Juicy Estates: Mortgage Blog

Archive for the 'Luxury Homes' Category

Coral Gables Real Estate Leads The Way

As Riley Smith of EWM Realtors wrote in his post on The Coral Gables Real Estate Vault the Coral Gables real estate market is showing all the signs of a solid recovery.  This trend is not uncommon among luxury neighborhoods throughout South Florida.   Even Forbes Magazine’s Luxury Home Index took note of the activity in Coral Gables as I highlighted on March 29th here on Juicy Estates.

We in the finance world have taken note of these positive market trends and have already loosened the purse strings a bit making Jumbo financing in these markets more readily available with easier qualification standards.  A clear example of this is a purchase I am closing at the end of the month on a Coral Gables home with Jumbo financing and only a 15% down payment…..and no mortgage insurance!

Another example of the liquidity returning to the jumbo market is the narrowing of the spread between conforming interest rates and non-conforming interest rates.  As I detailed in my post of April 1st, conforming interest rates (for loans below $417,000) did increase a bit (about .25% as I predicted) as a result of the end of the Fed’s MBS purchase program but interestingly we actually lowered our jumbo rates earlier this week.

If you are buying or selling a luxury home or commercial property in South Florida I would welcome the opportunity to help get you to the closing table.

Special thanks to Lowell Kuvin Esq. of www.CoralGablesZoningLaw.com for the image in this post.

Coral Gables Tops Forbes Luxury Home Index

The Forbes Luxury Housing Index offers a more granular look at high-end markets by tracking the weekly median home sale prices of the 500 most expensive ZIP codes in the country, using real estate statistics provided by Altos Research, a Mountain View, Calif.-based real estate derivatives research group.

With a 158% increase in the median home sales price over February 2009 median prices Coral Gables tops the list of the 500 most expensive neighborhoods from around the country.   While this data may be questionable it’s nice to see a South Florida neighborhood painted in good light.

Renowned Gourmet Chef Stella Sellian-Burgess Prepares Lunch for Deering Bay Progressive Brokers Open

Why get wet and drive all over town to see brokers opens when four luxury townhomes  in Deering Bay will be open for a progressive brokers open today October 21st from 12:00 to 2:00.  Please join us for lunch and a preview of some exceptional properties.

It is a short but beautiful drive down Old Cutler Road that will take you to a different world. Deering Bay Yacht and Country Club sits on over 220 acres of land populated by indigenous fauna, golf courses, luxury homes and condominiums as well as a world class marina.

I assure you it will be time well spent given the caliber of the properties, the expected turn out and the delicious lunch being prepared by renowned Chef Stella Burgess.

The addresses and Mapquest links are below….see you there!

13646 Deering Bay Drive (SW 60 Ave) – Listed for $1,149,000 by Joe Olozaga & Chris Monge 305-613-3121 ~ click here for map

13626 Deering Bay Drive (SW 60 Ave) – Listed for $1,249,000 by Geri Brodie 786-853-4374 ~ click here for map

13630 Deering Bay Drive (SW 60 Ave) – Listed for $1,200,000 by Elizabeth Montero 786-385-9638 ~ click here for map

13632 Deering Bay Drive (SW 60 Ave) – Listed for $999,000 by Valarie Byrne 305-960-2413 ~ click here for map

Advantageous financing is available for these luxury townhomes with as little as 20% down and interest rates in the low 5% range.

Pinecrest Homes For Sale ~ Inventory Drops

As illustrated by the very telling graph below the Pinecrest market (33156 zip code) has made a major turn around.  This market is poised to be one of the first luxury home areas in South Florida to experience a “bounce” off the bottom as inventories shrink and buyer traffic increases.

Additionally the charts for homes for sale in Coral Gables, South Miami and Miami Beach look very similar.  The perfect storm of disappearing inventory, increased buyer traffic and low interest rates is upon us.  The South Florida luxury home market has and will always be resilient so the smart money is buying now.

Good News For Luxury Real Estate and Jumbo Loans

The national media, typically slow to pick up on anything related to real estate that is positive has noticed that the national average for jumbo 30 year fixed rate mortgages has dropped below 6% for the first time since 2005.  As mentioned in the Business Week article of October 12th jumbo loan (loan amounts over $417,000) rates have continued to fall.

The Business Week article also mentions that some luxury home buyers have run into difficulty with appraisals.  In most cases in the South Florida market issues with properties not appraising are due to the fact that the appraisal is ordered through an appraisal management company and an out of area appraiser is given the assignment.  Under current market conditions it is imperative that the appraiser on any assignment have an intimate knowledge of the market in which the subject property is located.

Oh and the good news……..we are HVCC compliant but we don’t order our appraisals through a management company.  We use local seasoned appraisers with years of experience appraising Luxury homes in the South Florida market.

Brokers Open With Private Chef Stella Burgess At 1645 Tigertail Avenue

Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust and Perdigon Title Services are proud to host a brokers open for Riley Smith’s new listing at 1645 Tigertail Avenue. Join us to preview this very well priced 5 bedroom 3.5 bathroom home.  

Even if  you have previewed this home previously you MUST see it again, the owners have made some great renovations and reduced the price!

