The inventory numbers look good for Center Coconut Grove's townhouse market with a 40% drop in the number of properties for sale since March of 2009.  This is great news for sellers who were faced with steep competition last year. Other interesting news is that the List Price to Sale Price ratio has come back up to 94% from 82% last year. This could mean one of two things: (1) that the sellers are getting 12% more in 2010 or (2) that the sellers are more realistic with their prices (more likely).   March, 2009 March, 2010 Number Of Center Grove Townhouses On The Market: 110 67 Sale Price to List Price Ratio: 82% 94% Other good news for sellers is that the we have seen an increase in the "Sale Price/Square Foot" figures so far in 2010. In 2009 townhouses in Center Grove were selling at a... 03/09/2010

The property above located at 3528 Bayshore Villas Drive priced at $3,950,000 went under contract yesterday.  This is good news for the luxury home market in Coconut Grove which has been extremely slow recently. The property is listed by Engel and Voelkers. The property above located at 3825 Poinciana Avenue in South Coconut Grove finally sold after 40, yes 40 months on the market.  A classic example of sellers chasing the market.  Originally priced at $1,749,000, the sellers made 11 price reductions and finally sold for $780,000.  Broker was Ingletto Realty Group. I had the buyer and the seller for the townhouse located at 3055 Virginia Street (pictured above) which closed last week.  It was a short sale and required an extreme amount of patience by all parties.  The selling price was... 03/09/2010

There are 90 single family homes in Coconut Grove priced over $1,000,000 and we have just seen the first home sell in that price range in 2010.  The home is located in North Coconut Grove at 2990 Emathla Street.  I showed the house a few times to my clients and it was a beautiful home with a great floor plan.  Listed at $1,800,000, the house closed for $1,665,000 ($389.00 per square foot) which is a great price for this one of a kind property. Listed by Coldwell Banker. To stay updated with all Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts via email by subscribing here.  Once you register, you must activate the subscription in a follow-up email. If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove and are looking for a Grove specialist, please contact ... 03/05/2010

Update: Another new listing in The Moorings came on the market today, see pictures and information here. 3301 South Moorings Way | List Price: $14,900,000 Last month two new listings came on the market in the exclusive gated community of The Moorings.  The first is a $14,900,000 waterfront property listed by Avatar and located at 3301 South Moorings Way.  The home features 6 bedrooms 6 baths with 10,488 square feet on a 27,516 square foot lot with 153 of water frontage.  The home was completed in 2007. The second listing also came on the market in January but went under contract in 9 days.  It was listed for land value at $1,289,000 with a lot size of 17,820 square feet.  The address is 3400 South Moorings Way.  Broker was Coldwell Banker. 3462 North Moorings Way | List Price: $$2,290,0... 02/16/2010

In honor of the Coconut Grove Arts Festival this weekend I thought I would take the time today to make a very exciting announcement..... The EWM Coconut Grove office will be part of The Coconut Grove Peacock Tour!  Fashioned after the Cows in Chicago, the Cinncinatti Pig Gig and The Flamingos of Miami Beach, The Coconut Grove Peacock Tour is an interactive public art exhibition.  These larger than life fiberglass peacocks will be designed by local artists and sponsored by local businesses to benefit local charities.  Our office is partnerng with Casa Valentina a local organization which helps young women transition successfully from foster care to independant living.  You can find out more about Casa Valentina here. Ed King is the artist who will design the peacock for our office.  He i... 02/12/2010

Here are the closed sales since January 22, 2010, my last update. Address: Bds/Bths: List Price: Sale Price: 4120 Crawford Avenue 3/3 $850,000 $752,500 3 Grove Isle Drive 2/2 $709,000 $640,000 3633 Poinciana Avenue 3/3 $520,000 $520,000 1817 Wakeena Drive 2/1 $240,000 $235,025 Here are pending sales this week in Coconut Grove. Address: Bds/Bths: Sq. Ft. List Price: 3265 Coacoochee Street 3/3.5 2,898 $829,000 3750 Charles Terrace 2/1 821 $59,900 To view this post in its original form, click here. 02/05/2010

Yesterday I had the opportunity to tour the progress they have made over at The Residences of Vizcaya (a new boutique condominium in North Coconut Grove) since my last visit in May of 2009.  I posted a slideshow back then at Hard Hat Tour Of Residences of Vizcaya. While the exterior of the building has come along nicely, it didn't seem that they had made much progress on the interior. The agent for the building assured me that they were now pushing ahead at a much faster pace and should have the common spaces completed in 3 to 4 months and the residences in about 5 to 6 months.  One selling point is that if you purchase a unit now you have the ability to meet with the developer and reconfigure the spaces to meet your needs.  According to the agent, 10 of the units are under contract. Th... 02/05/2010

