Total sales (24) still outnumbered total new listings (11), which is to be expected in the middle of the holiday season. Buyers are still out in full force and are purchasing in all price ranges. The highest sale in our office was the home pictured below. It sold for $7,030,000 and was listed by EWM.
Realty Trac’s November Foreclosure Market Report shows that foreclosure start in Florida dropped 18.02% from the previous month and a whopping 45.9% drop year-over-year; completions were down 2.72% month-to-month and 15.59% from previous year; and overall foreclosure activity was down 15% and 23% respectively.
These decreases show that the foreclosure crisis is almost over, but the Florida still leads the nation in foreclosures, with one in every 392 homes getting a foreclosure filing and Miami is one of the highest cities with foreclosures in Florida. There are currently 617 Miami-Dade foreclosed homes listed on the MLS.
The real estate sales continued to mount the week leading up to Art Week. Even though Thanksgiving coincided with Chanukah this year, our sales for a normally quiet week were over $24,000,000, just for our Coral Gables office. The highest residential sale was for the Pinecrest home pictured above.
We had a total of 18 residential sales, which includes single family and condo/town homes, one commercial sale, and 12 new listings.
Our Coral Gables office had another great week with over $15 million in sales. Out of our 17 sales, four went for asking price and two went over asking. There were 17 new listings. For an overall market update, check out our video.
The lack of inventory in Miami’s real estate market resulted in 5 of EWM’s Coral Gables’ office sales going under contract for above asking and 2 going at asking this week. Considering we had 17 sales, that bodes pretty well for well-priced listings that are about ready to come on the market.
Unobstructed water views from this spectacular unit, which has been professionally designed by Adriana Hoyos. Enter your private foyer directly from the elevator, open your front door and water views greet you. The spacious unit includes two bedrooms, a den, 3 full baths, large kitchen with built-in Miele coffee maker, wine refrigerator, Subzero, and laundry room with a utility sink. At $1,150,000 it is the lowest priced unit in the popular “9” line of the modern state-of-the-art Jade building.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about how cheap flood insurance is if you don’t live in a flood zone. After last Wednesday’s heavy rains, even many of us who do not live in flood zones witnessed flooded streets and front yards. Before you go out and buy flood insurance, you need to be aware that on Tuesday, October 1, federal flood insurance rate hikes kicked in. That does not mean you should not get the insurance, since it is still affordable compared to other forms of insurance, but depending in what flood zone you live or are buying, in, the rate hike could increase nearly tenfold. If you purchased prior to July 6, 2012, the increases will be at 25% per year until you reach the new non-subsidized rate. Many states, including Florida, are trying to delay the federal hikes until the impact on the real estate market can be taken into consideration, but the current congressional stalemate has tied up the bill.
The second insurance factor to consider when buying your home is hurricane insurance. By now everyone has heard that Citizen’s, our insurer of last resort, wants to get out of the insurance business and is giving incentives to smaller insurance companies to take over windstorm insurance. Although wind mitigation discounts are still given, there is a good chance that insurance premiums are going to increase fairly significantly. Both of these insurances should be taken into consideration in your financial calculations when you are purchasing your home. Phil Lyons, at Insource Insurance, can assist you in determining how much properly insuring what is most likely your biggest asset will cost.
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 .