What to do.....Buy or Rent ?

What to Do This Year: Rent or Buy a Home? RISMEDIA, Friday, June 22, 2012— Today is a tempting time to buy a home with interest rates and prices at their lowest levels in years. Deciding whether to buy or rent can be complicated, and potential homebuyers have a lot to consider this summer. As part of National Homeownership Month, the American Bankers Association came up with these key questions to help shoppers make wise financial choices when considering buying a home. 1. How much can you afford to put down? Can you afford the monthly payment? A mortgage down payment of 5 to 20 percent of the selling price is typical, but can vary depending on the situation. The size of the down payment will impact the monthly cost. Assess your financial health, determine how large of a down payment you can afford and consider if you can then afford the monthly cost. 2. What other debt do you have? Consider all of your current and expected financial obligations and ensure you are able to make all the payments. Aim to keep total rent or mortgage payments plus other credit obligations fewer than 35 to 40 percent of your monthly income. If you can't keep payments below that, you may be better off renting for a while or searching for a more affordable home. 3. What is my credit score? Can I qualify for a good interest rate? A high credit score indicates strong creditworthiness, which qualifies you for better interest rates on a mortgage. Maxing out your credit lines and paying bills late will lower your credit score, and the impact of a credit score on interest rates can be significant. For instance, a borrower with a score of 760 could pay nearly 2 percentage points less in interest than someone with a score of 620. That equates to over $3,000 less in mortgage payments each year. If your credit score is low, you may want to delay buying a home and take steps to raise your score. 4. How much will taxes, monthly maintenance or other fees cost? Owning a home means you will have to pay real estate taxes and other costs like insurance and maintenance. However, owning a home can bring tax savings at the end of the year. Remember to factor in these costs and incentives. Renters have neither these costs, nor tax advantages. 5. How many years will I stay here? Generally, the longer you plan to live someplace, the more it makes sense to buy. Over time, you can build equity in your house where renters do not. Yet, renters have greater flexibility to move as they don't have to worry about finding new tenants. ** info from  RISMedia, The Leader in Real Estate Information Systems and Real Estate News. Prudential Florida Realty Whatever your decision might be, call Us for a confidential market analysis ! All the Best, Esperanza Franky “espie” Realtor Member of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing. SellingMiamiEstates team Prudential Florida Realty Cellular: 305.283.5868 _ Facebook: sellingmiamiestates _ Twitter: @espiefranky Confidentiality our Commitment....Real Estate our Passion !

Its a Great Time to List your Riviera property...only 34 Active SFH !!

Its a Great Time to List your Riviera property, the following is the "dimishished Active Inventory" in our market.

Property Type: Single Family (RE1) Status: Active-Available Number of Properties: 34

Price Range Quantity Summary List Price Sale Price $149,999 or under 0 High $7,450,000 $0 $150,000 - $199,999 0 Low $549,900 $0 $200,000 - $249,999 0 Average $1,737,694 $0 $250,000 - $299,999 0 Median $812,450 $0 $300,000 - $349,999 0 $350,000 - $399,999 0 $400,000 - $449,999 0 $450,000 - $499,999 0 $500,000 - $549,999 1 $550,000 - $599,999 4 $600,000 - $699,999 6 $700,000 - $799,999 5 $800,000 - $899,999 2 $900,000 - $999,999 1 $1,000,000 or over 15 Total 34

** Information from MIAMI ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS.


Call us for a Confidential Market Analysis !!

We appreciate Your Business,

Esperanza Franky “espie” Realtor

Member of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing.

SellingMiamiEstates team

Prudential Florida Realty

Cellular: 305.283.5868 _ Blog: www.rivieracoralgables.com _Facebook: sellingmiamiestates _ Twitter: @espiefranky

Confidentiality our Commitment....Real Estate our Passion !

Coral Gables home sells for $11 million !!!!

Coral Gables home sells for $11 million

June 18, 2012 11:15AM

485 Leucadendra in Coral Gables

An eight-bedroom, nine-bathroom home at 485 Leucadendra Drive in Coral Gables has sold for $11 million. The 10,916-square-foot property, which has 450 feet of waterfront, transacted in 90 days, according to Brokers. The seller of the property was Debra Wechsler, according to Miami-Dade County records. She purchased the home in 2004 for $8.5 million. The buyer was not disclosed — Alexander Britell

Info from: 

 

Return of the bidding war for South Florida homes

Return of the bidding war for South Florida homes

By Martha Brannigan

info from:: Miami Herald. Sunday June 17, 2012

With the inventory for sale sharply down, well-priced properties are selling fast, sometimes fetching multiple bids;

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/16/2853177/return-of-the-bidding-war-for.html#storylink=cpy

When John and Edna Deluccia went house hunting to upgrade from their Fort Lauderdale condo, they experienced the new frenzy in the South Florida home market.

