South Florida On The Market

Is your state or local government trying to raise the amount of taxes you pay on your home? Think nothing can be done about it? You’re wrong. Across America, state and local Realtor® Associations have been hard at work protecting your wallet and your home from costly new and increased taxes. As a homeowner, you already suffer a large tax burden: About 10% of your income goes to state and local taxes.  It takes you 40 days to pay that (that’s not counting federal taxes, either). Reminds us of that famous quote from President Reagan: “The taxpayer: that’s someone who works for the government but doesn’t have to take a civil service exam.” But when you factor in your home, you’re paying much more in taxes. Local governments count on real estate for almost 75% of tax revenues.  Combined, about 35% of average state and local tax revenue comes from real estate. In some states it’s even higher. Take, for example, Florida, where that rate is a whopping 43%. State and local taxes al

A property investment frenzy is leading to an unprecedented surge in sale prices at Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road mall. And real estate experts believe the upward pricing trend is not going to stop anytime soon. In May, 818 Lincoln Road — home to Miami-based artist Romero Britto’s gallery — traded for $34.5 million . Montreal-based 818 Lincoln Corp. paid $4,119 a square foot for the two-story building. That deal followed the January purchase by New York-based Imperium Capital and Centurion Realty of a 10,000 square foot building at 643-657 Lincoln Road for $33 million, or about $3,300 per square foot. One broker, Ackman-Ziff principal Robert Kaplan, told The Real Deal Lincoln Road sale prices could eventually surpass $6,000 per square foot. Kaplan, who is marketing 800-810 Lincoln Road on behalf of nonprofit organization ArtCenter/South Florida, cites a shortage of high-quality buildings on primary Lincoln Road intersections as the driver for rent and sale price gains. Prices bega

A longstanding dispute over a controversial city trolley garage built in Coconut Grove’s historic black neighborhood without consulting residents may get settled by the Coral Gables City Commission on Tuesday. The commission will consider approving a settlement that would have a developer build a trolley depot underneath a proposed high-rise condominium project at 301 Altara Ave., near the Village of Merrick Park. The developer, Henry Torres, is the president of the parent company of the trolley company, Astor Trolley, LLC. It would mean the city’s trolley system would never use the facility in the 3300 block of Douglas Road in the West Grove — a trolley garage built in the Grove, which is part of Miami, to be used by the Gables. This outraged neighbors who didn’t know about the garage because a public hearing was never held.       This led to lawsuits, and federal investigators found that Miami-Dade County and the cities of Miami and Coral Gables violated the landmark Civi

A team of developers has announced the 330-unit ION East Edgewater condominium project in Miami. SAKOR Development and Encore Housing Opportunity Fund are building the 36-story tower at 2701 Biscayne Boulevard. Pre-construction prices start in the low $300,000s. The units will be one to three bedrooms, plus six two-story town homes. ION East Edgewater is slated to break ground in the fourth quarter and be completed in late 2016. It was designed by Arquitectonica and Hirsch Bedner Associates. SAKOR Development is headed by Barbara Salk and Stephen Kornfeld . The project will include a 75-foot heated lap pool, a Jacuzzi, a pool-side cinema, private cabanas, an outdoor kitchen, a hammock garden, a fire pit, a bocce court and a fitness center. There will be a separate 20,000-square-foot building on Biscayne Boulevard with restaurant and retail space. by south florida business journal

WASHINGTON (May 22, 2014) – Existing-home sales increased for the first time this year in April, while inventory meaningfully increased and home price growth moderated, according to the National Association of Realtors® . Monthly sales gains in the West and South offset a modest decline in the Midwest while the Northeast was unchanged. Total existing-home sales 1 , which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.65 million in April from 4.59 million in March, but are 6.8 percent below the 4.99 million-unit level in April 2013. Lawrence Yun , NAR chief economist, expected the improvement. “Some growth was inevitable after sub-par housing activity in the first quarter, but improved inventory is expanding choices and sales should generally trend upward from this point,” he said. “Annual home sales, however, due to a sluggish first quarter, will likely be lower than last ye

