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Buying Foreclosures Selling

Home Foreclosures Expected to Continue in 2010

The good news is that sales on existing homes, both single family and condos, continue to increase and inventories are decreasing in Miami-Dade county.

The bad news is in the foreclosure numbers for 2009.  The numbers include all properties that are in some stage of the foreclosure process.

  • Palm Beach County – 30,870
  • Broward County – 69,633
  • Miami-Dade County – 72,391
  • Monroe County – 1,275

Since the unemployment rate is so high in Florida, foreclosures are expected to continue to add to inventories on the market in 2010.  Miami-Dade’s new on-line foreclosure program and the government’s Home Affordable Refinance Program should help keep the foreclosure rate lower than 2009’s.

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Buying Foreclosures Market Summary Mortgage information

7 Reasons to Buy Real Estate Now

met 1 & 2Okay, you have been hearing that now is the time to buy a home, but maybe you are still unsure of why, when there is so much inventory on the market and so much insecurity in the economy.  Here are 7 specific reasons:

  1. Home Buyer Tax Credits – The Government is paying first-time home buyers and move-up buyers money to purchase a home.  It can be a single family home or a condo, it just has to be your primary residence.
  2. Interest rates are still at historic lows, currently around 5.25% for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage.
  3. Lenders are moving their inventories of foreclosures and are becoming more likely to agree to short sales.
  4. Interest rates will increase due to the huge amount of government debt.
  5. The median price of a single family home is currently $185,000, down from a median price of $400,000 at the peak of the real estate boom.
  6. There is currently a 10 month supply of single family homes in Miami-Dade County, down from a 24 month supply at the end of 2008.  A stable market has an inventory of 6-9 months.
  7. There has been a 29% increase in sales since last year.
  8. Whether single family or condo, under $300,000 or over $1,000,000, the market trend has been a steady decrease in inventory since at least October of 2008.

Now, you may be a naysayer and agree with someone who stated that the price of real estate is going to go down another 33%, but those of us that are active in the market are not seeing it.  We are seeing inventories decreasing, foreigners and investors coming back into the market that they had shied away from during the boom years and buyers getting some very good buys.  Miami is on sale and many properties are selling for less than what it would cost to build the exact same structure on the same lot.  Are you going to be someone who says, “Shoulda, woulda, coulda” or someone who feels lucky that they got into the market when they could?

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Buying Foreclosures

Miami Foreclosures Now On-line

In an attempt to work through the more than 110,000 open foreclosures and the 7,000 new ones that are filed each month, Miami-Dade County has put them on-line.   Registration is free and allows you access to the county’s foreclosures.  If you want to bid, you will be required to put down a refundable 5% deposit.

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Buying Market Summary Selling

Miami Real Estate – Single Family Homes 4th Quarter Market Update

Below is a quick snap shot of what the real estate market for single family homes looked like for the fourth quarter of 2009.  These numbers are derived from the Multiple Listing Service and though they do not include For Sale By Owners and anything not listed on the MLS, they are indicative of what is going on in our local markets.  The closed sales may be slightly underestimated due to the lag time in posting the sale in the MLS.

Coconut Grove

  • Closed Sales: 23.  5 short sales, 3 REO. None of the closings in December were Short Sales or REO.  Highest Sales Price: $2.2 million. Highest Price/Square Foot:  $437.98. Lowest Sales Price: $154,900.  Lowest Price/Square Foot: $82.97
  • Pending Sales: 22, 14 of which went pending in the fourth quarter.
  • Active Listings: 165,  down from 217 at end of Sept.   Highest List Price: $18 million. Lowest List Price: $65,900.

Coral Gables

  • Closed Sales: 101.  6 short sales, 10 REOs.   Highest Sales Price: $5.15 million.  Lowest Sales Price: $250,000.
  • Pending Sales: 74
  • Active Listings: 421, down from 450 at the end of the third quarter.  Highest List Price: $49.5 million.  Lowest List Price: $89,500

Key Biscayne

  • Closed Sales: 13.  0 short sales, 1 REO.   Highest Sales Price: $6.15 million.   Lowest Sales Price: $820,000.
  • Pending Sales: 3.
  • Active Listings: 122.   Highest List Price: $24.950 million.   Lowest List Price: $985,000.

Miami Beach

  • Closed Sales: 41.  5 short sales, 7 REOs.  Highest Sales Price: $9.75 million.  Lowest Sales Price: $240,000
  • Pending Sales: 53
  • Active Listings: 380.  Highest List Price: $29.9 million.  Lowest List Price: $181,000.

