Coconut Grove Real Estate Market Snapshot - October 14, 2011

Notice to Buyers and Sellers

Real estate is a local business.  National, regional, state, county, municipal and even district statistics are largely inconclusive when it comes to buying or selling your home.  Homes are all about communities.  Sales activity in one community may differ dramatically from one community to the next for any number reasons (school districts, deed restrictions, predominant style of homes, lifestyle preferences, etc.). 

In addition to location, when people are looking to buy a home, they generally look within a certain property type (Single Family, Condo  or Townhouse).  Sales activity from one property type to another within a given community also performs differently.

Also, most buyers are limited by budget with respect to the home they may want to buy. Sales activity is predicated based on the various price segments of homes within them.

The following spreadsheet is a snapshot of the Coconut Grove market taken today.  The market is fluid, so the numbers will change from day to day.  However, like the balance sheet of a company, a market snapshot is a reflection of the strength of a given community's housing market. 

The national media depicts the country's housing market to be in dire straits, and in countless markets across the country this is irrefutable.  As you will see, however, Coconut Grove is not among them. 

In fact, only condos priced over $2M (of which there are only three available at the moment) have seen no sales activity in terms of closing or pended sales in the last 30 days.  Every other sub-segment has had movement.  Luxury single family homes listed over $2 Million have the highest inventory number with 16 months.  It is generally accepted that a healthy real estate market contains six months of available inventory or less. Every other other market segment is either on its way to falling below 6 months or already well below it.

While the media unleashes its daily dose of bad news with respect to real estate, it is critical to remember that it does represent markets at the local level, which is where it really counts.

Also, I have included the number of short sales and foreclosure across the same price segments to provide further insight as to the overall health of the market.  In some markets across South Florida, distress sales make up more than 60% of the total market.  In Coconut Grove, this is far from the case.

If you are a buyer or a seller, this is critical information that should play an important role in your buying or selling decisions.  An experienced and qualified Realtor is your best source of information and guidance.