South Beach Real Estate including Miami Beach and Bal Harbour

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March 2012 Newsletter

 

Sean Greco – Realtor®, CIPS, CDPE, CLHMS, GREEN Certified, TRC, REOS
Designations and Certifications are explained at the end of the newsletter

RE/MAX Paradise 
930 Washington Ave. Suite 206
Miami Beach, FL 33139
Cell: 786-877-9220

Web: propertiesandparadise.com or remax.com


Hello from Miami Beach,
 
I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I have opened my own Real Estate Brokerage. After much time, consideration and due diligence - I have decided to align my business and personal principles - including but not limited to excellent customer service, market knowledge and work ethic - with the most powerful, world-renowned Real Estate Brand in the world, RE/MAX. So this newsletter is the introduction of RE/MAX Paradise...

PLEASE REMEMBER TO CHANGE THE EMAIL ADDRESS YOU HAVE FOR ME, THE CORRECT EMAIL ISseangreco@gmail.com - IT IS VITAL YOU UPDATE YOUR DATABASE WITH THIS NEW EMAIL; I MAY NOT GET EMAILS SENT TO MY PREVIOUS OFFICE EMAIL ADDRESS.

The data is still included, you can scroll down to see it below. Data has been graphed, as always - for your analytical pleasure! But, I feel it is important to expand a bit on the power of RE/MAX - and how this change will affect my customers in a more beneficial and positive way, more than they will probably ever know!

RE/MAX is America’s #1 Real Estate Network

Thanks to people like you, RE/MAX is the top choice of Americans buying and selling real estate.
•Most real estate sold.
•Most productive agents.
•Most recognized name in real estate.
•Most Share of Voice in national TV advertising.*
•Most visited real estate franchise website (remax.com).**
•Most professional designations earned by agents.
•Most countries served, far more than most competitors.

*Source: Nielsen Monitor-Plus / A25-54 GRPs Unequivalized for 2011.
**Source: Compete.com, Hitwise, ComScore for 6-month period through Dec. 2011. 

Sales/Experience
• Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX.
• RE/MAX agents have the experience to get the job done in today's market.
• RE/MAX Associates average more sales than other real estate agents.
• RE/MAX Associates have more real estate sales experience than other real estate agents.
• RE/MAX has the most productive sales force in real estate.
Advertising/Brand
• Billions of dollars have been spent promoting the RE/MAX brand and agents.
• RE/MAX is the most recognized name in real estate.
• When you join RE/MAX you're receiving the benefit of billions of dollars of advertising that have made RE/MAX the real estate leader it is today.
• RE/MAX dominated national TV advertising in 2011, reaching more viewers than all other real estate brands combined.
• In 2011, RE/MAX dominated national TV advertising, with a 57-percent Share of Voice, for viewers 25-54.
• When consumers find real estate online, "remax" is the most used search term among real estate brokerages.
remax.com
• Millions of buyers and sellers visit remax.com for their real estate needs.
• remax.com is the most visited real estate franchise Web site.*
*ComScore, Compete.com and Hitwise for 6-month period ending Dec. 31, 2011
• remax.com shows all of the listings in thousands of cities and towns.
Countries
• RE/MAX is in over 80 countries, more than any of its competitors.
Hot Air Balloon
• The RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon fleet is the largest in the world.
General
• RE/MAX agents make up less than 2 percent of real estate agents, but account for more than 12 percent of all agents' sales.
• RE/MAX offers support and services not available at other real estate companies.
• RE/MAX leads the industry in professional designations.
• RE/MAX has more Certified Residential Specialists than anybody else.
(Same claim can be made for ABR, CDPE, SRES and CRP designations.)
• Each year, RE/MAX agents help hundreds of thousands of families buy or sell a home.

