newest Luxury R.E. Closing in So Florida !!

Fisher Island condo sells for $5.1 million.

A condominium at 5311 Fisher Island Drive on Miami Beach’s Fisher Island has been sold for $5.1 million, according to data from real estate information firm StreetEasy. The 6,881-square-foot, five-bedroom, five-bathroom unit, which was built in 1991, was last purchased in 2005 for $2.8 million. The sellers were Hector and Clara Collado. The buyer was Elena Temnikov. — Alexander Britell

Home on Harbor Drive in Key Biscayne unloaded for $7.5 million. 

The home at 890 Harbor Drive in Key Biscayne has been sold for $7.5 million, according to data from real estate information firm StreetEasy. The four-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom property was sold by 890 Harbor Drive, a limited liability company. The buyers were Eduardo and Angela Barco. The 7,848-square-foot home, which was built in 1982, is located on a 0.39-acre lot. It was last sold in April 2006 for $10.5 million, according to public records.

Ocean Club penthouse sells for $3.2M
A penthouse at Key Biscayne’s Ocean Club complex has sold for $3.15 million, The three-bedroom, five-bathroom, 3,600-square-foot penthouse is located at the Ocean Club’s Tower 1 at 789 Crandon Boulevard. The property features two floors, with the upper floor including a 700-square-foot family room. The property had been listed at $3.2 million. — Alexander Britell

** from The Real Deal....South Florida magazine

Luxury homes selling 50 percent over last year !

 

Not only have sale prices for existing homes and builder confidence risen in recent months, but sales of high-end homes have exploded, year-over-year, according to data from the National Association of Realtors cited by NBC News. Sales of homes priced above $750,000 grew 50 percent from a year ago, even as sales of the lowest-end homes, which are largely distressed, fell 4 percent, according to the realtor group.
The surge of pricey home sales has even pushed the median home price nationally to $180,600 — a 10.1 percent increase from November of 2011. However, NAR defined median as half of homes selling higher than $180,600 and half selling lower, which does not compare the sale prices of homes selling now to similar homes selling a year ago, but to the median of all sale prices nationally, skewing the number toward which types of homes are selling.
“An increase in the median price has a direct effect on the economy and economic growth,” Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ chief economist, said. [NBC News] –Christopher Cameron

** from the So Florida RE Magazine

HO...HO...HO...Great time to LIST your Luxury Property (ies) !!

Contact us for a strategic market analysis.

Esperanza Franky "espie"
Realtor
Member of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing
Certified Strategic Marketing Specialist

"Selling Miami Estates" team with One Premier International Realty

Cell: 305.283.5868
Visit our Blog: www.sellingmiamiestates.com

Marketing Florida Real Estate at the Highest Level !

median sales price of S.F.H. rose 15.9 percent.....

 

The median sales price of condominiums in Miami rose 31.7 percent in November year over year, the 17th straight month of appreciation for the condo sector, according to a new report from the Miami Association of Realtors. The median sales price of single-family homes rose 15.9 percent. It was the 12th consecutive month of appreciation for condos and single-family homes. “It appears the Miami real estate market will set another record in 2012, exceeding sales levels at the height of the boom in 2005 and during the all-time record in 2011,” said 2012 Chairman of the Board of the Miami Association of Realtors. “Considering the shortage of housing inventory available, it is remarkable that sales remain this strong. This record demand coupled with extremely limited supply is driving strong and consistent price appreciation.” Sales activity grew by 23 percent in November.

**Extracts from The Real Deal, South Florida RE magazine

Thinking about Listing, give us a call for a confidential market strategic analysis today !

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ,

Esperanza Franky "espie"
Realtor
Member of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing
Certified Strategic Marketing Specialist

"Selling Miami Estates" team with One Premier International Realty

Cell: 305.283.5868

RE Luxury CLosed South Miami _ November 2012

Market Analysis Report

Property Type: Single Family (RE1) Status: Closed Sale Number of Properties: 3

#Beds #FBaths SF/FF List Price LP$/SqFt Sale Price SP$/SqFt SP$/LP$ Days on Market High 5 6 3,348 $1,495,000 $1,245 $1,425,000 $1,187 99.37 183 Low 4 3 1,201 $639,000 $191 $625,000 $187 95.32 0 Average 4.33 4.33 2,266.33 $974,667 $596 $945,000 $574 97.5 65.67 Median 4 4 2,250 $790,000 $351 $785,000 $349 97.81 14

Search Criteria
Status	CS
County	DADE
City Name	SMIAMI
List Price	between 500,000 -
Closing Date	between 11/1/2012 -

Report time: 12/19/2012 6:31 PM

Call us for a confidential market analysis, lets start a Prosperous 2013 together !

