Coastal Florida Real Estate

I've posted before about the importance of getting the price right. Here are some examples "ripped from the headlines" that demonstate the fact that the price has to be right....right from the start. Got a friend who is having trouble selling? Send this along to them and visit me on the web at: www.CoastalFloridaRealEstate.net.

REAL ESTATE AGENTS: Tired of giving a large portion of your hard earned commission to the office? Realty Associates offers extremely generous payout plans with down stream income from fellow recruits. Join one of the fastest growing companies with a contemporary business model that can reward you, not someone else, for your work. Think about it and call me for a confidential discussion.

When selling your house, the flooring can be one of the most critical elements. Here are my thoughts on this issue. Send it along to someone who really needs to sell their house and visit me at my website www.CoastalFloridaRealEstate.net

REAL ESTATE AGENTS: Tired of giving a large portion of your hard earned commission to the office? Realty Associates offers extremely generous payout plans with down stream income from fellow recruits. Join one of the fastest growing companies with a contemporary business model that can reward you, not someone else, for your work. Think about it and call me for a confidential discussion and I'll treat you to a cup of your favorite coffee.

When trying to sell your house, remember that you are leaving and someone else will be calling the house "home". So, when buyers tell you what they object to...you better listem to them. Here are 2 stories I "ripped from the headlines", true stories from my real estate career. If you think these ideas sound good and you would like to have a conversation, contact me by phone or email. And send this along to your friends who are having trouble selling. And visit www.CoastalFloridaRealEstate.net

REAL ESTATE AGENTS: Tired of giving a large portion of your hard earned commission to the office? Realty Associates offers extremely generous payout plans with down stream income from fellow recruits. Join one of the fastest growing companies with a contemporary business model that can reward you, not someone else, for your work. Think about it and call me for a confidential discussion and I'll treat you to a cup of your favorite coffee.

This just came in from the Florida Realtors and shows the changes in the upscale market.

More than one in seven borrowers with home loans of $1 million or more are seriously delinquent, according to research, compared to just one in 12 with mortgages for less than $1 million. The bottom line is the rich have stopped paying the mortgage on their residential, second home and investment properties at a rate that greatly exceeds the rest of the population.  

According to the New York Times, CoreLogic economists speculate that well-off borrowers are making calculated moves to shed poorly performing real estate, just as they would any other soured investment. “The rich are different: they are more ruthless,” said Sam Khater, CoreLogic’s senior economist. Though hard to prove, the CoreLogic data suggest that the rich do not appear to be particularly worried about being sued by their lender or frozen out of future loans by Fannie Mae, possible consequences of default.

The delinquency rate on investment homes where the original mortgage was more than $1 million is now 23 percent. For cheaper investment homes, it is about 10 percent.

With second homes, the delinquency rate for both types of owners was rising in concert until the stock market crashed in September 2008. That sent the percentage of troubled million-dollar loans spiraling up much faster than the smaller loans.

Jupiter Island, long an enclave of quiet old money, has gotten a lot of notoriety lately due to the escapades of Tiger Woods and Celine Dion.

Other celebs, like Greg Norman and Alan Jackson have quietly settled in.

Once in awhile I come across a great shot of a Jupiter Island home that shows just what the attraction here is.  Take a look at this home.

To view any Jupiter Island estate or other fine properties in communities like Admirals Cove, Frenchman's Reserve, BallenIsles or Jonathan's Landing, call me at 561-762-4073 or you can search yourself at www.CoastalFloridaRealEstate.net.

In the Jupiter, Tequesta and Palm Beach Gardens area we have some beautiful waterfront homes, some of which are not located in gated communities.

Many of these lots were platted out decades ago and so they are much larger than today's lots.  Those along the ICW have direct ocean access through either the Jupiter or Palm Beach Inlets with no fixed bridges.

This waterfront home on the Intracoastal Waterway just sold.

It is a floorplan with 8 bedrooms, 9 1/2 baths and a 4 car garage.  It has a pool, 9,306 square feet under air and 13,596 total.

Listed 568 days ago at $ 6,900,000 it sold for $ 4,700,000.

To see other homes like this or any in Jupiter, Tequesta or Palm Beach Gardens give me a call at 561-762-4073.  If you would like to search yourself, you can do so in real time from my website at www.CoastalFloridaRealEstate.net.

This Jupiter Harbour townhouse just sold.  It is a 2 bedroom/2 1/2 bath townhouse located on the Jupiter Inlet across from Jupiter Cove condominiums.