Here is the regular portion of this newsletter that is hand selected data that I track every month, in the very specific market in which I practice. This data is for Miami Beach (South Beach, Mid Beach and North Beach), Fisher Island, Bal Harbour, Surfside and Bay Harbor Islands. Some observations:

  • The trend of percentage of active inventory selling over percentage of active inventory expiring has continued for a full year now for condos and 11th month in a row for single family homes; seems like this trend is normal.
  • Inventory of active condos currently listed for sale has hit an all time low this month...again...at 2,090 units - taking out last month's low; This absorption of inventory seems to be happening in all of Florida, Miami-Dade county, and right on down to our local level within the municipalities for which this data is monitored, you will see an article below which expands on some figures. I began tracking this data at the beginning of 2008.

The below data is broken down by price ranges in order to be even more relevant to you, and you can click here for graphs of the data points that are extremely helpful to analyze trends in the market place. Please make note of these trends over time as this will be important regarding the purchase or sale of a property to your benefit. Also, it is more important than ever to look carefully at what the data tells you for this local market, every local market is its own and can differ greatly from a nearby market. Please make your own decisions about this market, it is a unique market with domestic and international appeal, and I will tell you it is a lively one! It can differ from one building to another.
 
The below chart is data from the past 90 days for Condominiums, ending 02/29/12. The data is taken from South East Florida’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for the cities and townships of Miami Beach (South Beach, Mid Beach, & North Beach), Surfside, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, and Fisher Island.  The paragraph below the data will explain in more detail what is included in this analysis. Please don’t hesitate to pose any questions you may have, or simply give me a call or send me an email to discuss Real Estate in general. This data will help to analyze market conditions from month to month.

Price Range

Active

Closed

Listings Expired

% Listing Expired

% Sold

Avg DOM

Average Discount

New vs Resale

$0 - $199,999

388

262

135

34.79%

67.53%

105

3%

11 vs. 251

$200,000 - $249,999

157

54

27

17.20%

34.39%

129

6%

4 vs. 50

$250,000 - $299,999

177

43

51

28.81%

24.29%

105

5%

9 vs. 34

$300,000 - $349,999

127

25

30

23.62%

19.69%

161

6%

9 vs. 16

$350,000 - $399,999

133

26

25

18.80%

19.55%

166

8%

11 vs. 15

$400,000 - $499,999

191

36

50

26.18%

18.85%

141

7%

23 vs. 13

$500,000 - $599,999

144

35

22

15.28%

24.31%

195

7%

25 vs. 10

$600,000 - $699,999

115

27

15

13.04%

23.48%

130

7%

20 vs. 7

$700,000 - $799,999

69

20

9

13.04%

28.99%

116

6%

15 vs. 5

$800,000 - $899,999

63

10

7

11.11%

15.87%

86

5%

7 vs. 3

$900,000 - $1,179,999

103

13

10

9.71%

12.62%

155

8%

11 vs. 2

$1,180,000 - $1,399,999

58

13

11

18.97%

22.41%

244

7%

12 vs. 1

$1,400,000 - $1,799,999

99

19

12

12.12%

19.19%

146

8%

18 vs. 1

$1,800,000 - $2,199,999

75

11

9

12.00%

14.67%

146

9%

11 vs. 0

$2,200,000 - $2,699,999

43

8

7

16.28%

18.60%

210

12%

8 vs. 0

$2,700,000 - $3,199,999

19

10

2

10.53%

52.63%

110

11%

8 vs. 2

$3,200,000 - $3,999,999

40

5

4

10.00%

12.50%

84

8%

5 vs. 0

$4,000,000 - $4,999,999

16

2

3

18.75%

12.50%

194

13%

2 vs. 0

$5,000,000 +

73

4

3

4.11%

5.48%

489

13%

4 vs. 0

Totals:

2090

623

432

20.67%

29.81%

164

8%

213 vs. 410


As you can see, I have broken the data into price ranges, and then you can see the amount of Active condos for sale, how many Real Buyers Closed on a condo for sale, how many of those listing agreements Expired unsold, then further calculated what percent of the Active condos for sale Expired and Sold. Then I calculated the Average Days on Market (Avg DOM), which is the amount of days it took the condos that sold to obtain a Real Buyer. Then I show the Average Discount, which is the percentage the Listed Price was discounted to the Actual Sale Price for all Closed Sales. The last column is for Closed Sales that were newer construction, which I considered to be anything built after 1995, versus older buildings built before 1995. I track this data for Condominiums and Single Family Homes separately due to their differences. I also track the data for the more luxurious buildings of South Beach, please feel free to email or call for that data.
 
