Real Estate Market Conditions for Miami Shores, Bay Harbor Islands, Surfside and El Portal – Florida
Real Estate Market Conditions for the cities of Miami Shores, Bay Harbor Islands, Surfside and El Portal have not experienced much change since last month. Out of all these cities, El Portal is the only one with a decrease in inventory, but not an increase in sales (at least the absorption rate is decreasing).
We are getting calls from buyers waiting for good deals, Miami buyers that have decided to rent while they wait for the magic house to appear for a steal. There are good buys out there, and there are plenty of short sales and foreclosures, but these may not fit your description of “dream home”. The Miami rental market continues to be HOT and a lot of sellers are choosing the rental route to the rock bottom price route.
Sometimes I think it’s funny how everyone is holding back – buyers want to rent, and sellers are willing to rent…….be ready to pay top dollar for rentals though – it’s all about supply and demand!
Smart investors tell you to buy when no one else is buying and to sell when no one else is selling – put that theory to play and it may be the perfect time to buy.
Take a look at these active listings and closed sales in different price ranges. The chart shows you that most of the inventory and closed sales are in the price range under $600,000, except for Bay Harbor Islands’ Luxury Homes tha are over $1 million.
Miami Shores Real Estate – There are more homes for sale and less sales. This should force prices to come down a bit and we are already seeing listings dropping their prices, specially if they have been on the market for a while. There have been 21 sales East of the Boulevard this year which is equivalent to 23% of all Miami Shores sales.
- Highest priced listing: $3,900,000
- Lowest priced listing : $288,000
- Properties currently under contract: 8
- Closed properties since 1/1/2007: 85
- According to the closed sales – there are 27 months of inventory in Miami Shores alone.
Bay Harbor Islands Real Estate – there are no changes in Bay Harbor Islands. The luxury market remains strong, although there are 28 months of inventory. We are not seeing a decrease in price for the Luxury real estate market, and we are seeing patient sellers. There are only 23 active listings…….not much competition when you compare it to 200+ listings in Miami Shores.
- Highest priced listing: $6,200,000
- Lowest priced listing : $575,000
- Properties currently under contract: 1
- Closed properties since 1/1/2007: 8
- There are currently 28 months of inventory in Bay Harbor Islands with 1 closing in the month of October.
Surfside Real Estate – I’m beginning to sound like a broken record – but there is no change is Surfside except for a slight increase in inventory and 5 sales last month. Prices are starting to go down and there is an evident drop in price per square foot…..especially for motivated sellers.
- Highest priced listing: $8,000,000
- Lowest priced listing : $329,900
- Properties currently under contract: 2
- Closed properties since 1/1/2007: 37
- There are currently 24 months of inventory in Surfside.
El Portal Real Estate – There was a decrease in inventory but not because of sales. Homes that expired were not put back on the market, maybe those sellers that really don’t need to sell are realizing that it’s not a good idea to test the market. There was only 1 sale in El Portal last month.
- Highest priced listing: $925,000
- Lowest priced listing : $248,900
- Properties currently under contract: 1
- Closed properties since 1/1/2007: 11
- There are currently 50 months of inventory in El Portal with 1closing in the month of October.
This chart puts into perspective the amount of Active Listings when compared to closed sales. Bay Harbor Island’s Luxury Real Estate Market has the best proportioned graph with few listings and few sales, whereas Miami Shores is falling off the chart with increasing inventory.
I cannot stress enough that sellers that don’t need to sell should not put their house on the market. You are not just hurting the other listings, you will ultimately hurt yourself by helping values decrease. We have proven with our own listings that those homes that are priced bellow the competition will sell quickly, we just put a house under contract in only 4 weeks of it being on the market. The trick is to find 3 or 4 homes that compare in location and square footage, and keep a close tab on them.
If you are a seller, ask your agent to produce monthly comparable market analysis. Go to open houses, look at the competition, be objective!
If you are a buyer, it can get frustrating to look at so many listings. Write down what is most important to you before you look at properties, is it an open kitchen? is it a 2-car garage? a pool? a big lot? Work with a Realtor that knows the area and the inventory and can save you time and aggravation.
If you have any questions about real estate market conditions in Miami Shores, Bay Harbor Islands, Surfside or El Portal, don’t hesitate to leave a comment, send us an e-mail or call us, Rick and I are always available to anwer questions.
**all information for this article was gathered from SEF Multiple Listing Service”