“One unit I bid on, a bank foreclosure, went for $480,600 — $94,000 over the asking price,” said John Deluccia, a 39-year-old insurance agent with SWBC. “I bid $10,000 over, and I wasn’t even in the running in the top eight.”

Put simply, lots of people are eager to buy a place in South Florida and fewer are willing to sell.

Say hello again to multiple sales contracts, bids coming in above asking prices, and sellers calling the shots with demands for cash only, quick closings and commitments to buy regardless of whether an appraisal confirms the selling price.

As the summer house-hunting season hits full tilt, a buzz of energy is swirling around South Florida real estate for the first time in years.

“Anything in a desirable area that is priced right is moving so fast, it’s basically a frenzy,” said Deluccia, who eventually found a luxury condo at The Beach Club Hallandale. When he and his wife listed their old place for sale, the oceanfront condo on tony Galt Ocean Mile was under contract the same day, he said.

“People know this real estate crisis is coming to an end, and the market is at a bottom,” said Deluccia, who did extensive research on condovultures.com and trekked with his broker through a string of 10 or more properties all over Broward before nailing a good deal.

LESS INVENTORY

Driving the market shift is a sharp contraction in the inventory of homes for sale in South Florida. According to EWM Realty International, the inventories of single-family homes and condos for sale in Miami-Dade and Broward counties have hit their lowest levels in more than six years.

The inventory of single-family homes on the Multiple Listings Service in Miami-Dade plummeted to 4,836 in April, down 72 percent from 17,070 in July 2008, when the selection peaked. In April, Broward’s single-family inventory similarly had dwindled 69 percent to 4,438 homes listed from 14,489 in April 2008.

With some South Florida home prices sliced in half from their peak, there are a lot more people who think it’s a smart time to buy than those who think it’s a smart time to sell.

“We’re not going to sell as many homes in 2012 as we did in 2011 because we don’t have enough inventory to meet the demand,” said Ron Shuffield, president of EWM, who said the tight inventory is a classic scenario for prices to rise.

One factor in the shortage: The region has one of the highest rates of homes under water — meaning owners owe more than they could get for them. There is certainly no incentive for those folks to rush to sell when the market appears to be turning up.

Many signs suggest the South Florida market has stabilized after the wrenching upheaval of recent years. Home prices rose 2.5 percent in metropolitan Miami between March 2011 and March 2012, according to S&P’s Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, even as U.S prices overall fell 1.9 percent year over year.

Low-end appraisals

A big problem for those financing purchases: Appraisals are coming in below the agreed-upon prices. That’s because they rely on historical data and trail the market.

The lower appraisals mean buyers have to ante up larger down payments, because banks won’t lend as much.

“Many houses are selling above the appraisals. Many buyers are learning that if they balk, they lose the house because others are willing to make up the difference out of their own pockets,” said Mauricio Bara, a Coldwell Banker broker and member of the Master Brokers Forum, who sells heavily in Coral Gables and its surrounding areas.

Herald Business Editor Jane Wooldridge, Business Monday Editor Rochelle Koff and staff writers Douglas Hanks, Hannah Sampson, Elaine Walker and Ina Paiva Cordle contributed to this report.

ITS THE BEST TIME TO LIST YOUR PROPERTY !!!!

Call Us for a Confidential Market Analysis, and let Us show You how we can help !

Esperanza  Franky  “espie”
Realtor

Member of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing.

SellingMiamiEstates Team

Prudential Florida Realty

Cellular: 305.283.5868    l       E-mail: espiefranky@gmail.com
Blog:www.rivieracoralgables.com   l     Facebook: sellingmiamiestates

Twitter:sellingmiamiestates  l     Website: www.sellingmiamiestates.com

Confidentiality our Commitment....Real Estate our Passion !

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/16/v-fullstory/2853177/return-of-the-bidding-war-for.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/16/2853177/return-of-the-bidding-war-for.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/16/2853177/return-of-the-bidding-war-for.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/16/2853177/return-of-the-bidding-war-for.html#storylink=cpy

Market analysis report for June 18th 2012

Dear Riviera neighbor, in the following statistical reports you will see OUR Real Estate market movement for the previous months.

