The Real Estate Mango

BELLINI….NEWEST AND LAST HIGH RISE DEVELOPMENT IN WILLIAMS ISLAND

WILLIAMS ISLAND IS BUILDING THE BELLINI ON THE LAST REMAINING RESIDENTIAL SITE AND IT IS A BEAUTY!

I was invited to a presentation breakfast this weekand listened to the descriptions of the units and this is what I came away with.

For those of you who need an exclusive, boutique style building with only 70 residences, this 24 story building is for you!!

These apartments are large, 2300 square feet to 2700 square feet, each with 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 baths.

The top two floors will have extraordinary penthouses that will each encompass nearly 5000 square feet.

Poggenpohl kitchens and marble in baths and granite counters in kitchens, private elevators and 10 foot ceilings and hurricane-rated impact resistant glass,

SO many amenities….24 hour concierge, 2 story lobby, fitness center, media room, Kid’s game room, beautifully landscaped sundeck with resort style pool and spa and a large cabana area, all overlooking the Williams Island Marina.

Bellini will be a wonderful addition to Aventura with completion scheduled for 2013.  Remember the best apartments will be sold first, so if this seems interesting to you, call me as soon as possible to see the property floor plans.

 

WHAT IS MERS AND HOW CAN IT HELP THE HOUSING MARKET?

First, let me define MERS….Mers is an innovative process that simplifies the way mortgage ownership and servicing rights are originated, sold and tracked.  Created by the real estate finance industry, MERS eliminates the need to prepare and record assignments when trading residential and commercial mortgage loans.

NOW THAT WE HAVE DEFINED IT…LET’S UNDERSTAND THE UNDERLYING CONDITION THAT LED TO THIS PROCESS.

The mortgages that are written to this day, are sold to service providers (these are the banks that collect the payments) who ultimately sell them to other service providers.  All this in the effort to make money on these sales.  Finally, these loans are sold to Wall Street firms that package them and sell them as investments.

When homes sales began declining and some were worth half of the original price, many banks could not even locate the original loan in order to make modifications or to prove how much was owed in back payments.  Paper, paper, everwhere and not a piece that was the right one.

MERS COMES IN….THIS IS AN ELECTRONIC  SYSTEM OF TRACKING THE ORIGINAL MORTGAGE NO MATTER WHERE IT WINDS UP. 

Until this system becomes the only way of doing mortgages, we will not get out of the lengthy foreclosures still waiting to be finalized.  Once these mortgages are dealt with and either saved or completely foreclosed and back on the market for sale, the housing slump will hang around for a long time.

The U.S. government would have to make this a mandatory way of doing business for all l banks and mortgage lenders for this to be effective.  Let’s hope this happens!

Just thought you should know.

 

 

 

AVENTURA REAL ESTATE NEWS 2012

First I want to wish all my readers a HAPPY NEW YEAR!  I know it’s a little late but still, it’s still January!

 

There is good news going into 2012….real estate inventories are shrinking.  Every week, we see more and more condos and homes being bought.  In fact, in Golden Pointe, in the Waterways, nine units were sold in the past year after a long dry spell.  These were all waterfront townhouses.

These homes ranged from 1900 square feet to 2500 sq. feet and many of them needed complete updating.  Buyers found them very desirable because of the great location, quiet, yet close to everything.  Also I must mention that another great incentive was the low mortgage interest rates

 

THE NEXT GOOD NEWS IS THAT BUYERS FROM BRAZIL AND CANADA ARE BUYING OUR PROPERTIES QUICKLY BECAUSE BRAZIL IS EXPERIENCING AN ECONOMIC BOOM AND CANADA’S EXCHANGE RATE IS VERY FAVORABLE TO THEM..

According to the latest studies, real estate appreciation will start to show up in the next three years.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel! WHILE PRICES ARE STILL SOFT, NOW IS THE BEST TIME TO BUY!  TAKE A LOOK AT MY INVENTORY AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE AND CALL ME TO SHOW THE ONES YOU WANT TO BUY!!

INTEREST RATES ARE 3.85% TODAY!!! THIS IS TRULY THE BEST TIME TO BUY

Have you been sitting on the fence for years dreaming of that spacious, bright condo or that sprawling glamorous house? Have you been waiting for prices to go even lower…WELL NOW PRICES ARE VERY LOW AND TO TOP IT OFF….INTEREST RATES ARE EXTREMELY LOW.  OWNING YOUR OWN HOME IN TODAY’S MARKET IS A WIN WIN PROPOSITION.

