Real Estate Today

If I could offer one piece of advise to anyone selling a home right now, it would be this: Don't dwell on the past. Let it go.

It's no secret that the real estate market has taken a substantial hit in the last year-and-a-half. But it's not necessarily a bad thing.

It' s more of a normal market now, as opposed to a market that was off the charts in appreciation when the local and national real estate market peaked in the spring of 2005. Sellers can no longer name their price and expect multiple offers with a fast closing. You'd be lucky if you get one offer let alone two.

The market has dipped, but is far from crashing and I don't expect it to. Today, assuming you have put a good effort in marketing the property it would take 60-90 days to sell as opposed to 15-30 days during the hey days of real estate. That trend is supported by the MLS data.

The key to moving a house as soon as possible in this soft market is establishing a reasonable price. Sellers should compare their homes with those similar to theirs that have sold in the last two or three months, not those of one or two years ago.

As an example you can't say Gee, my neighbor sold his house down the street a year ago for one million dollars, I should get 1.3 million for my house now. That won't happen, you're probably going to sell it for $950,000.

The recent drop in the market is not a bad thing, but rather an inevitable turn for a market of inflated values. This is a much more normal market and one that compares well with historical trends. Ten years ago six to nine months was the norm for days on the market. Where not there now. As long as sellers are willing to be reasonable and patient, they will be able to sell their homes.

For professional advise on all aspects of buying or selling real estate, please contact me at-786-287-9272 -email:Richard@RichardRecuset.com

Richard Recuset-Multi-Million Dollar Producer-The Recuset Group

Know the facts

Even though sales volume began to sputter in 2006, price appreciation contunues in Coral Gables.


In N. Coral Gables (33134 zip code) 2006, Single Family Home median price was $580,000 - +16% from 2005.

2006 Condos, $327,000 - +1% from 2005

In S. Gables (33146 zip code) 2006, Single Family Home median price was $875,000, +17% from 2005.

2006 Condos, $358,000 - +37% from 2005 (WOW!!)


For professional advise on all aspects of buying or selling real estate, please contact me at-786-287-9272 -email:Richard@RichardRecuset.com

Richard Recuset-Multi-Million Dollar Producer-The Recuset Group

Rentals

Remember the rent-to-own ads? Popular during the hyper-interest-rate days of the 1970's. The concept, a way for people to nudge their way into home ownership. Then came low interest rates and strong employment, and the concept went the way of disco. Owning a home became too easy for anyone to even consider leasing.

Now, affordability is an issue again, thanks to escalating housing prices, insurance costs and property taxes. Furthermore, an expected tightening in the lending market may make the creative mortgages of the recent past harder to get.

The upshot: Renting is making a comeback. Home rental rates in Miami have been increasing since last year. Too see why, simply glance at the real estate listings. A typical three-bedroom home in say, Coral Gables, cost about $700,000, bringing monthly mortgage, property tax and insurance payments (assuming a conventional loan and down payment) to upwards of $5,000 a month. Similar homes in the area can be rented for less than $ 2,500.

The increased interest in rentals is coming just as the supply of rental units is on the rise. On the apartment front, rental units had become hard to find in recent years as rental communities converted to condos. Now the trend is reversing.

More than 4,200 units that had converted to condo reverted back to apartments in 2006. In addition, many investors who bought into the slew of new condo developments are expected to become landlords. It is estimated that about 25 to 40 percent of new or converted condo units in Florida will return to the market as rentals.


For professional advise on all aspects of buying or selling real estate, please contact me at-786-287-9272 -email:Richard@RichardRecuset.com

Richard Recuset-Multi-Million Dollar Producer-The Recuset Group

The Good News

It's true that home values in S. Florida are widely expected to head south for the next year or two (with the exception of Coral Gables), but that doesn't mean that buying in Miami would be a bad investment. The days of warp speed house flipping may be over, but in the long run Miami real estate is expected to continue appreciating thanks to a shortage of land(remember, we live in a peninsula), population growth and employment gains.

National and international factors also bode well for the area, including historically low mortgage rates and a weak dollar, which makes real estate in the U.S. more attractive for Europeans, especially once south and central American vacation home prices increase. That will push the German and British vacation-home buyers to think about Florida destination as purchase location.

Then there's the X factor. In Miami, we're always one good Latin American crisis away from a housing boom, and the way things are looking (Cuba, Venezuela), that might just happen sooner than later.


For professional advise on all aspects of buying or selling real estate, please contact me at-786-287-9272 -email:Richard@RichardRecuset.com

Richard Recuset-Multi-Million Dollar Producer-The Recuset Group

Bargain Hunters On Your Mark.....

According to http://www.realtytrac.com/ the foreclosure rate in Miami jumped 97% from the second to the third quarter of 2006.That would be 1 foreclosure per every 91 households.

Back when the going was good foreclosures were hard to come by because people could just refinance or sell before the lender could take it over. The problem now is that there are fewer buyers and a lot of high leverage mortgages out, resulting in an increase in distressed residential real estate.