Back in the good old days $700,000 townhouses in Center Grove were a dime a dozen.  Now there is only one on the market and it is priced at $710,000 on Indiana Street.  Although Indiana Street is west of 32nd Avenue, most people now consider it part of Center Grove. This property is not your typical cookie cutter townhouse.  It is contemporary style with 2,551 square feet of living space and 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths.  Special features of this townhouse include walk in closets and bath in every bedroom, 2 car garage with back entry, master bath with dual sinks, whirlpool spa & shower and travertine floors. View a list of all townhouses currently for sale in Center Coconut Grove. If you are interested in seeing this property or any others in Coconut Grove, please give me a call at 305.342.1... 02/02/2010

The contemporary style house that I listed last week at a price of $829,000 has gone under contract.  We are still holding the house Open this coming Sunday from 12:00 to 2:00 if you would like to stop by and take a look.  If this house was interesting to you, you should check out my new listing at 4129 Park Avenue.  It will hit the MLS today.  The house is priced at $795,000 and features 2,620 square feet of living space on a 5,750 square foot lot.  The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 baths.  Now that Park Avenue has been closed at the end of Main Highway it has become one of the Grove's best streets.  See photos of the home below.   If you would like to see the home I would be happy to arrange a showing for you with the owners.  Just contact me here or give me a call on my cell at 305.342.1... 02/01/2010

Well the time has come for The Real Estate Coconut to expand.  Yes I will always be THE Coconut Grove real estate expert.  Coconut Grove is my home, my life and my passion.  But in reality, my real estate transactions take me all over the map and I have a lot of knowledge to share about other communities in South Florida. So for the past few months I have been hard at work developing two new real estate blogs.  The first, www.CoralGablesRealEstateVault.com will cover everything from Deering Bay to the Golden Triangle.  And the second, www.SouthMiamiRealEstateBlog.com  will cover real estate news in South Miami, High Pines and Ponce Davis areas. So enjoy and I hope that you find them as equally interesting and informative as The Real Estate Coconut.  Riley Smith Has A New Coral Gables an... 01/29/2010

After studying the sales in Coconut Grove during 2009 I feel that it has been a great year for buyers and a somewhat depressing year for sellers. You will see below that we saw virtually the same number of sales in Coconut Grove as last year but similar to most areas in South Florida home values have continued to fall. The figures I am giving you come from North and South Coconut Grove only.  I have meticulously weeded out those sales from the West Grove and other areas of 33133 (there are streets in 33133 not within the boundaries of Coconut Grove) which would drastically affect our numbers.  The West Grove is a completely different market which I will address in another year end review. The best way to put into perspective 2009's numbers are to compare them with 2008, so here we go. S... 01/04/2010

  With 4 closings and negotiating 5 offers all within 2 weeks, I feel like the ringmaster of my very own circus. I closed on a house earlier this week in South Miami ($425,000), I am closing today on 79 West Shore Drive (list price $899,000), closing on Monday on 1666 Micanopy Avenue (list price $1,535,000), and closing on December 29th on 3625 Bougainvillea Road ($1,399,000).  I currently have under contract 3802 Little Avenue in Ye Little Wood and 3055 Virginia Avenue in Center Grove both looking to close in early January.   And as I take a look at my buyer board, my team is working with over 20 buyers who all seem to be very anxious to get in a house after the New Year.   If you have been following the blog you know that inventory is very low, if you are considering selling your hous... 12/17/2009

We all know that the number of listings in Coconut Grove is down.  Part of it is due to the time of the year (i.e. the holidays) but as I talk to residents in the Grove and go on my listing presentations it seems that most people are just STUCK and cannot sell. In general, if you purchased a home in the last 5 years (even if you put down 20%) you are upside down on your mortgage.  Meaning you currently owe more than your home is worth and you cannot sell unless you are willing to bring money to the table or negotiate a short sale with the bank.  I believe this is the number one reason why our inventory levels are so low right now, and unfortunately I don't see an end in sight. The good news is that for those of you who can afford to sell, this should help push prices up slightly as the... 12/16/2009