The next set of data below is the same information for Single Family Homes. The one difference is that the last column is the Average Age of the homes Sold.

 
Price Range
Active Closed Listings Expired % Listing Expired % Sold Avg DOM Average Discount Average Age
$0 - $399,999 20 6 7 35.00% 30.00% 116 6% 1944
$400,000 - $499,999 16 2 7 43.75% 12.50% 17 6% 1939
$500,000 - $649,999 26 7 6 23.08% 26.92% 162 15% 1954
$650,000 - $799,999 33 8 5 15.15% 24.24% 112 9% 1949
$800,000 - $999,999 30 9 4 13.33% 30.00% 405 8% 1938
$1,000,000 - $1,299,999 30 4 5 16.67% 13.33% 183 8% 1956
$1,300,000 - $1,599,999 30 7 2 6.67% 23.33% 141 12% 1943
$1,600,000 - $1,999,999 23 2 2 8.70% 8.70% 52 7% 1974
$2,000,000 - $2,999,999 44 6 3 6.82% 13.64% 238 15% 1962
$3,000,000 - $3,999,999 29 0 3 10.34% 0.00% NA NA NA
$4,000,000 - $4,999,999 12 2 1 8.33% 16.67% 281 12% 2005
$5,000,000 - $5,999,999 19 0 1 5.26% 0.00% NA NA NA
$6,000,000 - $6,999,999 12 1 0 0.00% 8.33% 0 +25% 1931
$7,000,000 - $9,999,999 24 2 1 4.17% 8.33% 144 15% 2004
$10,000,000 + 27 1 2 7.41% 3.70% 69 21% 2010
Totals: 375 57 49 13.07% 15.20% 148 8% 1962
Don’t forget to look at the overall data I have been collecting and determine for yourself what trends, etc. you see; please click here to take you to some graphs that should prove to be very insightful: http://miamipropertiesandparadise.com/Miami_Beach_Real_Estate.shtml
 
THE HIGH SEASON IS HERE!:
Residents, prepare for gridlock. Hotels and restaurants, get ready for your busiest time of year - high season has officially arrived. Waiting on deck in the coming weeks: events for wine-and-foodies, spring breakers, golfers, movie buffs, electronic music lovers and tennis devotees. "It's a glorious time of the year," said Rolando Aedo, chief marketing officer for the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. "It just speaks to the fact that so many events call Miami home." The Miami International Boat Show, the Yacht & Brokerage Show, the Coconut Grove Arts Festival and, spreading the crowds north, the brand new Art Wynwood contemporary art fair.

At the Miami International Boat Show and Strictly Sail, which takes place at three locations in Miami Beach and Miami, more than 100,000 people are expected to attend through Monday - nearly 45 percent from out of state. "This is a show that's got an international draw, a national draw and is sort of the industry barometer," said show manager Cathy Rick-Joule. "We're bringing such an affluent market." Attorney Jim Meyer, who works with clients buying boats and planes, said the weak dollar, pent-up demand and a legal change making yacht buying in Florida more financially attractive, contributed to dramatic improvement in 2011. He's preparing for another busy stretch this weekend. "People from all over the world will fly into Miami, do other business, buy condos, other activities that they save for those trips," Meyer said.