These distressed properties typically sell at a discount relative to the general market. And as inventories rise, the discounts also rise, according to a study by First American Real Estate Solutions.

Distressed homes during the first half of 2006 sold at a 14 percent discount to their estimated market value. Two years ago the discount on those properties was 12.5 percent.

If foreclosure is staring you in the face, refinance if you can or sell and cut your losses (Chalk it up to the price of doing business.)

For those looking for bargains in Coral Gables, sorry, don't get your hopes too high. This market is very independent of other surrounding markets. Foreclosures do exist like in any other market but are rare. So when you read reports of Florida and Miami, it does not include Coral Gables unless specifically broken down so.

Coral Gables bargain real estate most likely wont be advertised but I can lead you to them.

For professional advise on all aspects of buying or selling real estate, please contact me at-786-287-9272 -email:Richard@RichardRecuset.com

Richard Recuset-Multi-Million Dollar Producer-The Recuset Group

When time is important

Your Realtor has just brought you an offer on your home, and you want to think about it. (OK, you have two seconds, just kidding). You would like your agent to contact the other people who have shown an interest in your home before you respond (are you kidding me, those days are long gone). Whether your home has been listed two days or two years, there is always a temptation to hold out for a bigger offer, and sometimes sellers feel a lot of resistance to making a decision, (rule of thumb-the first offer is usually the best offer).

Some buyers will include a deadline for getting a response to their offer, but even if there isn't a deadline, you should reply to a buyer's offer quickly. The period of time between submitting an offer and receiving a response is a crucial one because the buyers are free to withdraw from the transaction.

Even though they are mentally landscaping your yard and arranging their things in your rooms, they may be afraid that they will get the house and, therefore, are extremely vulnerable to buyers' remorse. So, when you make a commitment, stick to it. (Makes for a good character trait to aquire, if you don't have it already.)

For professional advise on all aspects of buying or selling real estate, please contact me at-786-287-9272 -email:http://www.richard@richardrecuset.com

Richard Recuset-Multi-Million Dollar Producer-The Recuset Group

It's Official

My farewell from wordpress.

After much thought and introspection I’ve decided to move to a new location. Reason being, for me, blogspot seems to be a lot more user friendly than wordpress and typepad. Even-though wordpress seems to have a lot more tools and resources, as well as typepad, I’ve also found it very cumbersome to maneuver.

I sell real estate and that’s where most of my time is allocated. I ‘m not a programmer and have no desire to go through an HTML learning curve. After I spend some more time bloging and learn more about bloging I will then decide what direction to take this endeavor. I don’t see how you can successfully sell real estate and blog, blog, blog. This could be addictive so that’s why I have to focus on selling-a contact sport.

I figure it’s not the bells and whistles (widgets) that makes for a good blog but the content. Content is key. And that will be my focus. A blog that will be informative but entertaining enough that would keep readers reading.

Our goal is to create a community where the best of the best can share ideas in an exciting, fun environment. We will post all comments that support this goal. If you are looking for a venue to be negative, it will not appear in this blog.

So join us on this fun journey by clicking on any of the topics. Visit us daily since there will be new posts at least five days a week with the exception of holidays. If you’re ready to travel in luxury, or just surf on the net, join us for a visit: Coral Gables Real Estate.

For professional advise on all aspects of buying or selling real estate, please contact me at-786-287-9272 -email:Richard@RichardRecuset.com

Richard Recuset-The Recuset Group-Multi-Million Dollar Producer

Perspective Check

Richard Recuset - Multi-Million Dollar Producer-The Recuset Group - 786-287-9272 - email:Richard@RichardRecuset.com

New Office Building

A new Class A office building is to be built in Coral Gables before the end of 2009. Principal Henry Pino for Strategic Properties Group plans to build Andalusia Corporate Plaza, a 17-story, 170,000-square-foot office tower, at 2263 Douglas Road, at the corner of Andalusia Avenue. Officially, that's in Miami, a technicality that allows the group to bypass the height restrictions imposed by the City of Coral Gables.

The site is "about 50 yards from Miracle Mile," Mr. Pino said. Site plans include 500 parking spaces. Rent per square foot would be in the range of $30-$32 triple net. Coral Gables is one of the tightest markets in South Florida. There is very little contiguous space available — 2525 Ponce de Leon, the most recent to be built, has less than 7,000 square feet. This was project was originally slated for condos, but market conditions favor for-lease space. A sign of the times.


Richard Recuset - Multi-Million Dollar Producer-The Recuset Group - 786-287-9272 - email:Richard@RichardRecuset.com

Overvalued Markets

An interesting article (Most overvalued housing markets) identifies the state of Florida as the clear winner with 15 different markets, and yes, Miami made the list with Naples, Fl as the number 1 most overvalued of all.

A great source for those thinking about making a move. The list also includes markets that are undervalued and markets that are just right.

Enjoy!


Richard Recuset - Multi-Million Dollar Producer-The Recuset Group - 786-287-9272 - email:Richard@RichardRecuset.com