000.
The house pictured below is listed for $360,000 and is the only one under $500,000 in the Pinecrest Elementary School District.
Edina Realty, a Minneapolis-St Paul real estate subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., has decided to stop syndicating its listings to non-brokerage sites, such as Realtor.com, Trulia, and Zillow. Edina’s arguments are outlined in Inman News and bring up some interesting concerns regarding “advertising” on third party sites.
I work with several buyers and tenants who use third party sites to search for properties or obtain market information and I often do have to explain to them that the information they have gleaned from the site is incorrect, out-of- date, or not exactly reflective of what is happening in the local market.
For my sellers and landlords, I do put my listings on third party sites because I feel like the more eyes that see the listing the better the chances of selling that listing are.
What are your experiences with third party sites? If you are a seller, would you list with a brokerage that does not participate with third party sites?