Fort Lauderdale Real Estate News

South Florida May Soon Follow As Equilibrium Nears

The notion of selling a South Florida home in today’s market is daunting for some, if not disappointing for many. A second-quarter report for the Orlando, FL-based Florida Association of Realtors (FAR), however, shows progress being made in several cities throughout the Sunshine State, leaving many wondering when South Florida will follow suit.

In Jacksonville, the median prices of existing homes sold between April and June rose from $185,300 to $191,700, a 3.5 percent increase as compared to the first three months of the year, according to the report.

FAR president Chuck Bonillo calls the new findings positive, noting he expects Jacksonville to lead the Florida market out of its slump. “Realtors are reporting heightened interest from buyers, more business activity and an increase in pending sales,” he states. “Prices also appear to be reaching equilibrium in many areas ─ another encouraging sign that could boost the market’s momentum.”

South Florida, a vibrant mecca for first-time home buyers, foreclosure bargain hunters and real estate investors, reported existing home sales in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach were down 8 and 3 percent, respectively, during the second quarter as compared to last year’s second-quarter figures.

But, even with still-sluggish prices, some experts, such as those with Moody’s Economy.com, predict prices reaching equilibrium this time next year. This could be a result of fewer adjustable-rate mortgages resetting along with a steadily improving job market. A drop in foreclosures could really help jumpstart a recovery, too.

The FAR report presents a positive outlook for the state in terms of existing home sales in the next several months as we see broader gains in the fourth quarter as first-time buyers take advantage of a tax credit made available through recently approved housing stimulus legislation. Some industry insiders predict a change in the market cycle as early as spring 2009.

Moreover, people who are able to buy right now are sitting pretty as interest rates continue to drop and the selection of homes available grows. Today’s buyers have their pick of brand-new homes, not-quite-built homes and older homes in various states of foreclosure.

Home sellers are realizing they can’t get top dollar for their 25-year-old home and they’re lowering their asking price. Cases like these can result in some great bargains on homes in high-end neighborhoods that are priced cheaper than some would expect.

Even if a buyer ends up paying a little too much, it’s worth it if he or she plans to live in the home for the next 15 to 20 years. Buyers should be more cautious about overpaying for a home if they don’t intend on staying in it for very long.

Often times, the media has a tendency to take on a the-sky-is-falling mentality to real estate, painting a picture of a grim market spiraling out of control. The fact of the matter is that it’s unlikely the South Florida real estate market will stay in an ongoing state of doom as long as the long-term outlook for the state and national economies stays positive.

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Clients of mine just bought this Riverside floor plan WaterGarden Condo in downtown Fort Lauderdale on the 30th floor. This unit boasts spectacular views of downtown Ft Lauderdale, the Nu River, Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean. This condo features 2 bedrooms, 2 baths + Den, approx 1600 square ft of living area, a large open balcony with forever views. WaterGarden Condo offers residents luxurious amenities and is located just 2 blocks from shopping and dining on Las Olas Blvd. Sales Price was $700,000 and closing date was May 28, 2008.

If you are looking to buy, rent or sell a condo at WaterGarden, please contact me today.

Even Black Clouds Have Silver Linings

Click through BusinessWeek.com’s slide show, ranking the best- and worst-performing real estate markets by ZIP code and you’ll find a rude reminder of just how low some markets can go in one year alone. The July 31 report, “Real Estate Boom and Bust in the Same Metro Areas,” examined 20 major metropolitan areas to find out just how well they faired in light of today’s turbulent economy. What it found wasn’t all bad news. In fact, many of the studied markets appeared relatively strong. What’s most interesting is that many of the highest-performing ZIP codes are close neighbors to some of the report’s lowest-performing ZIP codes.

In South Florida, for instance, housing prices have taken a serious hit in Davie, a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale, due to a mix of weak-dollar ramifications, lending restrictions and new construction. The average asking price fell 30 percent to $276,661 between July 2007 and July 2008, according to the report. But the market appears to be much rosier in Jupiter, a wealthy beach town boarded by Palm Beach Gardens to the south and Martin County to the north. Median listing prices in Jupiter climbed 24 percent to $644,750 between July 2007 and July 2008.

Affluent markets like Jupiter are benefiting from the weak dollar because it has opened new markets for well-financed folks who can buy exactly what they want without the competition. While some may argue that it’s a bit of a stretch calling Jupiter — a good 100 miles from the heart of Miami — part of the Miami metropolitan area, the message is still clear: We may be in a recession, but not everyone is failing.