Jupiter Farms is a dedicated equestrian area west of Jupiter where the homes on located on 1.25 acre sites and larger.  There are other communities here as well such as Ranch Colony, Ranch Acres, Tailwinds, The Links and Old Trail.

Toll Brothers also built a country club community here called Jupiter Country Club and Palm Beach County has a large park, Riverbend, at the headwaters of the Loxahatchee River.

Homes are selling quickly in The Farms where prices start in the middle $ 100's for single family homes and go up to several million.

This house just sold in only 44 days.  It was listed at $ 240,000 and sold for $ 230,000.  It is CBS construction, no pool and has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths spread over 1,819 square feet.  It is also located on a paved street.

To see any home listed in Jupiter Farms or other Jupiter community like The Shores, Egret Landing or Paseos, call me at 561-762-4073 or if you prefer to search the MLS database in real time yourself, you can do so from my website at www.CoastalFloridaRealEstate.net.

Marina Gardens is a waterfront community in Palm Beach Gardens.   It is located near the Gardens Mall and Carmine's Market & Restuarant.   There are two types of townhouses here.

The interior units which have views of a small lake and the exterior units which face Soverel Harbour, although the two are not associated.  Soverel Harbour provides direct ocean access and slips for boats to 60 feet.

Unit #2 just sold after 304 days on the market.  I sold the unit in 2006 as well as unit number 16 on the south side.  These units are identical in floorplan and have 3,155 square feet under air with 3,796 total feet.  This is spread over 3 floors with elevator and 3 bedrooms and 4 full baths.

To see any  Marina Gardens unit listed for sale or any other in Palm Beach Gardens such as PGA National, BallenIsles or Mirasol, call me at 561-762-4073 or if you would prefer to search yourself go to my website at www.CoastalFloridaRealEstate.net where you can search the MLS in real time.

Jupiter Inlet Colony, a private enclave on the southern end of Jupiter Island, is one of the most desirable locations in the Jupiter and Tequesta areas.

The community features oceanfront homes, interior homes and some facing directly on the Jupiter Inlet and the Intracoastal Waterway across from the Lighthouse.  Olivia Newton-John recently bought a home on the Intracoastal for around $ 4 million.

This original 3 bedroom, 3 bath pool home just sold after 337 days on the market.  It has 1,788 square feet under air and nearly 3,000 total.  It was originally listed at $ 715,000 and sold for $ 575,500.

You can see all listed homes for sale in Jupiter Inlet Colony in real time by visiting my website at www.CoastalFloridaRealEstate.net or give me a call today at 561-762-4073.

The Hamptons has long been a favorite Jupiter community due to the strong reputation of the builder, the winding, oak-lines streets and the central location.

This 3 bedroom/2 bath home with 2,000 feet under air and 2,449 total square footage and pool just sold.

Originally listed at $ 349,000, it sold after 170 days on the market for a price of $ 330,000.

To see any listed home for sale in Jupiter, Tequesta or other fine community such as Admirals Cove, Paseos, Egret Landing or The Shores, call me at 561-762-4073 or you can search the MLS database yourself in real time on my website at www.CoastalFloridaRealEstate.net.

This property just sold in the Back Bay section of Jonathan's Landing, a favorite Jupiter club community.

A 2 bedroom/2 bath home, it has 1,649 square feet under air and 1,891 total.

It was originally listed at $ 339,000 and sold after 259 days on the market for $ 270,000.

To see all homes for sale in Jonathan's Landing, Admirals Cove, Frenchman's Reserve or any of our fine club communities, give me a call at 561-762-4073 or visit me at www.CoastalFloridaRealEstate.net where you can see all listed homes in real time.

This  4 bedroom/ 4 bath house with 3,149 square feet under air and 3,500 total footage just sold after 415 days on the market.  The property was 5.48 acres.

It was originally listed at $ 900,000 and sold for $ 575,000.

To see all homes listed for sale in Jupiter's western communities, from 1.25 acres to 20 acres, visit me at www.CoastalFloridaRealEstate.net.  If you would prefer, you can reach me by phone at 561-762-4073.

Now that we are in the middle of summer I thought I would share a few thoughts with you regarding getting your house sold quickly and smoothly in this turbulent market.  I also posted some video thoughts on Memorial Day that you may want to review.

Basically, the single family market here slows to a snail's pace for a couple of reasons.  First, families relocating have mostly finished their shopping.  In order to get a home closed and the family moved in before school starts, most of these sales are behind us.  Second, almost everyone takes a vacation sometime  in July or August so they are thinking about who will take care of the cat, bring in the mail, etc. and not specifically about buying a house.   Third, it's just plain hot.