Esperanza Franky "espie"
Realtor
Member of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing
Certified Strategic Marketing Specialist

"Selling Miami Estates" team with One Premier International Realty

Cell: 305.283.5868
Visit our Blog: www.sellingmiamiestates.com

Marketing Florida Real Estate at the Highest Level !

November Coral Gables Luxury RE Market report

Days on Market Report

Property Type: Single Family (RE1) Status: Closed Sale Number of Properties: 38

0-30 Days 31-60 Days 61-90 Days 91-120 Days 120+ Days No. of Listings 11 3 5 4 15 Breakdown % 28.95% 7.89% 13.16% 10.53% 39.47% Avg % SP/LP 98.21% 98.57% 88.92% 91.79% 91.86%

Market Analysis Report

Property Type: Single Family (RE1) Status: Closed Sale Number of Properties: 38

#Beds #FBaths SF/FF List Price LP$/SqFt Sale Price SP$/SqFt SP$/LP$ Days on Market High 7 7 6,901 $4,800,000 $696 $4,100,000 $594 110 531 Low 2 2 1,610 $500,000 $169 $500,000 $130 68.29 2 Average 4.13 3.45 3,601.37 $1,438,313 $370 $1,323,684 $344 93.83 149.74 Median 4 3 3,188 $962,500 $334 $862,500 $318 93.77 96

Call us for a confidential market analysis, lets start a Prosperous 2013 together !

Esperanza Franky "espie"
Realtor
Member of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing
Certified Strategic Marketing Specialist

"Selling Miami Estates" team with One Premier International Realty

Cell: 305.283.5868
Visit our Blog: www.sellingmiamiestates.com

Marketing Florida Real Estate at the Highest Level !

great Interest rates for Jumbo Loans!!

 

U.S. mortgage applications rise, as interest rates reach historic lows

December 12, 2012 03:00PM

The number of mortgage applications during the week ending December 7 increased 6.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis and 6 percent on an unadjusted basis, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced today.
The Refinance Index grew 8 percent from last week, reaching its highest level since the week ending October 12, 2012, while the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index grew by 1 percent from one week earlier. Unadjusted, however, the Purchase Index fell 4 percent from last week, but was 4 percent higher year-over-year. The share of refinancing activity increased to 84 percent of total applications. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity held at 3 percent of total applications.
“Continued uncertainty due to the lack of resolution regarding the fiscal cliff led interest rates lower last week, with mortgage rates reaching a new low in our survey,” Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics, said. “Refinance activity increased, with the refinance index hitting its highest level in two months, and the refinance share reaching its highest level since January 2009. Applications for purchase increased for the fifth consecutive week, and are running almost 10 percent above their level at this time last year.”
Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans with conforming balances decreased 3.47 percent, the lowest rate in the history of the survey, from 3.52 percent. Jumbo loan rates decreased to 3.77 percent from 3.79 percent. Rates for Federal Housing Administration-backed 30-year fixed-rate loans decreased to 3.32 percent, the lowest rate in the history of the survey, from 3.34 percent — Christopher Cameron
**from  The Real Deal, South Florida Real Estate News

South Florida residential inventory

South Florida residential inventory

December 04, 2012 04:30PM

Compiled by Condo Vultures Realty using the South Florida Shared Multiple Listing Service. Active listings are properties where no current sale contract exists; pending sales are properties in which a contract for sale has been executed, but not yet closed. Listing brokers control the status of a property listing. — Christopher Cameron

** from The Real Deal _ South Florida Real Estate magazine
 

The high-end home's newest great room....??

The Kitchen That Ate the House

The high-end home's newest great room features plush furniture, fireplaces, multiple flat screens—and a few carefully hidden appliances. Just look for the cook's dirty secret in the next room.