The comparison report, conducted by Altos Research, drives home the point that some neighborhoods are indeed appreciating despite an overall negative feeling toward the real estate market. Unfortunately, the accompanying article, “The Credit Crisis Turns One,” lacks a solid analysis of what these numbers can tell us about what’s in store for us a year from now if the financial crisis continues on its current course. Keep in mind that the study represents only a small snapshot of the country’s more than 43,000 ZIP codes.

It’s unfortunate that the country’s financial meltdown has brought the entire market down, negatively affecting the masses the most and the wealthiest individuals the least. For one thing, it is going to take some time before the South Florida housing market will rise above the daunting overhang of unsold homes and widespread sale of foreclosures.

Don’t Base Your Investments on National Indicators

While it may appear like you’re seeing the same home prices and sales in your local market that are being reported in neighboring counties and states, it’s important not to lose sight of the details specific to your market. Markets can vary widely from city to city, neighborhood to neighborhood or, as in the case of Fort Lauderdale condos such as Las Olas River House, Las Olas Grand,WaterGarden, Symphony, Las Olas Beach Club or L’Hermitage; building to building.

Keeping market-specific details, such as price trends, volume and inventory, in mind when buying or selling residential real estate in Fort Lauderdale and elsewhere, is the key to evaluating real estate deals.

Unfortunately, the media has a tendency to generalize and summarize what’s taking place in the real estate market and often times, both buyers and sellers end up making critical decisions based largely on prices and sales. For real-time state of the market, they should be looking at sales volume and inventory trends, which will show how active or soft a particular market is.

To be successful in this industry, you should never look at real estate through a wide-angle lens. Get a more lucid picture of what’s taking place in your local market by breaking it up and examining the details.

You can probably come up with a slew of characteristics that differentiate various neighborhoods within your local market such as Bay Colony, Coral Ridge, Las Olas, Harbor Beach, Rio Vista, Wilton Manors and Victoria Park.

It’s critical for buyers and sellers to understand these characteristics and, in turn, communicate their buying or selling needs with a real estate professional. In order to get the best advice, service and consultation, buyers and sellers need to be particularly selective when choosing an agent that is most knowledgeable about their local market and will be able to best meet their needs.

On a similar note, buyers and sellers should not get too hung up on waiting for the housing market’s bottom. Many buyers, who are now sellers, missed all the signs of the market’s top and it’s highly likely that buyers may also miss the so-called bottom — if they wait around to read about it in the news.

It takes a good four to six months for statistics to report the start of a recovery and it will be too late by the time it hits the media. While it’s easy to see a bottom coming, it’s impossible to pinpoint when it will happen exactly. People that are fortunate to buy at the bottom won’t realize their good fortune until it’s passed.

Making sure you do your homework when purchasing a home is a no brainier, but all too often people make investments based on what the media reports. One size fits all doesn’t apply to the real estate world.

If you are considering buying or selling real estate in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contact John Sabia at 954-850-2397 or visit the #1 Fort Lauderdale Real Estate website.

Friday Night Lights at Cardinal Gibbons | Coral Ridge - Fort Lauderdale

Residents in the upscale community of Coral Ridge Country Club Estates neighboring Cardinal Gibbons High School are planning a meeting with city officials to determine what is to be done with the high school’s football field lighting.

Cardinal Gibbons school officials reportedly spent nearly $250, 000 on new field lighting after receiving permission from the city of Fort Lauderdale to install the light towers. Through what seems as an oversight, permission was given to install 4 light towers exceeding the 35 feet height limit per city code. Neighbors affected by the bright lights complained and city officials realizing the error, contacted the school with 3 options, one being to apply for a variance. Cardinal Gibbons chose to apply for a variance.

The decision on the Friday Night Lights at Cardinal Gibbons will be decided at a meeting with city officials, now scheduled for Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at City Hall, 100 North Andrews Avenue. The public is welcomed to attend.

Coral Ridge is located between Commercial Boulevard and Sunrise Boulevard just west of the Intracoastal Waterway and east of Federal Highway.

Homes for sale in Coral Ridge range in price from $400’s to more than 7 million for homes on dry lots, golf-course and waterfront canals.

On August 11, the Broward Legislative Delegation will meet to hear public concerns and opposition against the proposed undersea natural gas port off the coastline of Fort Lauderdale. Residents along Fort Lauderdale beach area especially owners of Fort Lauderdale Condos at Galt Ocean Mile and Lauderdale by the Sea plan to make their objections heard at this meeting and vow to flood the office of Governor Charlie Crist with phone calls and faxes since it appears the final decision will fall to the Governor.

The undersea port project, “Calyso” proposed by Suez, a subsidiary of a French energy giant will consist of two natural gas terminals that will be constructed approximately 8 to 10 miles off the Fort Lauderdale coast. Tankers with liquefied natural gas will be able to dock alongside, heat the gas back to vapor and transport it through a pipeline to Florida’s energy plants.

