Real Estate Darwinism

This Sunday, 5/11, I will be showcasing more prime Palm Beach Gardens real estate by having an Open House at 1007 Grand Isle Terrace, BallenIsles -

Click HERE for the full Photo set.

˜Spectacular courtyard home on nearly a half-acre of premier property is designed for dramatic lake and sunset views! Sophisticated and comfortable, this home is professionally decorated and is being offered fully furnished. Loads of custom upgrades and designer appointments. Must see to appreciate it all!

This 4 Bedroom / 5.5 Bathroom (including a 1/1 Guest / In-law suite) is listed for $1,095,000.

The list of features is extensive - call me at 561-282-7406 - better yet, come by on 5/11 - Ill be there from 2-4 PM.

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It’s no news that the Euro is strong and Europeans are buying Miami Real Estate.  I read the other day (but can’t remember the source) that 1 out of 4 real estate sales in Miami are foreign national deals.  Rick and I have been dealing with foreign nationals since we began our real estate careers.

We both speak Spanish fluently (I was born in Venezuela and Rick is of Venezuelan and American descent) and we have family all over Europe - so we have close ties.  Because we have so many foreign national customers, we have come up with a plan to help our clients from abroad and have a complete system in place for when they are ready to buy and/or sell.

If you are a Foreign National buying Real Estate in Miami - ask yourself these questions:

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While my readers know that I typically focus on Palm Beach Gardens real estate and home loans, this morning its time to take a look at things on a national scale.  

This morning I recieved an email from Chris Griffith with a link to an article that had just come out in the Wall Street Journal.

Theres nothing like starting the day off with great news-

˜The Housing Crisis is Over by Cyril Moulle-Berteaux was a well thought-out piece that explains in great detail why the worst may be behind us.

It starts with:

˜The dire headlines coming fast and furious in the financial and popular press suggest that the housing crisis is intensifying. Yet it is very likely that April 2008 will mark the bottom of the U.S. housing market.’

While ˜bottom may sound ominous - dont forget that the decline has to stop before the recovery can begin, so the bottom is exactly what weve been looking for.

The ˜Boom that we experienced a few years ago was fantastic for those people who were skilled (or lucky) enough to buy low and quickly sell high.  But it also had the negative effect of making a home purchase way too expensive for many people.”

It was inevitable - the Boom went Bust.

˜Since then, house prices have fallen 10%-15%, while incomes have kept growing (albeit more slowly recently) and mortgage rates have come down 70 basis points from their highs. As a result, it now takes 19% of monthly income for the average home buyer, and 31% of monthly income for the first-time home buyer, to purchase a house. In other words, homes on average are back to being as affordable as during the best of times in the 1990s.

When you combine the fact that homes are becoming more affordable with the declining inventory of available properties, you see that the price declines are likely to turn around in the next few months.

‘In the past five major housing market corrections (and there were some big ones, such as in the early 1980s when home sales also fell by 50%-60% and prices fell 12%-15% in real terms), every time home sales bottomed, the pace of house-price declines halved within one or two months.’

These improvements dont just mean an improvement in the real estate situation -

‘This is all good news for the broader economy. The housing bust has been subtracting a full percentage point from GDP for almost two years now, which is very large for a sector that represents less than 5% of economic activity.’

I suggest reading all of Mr. Moulle-Berteauxs article here.

It is very rare to read good news these days about the real estate industry.  The majority of the media seems to delight in doing their best to report - or construct - information that does nothing but help to spread the negativity.  Why? Because negativity sells - newspapers that is, not real estate.

I feel like this WSJ article will go a long way toward convincing people that things are - or are about to - improve.

Real estate is cyclic - but when things are bad it’s sometimes hard to remember that.  We cant fix what already happened, but the future is looking pretty bright.

This is one of those things that sounds like a bad joke - until you realize that the person that you’re talking to ISN’T kidding!

Client: “I think I’ll take my home off the market for a little while.”

Me: “Why is that? Have you changed your mind about selling it?”

Client: “Oh no, not at all - I just think that taking it off the market will ________________________________ (fill in the blank with flawed logic).”

Makes absolutely no sense.  There is still quite a bit of Palm Beach Gardens real estate for sale so the only thing this temporary change does is remove ANY chance you have of getting an offer!

Some Sellers think that this is sort of a tease - as if the people that have been tracking their ‘one-in-a-million home’ will feel like they lost out and they need to spring to action!  Not at all.

If the inventory levels were low, this might not be so laughable.  But if your home falls off the list, any potential Buyer will just move on to the next AVAILABLE one.

