Miamism

South Beach is voted Best Beach in Florida

The Travel Channel voted South Beach number 1 beach in Florida! While flipping channels the other day while watching TV (yes...I'm one of those), I came upon one of the Travel Channel's "best of" and it was Florida's Top 10 Beaches.

For those of you that don't know me.....I LOVE a beach and if you give me a choice to go to an exotic vacation or a beautiful beach, the beach will win every time! I was very surprised after seeing the top 10 list, that I didn't know a lot of those beaches.....so maybe I'll have to do some investigative trips to find out if what the Travel Channel says is true <what a great excuse, no?>

So here's the list:

Florida's Best Beaches

(according to the Travel Channel)

1. South Beach ("tourist hot spot")

2. Siesta Key Beach ("soft sand")

3. Palm Beach ("to experience the high life")

4. Lovers Key Beach ("perfect for couples")

5. Clearwater Beach ("boater's paradise")

6. Smathers Beach ("Key West charm")

7. Sanspur Beach ("for nature lovers")

8. Panama City Beach ("spring breakers heaven")

9. Sanibel Beach ("seashells gallore")

10. Daytona Beach ("named best beach by known 'beachologists' ")

Since we live in Miami, it's easy for me to give you my personal scoop about South Beach, because we do frequent those beaches. This is what you have to understand: it's not all about South Beach Real Estate - it's not all about the Hottest SoFi Condo......but it IS all about the South Beach Lifestyle!Read more »

Miamism Fridays

I live in Miami and I should be used to seeing the Miami Skyline but I will be the first to confess that no matter how many times I see it, it still takes my breath away. (Now I have to learn to take night shots while hanging out of my sunroof going 55 MPH)

.....another MIAMISM!!

** Summer is here! time to take out the camera and shoot some cool Miamisms - if you are technically inclined - you can add them to the Miamism Group at Flickr.com - or you can e-mail the photos directly to us at info@miamism.com **

Miami Luxury Real Estate Pick - Historic Lake Belmar

This week's Miami Luxury Real Estate Pick is located in Historic lake Belmar just South of Miami Shores in Miami's Upper East Side. Lake Belmar is a neighborhood on Biscayne Bay that people confuse with Davis Harbor and Miami Shores, but it is unincorporated Dade-County and has fabulous waterfront homes, historic properties and Luxury real estate. It is a hidden treasure that is centrally located and full of great architecture.

One of Lake Belmar's interesting landmarks is the "Historic Lake Belmar Canal". From this map you can see that there are no homes directly on the canal but have to cross the street to reach their waterfront properties. These canal front properties are literally "waterfront" - their water frontage is located on the front of their property rather than the back. The canal has open access to Biscayne Bay and the Ocean.

1036 NE 89th Street - Miami, Florida 33138

Why didn't my Miami Home Sell?

We are being approached with this question constantly - Why didn't my Miami home sell? The answer comes in 3 parts and as many times as you may have seen and read these answers, you have to be objective and answer the questions honestly.

The answers are: Pricing, Condition and Marketing

Plain and simple.....ok, maybe not that simple but I'll explain each in detail

Funny thing is that although Real Estate is local, other agents around the US are going out of their way to give the same explanation to their real estate blog readers - take a look at Mariana Wagner's 3 part series on the same subject and she's on the opposite side of the US in Colorado Springs.

My Miami house did not sell because of price

You will instincly think that your house is better than all the others on the market. You will think that your house will sell quicker and will attract more buyers - It's natural, you love your house and think others will love it just as much.....but this may not always be the case.

To be able to price your house appropriately you will need to know the current Miami real estate market, know the inventory and the condition of other similar homes, you will need to be objective and be able to disconnect from all the emotional factors that define your "home". This will implicate being able to recognize what upgrades are marketable and have value to a buyer as well as what factors can be detrimental to a sale.

