Ramesh Nyberg's Real Estate Blog

Yes, it's been pretty wet lately, and the humidity is freakish. But--we've all heard this phrase-- "we need it" and, if you're house-hunting, rain can be your friend. I like showing homes in a rainstorm; we can check for leaks, and look for areas on the patio where water is pooling, indicating uneven surfaces which will eventually lead to discoloration and mold growth.

The market continues to adjust to the growing presence of short sales and foreclosures. Short sales slow the market down, because the banks take so long to process and approve them, but they also close less often, because there are more problems with the sellers.

I recently had some buyers lose a nice house on a short sale on the day of closing, because the seller, it turned out, falsified several documents. The resulting title defects could not be cured in time, and poof!-- There goes the transaction. That's always a risk with short sales, because the sellers are in dire straits and desperate to unload the house before the foreclosure process is finalized.

Foreclosures are actually faster and more predictable, and at least you know you have a bank which owns the property free and clear.

SALES STATS
Small signs of recovery are everywhere. I had seven people at my last open house (that's pretty good!) and the June statistics are out: Miami-Dade overall posted 1551 new sales in June, 1580 in May. Consider that against January through March, when it never got above 1291. The unsold numbers are still edging up, but not at the sharp rate they have done for the last 16 months. From April '07 to November, unsold properties ballooned from 36,364 to 41,578 (that's an increase of 14% in 7 months). The next seven month period--November to the present, shows an increase of just under 4%, to 43,188. That's a result of increased sales, and that's a good sign.

On top of this, at a recent Florida Association of Realtors Conference I attended, FAR President Chuck Bonifiglio said that, statewide, the sales statistics show that "we have hit bottom" and a recovery is on the way.

This could be the last window of opportunity for conventional financing buyers to get out there and make the deal of the century. All-cash investors will still have a bounty of foreclosures to choose from for some time.

So, did the news media say anything about...
1) Single family home sales in Miami-Dade County increasing for the 6th straight month?
2) That pending sales have DOUBLED since January?

Just thought I'd ask. Also, in Palmetto Bay, the average price per square foot of sold homes jumped from 177 to 192 in June. That's not necessarily an indicator that people are getting more money for their house, but rather that higher price range buyers returned to the market place. That's a good sign for the lending industry as well.

Many of my business associates, outside of real estate as well as in, have grumbled about sales being down, gas being up, people less willing to spend a buck. It's true, but I think so much of it is rooted in the housing market. I'm no economist, but I think many people would agree that when the housing market returns, the landscape in general will look much brighter.

One of the things I like to do to keep business relationships connected is host a networking happy hour at Hops (one of my favorite restaurants). I invite just one person per profession, so many occupations--like mortgage brokers and attorneys--get rotated month to month. This gives an opportunity for people to establish some referral business in an atmosphere that's relaxed and has no other competition for them. Next one is August 14th, and if you are interested in coming, please drop me an email. We have a drawing for a couple of prizes, get business people together who may never have met each other, and have a really nice time.