Interest rates today, for a 30 year fixed loan is 3.85 %.  A mortgage of $150k will cost $703 a month.  What can you rent that is in decent shape for $703 a month?    A mortgage 250k will cost $1172 a month.  In Aventura, it costs $1500 a month to rent a two bedroom apartment.

Townhomes in Golden Pointe in Aventura that sold for over $620k several years ago are now selling below $500k.

Prices at The Point of Aventura are on average 15%k less than they were several years ago.

Call me today, tell me what you are dreaming of and let’s go shopping to buy a new home.

 

 

 

 

 

WHO’S BUYING REAL ESTATE IN AVENTURA ?

BRAZILIAN BUYERS are buying real estate here but nearly half of all Brazilian homebuyers in Florida spend less than 200k.  There are a significant number of buyers from Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo that are actually in Miami looking for bargains.  The Brazilian economy is stronger than ever. They are the second largest foreign buyers in Florida.  The first largest buyers are the Canadians.

Canadians represent  the largest foreign buyer demographic in Florida.  They, too, have a strong currency.  Now they expanded their reach across South Florida especially attracted to projects like Canyon Ranch. They used to concentrate their buying solely in Broward County especially Hollywood and Hollywood Beach but now take in Miami, too.

All this is good.  It gives us a needed shot in the arm!

 

 

INVENTORY CONTINUES TO DECLINE IN AVENTURA WHICH IS GOOD NEWS

As you can see, inventory is down quite a bit since last year this time.  Only 1029 properties are on the market compared to 1414 in 2010. This very good news, indeed, for us in Aventura.  You can also see that pending sales are up which indicates more closed sales in the next 60 days.

The average asking price is$ 583K and the average sold price is$ 339K so we have a way to go before prices start to climb again.

So to sum up, the average price per square foot for sold properties os $219K and the average days on the market are 129 days.

These figures are a good guide for pricing your home for sale.  Call me today for information in your particular development.

AVENTURA NEWS AROUND TOWN

TURNBERRY ASSOCIATES DISMISSED FAIRMONT AS THE OPERATOR OF THE TURNBERRY ISLE HOTEL AND RESORT AND WILL TAKE OVER THE DAILY MANAGEMENT ITSELF.

The luxury hotel, a landmark on Country ClubDrive has 392 rooms and a world class golf course.

I’m glad to hear of this development.  It was classier before Fairmont took over.

 

SOUTH FLORIDA HOMES ARE SELLING AT 2002 PRICES!  This fact is according to the S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index.  This is very important when you are thinking of pricing your house or condo in this market.  Keep this as a guide.  I have noticed that areas where there are properties on the market for more than a year have overpriced listings.  If these homes were priced correctly they would have sold long ago.  There are plenty of buyers looking but they pass up the overpriced.

 

 

 

 

INVENTORY OF CONDOS AND SINGLE FAMILY HOMES IN AVENTURA ARE SHRINKING

In July 2010, we had 14.8 months of inventory in Aventura.  Now we have sold off quite a chunk of properties which leaves us with 12.5 months of inventory.  In July of 2010, there were 1,373 properties for sale in Aventura, now there are 1,040.  Good News for obvious reasons.

If the asking prices on our current inventory of properties was more realistic, there would be even more sales to boast of.

It is important to remember this when listing your home for sale in today’s market.

There are buyers out there looking for a good buy, not a steal…just a realistic price that reflects the value of the home!!

GOOD NEWS..PRICES OF PROPERTIES IN AVENTURA ARE RISING!

REAL ESTATE TRENDS IN AVENTURA SHOW DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ASKING PRICES AND SELLING PRICES

AVERAGE ACTIVE PRICE OF ALL PROPERTIES ON THE MARKET IN AVENTURA IS $557K

AVERAGE SOLD PRICE IS $285k

AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET IS 150

SAME TIME A YEAR AGO, THE AVERAGE ACTIVE PRICE ON THE MARKET WAS $501 AND THE AVERAGE SELLING PRICE WAS $360

THE AVERAGE TIME ON THE MARKET WAS 123 DAYS

THE MARKET IN AVENTURA IS STILL EXPERIENCING SOME DIFFICULTY IN GETTING HIGHER PRICES

SELLERS NEED TO PRICE THEIR HOMES AGGRESSIVELY SO THAT BUYERS ARE ATTRACTED TO THEM AND BUY MORE QUICKLY

HOMES THAT ARE OVERPRICED TAKE MUCH LONGER TO SELL!