Ramesh Nyberg's Real Estate Blog

Well the quick and easy answer to that is to day, "don't panic" and "let them do their work up in DC."

Where will all the chips fall in the bailout? Who will be the winners, and who the losers? Should we, or shouldn't we? There is so much uncertainty as we await the answers to how the federal government plans to tourniquet the badly bleeding economy. There are also many opinions as to what should or shouldn't be done.

Recently, an attorney for our own Sunbelt Title Company put it this way:

"It will be a good thing for the government to have its hands on both levers that control the front and back end of the mortgage business," said Michael Doolin at last Tuesday's Coldwell Banker sales meeting.

That may be true--I just have a built-in trepidation about the government controlling things like this, having seen them in action when I was in law enforcement.

But we will see. For now, I'm going to continue to bring you the local sales news, and, astoundingly, it is very encouraging.
As the casualties of this economic war keep mounting, the sales in Miami-Dade County again are up, so we are now 8 consecutive months with increased sales of single family homes. And, for the first time since November of last year, inventory DECREASED (see $ales by the Numbers, at this website). Palmetto Bay also had a fall in inventory, for the third straight month. All this is especially impressive for the month of August, which featured the beginning of the school year and an expected slowdown in buyer activity.

Foreclosure sales continue to move at a brisk pace, and areas like Cutler Bay and Homestead are seeing bank-owned properties come on the market well under $100 per square foot and get picked off as fast as mini-season lobster.

Buyer inquiries seem to be clustered in the $170-200k range right now, as that is where the real deals in single family homes, from West Kendall to Homestead, seem to be.

On a completely different note, I have a surplus of nice refrigerator magnets that have the Miami Dolphins and Miami Hurricane football schedules on them. The company I bought them from sent them late. Want one? Just ask, I'll be happy to send you one or two.

So we got a minor brush from big bad Ike today, and everyone here is breathing a big sigh of relief. The last thing this slowly recovering housing market needed was a category 4 hurricane.

Off we go with a new listing, a real sweet place out in West Kendall (please check the listings) at 9367 SW 157 Path, priced right at $289,000.

Buyer activity continues to be pretty brisk, and it could be that the dust is settling on the confusing lending industry, along with prices, which once plummeted and now could be tapering off. I am still getting a lot of inquiries from the U.K., Canada, and Australia, so international buyership is strong.

Football season is here, so as a dyed-in-the-wool football fan myself, let me offer some guidance to you pigskin widows: Schedule the house hunting before noon on Saturdays (that's when most college games start) and before 1pm on Sundays (when the NFL games start). Plan it so that he's back by 1pm, and he'll be more likely to go with you. I know, I know, who cares if he goes with you, right? If you're seriously buying, please bring him with you. It saves another trip later. :)

GOOD LUCK!