Very Funny House Showing - Check out video clip.

Although this is a Heinken commercial, it does pertain to real estate.

Miami - Taking a look at historical home prices over time.

Today the average residential sale price (single family and condos combined) in Miami Dade County is $280,000.  Single family home buyers are paying an average of $320,000 for their home, countywide average.

How does that compare to years past?  I ran across an article in our real estate association trade magazine with some interesting stats that I thought you would enjoy hearing about. 

*In the 1960's, the median home sales price in Florida was $9,600., while the population in Miami hit 1 million people. Cuban and other exiles in 1969 comprised of only 178,000 of that number.

* The 1970's median home sales price in Florida was $15,000.

* The 1980's median home sales price in Florida was $45,100.

* The 1990's median home sales price in Florida was $77,100.

* 1996 - Miami Average Sales Prices: Single Family - $137,990, Condo - $103,080.

* 2000 - Miami Average Sales Prices: Single Famiy -  $212,555, Condo - $130,865. Median home sales price in Florida was $105,550.

New Gables Listing - Getting a Lot of Attention $365,000.

I just put this listing on the market on Monday, and have already had 4 showings. While it is a short sale and requires lender approval this is one of the best 2 bedroom / 1 bath (+ Garage) listings currently in Coral Gables as far as price and condition. 

The house has been substantially remodeled with an updated kitchen, refinished hardwood floors, a roof from 2002 and a newer A/C. The back screened portch has been enclosed into a nice family room.

Plenty of room for expansion or to add a swimming pool in this 6,000 SF lot.  More information and pictures can be found on my website at http://www.lisafox.com/ or http://www.thepropertymatchmaker.net/

Moving Truck Needed? Great Source - For Transporting Long or Short Distances.

If you know of anyone looking to make a move - here is a service run by Bill Moncrief.  This service includes transportation of small or large items, just about anything that could fit in his truck pictured above.

Bill is a trustworthy driver, as he is a retired Captain of the Miami-Dade County Fire Department.  This truck has gone within Miami to as near as Boca Raton, and as far as New Jersey - so that's short or long distances.  He has moved cars, furniture, and many other personal items.

Basic service is delivery not including loading and unloading, but some exceptions may apply.  Costs include a calculated gasoline charge based on miles, a driver fee, any road tolls or other job related expenses. 

You could reach Bill via email at bmprn@aol.com, or at 305-926-1006.  Tell him Lisa Fox sent you, or that you saw this blog!

Where Have All The Properties Gone?

Before our eyes, the market is shifting again.  Literally there are few good homes available on the market these days.  We're talking "non-short sales", as most people don't want to fuss with short sales. 

The graph above shows "single family" home data for the City of Coral Gables, properties listed under $1 Million. Year to date, there was a 31.2% decline in single family home listings while sales were up 52% since Nov. '08.

This lack of  good "single family home" inventory makes it a unique time for those sellers who really want to sell to put their property for sale now.  My last two listings / sales to go under contract each went in a bidding war with multiple offers: Old Spanish on Sarria in the Gables and South Miami property sale on 42 ST.

We are seeing similar data in South Miami and surrounding neighborhoods of Coral Gables. In the past 90 days of active listings, 50% of the inventory has either sold or gone under contract! 

If you are considering buying a property, I can't stress enough - now is the time. Carpe Diem!

Three Miami Schools Make "America's Best High Schools Top 100" List

USNews.com has published their "America's Top 100 High Schools" list for the third year in a row, and it is no surprise that three of our best Miami-Dade County Magnet Schools have made the list again. 

Early on the list as #15 is DART, which is the Design and Art Academy located in the Design District.  Also on the top 100 is the New World School of the Arts, ranked #82 as well as Coral Reef Senior High School, #95.  All three of these schools are magnet schools and all focus on the Arts.  This is one more demonstration of how students involved in art and music programs out perform their peers. 

Many of the schools on the top 100 list in general are magnet or advanced placement schools, and gain their ranking partially on the number of students enrolled in AP courses as well as their assessment of the school's perentage of "college readiness". 

There are several other fine high schools in Dade County that are not on this list, but receive accolades and A grades on a local and state level.

Home Sales Continue To Rise - While Inventory Drops - Miami Dade County

Residential property contracts continue to rise in Miami-Dade County.  Although actual closed sales have dropped in the past few months as dipicted by dark green bar, the red line shows properties going under contract to be increasing.  This could be expected as over 1/3 of the properties for sale are "short sales" which typically take longer to close, while often times even falling apart before closing.  This shows the intension of Miami homebuyers is to buy and buy now.

The above graph shows Miami-Dade County data for single family homes only. The trend for SF homes is similar to that of condos except the drop of available home inventory (light green bars) is much more significant than that of condos. While levels are not low enough to drive price increases, we are seeing a lack of good SF home inventory in certain popular Miami areas.  Especially with the high level of short sales in the mix, homebuyers are finding less regular sales to choose from.  Perfect properties priced well sell quickly.

October was and November continues to be a busy month as we are in the midst of the homebuyer tax credit which has been extended through April 2010. The credit now includes current property owners as well as first time homebuyers.  More information is available in an earlier post on this blog site.