Real Estate Déjá Vu

1996 History Repeats Itself in 2007

Good news! I just sold two Coconut Grove homes.
Both clients are very happy. Properties that are competitively priced, well maintained and professionally marketed are selling in all price ranges. Read on for the year-end figures for 2007 and for 1996, which was the second year into our last market slowdown. Continue past the statistics and you can see a comparison of the increase of various values over the last ten years.

South Grove Canal Home:   1996 - $ 599,000 2002 - $1,590,000    (after extensive renovations) 2006 - $2,345,000

Now price ranges are distinctly different. Today a home I had sold in 1997 at 4171 Pomona for $160,000 has just resold for $599,000. It had been maintained, but had no significant updates. The same is true in the upper price ranges. In a gated community in South Grove I had had a home listed in 1997 on and off for two years in the $600,000 range. It finally sold in 1999 for $575,000. After a year on the market in 2006 and 2007 in the 2.2 million range I hear that it now has an offer working. Again it is essentially the same house. No changes or updates.   

March of 1996 there were 24 single family homes over one million dollars for sale and none pending. Today there 143 homes on the market over one million and fifteen are pending.
 
 The average price for a single family home in South Coconut Grove in 2007 is $1,249,272.

 The average price for a single family home in North Coconut Grove in 2007 is $1,104,333.   

4171 Pamona Ave:   1997 - $160,000 2006 - $599,000

The interesting key here is that the real estate market conditions are so similar to 1996 when I wrote the article. I would say the exact same thing to a seller today. Many buyers are echoing the sentiment they expressed in 1996.
 
  Excerpts from the 1996 Article:
 
The Coconut Grove Market is Alive and Well as long as homes are priced competitively! We find that this is true in all other Dade areas as well. This is a PRICE DRIVEN MARKET and buyers today shop. They will ignore the overpriced listing like the plague! Even when the property is one of our UNIQUE FABULOUS GROVE CHARACTER HOMES, if they feel the price is too high, the first question that they ask is, "How long has the property been on the market?" If they believe that the price is higher than competitive properties that have the same or similar character features in the nearby neighborhood, they wait for the seller to be "reasonable." I recently sold a home to the first buyer that I showed it to -- six months later and for twenty percent less than the first listing price.

North Grove Pool Home:   1997 sold for $171,000 2007 sold for $630,000

Both North and South Grove homes are selling quickly if well priced. There are tremendous selections in the Gables and County and the taxes are less. In a price sensitive market where the days of "play money" and "quick profits" are gone buyers sharpen their pencil. All buyers today face higher insurance premiums which dramatically affect their monthly payments. Every nickel counts! Most important the homes must be in superb condition! Busy professionals in this market do not want to be bothered with repairs and remodeling. "Handy man Specials" are still in demand, but at drastically reduced prices. Permits and zoning are much stricter and good workmen are harder to find!  

South Grove Mediterranean Estate:   Sold 1996 for $675,000 Sold 2000 for $825,000 Sold 2006 for $1,995,000

I believe that we live on our Biscayne Bay with our marvelous trees in one of the best parts of the world. BUYERS STILL WANT TO LIVE HERE TOO! In the last month we have sold to buyers from the Far East, Europe, Latin America, Kansas, and next door!
 

Excerpts from the Coconut Grove Times 1996