Fort Lauderdale Real Estate News

Home and Condo Sales figures for July 2008 - Fort Lauderdale

Listing and Sales Activity in the Fort Lauderdale Real Estate market for July 2008 reports some positive news from last month, but we are headed in the right direction.

Closed Sales for single family homes in Fort Lauderdale were down just 2% while the median price was up 2% from June 2008, however an 18% decrease from July 2007.

Closed Sales for Fort Lauderdale Condos were down 14% over June, while the median sales price was also up 4% from last month. Median price from same time last year is down 16%.

Average Sales price for both property categories were down 4% and 6% respectively over last month and down 19% and 6% from same time last year.

Positive territory for New Listing Inventory reports a decrease of 11% of new properties on the market from last month and down 13% from last year.

Positive news for Total Available Inventory as well with a small decrease of 1% of properties for sale over last month and down 4% from last year.

As you can see, there is plenty room for improvement, however, the sky is not falling as you would be lead to believe by most media reporting. It is crucial to remember that real estate is local, not nationwide or statewide and varies significantly between neighborhood to neighborhood and condominium to condominium.

I learned a long time ago from real estate sales coach Mike Ferry, the secret to selling a home in any real estate market and it remains true to this day is that there are only really 2 questions to ask if you are considering selling your home:

• Do you absolutely have to sell your home? not want to, not testing the market - Do you absolutely have to sell?
• Will you price it to sell? not I need, not I want. etc.,
  Will you price it to sell based on market value, market trends and perhaps even below market value taking into consideration, short sales, foreclosures, active listings, pending sales and most importantly closed sales in past 30, 60 and 90 days, not 1 year ago or even 6 months ago.

  If your answer is not yes to both questions, you probably should not be selling your home at this time.

  If you answer yes to both questions, than your next step is to select an agent who understand this.

  All other suggestions and advice for selling a home are only complimented if Price and Motivation are the top 2 key factors in selling a home.

For more information about buying or selling residential real estate in Fort Lauderdale, contact John Sabia today at 954-850-2397 and visit the #1 Fort Lauderdale Real Estate web-site.

source: Realtor® Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale

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.

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.

Do you want to search Short Sale Listings in Fort Lauderdale, Florida?

I have added a new feature on my website listing available Short Sale listings.

You can view single family and condo short sales in all of Broward County by visiting Fort Lauderdale Short Sale Listings

Short Sales may be great opportunities for purchasing a property well below market value, however, be prepared to exhaust a great deal of patience because lenders have not been very cooperative in approving the sales in a timely fashion if at all.

Don’t Let Great Condo Rental Opportunities in Fort Lauderdale Pass You By

If you’re like a lot of renters you have been watching the rental prices of Fort Lauderdale Condos go up and then fall back down over and over again the last couple of years. Many renters are content to just sit by and watch the rise and fall of the housing prices. Yet, just when they are going to take action they watch the condo slip away either in a price that creeps back up or to another renter who got to it faster. There are a lot of condos for rent in Fort Lauderdale and instead of just sitting by and waiting for the right opportunity to fall into your lap or waiting for the right price to come along, why not search for it?

Find the Perfect Property for You!

Instead of settling for what is out there or flipping through the rental section of your newspaper wondering what will be the best choice, why not search for Fort Lauderdale condo rentals in a much more straightforward fashion? When you come to our real estate site, you will find it really simple to search for apartments for rent including luxury rentals! There is no need to search high and low through several different sources. Instead, you have one source that you can trust to put you in contact with all of the great properties on the market.

Instead of watching the prices on rental properties rise and fall and settling for less than you may need or paying more than you can afford, you can search through our website with ease and find just what you are looking for. Rentals are sorted by price, so you can look for Rentals under $2000 per month, Rentals under $3,000 per month, Rentals under $4,000 per month and luxury rentals $4,000 and more. We understand that you have very specific needs and we allow you to search for those until they are met. Whether you need a long term rental or one of the beautiful short term luxury rentals, there is a tool for you to use to ensure that you’ll find the property that will best fit your needs!

John Sabia is a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and can be reached at (954) 847-5002 (work) and 954-850-2397 (cell).

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