Foreign buyers still continue to fuel the South Florida Market
Foreign buyers still continue to fuel the South Florida Market. Miami was the second highest visited market on the web in February – this was according to the National Association of Realtors.
Fort Lauderdale was the fifth most searched market and our nearby nearly Orlando scored out in fourth place. All in all the data places Florida at the top of the most desired location in the US by overseas buyers.
Marinas & Boating in Miami
Marinas and boating amenities across South Florida have been experiencing major improvement and beautification projects; as home buyers with a love for boating flock to our communities. According to a recent article in the Real Deal the Dania Beach Marina has gotten a $7.5 Million face lift; “revitalization and redevelopment” project which will be completed by June this year as announced by the mayor. This same article quotes the Sun Sentinal as stating that several docks are already open for business and 2/3 of the 120 new docks are done. These improvements are sure to benefit the area in property values, amenities offered to residents and those that are visiting South Florida.
Cash Investors re entering the real estate market
An article written Derek Kravitz and Martin Crutsinger for The Associated Press indicated that construction has recently jumped by 14.6 percent; although, single family homes declined by 1%. Over all; the jump is the highest in 20 months. Builders broke ground on an adjusted rate of 596K units.
The article went on to state that the building industry is coming off the worst two years since 1959. To gauge we can look at the fact that in a healthy economy builders have about 1 million starts per year. Therefore, over all the housing market is still struggling.
The majority of the jump was due to many apartment starts. I believe that this is a strong indicator of how much demand there is in the market for rental property housing. As more owners lose their homes to foreclosure we will a further increase in the demand for rental housing.
At South Florida Brokers we have experienced many cash investors re-entering the market in search of condo units and multi-family units with good rental potential. In out rental division we have seen an increase in rentals rates this year as well as a strong tendency of tenants to renew their current lease versus looking elsewhere.
Tips for Selling your Home in Today’s Market (2010)
There is no getting away form the simply fact that we are in a “BUYERS MARKET”. The reality is that foreclosures and short sales are still increasing at a drastic rate. As we all know simple economics will dictate that the more supply we have the less likely we are to have demand catch up which will naturally drop prices. Well, although this puts sellers in a tough position, sellers should not throw their hands up in the air. There are many things a seller can do to help move their home is such a tough environment.
Here are some tips for selling your home:
1. Do not wait around for a recovery or major turn in the market – The harsh reality is that home values will more than likely not see a drastic increase or even a nominal increase any time soon. Keep in mind that if you are selling and subsequently buying, what ever you feel you are leaving on the table by selling lower you will probably pick up on your purchase as you will then be the buyer.
2. Make Improvements – Due to the economy, many repairs are much cheaper to make now. Contractors are giving create deals and with the slow down in building materials are also relatively cheap. So make your home different form the competition.
3. Hire professionals – Dont give the work to a friend or family just because they are a friend or family. Be sure that your broker has experience and will market the property to the fullest potential, remember your broker is your marketing partner. The same goes for whomever may make improvements to the property. Ask for credentials and experience.
4. Make sure you know about buyer assistance programs – Make sure that you broker is well versed in the first time home buyer tax credit for example. Your broker needs to be able to make suggestions to all prospective buyers for financing and government assistance.
5. Price the property properly – A property will sell if it is priced properly, especially if your property is not a foreclosure or a short sale. Your broker will be able to assist with this by providing a comparative marketing analysis.
6. Clean up the look – Remember buyers want to picture themselves in the home. Therefore, very specific decor or excessive knick – knacks will take away form the buyer’s experience. Keep the decor simple and the personal items out of sight as much as possible.
Please feel free to contact us or visit our website additional tips on listing, marketing and selling your property.
South Florida Brokers & Associates, Inc.
Real Estate for 2010…. what’s going to happen
Tax Credit
Most of the professionals in the business would probably agree that although 2009 did show some signs of recovery in the housing market they certainly look forward to new year with new hopes. Well, there is some good news on the horizon along with some positive indicators.
I recently read a message written by NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun (Personally I have always found his analysis very reliable and I would even say that he tends to be conservative with his predicted numbers):
The end of 2009 did show higher sales compared to the rest of the year; however, Mr. Yun and other economist will say that most of this movement was due to folks running out to beat the tax credit expiration. Now with the new deadline not threatening until mid 2010; Mr. Yun is predicting heavier activity for spring and early summer due to the tax credit expiration.
So, we have seen lowered near bottomed prices and we are still seeing historically low-interest rates and in addition we are (as buyers) enjoying high levels of inventory and motivated sellers and not to mention a great government incentive program. It really is the best time to BUY. So what is holding this housing market back??? According to Mr. Yun the answer lies in the job market.
Unemployment is still looming at a very high rate of 10% and although there are sectors which are having job gains the reality is that the unemployment rate is still expected to climb a bit more.
Mr. Yun’s opinion and stats show that the private sector is still very hesitant to move forward with hiring new employees. Instead, company’s are placing additional pressure on their current employees to increase production and they are resorting to the temp job market. With that said the temp job market has seen increases; hopefully signaling new permanent jobs in the future.
With all this taken into account we should certainly see a boost in the housing market provided that the job market picks up. We have a formula for success and a recovery!
For career opportunities with South Florida Brokers & Associates please visit our website.
2009 was a great year for Condo Sales in Downtown Miami
According to a recent article in the Miami Herald 2009 was a pretty good year for condo sales in the Downtown Miami area. The article expresses that buyers snatched up good deals at a rate of 7 condos per day. In my opinion this is extremely impressive in light of the downturn in the real estate market in recent years. The article goes on to describe a possible reason for the buying frenzy, that is developer slashing of prices by roughly 33% from an average of 300 per square foot to 200 per square foot. We ourselves can say that we have seen many sales closing in our office in this 200 per square foot for condos off the ocean (areas such as Downtown, Brickell and even Aventura).
However, I don’t believe this means we are out of the woods yet. I also read another report where realty track is depicting the foreclosure filing shooting up by 21%. This may keep the inventory at high levels, meaning good news for buyers who will be able to shop in a market that will still have great deals due to high inventory, but hopefully in a recovering real estate market.
Take a look at the great priced unit available in Downtown Miami and Brickell areas.
South Florida Brokers & Associates, Inc.