The other day I went into Marshalls and saw a whole display with purses. I thought it was a bit strange, since this particular display was front and center and quite a bit away from the other racks full of purses. As I looked closer, there was a sign that read Vegan Purses. Now it made sense. Marshalls was making it easier for vegan shoppers to identify purses that coincide with their vegan values.
Apparently, many businesses applied Forbes’ advice in Here’s Why You Should Turn Your Business Vegan in 2018. Although some industry leaders and innovators started well before 2018, the trend has definitely increased and become more visible this year. The number of vegan restaurants in Miami continues to grow with Planta opening and joining a list of other vegan eateries.
In addition to retailers and restaurants, other businesses are also finding a niche with vegan consumers. One of my favorite local designers, Deborah DiMare, is a leader in the vegan design space and her interiors, pictured here, are gorgeous.
So, in answer to my original question “Is Veganism Going Mainstream”, I think the answer is: “It’s already it already has”.
Do you commute to the city but live in the suburbs? Light traffic day in Miami
Remember the movie Something’s Gotta Give starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves? Well this is nothing about that movie other than I thought of the title today while out on my morning run. It does have to do with Labor Day, however.
Although I normally run shorter routes during weekdays, I decided I would go on one of my longer routes along Old Cutler Road. What a mistake that was! In addition to being extremely dark at 5:45 a.m., the traffic was horrific! I couldn’t cross the street anywhere there wasn’t a traffic light, which I am sure made all of the commuters extremely unhappy. For the longer part of my run, I thought about where those commuters lived versus where they worked, what they were sacrificing, if anything, having to get up so early to get to work, do they have another choice other than sitting in traffic at the crack of dawn? So what do all of these questions have to do with real estate? A lot, I think.
Quality of Life was the first thing that came to mind during my musings. What quality of life do the commuters have? I know several people with long commutes, including my husband. We live in Pinecrest but he commutes to Port Everglades. We have considered moving, but love our neighborhood and he says he would rather commute and love where he lives than have a shorter commute and not like where he lives, but the truth is traffic is getting worse, his commute times are getting longer, and he has already been doing this commute a long time. Something’s Gotta Give.
Large lots, great schools, and plenty of parks are just a few of the perks of living in Pinecrest
Popularity of Live, Work, Play Communities – Places like Aventura, Downtown Miami/Brickell, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Miami Beach, Downtown Dadeland, have all been growing because people want to be able to minimize their time in traffic. Savvy developers, urban planners, and city officials, have been building condos and mixed use developments to meet the wants of a commuter weary public. The negative side of this development and the demand, is that prices in most of these areas have gone up so rapidly, that they are no longer affordable and residents of Miami-Dade County pay more than (**(% in housing. Teachers, firefighters, police and many service providers were probably sitting in that traffic. One of my friends is a teacher. She lives in Palmetto Bay, but commutes to her job at Beach High? Would she take a teaching job closer to home if she could get one? Does MDCPS consider an employees commute time/contribution to traffic, when they assign that employee to a school? A vibrant community needs to include affordable housing options or offer wages to compensate. Something’s Gotta Give.
Other topics that I thought about include the importance of having transportation and work options close to home as well as affordability, taxes, and mixed use neighborhoods, not just buildings. But those are all topics for other blogs.
Do you have a horrible commune? Do you have public transportation options? If you did, would you use them? Would you live closer to your job if it was affordable? Would you like to work closer to where you live if you could find a job? If you feel like sharing your answers, please do. If not, at least give the questions some thought and think about what your quality of life is versus what it could be if you didn’t have to spend so much time commuting.
Spacious, open kitchen in Country Club Estates home
Spacious, open kitchen in Country Club Estates home
Looking to buy a home in Country Club Estates in Aventura, Florida? Then you need to call Cindy. She has sold 4 properties in the last two months; two of which never made it into the Multiple Listing Service and were sold off-market.
