A total of 617 homes are currently for sale in Coral Gables. The least expensive home for sale is listed for $299,722, the most expensive is for $22,000,000. The average asking price per square foot is $437 for a non-waterfront home and $877 for a waterfront single-family home. In our current inventory of homes for sale, many have been in the market for over a year now. Of late we’ve seen many drastic price reductions, sometimes as much as 30% below asking price. This may in fact be the catalyst needed to get this market going again. For the first time in a long while, I can honestly say there are deals coming about raising eyebrows. My latest survey of the real estate market in Coral Gables clearly illustrates this reality. Take the time to examine recent sold homes in Coral Gables, I have just compiled more than 45 recent sold homes, each seemed like an good value. Mortgage rates remain attractive, though I have observed more cash deal transactions. From my point of view, this is actually comforting in that Buyers are committing to current values and may be a sign that we have reached very near the bottom of this market. If you’re buying, be ready to roll up your sleeves and work hard in getting to see all options available. Inventory levels are still high with many options available. This in fact has been a problem for most buyers in that it gets confusing after a while. Remain diligent and organized. If you’re selling, you must remain informed through the whole process of marketing your house. Knowledge is the key here; take a weekly snapshot of market conditions as it relates to your own home. Define your competition and know it well, keep track of it as times goes by and see what sells first and why.  Whether you’re buying or selling, tenacity will play an important role in bringing in good results in your endeavor.

No question about it, it is a Buyer’s market. If you’re been waiting on the sideline waiting for the market to hit bottom, I am here to tell you, you’re missing out. This is the point in time where we’re all going to look back and wished we had acted on it. “I wished I would have” time is here again. You watch, as much as the real estate market overshot on appreciation, it will do the same on the downswing.  Most of the Buyers I have been working with of late have had a real hard time to commit to a purchase, but the real good deals are starting to surface.  My latest survey of the Coral Gables Real Estate market substantiates my reading on current market conditions. Take for instance this house listed as a foreclosure for $548,900. The listing agent solicited any and all offers; it sold and closed for $350,000. Another transaction with a motivated seller listed at $510,000 sold and closed for $280,000. Interestingly in my picking 32 properties sold in Coral Gables for the month of September and October, more than 50% of the properties sold surveyed were sold above $800,000 .A total of 582 homes are currently for sale in Coral Gables. The least expensive home for sale is listed for $339,000, the most expensive is for $25,000,000. The average asking price per square foot is $431 for a non-waterfront home and $952 for a waterfront single-family home. We’re starting to see some really good values out there. Now is the time to take a careful look as to what is available in the market place, you might be in for a pleasant surprise.

I am reading with great interest this article on the NY times the other day. It made me reflect on the phenomenal rate of appreciation in real estate we experienced in just the last few years. I spent a couple hours looking through my records and decided to chart my findings with the help of Excel.   I thought it might be interesting reading to some of you, as I share few of my observations. First off, I didn’t have too much trouble defining the average price per square foot for a single family home in Coral Gables year-to-year since 2002. Like any other markets, there are different price ranges, and certainly the price per square foot will vary depending on location, size of the lot, finishes on the house… Though, I can honestly say that in today’s market in Coral Gables, a decent house with approx. 2,000 sqft in a good neighborhood with three bedrooms/ two baths on nice lot will be priced in the $800,000’s. Following the same logic with given aggregate price per square foot in 2002, the same house was $500,000. In essence, in 2002 with a down payment of $100,000 your monthly payment for ownership was $3200 (PITI). Today, you’ll need $168,000 cash down and will have to qualify for $5,500 a month (PITI). As it stands today, Buyers are making a statement; they’re having a very difficult time to commit. Many feel prices will come down considerably.  On the other hand, Sellers are holding firm on their price. Meanwhile there are 19 homes in Coral Gables that went under contract since the beginning of this month. Three of these deals I had my eyes on for a Buyer I am working with. The inventory is still relatively high, but prices seem to be holding at the current level. There are Buyers out there….

There you have it, my first blog entry. Why not? I ‘m outgoing, I make friends easy and I just love to meet new people. I am the guy in the grocery store check out line who will strike a conversation with you just because there is nothing else to do while waiting,  I’ve always seem to pick the longest line anyway despite how short it may seem, I might as well do something constructive, something productive. You might look at me funny at first, but I grow on you after a while. Isn’t that what a blog is all about? Making conversation with a pure stranger… Who’s to say what can happen. There you have it, random is my destiny. Out of the blues, sitting at my computer, I decided to take a break from my experiment in Macromedia Flash.  No doubt, all of this  has been stuck in my sub conscious for a while now, because it’s all coming out fast and easy, including this inspired title for my blog; “A Little of this, a little bit of that”. Nothing specific, just a place to post my opinion on just about anything.