Riley Smith Coconut Grove Realtor Coconut Grove Real Estate Specialist

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 contract between the tenant and the owner/landlord that the tenant had a right to match any offer presented by a buyer.

After waiting several weeks, making many calls to the lawyer, and suffering through many missed deadlines (on the seller's part), my clients finally received notice that the tenants would not be exercising their right of first refusal AND received notice that the bank had approved the short sale. Having all of the details wrapped up, we closed on the house last week for $525,000.

An interesting twist to the story is that 3 years ago this same house was listed at $1,350,000. I had a client (a builder) who made an offer the first day it came on the market at a price of $1,300,000. He was interested in splitting the lot and building two separate houses. The sellers turned his offer down. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say.

After all was said and done, the current buyers are thrilled with their purchase and I am happy to welcome them as new Coconut Grove residents!

Details on 4035 Battersea Road:

• 2,085 Sq. Ft. Living Area
• 13,000 Sq. Ft. Lot
• 2 bedrooms/2 baths
• List Price: $749,000
• Sale Price: $525,000

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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.

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.

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.. If you are interested in buying a second home or relocating please contact me at (305) 342-1623 or send me a note here.

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Looking at the numbers below, we have roughly 30% more sales the first half of this year as compared to last year. I believe that three contributing factors to the increase in sales are that prices have continued to fall, sellers have finally become more realistic, and interest rates remain low.

If last year's trend continues, the summer should be a busy one for Coconut Grove real estate. Keep in mind that any first time home buyer looking to get their $8,000 tax refund has to close by the end of this year which should help the lower end townhouse and condo market significantly.

Click here to see a list of all single family homes that have closed in Coconut Grove the first half of 2009.

2009

2008

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.

Currently in Coconut Grove we have 22 single family homes that are under contract. The list price of these homes ranges from $380,000 for a foreclosure on Battersea Road to 3071 Lucaya whcih was listed for $1,250,000.

Lets break down the pending sales in several different categories. Of the 22 homes in Coconut Grove that are under contract:

• 11 are in North Grove and 11 are in South Grove.
• 6 are foreclosures, and 5 are short sales.
• Above $1,000,000 there are 2 that are currently under contract, and of those, only one will close over a million.
• From $800,000 to $1,000,000 there are 2 that are currently under contract (1 of those is a short sale).
• The bulk of the pending sales are listed from $500,000 to $800,000. In this price range there are 11 homes under contract.
• The rest of the homes under contract were listed below $500,000.
• Of these 22 pending sales only 6 of them occurred in June.

Because quite often it takes a long time for foreclosures and short sales to close, we have some houses that went under contract in January and are still pending sales.

To stay updated with all Coconut Grove real estate news and updates, subscribe to my blog by clicking here.

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