Remember this - we are still in a Buyers Market and misguided Seller ‘tricks’ like this (and the equally poor ‘Price Increase’) only hurt your chances of selling your home.

This is a Miami Real Estate Market Report for the months of January, February, March and April 2008. It is obvious that some real estate markets are seeing more movement but others remain quiet. If you are thinking of buying Miami real estate, make sure you work with a Miami Realtor that knows the area and the market fluctuations. If you are selling, May should be a great month right before the slow Summer months.

Miami Shores Real Estate Market Report

There are currently 239 listings in Miami Shores: (6 more from last month)

• Highest priced listing is $2,999,000
  
• Lowest priced listing is $199,900
  
• Pending Sales (Properties under contract):12
  
• Closed sales in 2008: 25 (5 of these in April as opposed to 12 in March)

14 of those 25 sales were under $500,000 and the highest sale was $860,000 at 490 NE 96th Street. And as I said last month, ˜this particular house was purchased for $1,508,000 in September 2005¦.talk about a big OUCH for those sellers!!

Bay Harbor Islands Real Estate Market Report

There are currently 19 single-family home listings in Bay Harbor Islands: (one more from last month)

• Highest priced listing is $5,200,000
  
• Lowest priced listing is $575,000
  
• Pending Sales (properties under contract):1
  
• Closed sales in 2008: 0
  

No sales this year in Bay Harbor Islands. That has to be tough for those people that HAVE to move.

Surfside Real Estate Market Report

There are currently 87 single-family home listings in Surfside:(1 less than last month)

• Highest priced listing is $8,000,000
  
• Lowest priced listing is $349,000
  
• Pending Sales (properties under contract): 4 (3 more than last month)
  
• Closed sales in 2008: 8 (1 of them in April)
  

7 of those sales were under $600,000 and the highest at $3.2 million of a bayfront home (1356 Biscaya Drive) purchased in 2002 for $2.2 million.

There are currently 239 condo listings in Surfside: (as compared to 231 last month)

• Highest priced listing: $2,600,000 a 3/3 at Azure
  
• Lowest priced listing: $153,000 a 1/1 at Seaside Terrace Condo
  
• Pending Sales (properties under contract):10 (1 less than last month)
  
• Closed sales in 2008: 12 ( 6 closed sales in the month of April with highest sale at $1,250,000 for a 3/2 at Champlain Towers East and the lowest sale at $173,000 for a 1/1 at 9140 Collins Ave Condo)
  

I love Surfsides density and the 12 story max allowed on the oceanfront condos. If you dont like high-rises, Surfside may be for you. It also has a great close community with shopping and restaurants as well as Bal Harbour Shops within walking distance.

Fisher Island Real Estate Market Report

There are currently 138 listings in Fisher Island: (4 more than last month)

• Highest priced listing: $30,000,000 for an exclusive Oceanside 5/5.5 home with artwork and all!
  
• Lowest priced listing: $275,000 for a 1/1 at Marina Village
  
• Pending Sales: 1 (as compared to 2 last month)
  
• Closed sales in 2008: 4 (1 closing in April - $750,000 for a 1/1 at Seaside Villas)
  

Fisher Island is Fisher Island…no explanation needed.

Aventura Real Estate Market Report

There are currently 2237 condo listings in Aventura: (88 less than last month)

• Highest priced listing: $6,000,000 for a 4/6 at Porto Vita
  
• Lowest priced listing: $81,888 for a 1/1 at Biscayne Lake Gardens
  
• Pending sales: 182 (compared to 134 last month)
  
• Closed sales in 2008: 195 (55 closings in April alone)
  

The highest closed sale this year in Aventura was at Porto Vita for $3,600,000 and the lowest was $59,000 at Commodore Plaza which is a 55 and over community.

Biscayne Park Real Estate Market Report

There are currently 54 single-family listings in Biscayne Park: (4 less than last month)

• Highest priced listing $975,000
  
• Lowest priced listing $190,000
  
• Pending sales (properties under contract):2
  
• Closed sales in 2008: 4 (3 sales in April)
  

The closed sales in Biscayne Park have been $275,000, $300,000, $310,000, $353,000

El Portal Real Estate Market Report

There are 62 listings in El Portal: (1 more than last month)

• Highest priced listing is $925,000
  
• Lowest priced listing $215,000
  
• Pending sales (properties under contract):0 (compared to 2 last month)
  
• Closed sales in 2008: 1
  

The only closed sale this year in El Portal was for $259,000 for a 2 bedroom / 2 bathroom house located at 465 NE 89th Street.

**all information obtained from the SouthEast Florida Multiple Listing Service**