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As the temperature begins to rise, so do the numbers on our electric bill. Greater energy output = greater dollar output. It's a frustrating reality of summer. But there are a few tips and tricks that can help you keep your energy usage - and costs - down. Take care of the air The air conditioner, that is. This energy sucker can account for as much as 50 percent of your electric bill in the summer, according to Woman's Day . Setting and maintaining it correctly can help. "An air conditioner set at 70 degrees can cost twice as much to operate as one set at 78 degrees," said Houselogic . Setting it for a higher temp when you're out of the house is a given for keeping costs down. But turning it off altogether may backfire. "It's less efficient to cool the house back down than to leave it set at a higher temperature." If you don't have a way to automatically program the temperature (or if it's time for an upgrade), a small investment

Admiral's Port Condo Asking: $339,000 Spacious 2/2 1,693 sqft corner unit on the first floor with wrap around terrace, private entrance and water views. New kitchen cabinets and appliances. Amenities include  pool, sauna, tennis court, fitness center, 24 hr security. Central location on Williams Island Blvd, very close to Aventura Mall, the beach, great restaurants and houses of worship.

Gables Park Tower Unit For Rent!   Asking Price: $2,200 Centrally located in Downtown Coral Gables. 2/2 + den, 1023 sqft. Beautiful views of Coral Gables greenery and Biltmore Hotel (west). Walk to Miracle Mile, grocery store, theater, art galleries, 24hr concierge and great amenities.

Miami is boarding an exciting railway journey that could transform down-town’s west side into a thriving urban hub with commerce to complement the residential and office zone nearer Biscayne Bay. The trick will be for the engineers to wear bifocals that focus on big-picture benefits while simultaneously spotting flaws in the tracks that could derail the express. As a reader of Miami Today, you know that these changes center on a railway station district whose zoning and control are being hashed out by the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County, with the aim of handing the throttle to the county but brakes to the city. The next stop is the county commission April 8. The nearly 10-acre district is owned by Florida East Coast Industries, whose All Aboard Florida is to link Miami and Orlando in a private venture that should let rail travel compete in speed, comfort, safety and revenues with aviation. The railroad’s depot zone near county hall is also geared to attract almost every use

P ort of Miami intends to tear down and relocate or remodel several of its warehouses. “Nearly every warehouse is destined to be knocked down and relocated in the next five years,” said Kevin Lynskey, assistant port director. One warehouse was used by a stevedoring group, two are used by customs, one was an old refrigerated warehouse, and another is the Marine Spill Response Corp.’s facility. The marine spill facility is required at the port to respond to and cleanup a marine spill. “There isn’t a priority list, but almost every one of them we’re going to let [go of] in the next few years,” Mr. Lynskey said. The reasons behind the relocation of each, he said, vary – the stevedoring building is in disrepair, the refrigerated warehouse is no longer used for its original purpose because there are refrigerated shipping containers, the customs buildings are outdated and the marine spill building has six times more space than it needs – but what it comes down to is that as the port

Housing costs in Miami run much higher than the rest of the nation, making it more critical than ever to ensure that when you purchase or refinance a home you obtain a mortgage at the best possible terms. A difference of a fraction of a point in your interest rate can mean thousands of dollars when extended over the term of a thirty year mortgage. Current Mortgage Rates in Miami Mortgage rates vary significantly from day to day, so you’ll want to make sure you understand the current market before shopping around for a mortgage loan. One of the best places to check is BankRate.com’s mortgage comparison site which explains loan terms from lenders in your area.    Run the Numbers Before accepting any loan, be sure to request a copy of a Good Faith Estimate. These standard reports list all of the costs associated with a mortgage and allow you to compare apples to apples. You can also use online mortgage calculators to assist you in performing your own calculations. Finally, be

Fixed mortgage rates continued an upward climb this week, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage starting the year more than a full percentage point higher than last year at this time, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage survey.  "Mortgage rates edged up to begin the year on signs of a stronger economic recovery,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.  Freddie Mac reports the following national averages for mortgage rates for the week ending Jan. 2:  30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.53 percent, with an average 0.8 point, up from last week’s 4.48 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.34 percent.  15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.55 percent, with an average 0.7 point, rising from last week’s 3.52 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 2.64 percent.  5-year hybrid adjustable rate mortgages: averaged 3.05 percent, with an average 0.4 point, rising from last week’s 3 percent average. Last year at this t