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By CANDACE JACKSON

Some buyers feel that parties always end up in the kitchen, so why not cut to the chase, and design a kitchen large and attractive enough to become a party venue itself? Photo: Jeff Elson

Earlier this year, builder/architect Mohamed Hadid put the final touches on a 5,000-square-foot space in Beverly Hills, Calif., with whitewashed oak and limestone floors, hand-carved crystal chandeliers, two flat-screen televisions, a dining table that can seat 16 and a large couch overlooking a sleek gas fireplace. The space, which opens to manicured gardens outside, isn't a new estate home. It's a kitchen.
Long the de facto central gathering space of the home, the kitchen has ballooned in size in recent years to become the new great room. At the highest end, some are over 3,000 square feet, outfitted with walk-in refrigeration rooms, multiple seating areas, wet bars and fireplaces, with fixtures and décor intentionally designed to look like hip living rooms. In some cases, much of the actual cooking is being relegated to a second, smaller kitchen space, so that the main kitchen can be used for entertaining—minus the unsavory dirty dishes or cooking smells.

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A kitchen-dining area in Malibu, Calif., was designed by architect Doug Burdge; the home is listed for $26 million.

"The hierarchy of the home is changing," says Mick De Giulio, a Chicago-based designer who is currently working on a 1,500-square-foot kitchen in a client's roughly 5,000-square-foot Detroit Lakes, Minn., weekend home. "People's lives today are more kitchen-centric than ever before."
According to the National Association of Home Builders, the average floor area of the kitchen has increased by about 50% from 1973 to 2007, when the average kitchen size topped out at 303 square feet, or about 12% of a home's overall space. Though it decreased slightly during the housing downturn, to 298 square feet, the amount of floor space dedicated to kitchens showed an uptick in the fourth quarter of 2011 amid the housing market's tepid recovery, according to the American Institute of Architects Home Design Trends Survey.

 

IN THE OPEN | This kitchen at 700 sq. feet by the New Home Company features hardwood floors and a large center island.

The trend is partly driven by a shift toward a more casual lifestyle, where people often want to prepare food with company either watching or helping them cook the meal. Joanne Hudson, a Philadelphia-based kitchen designer, says she also attributes the trend to more people cooking at home for health reasons—as well as wanting to show off the latest in increasingly pricey commercial-grade home cooking appliances.

As a result, builders and architects say space they once allotted to formal living rooms and dining rooms is now reserved for the kitchen-centric great room. Jeffrey Collé, a Hamptons-based designer/builder, says his latest custom homes include "country kitchens," open spaces that include large casual living rooms. One house he has on the market for $8.95 million in Wainscott, N.Y., has a nearly 1,400-square-foot kitchen great room with hardwood floors, a fireplace and informal family and dining area, as well as a pantry, powder room and outdoor cooking area.

** from the Blog of The Institute For Luxury Home Marketing

Happy Holidays to All

I will be available all season, feel free to contact me for a confidential market analysis !

Esperanza Franky "espie"
Realtor
Member of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

dir: 305-283-5868

email: espiefranky@gmail.com

twitter:  @espiefranky

This is the time to purchase RE in Paris, France !

""Tax-fleeing French Create Home Buying Opportunities

Posted: 27 Nov 2012 01:48 PM PST

“Au revoir” is what many wealthy French property owners are saying to France as they flee to avoid the government’s proposed 2013 revenue squeeze on the wealthy. With a possible 75% tax rate on salaries above $1.3 million, plus increases on capital gains, many affluent are selling their French residences and moving to tax friendlier locales. Others are poised to s ell if the tax hikes take effect as expected. As a result, inventory in the high-end of France’s housing market is increasing. For buyers who are not primary residents of France, this is a boom. They won’t be subject to the punishing taxes, have more residences to choose from, and growing inventory levels may cause prices to soften. If you have affluent clients who dream of a French chateau or an apartment overlooking the rooftops of Paris, now may be the time to suggest they shop for a second home in France. Can you say “bargain price” in French? Try “prix d'occasion.”""

 * from The Institute For Luxury Home Marketing !

Need to refer a client to France? Give me a call, i work international real estate through my international  network with agents around the world on Proxio, the international MLS.

All the Best,
Esperanza Franky "espie"
Realtor
Member of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing
Certified Strategic Marketing Specialist

"Selling Miami Estates" team with One Premier International Realty

Cell: 305.283.5868    
Follow us on Twitter:  @espiefranky