Private chef Stella Burgess who has cooked in some of the worlds truly great restaurants will be preparing lunch.  We invite you to stop by, preview a beautiful well priced home and enjoy a delicious meal.

1645 Tigertail Avenue – Renovated and Reduced!

Here Come The Buyers!

Leading real estate information provider Trulia has compiled some statistics which illustrate something that those of us in the profession are living everyday.  The Miami and Florida real estate markets have experienced a dramatic increase activity in the past 90 days as buyers from around the world recognize the tremendous values that many South Florida properties represent.

read more….

20% Down Jumbo Financing Is Available!

My objective in in this post is to dispel any rumors that 20% down jumbo financing is not available or the rumors that jumbo loans are almost impossible to qualify for.  While mortgage brokers and many smaller lenders for the most part no longer have access to jumbo loans many major lenders still offer a full jumbo product set with very favorable terms. 

The fact is that there currently exists very little appetite on the secondary market for non-conforming mortgage backed securities therefore almost all jumbo mortgages are “portfolio loans”.  As a result of this reality the larger lenders with larger balance sheets have a greater ability to deliver these loans are favorable rates and terms. 

Since the inception of the liquidity crisis in the summer of 2007 I have been actively engaged in establishing a network of mortgage bankers at various major lenders in an effort to ensure that my clients have access to the best possible financing terms.  Over the past 6 months I have referred potential clients whose needs I could not meet to other lenders to the tune of more than $10 million in closed loan volume.   That translates to approximately $12.5M in closed residential transactions in the Miami market that might not have otherwise happened.

While I do not get compensated when I refer a client to another lender I feel it benefits all of us in several ways.

1. The buyer is able to secure the financing needed to purchase the new home.
2. The seller is able to sell their current home and in most cases move on to purchase another.
3. The professionals in the transaction such as the Realtors, closing agents, appraisers etc.  earn a commission or a fee putting more money back into the economy.
4. Another sale is completed reducing inventories and helping to expedite the stabilization of the housing market.

In the end we all benefit by ensuring that a potential buyer has access to those financial services which enable him or her to purchase the home. 

If you are a real estate professional or potential buyer I welcome the opportunity to discuss you or your clients home purchase.   In the current mortgage environment no lender can be all things to all people, therefore you can rest assured that if I can not meet your financing needs but another lender can, I will make sure you are put in touch with the appropriate party.

A Rod’s Coral Gables Home For Sale….Price Slashed 18%!

Alex Rodriguez, the star of the New York Yankees organization has slashed the asking price on his home located at 181 E. Sunrise Avenue in Coral Gables.   Having grown up at the house at 111 E. Sunrise Avenue I can tell you that this home is located on a truly spectacular parcel which offers unsurpassed views of Biscayne Bay, Downtown Miami and Key Biscayne.

The current asking price of $12.3 million is down from the original asking price of $14.9 million, a cool 18% price reduction.  Given the extensive renovations of the 8,300 square foot home and the more than 1 acre site directly on Biscayne Bay you will be hard pressed to find many homes in Coral Gables, outside of Gables Estates that are comparable to this one.

Take a virtual tour by visiting The Wall Street Journal’s slide show of this property or to schedule a showing contact the listing agent Polly Schiff.

Primo Levi’s Glacial Ice and A Special Pinecrest Home

For some unknown reason upon seeing this photo the first thought that popped into my head was the famous quote of Primo Levi who wrote of drinking a glacier’s melting snow, “that water tasted like sky.”   I hesitated to include this reference in this profile of Pam Mayer’s listing of 6131 SW 128 Street in the Village of Pinecrest because, as we all know, no one likes the pretence of an obscure possibly irrelevant literary reference….but then again, sometimes relevance is overrated.

The relevance of architectural style is something that is, in my opinion, under appreciated and sometimes apparently ignored here in South Florida.  Many of the newer homes in South Florida appear to be Disneyesque and far less timeless than homes being built in older cities which is something that I imagine will change as South Florida matures.  In my opinion this home has a style and grace which give it that timeless appeal.  The property, which is currently listed for $3,100,000 is a refreshing change from most of the homes built in South Florida over the past 10-20 years which tend to exhibit primarily Mediterranean influences.

As you approach the home from SW 128 Street you immediately take note of the indigenous foliage anchored by the juvenile Dade County Pines which contrast nicely against the stone accents.  From the exterior it is evident that this home would fit in equally as well in any elegant neighborhood located in one of the more genteel southern states.[slideshow=2]

Upon entering the home you are greeted by the well proportioned foyer which opens up the soaring two story ceilings of the formal living room.  The architectural feat of making the home feel warm while also giving you the sense of being open and light, which is accomplished in the foyer, is repeated throughout the home through the use the appropriate surfaces, ideal ceiling heights, colors and finishes.  This home itself is worth making a visit but as an added bonus the current owner is a talented artist who’s work adorns the walls.

As indicated on the MLS listing this elegant Village of Pinecrest home offers:

7 Bedrooms, 7 bull baths and 2 half baths.  A summer kitchen, 7,934 square feet of living area located on a builders acre. 

To take a virtual tour of this very special home click here.