So what should you do?

Well, if the median time for a home to be on the market before selling in this area is about 130-150 days, let's use this as our metric.

If your home has been on the market longer than this time frame, you are, quite simply, away from the market.  Or....you have an issue that needs to be resolved before you house will sell.  You can read my blog posts where I give examples of things that have kept houses from selling and once fixed the houses sold quickly.  Key item:  If your house appears to be priced correctly but is not selling you have got an issue that needs to be resolved.  PERIOD.  The last 3 houses I sold in this area were only on the market about 4 weeks before selling, so it can be done.

So, if your house (it's not a home anymore, it's just a house) has been on the market 9 or 10 months and you still need to sell I would recommend that you take it off the market until after Labor Day and get your issues resolved.  Hey, having a home on the market is a frustrating experience and why add another 60 days of time if it's not going to produce an offer?  Isn't that what you want?  And that extra 60 days is just going to make buyers think there is something wrong or your house is overpriced and who needs that?

If you are not sure what is keeping your house from selling, give me a call and we can get to the bottom of it and quickly: 561-762-4073.

Now, what if your house hasn't been on the market that long?  Say only 90-120 days?   Here's what you do:   Add up the number of showings and divide by the weeks on the market.  If you are not getting about 2-3 showings per week, investigate your market position.  If you have gotten several dozen showings without an offer, you are probably in the ballpark but about 8-12% above the market.  You are offering something that is almost right, but not quite.  If you adjust your position and still don't get an offer by August 15, take the home off the market, see above, and take a break until after Labor Day.

Finally, what if you just listed your house?  Well just relax.  Track the data, nearby sales, number of showings, sales nearby, new listings, etc. and get used to the feel of having the house on the market.  And make the house "ready to show" every day. 

This blog and my website, www.CoastalFloridaRealEstate.net are full of ideas to help get your house sold.  Use them and if you think it makes sense for us to have a conversation, give me a call.

REMEMBER: HOPE IS NOT AN EFFECTIVE SELLING STRATEGY!

This just in from the Miami Herald:

After slimming down to about half its peak size over the past 20 months, South Florida's inventory of existing homes for sale has slowly begun to expand again, according to a report published Monday by real estate consultancy Condo Vultures.

In the month of June, the number of condos, townhomes and single family residences on the market in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties rose by about 2.5 percent, posting increases for each of the last four weeks, the report found.

It's the first time South Florida's supply of residences on the market -- which play a crucial role in determining home prices -- has risen four consecutive weeks since Condo Vultures begun tracking in 2008, said Peter Zalewski, a principal at the Bal-Harbour-based consultancy.

"This is the first time since Nov. 4, 2008 that we have three let alone four weeks of increase," he said. "It's only four weeks, but if that turns into 12 weeks, [the South Florida housing market] could be in trouble."

The increasing inventory could be a signal that homeowners who have been waiting patiently for a rebound may be starting to put their homes back on the market, said Jack McCabe, CEO of McCabe Research & Consulting.

You can read the whole story at:  http://www.builderonline.com/condominium/report-number-of-south-florida-homes-for-sale-is-beginning-to-expand-again.aspx

Selling a home requires adapting to a changing and dynamic environment.  You can follow the real estate market here or on my website at www.CoastalFloridaRealEstate.net.

Continuing....

Yun noted that the tax credit broadly stabilized home prices. “Without the tax credit, there will be more aggressive price negotiations between buyers and sellers,” he says. “The key test on whether the housing market can stand on its own without stimulus medicine will depend critically on private sector job creation in the second half of the year. We’ll also keep a close eye on market conditions on the Gulf Coast.”

Nevertheless, there are still plenty of people who need to sell and others who need to buy.  There always will be.  Here are some key points:  Pick the right agent, price the house correctly and be realistic.

Need help?  Check out www.CoastalFloridaRealEstate.net or give me a call 561-762-4073 and we can get your house sold!

Listing your home for sale? Interviewing agents? Ask if they have an Activity Series in their CRM programs and see what the response is. It may help you find the right agent. Here are my thoughts on this important subject.

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Need help selling? Go to www.CoastalFloridaRealEstate.net to find out if I might be the right agent to help.

REAL ESTATE AGENTS: Tired or giving a large portion of your hard earned commission to the office? Realty Associates offers extremely generous payout plans with down stream income from fellow recruits. Join one of the fastest growing companies with a contemporary business model that can reward you, not someone else, for your work. Think about it and call me for a confidential discussion. Could an extra 10-30% in your pocket make a difference?