I know a customer is getting serious when they ask “How much a square foot is this house?”. If you are looking on line, EWM’s website breaks it down for you-homes actively for sale and the closed ones . When an appraiser looks at the house under contract he also puts a price per square footage-under air getting a higher number than your back porch. Yes, your $50,000 kitchen and $10,000 bathrooms help make the price jump but probably not as much as you might expect. So when is it worth it to put money into your home? I am going to say–look at the comps in the neighborhood. Yes, it goes back to location, location, location.
Here are some figures by neighborhoods that we all drive through all the time. These figures are from facts and trends, who pull them from the multiple listing service. It is interesting to notice the difference from people’s expectations of the price they want to get for their house and truly what it sold for. Also, where are yor neighborhood trends heading?
Pinecrest is a wonderful place to live with oversized lots and great schools. I sent my kids to private and public schools and loved them both. The average house is listed for $1,604,000, up 10% from last year, but selling for $760,000 down 14% from June of 2011. If you are selling do not over price your home. There are now 143 homes for sale , down 14% from last year, with 28 homes pending-up 21% from last year and 29 that sold in June-up 31% from last June. The average price per square is $225, which is down 9% . So the inventory is going down but prices are still competitive with sales on the way up. If you want this neighborhood better buy soon before prices start to rise.
Palmetto Bay likes to be known as the village of parks. The schools are also very good through high school. Here the average price is $139 per square foot and it was only $146 last year, very consistent. There are 112 homes for sale , down 15% from last June. The sales are down 11%, with 24 selling June of 2012 and 27 selling in June of 2011. Pending sales are up 3%. The average home for sale is listed for $675,000, up 18%, but selling for $368,000, down 10% from last June. I have sold lots of young families homes ther including my sister Christy and her husband Jeff who have 2 babies under 18 months and just bought a short sale. We could see inventory was getting smaller and put a contract on the home within 24 hours. I sell a lot of homes in Palmetto Bay because it is very affordable and has the whole package of schools, police, libraries, and of course their parks.
Coral Gables is close by and overlaps Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay. I grew up in the Gables and have always loved their architecture . Gables homes list at an average of 1,945,000, up 15% from 2011, but sell for $915,000, up 11% from last June. The inventory is consistently going down with 401 for sale compared to 573 last year, a 30% reduction. Sales are up 10% but pending sales are down 6%. The average square foot price in June being $357, up 20% from last June. There are alot of rules in Coral Gables and the lots are small. But you can tell from the prices the community has wonderful amenities and has always kept their resale values very well.
Hoped this article was not too boring with all these facts. Every home owner should be aware of what homes are selling for in their communities . If you need any additional information about selling your home or buying please give me a call.
Pam Mayers
305-216-5864
