This is a Miami Real Estate Market Report for November 2011.  Although November was still a slow month for these neighborhoods, it showed an improvement from the exceptionally low sales in October.  Each neighborhood is showing great signs including reduced number of houses and condos for sale, reduced number of distressed inventory, higher number of sales, increasing median sales and price per square foot.  Some sellers are getting a false sense of security and are overpricing homes, but thankfully, we are not seeing a lot of this.  The great news is that buyers with “low ball offers” are getting no where, time to realize that they need to pay market value to get into great neighborhoods.

Miami Shores Real Estate Market Report

There are currently 76 Miami Shores homes for sale (15 less than last month):

• Highest priced listing is $2,990,000 (totally remodelled bay front home located at 1480 NE 103 St)
• Lowest priced listing is $99,000 (Short Sale at 169 NW 97th St) with 1 bad image and still no description by listing agent.
• Pending Sales (Properties under contract):39  (2 less than last month)
• Closed sales in November: 17 (9 more than last month)

The 17 Miami Shores homes sold in November ranged from a $85,000 foreclosure with a long list of of violations (listed in the MLS in excess of $200,000 in fees and fines) to a $1.4 Million bay front.  The median sale being $299,000 and average price of $429,000.   Five of the 17 sales were above $500,000 and shows that October was a low month, but November made up for it.

Bay Harbor Islands Real Estate Market Report

There are currently 13 Bay Harbor Island Homes for sale: (3 more than last month)

• Highest priced listings is for $3,290,000 (9520 W Broadview Dr)
• Lowest priced listing is $805,000 (1230 96 St)
• Pending Sales (properties under contract): 1 (same as last month)
• Closed sales in November: 0 (same as last month)

There were no Bay Harbor Island Homes sold in the month of November either, but the inventory is still low and Bay Harbor Islands already did its part this year to show major improvement in its housing market.

Surfside Real Estate Market Report

There are currently 46 Surfside homes for sale: (3 less than last month)

• Highest priced listing is $5,500,000 (1332 Biscaya Dr)
• Lowest priced listing is $329,000 (9432 Abbott Av)
• Pending Sales (properties under contract): 9 (2 less than last month)
• Closed sales in November: 4 (3 more than last month)

The Surfside homes sold in November were the following:

• 9216 Byron Av – listed for $499,000 and selling for $480,000
• 9249 Dickens Av – listed for $458,000 and selling for $390,000
• 8827 Emerson Av – Short Sale listed for $449,000 and selling for $350,000 (MLS shows a few contracts falling through).
• 9141 Harding Av – Short Sale listed for $260,000 and selling for $260,000 (listed in August 2011, sold in 8 days and got bank approval in 3 months).

Surfside shows a similar trend as Miami Shores with a slow month of October and sales picking up again in November.  It’s similar to life, we’re allowed a bad day, the housing market is allowed a bad month (as long as numbers back it up).  The median sales price was $370,000 with an average sales price of $370,000 as well.

There are currently 70 Surfside Condos for sale: (4 more than last month)

• Highest priced listing:  $2,500,000 for a 3/3/1 at Solimar, unit N10A
  

• Lowest priced listing: $180,000 for a 1/1 foreclosure at Ocean 91 Condo

• Pending Sales (properties under contract): 19 (1 less than last month)

• Closed sales in November: 5 (2 less than last month)

The Surfside condos sold in November were the following:

• Champlain Towers at 8855 Collins Av #12J – a 3/2/1 PH listed for $950,000 and selling for $875,000.
• Marbella Condo at 9341 Collins Av #208 – a 3/2/1 listed for $439,000 and selling for $380,000.
• The Waverly at Surfside located at 9201 Collins Ave #924 – a 2/2 listed for $435,999 and selling for $400,000.
• Spiaggia Condo at 9499 Collins Av #806 – a 2/2 short sale listed for $280,000 and selling for $300,000.
• The Waverly at Surfside located at 9201 Collins Av #421 – a 2/2 short sale listed for $250,000 and selling for $220,000.

The Median sales price for a Surfside Condo in November was $400,000 and the average sales price was $435,000.  The Surfside housing market is showing a real improvement with only 5 short sales and 1 foreclosure in its current for sale inventory – that’s less than 9% of distressed inventory left in Surfside Condos!

Fisher Island Real Estate Market Report

There are currently 105 Fisher Island Condos for sale: (1 less than last month)

• Highest priced listing: $30,000,000 for an exclusive Oceanside 5/5.5 home with artwork and all!
• Lowest priced listing: $180,000 for a 1 bedroom / 1 bathroom residence at Marina Village (short sale)
• Pending Sales: 4 (1 less than last month)
• Closed sales in November: 2  (same as last month)

The 2 Fisher Island Condos sold in November were:

• Seaside – 19223 Fisher Island Dr – listed for $1,699,000 and selling for $950,000.
• Bay View – 5211 Fisher Island Dr – Foreclosure listed for $1,663,600 and selling for $1,810,000.