As i always advice my customers, if the property is correctly priced, it should be able to be under contract within 60 days !!...and even get Multiple offers for it!!

When multiple offers are received, we have the possibility of even selling Our property over listing price. The final clear advantage is that the Higher the sales contracts come in, then the Higher Net for YOU  :-)

.....and a satisfied customer $$ will always bring nice referrals, that is the way I see this business!

Feel free to contact me anytime for a detail confidential market analysis for your particular property.

Market Analysis Report

Property Type: Single Family (RE1) Status: Closed Sale, Pending Sale Number of Properties: 25

#Beds #FBaths SF/FF List Price LP$/SqFt Sale Price SP$/SqFt SP$/LP$ Days on Market High 6 7 7,822 $4,650,000 $716 $4,200,000 $636 100.9 628 Low 3 1 1,409 $399,000 $212 $510,000 $208 80 0 Average 4 3.16 3,170.64 $1,324,540 $373 $1,417,259 $361 92.53 146.88 Median 4 3 2,760 $775,000 $326 $830,000 $311 92.34 61

Status	Pending Sale & Closed Sales
County	DADE
Area	41
Closing Date	between 3/15/2012 -
Map Shape 1 (Polygon)	25.707047541342817

Price Analysis Report

Property Type: Single Family (RE1) Status: Closed Sale, Pending Sale Number of Properties: 25

Price Range Quantity Summary List Price Sale Price $149,999 or under 0 High $4,650,000 $4,200,000 $150,000 - $199,999 0 Low $399,000 $510,000 $200,000 - $249,999 0 Average $1,324,540 $1,417,259 $250,000 - $299,999 0 Median $775,000 $830,000 $300,000 - $349,999 0 $350,000 - $399,999 1 $400,000 - $449,999 1 $450,000 - $499,999 1 $500,000 - $549,999 2 $550,000 - $599,999 2 $600,000 - $699,999 4 $700,000 - $799,999 3 $800,000 - $899,999 0 $900,000 - $999,999 1 $1,000,000 or over 10 Total 25

All the Best,

Esperanza Franky “espie” Realtor

Member of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing.

Prudential Florida Realty

Cellular: 305.283.5868 l E-mail: espiefranky@gmail.com
Blog: www.rivieracoralgables.com l Facebook: sellingmiamiestates

Twitter: sellingmiamiestates l Website: www.sellingmiamiestates.com

Confidentiality our Commitment....Real Estate our Passion ! 

Canadians are cashing in on the Miami condo market

June 07, 2012 04:30PM

Indians, Scandinavians and now Canadians are benefitting from the recovering Miami condo market, the Canadian Real Estate Magazine reported. As The Real Deal previously reported, Canadians were the largest foreign buyer percentage-wise in Florida in 2011, and they are often paying cash – 65 percent of sales in Miami last quarter were all cash, double the national figure of 32 percent. Now, many of those investments are paying off, with statistics from the National Association of Realtors showing forward momentum in the Miami market. The median condo sales prices was up 46 percent in March, year-over-year. “The fact that Miami home prices have significantly increased for four consecutive months indicates prices have bottomed and have caught up with sales levels,” said Martha Pomares, chairwoman of the board of Miami Association of Realtors. [Canadian Real Estate Magazine]

Miami real estate shift “an amazing turnaround”

Federal reserve official: Miami real estate shift “an amazing turnaround”

June 07, 2012 09:45AM

Dennis Lockhart

Miami’s real estate market has seen “an amazing turnaround,” according to Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart, the Miami Herald reported. “In 2008 and 2009, what I was hearing was condo towers essentially being empty,” he said at a business sector meeting in Broward County Wednesday. “When someone says something good about Miami, you get some head scratching. People are surprised at how quickly things have turned around in Miami.” It’s been cash buyers and investors that have helped Miami’s real estate boom, the Fed said in its most recent Beige Book. “It’s an amazing turnaround,” Lockhart said. [Miami Herald]
* from THE REAL DEAL. South Florida Real Estate News

Miami pending sales rise 5 percent....

Miami pending sales rise 5 percent
The total number of residential listings in Miami that pended last month increased 5 percent compared to the same period in 2011, according to the Miami Association of Realtors.
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