Country Club Estates, a luxury enclave of 80 single-family homes, is the only community of it’s type located on the prestigious Turnberry Golf Course. This private, gated community of luxury homes is an oasis in the heart of Aventura. Also known as Aventura Estates, this enclave is a wonderful place to call home due to both its size and location.
Cindy not only sells a lot of the homes in this luxury community, she also lives in the community and sits on the homeowner’s board, which gives her great insight into what is going on in the neighborhood. She loves living and selling in Country Club Estates because, “It is the only luxury single family home community in Aventura where we live and vacation all year long!” If you want more information on the lifestyle here, call her at 305-469-3222.
If you are buying or selling a home in Pinecrest, why would you use anyone other than the #1 brokerage in Pinecrest? I am a Realtor with EWM and a Pinecrest resident. I have lived here for over 27 years and can’t imagine living anywhere else. Want to learn more about this wonderful neighborhood? I would be happy to meet with you and tell you all about it.
ewm.com
EWM Realty International’s #1 ranking is based on total sales transactions and total dollar volume sales. Data was supplied by the Miami Association of Realtors, The Greater Fort Lauderdale Association of Realtors, and the Southeast Florida Regional MLS for single-family homes and condos sold within the Village of Pinecrest for the period beginning 1/1/2018 and ending 6/30/2018.
Coral Gables had a phenomenal 2014 for real estate sales. There were 520 closed sales from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014 and 218 of those were cash sales. The highest priced sale for the year was for a 21,000 square foot, waterfront home in Tahiti Beach, listed by One Sotheby’s Saddy Delgado and sold by Irina Artemova of Luxe Living Realty for $18,000,000. Both the number of closed sales and the number of cash sales were down from 2013, which reported 607 closed sales, 224 of which were cash, but the percentage of cash sales was higher in 2014 at almost 42% of all transactions.
Now that we are in the second week of 2015, almost all of the Pinecrest real estate sales for 2014 have been recorded in the MLS. There were 246 closed sales reported with a high sales price of $5.5 million for a stunning 12,000 square foot home on 60 Avenue, listed and sold by One Sotheby’s Saddy Delgado. Though slightly down from 2013’s level of 253 closed sales, 2014 was a great year to be a seller in Pinecrest! Almost 39 percent of the homes sold this year were cash sales compared to 30.4 percent of 2013’s sales.
As we start to get into the busy winter buying season, EWM Realty International has gotten off to a strong start. The company had a $70 million week between our offices in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. The breakdown for our Miami-Dade offices are:
Brickell $1.3 million
Coconut Grove $1.5 million
Coral Gables/ South Miami $24 million
Key Biscayne $1.2 million
Miami Beach $30 million
Pinecrest $1.4 million
The highest sale in our Coral Gables office was for a unit at the Faena House, pictured above, for $5.5 million .
Situated in the front portion of a deep, corner lot in Pinecrest, Florida, 5995 SW 91 Street is a 4 bedroom 3 and a half bath home with plenty of space both inside and out. The rooms are spacious and the pool and back yard are absolutely gorgeous for spending afternoons and weekends. Take a look at this virtual tour and imagine yourself home!
I usually save my market updates until the end of the quarter, but with so much activity going on I figured I should write a quick snapshot in case you are thinking of buying or selling a home in the next couple of months.
Since January first of this year, there have been 58 new listings of single family homes for sale in Pinecrest. Out of those new listings, 13 are already under contract, two are short sales and one is a foreclosure. A total of 17 homes have gone under contract since January first and there has been one closing, which is pictured above. The majority of the pending sales were for homes under $1,000,000. Six of them are short sales and one is a foreclosure.
If you are thinking of selling, now is the time. There are buyers out there looking and if your property is priced right, it will go under contract quickly. If you are a buyer who has been looking for a while, don’t hesitate in making a solid offer when you see the house you like.
Vintage bathroom
In early January, I posted Interior Design Color Trends For 2014. This adorable bathroom in a 1928 Old Spanish in Coral Gables is purple with white accents. Other accents, such as a chandelier and Cuban tile, also contained the trendy purple color.