Many will say that Fisher Island is back but most will agree that it was never gone.  Of course the luxury real estate market gets hit, but it doesn’t ever get hit as badly as the rest.  We will continue seeing some fluctuation in sales on the island since there’s still a 12% distressed inventory with 8 short sales and 4 foreclosures.

**all information obtained from the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service**

Related Articles:

November 2011 Housing Market Report for Miami Shores, Bay Harbor Islands, Surfside and Fisher Island originally appeared on Miamism on December 5, 2011.

Related Articles:

Buying Miami Beach Investment Properties originally appeared on Miamism on March 14, 2011.

You KNOW that you need a secret handshake to know the ins and outs of Miami Commercial Real Estate.  Somehow residential and commercial don’t get along, are different species and NEVER cross paths.

Miami Commercial Real Estate Agents are in a world of their own…..or so they think!

**photo credit: Alesh from Critical Miami**

Rick and I have been doing Commercial Property Management for the last 13 years, as a matter of fact, it’s the reason we got into real estate sales to begin with.  Who better that knows the ins and outs of managing a Miami Commercial Property to help you scrutinize numbers when you are buying a commercial property?

We can spot bogus numbers from a mile away (and yes it does happen) – building expenses can be tricky and I am always glad that Rick has a masters in Accounting, because he loves to tear apart financial statements!

As for what’s happening to Miami Commercial Real Estate – the facts are simple, commercial real estate tends to be a year to a year and a half behind residential real estate.  We are seeing prices drop but, with all the expenses increasing to run a building (from real estate taxes, insurance and day to day maintenance), so are rental rates – which ultimately means the same amount of net income.

We have not had a problem keeping our buildings rented and our vacancy rates are very low except for the few retail shops that have a high turn-around rate because of size, location and nature of business.  Our absentee owners will tell you that their commercial real estate deals have been the best they have ever done and have covered their own expenses, with no headaches since we take care of the problems for them.

It takes more money to get into sound commercial properties in high trafficked areas in Miami – but numbers don’t lie.  It doesn’t pay to be unrealistic either and should not expect 15% returns – but if looking for realistic returns in Miami for long term investments, Commercial Real Estate may be what you are looking for.

Rick is the expert – you can run your questions through him.

Related Articles:

Miami Commercial Real Estate secret handshake originally appeared on Miamism on August 20, 2008.

If you are thinking of investing in Miami Commercial Real Estate there are many factors you should consider – in addition to cap rates and analyzing the actual investment, it’s important to understand the management portion of a property.  Fortunately for you, Rick and I have been managing commercial properties for over 15 years and know the ins and outs of what it takes to keep tenants happy and maximize our client’s investment at the same time.

I’m not writing this article to pat ourselves on the back and tell you that we are great commercial real estate managers (although it wouldn’t be a bad idea).  I’m writing this to let you know that because we deal with management intricacies on a daily basis and our team knows how to dissect financial statements and operating accounts in order to help our clients make sound decisions when buying Miami Commercial Real Estate.

There is certain standard documentation you have to request from a commercial building owner when you buy:

• Rent Roll
• Type of Leases – commencement and expiration dates
• Rentable square feet
• Real Estate taxes
• Electric
• Garbage
• Insurance
• Water
• Maintenance
• First right of refusals

But getting this information does not always mean that what you’ll get will be accurate.  The exchange of Commercial records during a transaction can be tricky and as a Commercial Real Estate Buyer, you must identify “general and approximate” figures and be able to extrapolate data into real numbers that will be essential for a successful investment.

Our experience is mainly with Shopping Centers, Office Buildings and retail spaces, but have been lucky to learn about hotels, warehouses and multi-family buildings as well.  Most of the commercial property owners we deal with are absentee owners and know that every detail of their business will be taken care of and most importantly, they will get a maximum return on their investment.

Related Articles:

Miami Commercial Real Estate originally appeared on Miamism on August 3, 2008.

Rick and I have received a few  telephone calls as well as e-mails asking questions how the real estate property tax cuts will be affecting non-homesteaded properties as well as miami commercial properties.   In a nutshell, this is what has been proposed:

• Just like homesteaded properties, effective 2007-2008 budget year, cities and counties will have to rollback taxes to the 2006-2007 levels.

• All properties, which include non-homesteaded properties and commercial properties, will get a modest 7% tax cut (approximately) at the expense of local governments.

• Moving forward, the property taxes will be capped at a rate that does not exceed the growth of personal income and population growth.  Just as a bench mark, personal income has grown at a rate of approximately 4%.

Although it’s not what you might have been expecting, nor what you would have liked, it helps for budgeting purposes in the future.  Now you know that you will have to plan for a rate increase anywhere of approximately 4-5% as opposed to the unexpected rate hikes that we have seen in some of the properties that we manage.  (Up to 20% increases).

You may also want to check out these resources related to the tax reform:

1. Promising start on property-tax reform
2. Tax-cut letdown: Numbers may not add up
3. PRESCRIPTION FOR TAX RELIEF
4. www.NoMorePropertyTax.com

Related Articles:

Property Tax reform for 2nd home owners and commercial properties originally appeared on Miamism on June 21, 2007.