I am cleaning out a few files and I came across some of the pre-construction packets for a few buildings here in the Grove.  It is amazing to see that some people who purchased new construction in Coconut Grove during the boom did not suffer a loss.  Take the Grovenor House for instance.  Unit #1702 sold pre-construction for $1,640,000 in 2006 and the owners just sold it for $2,000,000 this year.  Unit #2903 sold pre-construction for $1,400,000 in 2006 and the owners sold it this year for $1,590,000. On the other hand, Grove Garden pre-construction buyers took a real hit.  The buyers of Unit #309 paid $586,000 pre-construction, the unit went into foreclosure and sold for $380,000.  The buyers of Unit #409 paid $840,000 pre-construction, the unit sold this year for $449,000. Right now, ... 12/11/2009

Back during the boom there was a "For Sale By Owner" sign on every block in Coconut Grove.  These days, it is very rare to find a true FSBO and for the most part FSBO's  have been taken over by the discount broker (the broker that charges a small fee to place your home on the MLS but otherwise gives you no added service).   Although there are a plethora of reasons to have your own experienced agent representing you on the selling side (i.e. to qualify buyers, market your home correctly, negotiate properly, help with appraisal and inspection hurdles, help with pricing, etc. etc.) I do not hold it against anyone who decides to sell their home on their own.   But problems do arise when I am representing the buyer who is hoping to purchase a "For Sale By Owner".  First, the sellers have ty... 12/05/2009

  This house was featured last week in my post titled "New Construction Homes In Coconut Grove".  Turns out the home was actually under contract but the real estate brokerage company never listed it as a Pending Sale (some companies don't ever change the status until the home closes). The home sold today for a price of $1,260,000 ($291.00 per square foot).  It was a 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath with 4,322 square feet of living area on a 6,250 square foot lot. I track every sale in the Grove and the recent sales trend for new construction homes in Coconut Grove has been $300+ per square foot.  In my opinion, the reason this one sold below that number is due to the fact that (1) It was located on a busy part of Tigertail Avenue, (2) There was virtually no land (3) The house is not gated and has li... 11/27/2009

The story began when some buyers contacted me from the blog and asked for my assistance in helping them find a home here in Coconut Grove.  They were originally interested in my Matheson Avenue listing but upon seeing it told me that they really wanted something more with more land, and priced in the low $500k's. A few days later, an associate in my office mentioned to me that her Battersea listing (priced at $749,000) was now a short sale.  I knew right away that it was THE property for my clients and took them over to see it.  They immediately made an offer. Due to the fact that the property was a short sale and that the tenant living in the house had a "right of first refusal"  we knew ahead of time that it would not be an easy transaction.   The right of first refusal was a contrac... 11/25/2009

Just as I predicted, the foreclosure I wrote about last weekend got snapped up in a matter of days.  It officially went pending today. I took several clients over to see the house but they all decided that it was more of a "project" than they were hoping for. To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here. If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove, please give me a call at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here. To view this post in its original form, click here. 11/20/2009

It is that time of year again when the northerners head south for the winter.  For all of you who are interested in second homes, Coconut Grove has one of the most stable condo markets in South Florida.  Our luxury buildings here in Coconut Grove offer bay views and top amenities. Click on the links below to see what is available in our most popular condo buildings: Grovenor House: 22 for sale |6 closed this year. Ritz Carlton: 22 for sale | 3 closed this year. Grove Hill: 2 for sale | 3 closed this year. Grove Towers: 9 for sale | 1 closed this year. Yacht Harbor: 8 for sale | 5 closed this year. In the above buildings there are only 2 units that are in foreclosure and they are both in Grove Towers (Unit 9A and 3F). I handle many relocations to Coconut Grove and the surrounding areas.... 11/19/2009

Coconut Grove Active Listings -240 (similar to last month) 68 are "luxury listings" (ie over $1,500,000) -  (similar to last month) 35 are short sales (similar to last month) 5 are foreclosures (similar to last month) Median List Price - $867,500 (same as last month) Coconut Grove Pending Sales - 31 (similar to last month)3 are "luxury listings" (up from last month)15 are short sales (up from last month)3 are foreclosures (down from last month) Coconut Grove Closed Sales - 9 (similar to last month) 0 were "luxury listings" 1 was a short sale3 were foreclsoures Average List Price - $614,000 Average Sold Price - $533,000 List price to Sold Price Ratio - 87% Higest Closed Listing - $1,055,000 Lowest Closed Listing - $465,000 What does this mean to you? If you have a listing in the luxury ... 09/12/2009