Nick Korniloff is hoping those visitors will add "buy art" to that list. As founder and director of Art Wynwood, held in the Midtown Miami pavilion that houses the Art Miami satellite fair during Art Basel in December, Korniloff planned the new contemporary art fair to fall on a weekend when moneyed crowds would be in town. He hopes about 25,000 people will attend the event, which features more than 50 galleries. "At the end of the day, we're targeted in our approach," he said. "We can only survive if people purchase art. We know that high net worth people are involved in the yacht ownership area." Art Wynwood is cross-promoting with the Yacht & Brokerage Show in Miami Beach, running shuttles near the Fontainebleau hotel and Miami International Boat Show locations downtown.

Farther south, the Coconut Grove Arts Festival will mark its 49th year with about 380 artists - 30 more than in 2011. Last year drew about 100,000 visitors who spent an estimated $4-6 million, even with a rainy start to the weekend. Festival president Monty Trainer said he's expecting even better things this time around with the additional artists and expanded entertainment. "It's all according to the weather, and it looks like we're going to have a fantastic weekend, which really shows off South Florida best," he said. "Should be one of our best festivals."

For hotels, the weekend is a curtain-raiser for a packed couple of months that will soon bring the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, Miami International Film Festival, Sony Ericsson Open, Cadillac Championship golf tournament, Ultra Music Festival, Winter Music Conference and, finally, Easter in early April. "It's that time of year when everybody needs a room when you're sold out," said Paul Pebley, director of sales and marketing at JW Marriott Marquis and Hotel Beaux Arts in Miami, which has guests coming in for all of the local events.
-Source: The Miami Herald 02/17/12
 
MIAMI HOMES RANK HIGH IN SEARCHES:
Miami ranked as the 20th most searched market in the nation for homes in January, according to data from Realtor.com, released Thursday. Median list prices for homes in Miami rose to $265,500 in January, up 32.75 percent from January 2011, and a 0.19 perecent increase from December 2011. The national median list price in January was $185,500, a 3.69 percent increase compared to January 2011, Realtor.com said. The inventory of homes actively for sale in Miami in January dropped to 12,204, a 49.24 percent decrease compared to January 2011. And the median age of inventory was 94 days, a 3.09 percent decrease compared to December 2011, Realtor.com said..
-Source: The Miami Herald 02/17/12, Realtor.com

GLOBAL.REMAX.COM:
When it comes to the International Real Estate market, RE/MAX is the leader, with 87,131 agents world-wide, 6,285 offices world-wide, encompassing 87 countries - it is vital to have a strong online presence to reach the entire world, especially in a market so dynamic as South Beach and metropolitan Miami and surrounding areas. A website like no other, global.remax.com is the first website of its kind in the real estate industry, a website that is revolutionizing the way consumers search for residential and commercial properties in more than 60 countries and territories around the world. A comprehensive consumer website that demonstrates the global prowess of one of the most recognized brands in the world, global.remax.com offers these exciting features:
• Hundreds of thousands of listings in countries around the world
• Customized tools that allow buyers to search for properties in 30 languages, convert currencies and read the latest international real estate news
• Featured videos, including international videos from the RE/MAX YouTube Brand Channel
• RE/MAX Commercial listings and luxury properties in The RE/MAX Collection
Brazil is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing and most lucrative economies in the world and Miami has a mutually beneficial relationship with this country that will only get stronger. So much so that a supplement in the Miami Herald will run monthly and this publication is dedicated exclusively to business, travel and bilateral trade with Brazil. The online version can be found HERE:
 
With the strong fundamentals of an underlying economy poised with continued growth in the International World, opportunities will continue to present themselves. Investors enjoy the safety of the United States, and Florida has a lot of positive aspects with incredibly depressed prices that make this a great place to develop a real estate investing business plan and reap the profits when done correctly. Please contact me should you want to seriously discuss in more detail distressed sales of units. This market presents various unique opportunities that very well may never be seen again in one’s lifetime. Please let me help you take advantage of this situation. I have many strategic relationships with the decision makers regarding distressed properties, and the resources to carry out the objective, right down to the day-to-day operations.
 