Palmetto Bay

  • Closed Sales: 42. 8 short sale, 4 REO.   Highest Sales Price: $1.45 million. Lowest Sales Price: $140,000.
  • Pending Sales: 63
  • Active Listings: 139.  Highest List Price: $2.85 million. Lowest List Price: $165,000.

Pinecrest

  • Closed Sales: 45.  4 short sale and 5 REOs.  Highest Sales Price: $3.5 million.  Lowest Sales Price: $236,000.
  • Pending Sales: 29
  • Active Listings: 199.  Highest List Price: $5.9 million. Lowest List Price: $265,000.

South Miami

  • Closed Sales: 24. 3 short sales, 9 REO.   Highest Sales Price: $870,000. Lowest Sales Price: $87,500.
  • Pending Sales: 21
  • Active Listings: 71.  Highest List Price: $1.899 million. Lowest List Price: $57,270.


Categories
Selling

Miami Real Estate – Selling Your Home? List It In January

Most agents will tell you that the best time to list your home for sale is in the late spring and early summer to take advantage of the “summer move”.  The summer tends to be the time when most families move as it does not disrupt school schedules.  This year, however, I would recommend that you list your house as soon as the new year sets in.  The extension and expansion of the First-Time Homebuyer’s tax credit as well as the inching up of interest rates is going to keep the market trudging along, but in order to qualify for the tax credit a property must be under contract by the end of April, 2010.

If your property is already on the market and you are not getting a lot of showings by the end of January, take another look at the market in your area and make sure your property is priced right.  You may also want to spruce up the exterior to create better curb appeal.

Related Articles:

Selling Your Home?  You Need To Price It Right

First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit Extended and Improved

Don’t Under Estimate The Value of Curb Appeal

Categories
Brickell/Downtown Miami Neighborhood News

Miami Office Space – Huge Inventories Are Around The Corner

Just when we start making a dent in the huge inventories of residential condo units in downtown Miami, we are about to be flooded by commercial office space.  Several projects are coming on line next year, resulting in approximately 2 million square feet of office space.  Under good economic circumstances, the normal absorption rate of office space is around 250,000 square feet.  Needless to say, tenants are going to have a favorable advantage for negotiating leases for a very long time.

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Brickell/Downtown Miami Buying Neighborhood News

Miami Real Estate – Marina Blue Condominium

Port of Miami
Port of Miami

This is one of the many beautiful views from the 516-unit Marina Blue Condominium on Biscayne Boulevard.  This brand new building sits directly across the street from the Port of Miami, Miami Arena, and site of the future Miami Art Museum.  It is walking distance to Bayfront Park, Bayside Marketplace and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Perfoming Arts.  Convenient to South Beach (see it the the background to the left), Miami International Airport (15-20 minutes), and Brickell.  Easy access to public transportation.

There are currently 39 units listed on the MLS ranging in price from $299,00o for a 950 square foot, one bedroom one-and-a-half bath unit up to $3.3 million for a 4,198 square foot three bedroom three-and-a-half bath unit on the 57 floor.

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Brickell/Downtown Miami Foreclosures Neighborhood News

Icon Brickell To Be Turned Over To Lenders

Icon Brickell, the three-tower 1800-unit complex with views of the Miami River and gorgeous grounds is being turned over to the developer’s lenders in a friendly foreclosure.  Only two of the three towers have been built.

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Selling

Selling Your Home? You Need To Price it Right.

We are starting to hear positive news regarding residential real estate.  Sales are up significantly from last year, inventories are starting to decrease, the Government is urging more short sales and banks are complying.  HOWEVER,  if you are selling your home that does not mean you are in the driver’s seat.  It is still a buyer’s market.  Based on November’s sales and inventory numbers, Miami still has an 18 month supply of single-family homes and condos.  Although that is a significant improvement over November of last year when there was an almost 37 month supply, it is still far from the 6-9 month inventory required in a buyers market.  With less short sale and foreclosure properties on the MLS, the properties that are selling are those that are priced right.

Categories
Buying Market Summary Selling

Miami Real Estate – Market Update November, 2009

November Sales stats trendgraphix

This chart shows all of the single-family homes and condos that are currently on the market for sale, are under contract and pending, or that have sold.  The most telling one is the For Sale bars as it shows a steady decrease in inventory as properties are either pended, sold, or taken off of the market.  The number of homes pended and sold in November is down slightly from those in October, but the overall direction of the inventory is still heading downward.  Granted, based on November’s inventory and sales, we still have approximately 18 months of inventory to plow through, but as long as inventory keeps going down, the market is moving in the right direction.

Remember that this is a county-wide snapshot and each neighborhood or even building is going to have it’s own unique market.  What are you seeing in your neighborhood or building?