Tag: Miami Real Estate

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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.

Categories
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).

Categories
Buying Luxury Real Estate Mortgage information Selling

Miami Real Estate On Sale

With prices still on a downward slide in South Florida, the number of sales are up as buyers realize the buying opportunity these price decreases represent.  And although 30-year mortgage rates inched up slightly this week, they are still under 5% and near historic lows.

These interest rates will help first time buyers, but may not play much of a difference in Miami’s high end market:  2 out of 3 sales in the $1,000,000 and over market are cash sales.

Categories
Brickell/Downtown Miami Commercial Real Estate

Miami Real Estate – How Will Panama Canal's Expansion Effect It?

The Panama Canal is undergoing a massive expansion to allow bigger vessels to pass through.  Since the Port of Miami is  the closest U.S. Port to the Panama Canal, Miami is in a strategic position to benefit from the increase in America/East Asia trade.

The Port of Miami is building a tunnel to the Port,  so truck traffic can bypass downtown Miami, and is seeking federal funds to dredge the harbor to minus 50-feet, which would make it one of only three ports that can handle the new, larger container vessels.

This increase in trade at the port will mean there will be new demand for warehouse space and housing for the estimated 33,000 new trade-related jobs that are expected.

Categories
Brickell/Downtown Miami Commercial Real Estate

Miami Real Estate – How Will Panama Canal’s Expansion Effect It?

The Panama Canal is undergoing a massive expansion to allow bigger vessels to pass through.  Since the Port of Miami is  the closest U.S. Port to the Panama Canal, Miami is in a strategic position to benefit from the increase in America/East Asia trade.

The Port of Miami is building a tunnel to the Port,  so truck traffic can bypass downtown Miami, and is seeking federal funds to dredge the harbor to minus 50-feet, which would make it one of only three ports that can handle the new, larger container vessels.

This increase in trade at the port will mean there will be new demand for warehouse space and housing for the estimated 33,000 new trade-related jobs that are expected.

Categories
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.

Categories
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.

Categories
Commercial Real Estate

Commercial Real Estate – Why the Big Secret?

CommercialIt is amazing to me that so many commercial real estate agents like to keep their listings a secret.  Instead of posting their listings on the MLS, or having their own commercial MLS if they want to keep it separate from residential real estate, they post their listings on their own sites.  If they do post them on a site, they post them under the “private” or  “premium” listing, which requires a monthly membership in order to view.

In this age of information, when everything is on the internet and the majority of people searching for anything start their search there, wouldn’t you want your commercial listing to get the most eyes possible?  The more eyes, the more likely you will get an offer.

I applaud the commercial realtors who use the most media possible to market their listings.  I post my listings everywhere, blog about them, put up signs, put them on Facebook and do everything else possible to get the most people to look at my listings.

Categories
Buying Foreclosures Market Summary

Miami Real Estate – Foreclosures and Shortsales

As of December 2010

REO Homes were 12% of Total Inventory and 41% of Total Sales

Single family home Short Sales were 32% of Total Inventory and 19% of Total Sales

REO Condos were 9% of Total Inventory and 46% of Total Sales
Condo Short Sales were 32% of Total Inventory 22% of Total Sales