LEGISLATION, PROPERTY TAXES & INSURANCE:  As a property owner or potential property owner, I urge you to keep up to date on the various progress, legislation, and proposed legislation in order to help you better understand how these important issues affect you; please see the below link that will take you to the Florida Association of Realtors Legislative Center, which will help to explain the numerous moving parts concerning these issues: http://www.floridarealtors.org/LegislativeCenter/TopInitiatives/index.cfm
 
INTEREST RATES & RELATED NEWS: It is important to note that different types of loans are ‘pegged’ to different rates, so please make sure to stay in touch with your mortgage broker or banker to keep up to date on interest rates, as this can directly affect many Real Estate related decisions. In addition to the lowered rate when securing a mortgage to buy property, another common question you will see with rates near historic lows is whether or not it is a good idea to refinance. This discussion might be a good one to have with a reputable mortgage originator or your banker and see if this would make sense financially. Or feel free to visit my website and the Mortgage Center for more helpful information. This is the website to the Federal Reserve’s Monetary Policy section:http://federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/default.htm
 
Exchange rates play a vital role in Real Estate related decisions for foreign buyers or sellers, a good source to track currency exchange rates is:
http://www.xe.com/ucc/
Also, the use of a currency exchange service could save you additional funds; feel free to call me for more details about this.
 
I hope this email finds you well and looking forward to comparing this month’s data with last month’s data to spot trends and decide for yourself the status of the local Real Estate market, of which I work within 24/7. You are receiving this because we have been in touch about Real Estate here in the South Florida area, most likely property at the Beach. As you read the newsletter from month to month it will contain data that will help you to analyze market conditions. In addition, it is an unobtrusive way to stay in touch with you regarding my Real Estate Consulting Services.
 
That is all for this month’s newsletter and I welcome suggestions, feedback and of course I am here if you or anyone you know is thinking of buying or selling property here in South Florida. If you wish to further discuss any of the above issues in more detail, or any other Real Estate related topics, please don’t hesitate to call or email. I would like to leave you with the 4 following quotes:
 
Be always at War with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better person." -Benjamin Franklin
Cheers to New Year and another chance for us to get it right." -Oprah Winfrey
Many people look forward to next year for a new start on old habits.” -Author Unknown
America is another name for opportunity.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson


DESIGNATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS:
These Designations and Certifications were specifically chosen by me to give my effort, time, and money, as well as meeting the required experience because I feel that this shows my dedication to continually learning and evolving as a Real Estate Consultant. Plus, the market that I practice in is a natural one to achieve such designations to separate myself from the other professionals within my field. Keep in mind these not only prove education but also transactional experience in order to obtain the designations and certifications.
Realtor® - Membership inthe largest professional association known as the National Association of Realtors or N.A.R.
C.I.P.S. – Certified International Property Specialist, member of CIPS network; Designation shows education and transactional experience in the International Arena of Real Estate.
C.D.P.E. – Certified Distressed Property Expert, member of Distressed Property Institute; Designation shows education and experience in the continually evolving and complicated short sale and foreclosure markets.
C.L.H.M.S. – Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist, member of Million Dollar Guild; Designation shows education and transactional experience in the top tier level within my market, Million Dollar Guild is the highest level of membership with proven experience in numerous $1M+ transactions.
GREEN Certified – also known as GCREP-GL, Green Certified Real Estate Professional – Green Leadership; Certification shows education and leadership within the Green Real Estate Industry.
T.R.C. – Transnational Referral Certification; Certification shows education in researching Real Estate throughout the world and allows me to refer and to be referred from 28 International Real Estate Organizations in the Global marketplace.
R.E.O.S.– Real Estate Owned Specialist, shows extensive experience and knowledge in the distressed property class known as REO, also known as foreclosures or bank owned properties.




















































































































































































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Sean  Greco
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