The meeting on August 11th will be open to the public and will be held at the Beach Community Center at 3351 NE 33rd Ave, Fort Lauderdale, Florida from 5:00 - 7:30pm.

Anyone planning to speak should register online at least 2 days prior to the meeting .

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On July 26th, in a rare weekend session, the Senate approve a bill that has many trumpeting as the most consequential housing legislation in decades. With bi-partisan support, 72-13, the bill is aimed at assisting homeowners struggling to make their ballooning mortgage payments refinance into more affordable loans, avoid foreclosure and ultimately keep their homes.

Some estimates indicate that there are approximately 2 million people going through some stage of the foreclosure process. This bill now provides them the opportunity to restructure their loan payments, avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes.

After originally calling the bill an expensive bail-out for irresponsible borrowers and lenders, President Bush has indicated that he will sign the bill later this week. About 400,000 families could see some relief as early as this fall.

The portion of the bill that permits homeowners to refinance into more favorable loans will only be available for a few years.

Also included in this bill, about 4 billion in grants for purchasing and renovating foreclosed properties in hard hit areas, funding for new housing counselors and a tax refund for first time home-buyers.

Summary of The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008

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A Question of Outside Condo Property Taken to Court

The hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 were difficult on the state of Florida, but since then there has been an issue between Florida condo boards, unit owners, insurance companies, and the state that has made the hurricanes even more difficult to deal with. What’s the deal? The outside property belonging to any one condo unit in South Florida.

If a hurricane destroys things such as a condo’s hot tub, grill, lounge chairs, and Jacuzzis, who has to pay to repair or replace them? This has been an issue of debate since the hurricanes came to the state and ravaged many of these items. The issue was first raised when two years ago the Department of Business & Professional Regulation decided that condominium associations were liable for the damages if the property outside of a condo unit was damaged and these rulings became effective across the state.

This issue was brought to the forefront when a Florida condo association in Doral was receiving numerous requests from owners to have their items replaced or repaired that were damaged while in a condo common area. Problems ensued because everyone including the unit owners, the condominium association, and the insurance companies were all being given different information.

The association did not want to have to pay more than $1.5 million a year in insurance costs, so they brought the matter to the department and asked them to interpret the state law. The department ruled against the association, which appealed.

On July 2, 2008 the 3rd District Court of Appeal called into question this matter again when they decided that the rulings mentioned above were “utterly unfair.” The court was under the impression that everyone shouldn’t have to pay for the property of one. This court ruling backs a law that was signed on June 30th by Governor Charlie Crist. The problem is that many people say that the law, CS, SB 601, isn’t clear enough and it may not even be enforceable.

A spokesperson for the department stated that it will ask the 3rd District Court of Appeal to hear the case again. This is a sign that the Department of Business & Professional Regulation is not happy with the new law and wants to appeal it. If the law is appealed, this issue could be brought to the Florida Supreme Court to be heard. It is not yet known if the new law signed by the governor will be enforceable or upheld.

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Las Olas River House condo 2306, a luxury Florida condo in downtown Fort Lauderdale is now available as a furnished rental.

This absolutely stunning high floor Lexington east/west floor plan features 2 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, professionally designed by Perla Lici, offers approximately 2,000 square feet of living area and is indeed the ultimate vacation condo or local residence.

Featuring a European kitchen with Snadairo cabinets, stainless appliances and granite counters. Split bedroom plan, 2 balconies boasting impressive panoramic views of downtown Ft Lauderdale, the Atlantic Ocean, Nu River and Intracoastal Waterway.

Las Olas River House is one of the premier Las Olas condos that offers residents exceptional amenities including a state-of-the-art Fitness Center, heated pool, Bistro lounge, security, concierge and valet parking. This condo is also offered for sale at $799,000.

Contact John Sabia at 954-850-2397 to request a viewing of this luxury downtown condo.

More Las Olas River House Condos for Rent More Las Olas River House Condos for Sale

The St Regis Hotel & Resort on Fort Lauderdale Beach will no longer be managed by Starwood Hotels which owns the St Regis brand name. As of August 11, the 220-unit resort owned by Castillo Grand LLC will no longer be affiliated with the St Regis name. According to a spokesperson, the contract cancellation decision by Starwood Hotels came after several undisclosed disputes.

The St Regis Fort Lauderdale Condo-Hotel opened on Fort Lauderdale Blvd (A1A) across from the Atlantic Ocean in May 2007, promoted as a prestigious landmark, offers lavish hotel suites as well as luxurious condos for sale ranging in price from just under $2 million and up

Update: Ritz-Carlton will take over operations beginning August 11th marking the St Regis it’s fourth South Florida property including hotels in Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne and South Beach.

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