Hiring a Miami Realtor that is proficient in your area is key to pricing your home. We also see a lot of sellers that want to "test" the market by pricing a little higher than recommended (this is ultimately your call, but you may find yourself either selling for a lot less in the long run, or chasing the market down). Also read:

Miami Home Sellers to the race: ready, set ....go!

Team Miamism recognizes certain triggers which mean a price reduction is warranted - if we see no showings in a week and we receive no offers in 3 weeks, it's time to rethink that pricing strategy.

If you are brave, also read this article (warning: not for the weak)

Home Sellers Can't Handle The Truth Read more »

Mortgage Rates Report: July 14, 2008

Mortgage rates are unchanged from Friday's posting.

Last week was a scary one if you've been following the mortgage industry:

Senator Schumer (NY) caused an old-fashioned bank run when he wrote a letter to the San Francisco Fed President concerned about IndyMac Bank's ability to weather the storm....then, he made that letter public. IndyMac Bank ceased new loan operations, in an effort to manage the loans they have on their books, on Monday. On GFriday, the Feds closed IndyMac Bank down.

This was political grandstanding at its worst:

Sen. Schumer rejected that, saying that, while banking regulators do their work in private, lawmakers typically do theirs in public. Sen. Schumer, the head of Senate Democrats' re-election effort, threw in a political jab as well. "Clearly what was happened here was the OTS, having the second-biggest bank failure on their watch, sought to blame the messenger. In sum, it's sort of classically what this administration does. Blame the fire on the guy who called 911."

The New York Times asked if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were insolvent and Wall Street went nuts. Treasury Secretary Paulson stepped in and offered government support SHOULD the big mortgage guarantors fail. Are Fannie and Freddie too big to fail? Well, they insure almost half of this nation's $12 trillion worth of mortgage debt. A failure would be a major disruption to housing capital and drive mortgage rates to the a MUCH higher level.

Mc Cain offered that this disruption in capital would be a blow to our economy:

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ``are vital to Americans' ability to own their own homes,'' McCain said in response to a reporter's question during a campaign stop at a diner in Livonia, Michigan. ``They will not fail; we cannot allow them to fail.''

Obama was somewhat tenuous about Federal intervention:

But Obama advisor Jason Furman issued a statement that Obama believes "the challenges facing Fannie and Freddie are part of the broader weakness in our economy." He blamed President Bush, saying "willful neglect" by the White House of trouble in the housing market and other sectors of the economy let the problems fester to crisis stage. Then he pushed Obama's call for immediate congressional action to help homeowners caught in the bind, and at risk of foreclosure.

Ya following this? Rather than address the problem with potential solutions, Obama's busy pointing fingers. By discrediting Bush and continuing this credit crunch, the Democrats position themselves uniquely as the "savior" this November. A few more public letters from Friends of Obama (FOO) and you've got a Depression-like crisis on your hands.

Was it all Alan Greenspan's fault? He's predicting a recession in his retirement. Greenspan is the Fed Chairman who adopted the "easy money" policy after 9/11/2001. This inflated the housing market and caused Wall Street to reach for yield through acquisition of risky mortgages. Those loans defaulted and the balance sheets of Wall Street firms and mortgage lenders have imploded.

Alan's buddy, Fed President Bill Poole, thinks we ought to nationalize Fannie and Freddie because it's inevitable. This former Fed official is pontificating from the faculty of the University of Delaware.

Ben Bernanke, George Bush, and Hank Paulson are the ones trying to clean up this mess. As much as I want to levy the blame on Greenspan and Co., I can't. I wish Alan and Bill would shut up and stop the Monday morning quarterbacking but I still won't point the finger at them.

So...who's to blame for this financial mess?

Osama bin Laden is. More on that some other day. Today, consider the mortgage you have and ask yourself if you can live with it for five years. If it works, stay put. if you think you'll need more liquidity or a different type of loan, call me. I believe the window of opportunity is open until the end of the summer at best.