Ramesh Nyberg's Real Estate Blog

The October stats are out, and not much has changed in terms of trends. The inventory in Miami-Dade continued to fall: we are now below 9,000 single family homes for sale-- wow! At this time last year, the big drop in inventory actually started. September '08 had 16,802 unsold, and the next month it dropped to 16,129. A year later, we've cut the inventory in half. The list-to-sale ratio has stayed pretty constant at 89%, and the average days on market is telling us the same story: it takes a little over a month to sell your home in Miami-Dade.

Palmetto Bay and Pinecrest continue to meander around but otherwise basically recovered from a poor showing in September. Interestingly, though, Palmetto Bay's inventory increased for the second straight month, bringing the number of unsold homes to 165. That's still a far cry from October 2008's number of 284.

The first-time buyer tax credit was extended (pending the President Obama's signature), and this can only be a positive. How much of an impact this will have on the overall housing market remains to be seen, but in the wake of a lot of negative forecasts about the housing market, we've got a count this as a victory. Realtors from all over the country signed on-line petitions prepared by the National Association of Realtors, and once President Obama signs it, we can expect to keep a lot of buyers warmed up. 

I'm happy to announce that you can now search the MLS here on this site. I hope you will use this often. You have a home here, where you can read the blog, check the market stats, and now, do your searching.    

It's worth mentioning that I also work in the commercial sector. If you are looking for something for your business, this is a tenant's market. It's an outstanding time to upsize! Call me and let's make your deal. Today's new opportunity: a storefront/office space in the Carriage House Hotel on Miami Beach, perfectly located on the lobby level, next door to a busy restaurant. It has a reception area, main office, loft workspace, and lots of storage space. Price: $1200/month. 

I'm not sure if I have a favorite month, or if its necessary to have one, but November ranks pretty high for me. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday...We are in the real "crunch time" period of NFL football...and today, November 19th, is my first son's birthday. Happy 24th Birthday, Erik!

Well, you've seen it on the news, probably in the newspaper, and on the radio: the recession is ending, or at least close to being over. Recently the Miami Herald published an article quoting leading economists, including Standard and Poor's, whose spokesperson cited a still "fragile" banking industry while saying we are exiting the recession.

Radio personality and financial advisor Rick Edelman recently declared that the recession is ending, and that there is actually cause to be excited. Though we "might not see any improvement for months," the improvement is underway already, as evidenced in the stock market.

"The stock market," he explains, "anticipates the economy.  It began falling before we entered the recession, and it is beginning to recover before we exit the recession." Jobs, he said, do just the opposite: Unemployment lags behind the economy. Jobs are lost after the recession begins, and recover after the recession has ended. Edelman, if you have not heard him, is excellent at explaining how money works, and how financial events affect our daily lives. He can be heard on Saturdays from 11am to 1pm, on WIOD (610am).

This is traditionally a slow segment of the real estate year. Most people have turned their attention to the holidays, family visits, shopping, and travel. But don't rule it out entirely--there are still those who want to close deals before the end of the year, and early to mid-December can sometimes be surprisingly busy. I will let you know in a December blog how that is going ;)

I want to wish all of you a great Thanskgiving holiday. Despite the tough road we have all traveled this year, there is so much to be thankful for. One of the things I treasure is the readership of this blog, and the terrific people I meet in this career. Thank you for doing business with me!