I wrote about an unsuccessful real estate auction in the Redland a few weeks back. I commented about the fact that it was not an absolute auction being the primary reason for it’s turning out to be a flop. Then I had the opportunity to attend another auction in the Redland. This one was different in that it was an absolute auction. When the public thinks ‘auction’ they think whatever’s being sold will be sold to the highest bidder. I, personally, think it’s a gimmick to give them anything but. But that is just my opinion. When an auction is not absolute, I think it’s just a ploy to spark more interest in the property and hopefully get it sold. There’s nothing wrong with the marketing premise, in itself. I still have issues with calling it an auction. Maybe we just need to educate the pu... 12/19/2007

The numbers in Miami Dade County are pretty dismal as far as being a home seller goes. But it's a great time to be a buyer! Here's the Miami area of the Redland (zip code 33031 only) and it's current real estate numbers:                                           More telling than the above numbers is the ratio between the two bars.  It tells us how many months of inventory we have on hand at any given time.  Those numbers are shown below.                                            When you're dealing with hyper local statistics it is sometimes misleading to look at one month's worth of data.  Because the homes for sale in zip code 33031 are only 158 (in comparison to county-wide where they run into the thousands).  To counter this effect we can take the last 3 months' numbers and averag... 12/13/2007

I see them all the time. Riding their bikes they look like any other boys across America two-wheeling around town. Except they’re not riding for fun. Some are barely past the boy stage. Others left it a long time ago. I’m referring to the farm workers I see all around the Redland riding their bikes to and from work. The other night as I drove west on 200th street I passed two of them, one after the other. It was pitch black and they seemed to come out of nowhere. Of course, they had been there but I just didn’t see them until they came into the realm of my headlights. I was struck by the notion that anyone who might have had too much to drink could have killed one of them. Or both. The thought still pops into my head when I see another on this mode of transportation. As dangerous as it ... 12/10/2007

Knaus Berry Farm opened up for the season in the Redland on November 13th. I stopped there that weekend (which, of course, means Saturday since they are closed on Sundays) and it was like they never closed. The place was packed with cars. The line to get a milkshake was enough to make the Dairy Queen down the road green with envy. I have to admit that I didn't bother buying anything. The line was too long and their baked goods are good but I can stop in during the week when it's less busy. Knaus Berry Farm is often, and erroneously, referred to as "the Amish Farm." They're not Amish, they'll point out if you ask. They're German Brethren. They've been here for years and are quite the attraction. They sell homebaked goods as well as produce and their milkshakes are thick enough to stand ... 12/09/2007

I was somewhat surprised, and more than a little disappointed to see Pat Wade's home with a For Sale sign outside.  And my disappointment did not stem from the fact that she did not list with me.  lol No, my disappointment wasn't self-serving.  I've seen how hard Pat has worked in the effort to incorporate the Redland.  I support Redland incorporation.  I hope Pat won't be going too far and will be available for guidance, if needed.  My best wishes to Pat and her family in their new endeavours. 12/09/2007

Are you trying to sell your Redland home in this market? Have you looked at alternative methods of selling your home? Have you looked at real estate auctions? Real estate auctions can be very successful. And they can be total flops too. Last week I attended the latter at a gorgeous home in the Redland. The home had been appraised at $900,000 back in June. My trained eye tells me the market value is more like $750K today. Was it an inflated appraisal back in June? Maybe just a little. No matter. The appraisal wasn’t an issue. The bids were. I had seen the signs proclaiming this coming auction a few weeks back. I had read the small print. I knew what was going to happen because of it. Here’s the small print in a nut shell: -Bidders had to register and provide a $1,000 check at registratio... 11/17/2007

Selling real estate in the Redland and the rest of Miami-Dade county, I have seen lots of things happen.  One thing I’ve seen happen (and it’s never pretty) is seeing a deal fall apart after inspections.  An inspection during the home buying process almost always generates reasons to renegotiate the contract.  But it can also offer the buyer a clean way to make his getaway if he’s having second thoughts. How is this possible?  Let me explain.  When a buyer makes an offer on a house, the contract has a place where a repair limit is specified.  A repair limit means the buyer is willing to take on X amount of dollars in repairs and still buy the house.  A larger repair limit lets the seller know the buyer is pretty earnest about buying the home. But how does anyone know what the repairs wi... 11/13/2007

Sunday was a glorious day in the Redland. The air was crisp with the coming fall (at least for an hour or two it was LOL). The sun was shining. A gentle breeze was blowing. I sat on my porch late afternoon and took a snooze.  Well, as much of a snooze as my two cats will let me take.  The dogs were busy inside barking as well.  It didn’t take a lot of effort on my part to ignore them =) Days like that one make me glad I moved to the Redland. Selling real estate in Miami isn’t terribly easy right now. But resting in the Redland is. I listened to the birds calling. I watched the palm trees swaying in the breeze. I saw the neighbors take their horses for a stroll. They rode them down the dirt road. At the main road they could at least see some cars pass by. I preferred the tranquility of m... 11/12/2007

Living in the Redland I have plenty of fruit trees in my yard.  Try as I might, I can’t have all the fruit that’s out there though.  We sometimes go elsewhere to get our fruit fix! I drove over to Robert Is Here yesterday afternoon.  The kid’s been wanting to try a dragonfruit and we figured they’d have it.  We were right. Robert Is Here has been there for about 47 years now.  The story goes that when Robert was a boy and trying to sell cucumbers on the corner no one stopped at his stand.  Robert’s father decided he needed to be more visible and made two big signs to put on either side of Robert’s table each proclaiming in big red letters “Robert Is Here.” The signs were marketing genius and by noon the next day Robert had sold out all his cucumbers.  The rest, as they say, is history. ... 11/07/2007

He was alive two hours ago.  Now grief seems to be all that's left behind.  He was an only child.  I cannot begin to imagine the pain his parents are going through.  Twenty-two years old.  He was just a kid. I did not know Lloyd.  Now I can't get his sneakers out of my head.  When the authorities covered his body, the feet were left out.  Why don't they make blankets that are long enough?  His feet were visible from where I stood.  My sister ran to the scene when she heard.  She did not know him either.  There was a party across the street and he was a guest.  We were in our  homes, heard the commotion and ran out.  My sister stayed with him and spoke to him even though she couldn't be sure he heard her.  His face was gone.  When the cops came and examined the scene they laid little pie... 09/01/2007

The season is upon us again.  I love this time of year in the Miami Redland.  May, June and July always mean there's lychees around somewhere in the Redland. For those of you who may not know what a lychee is, I'll explain.  Well, I'll give you my take on it.  I was only introduced to them 4 years ago.  They quickly became my favorite fruit.  The fact that I can only enjoy them a short time each year makes them even more precious. Lychees (pronounced lee-chees by most, and lie-chees by others) are also called (incorrectly) lychee nuts sometimes.  They're not nuts at all and the seed is not edible.  You can learn everything you ever wanted to know about lychees here.   Lychees are smaller than a ping pong ball and usually heart shaped.  The skin is warty and leathery and breaks easily wh... 06/10/2007

At first glance this picture may not excite you.  It excites me.  I'll tell you why. This is a brand new traffic light at the corner of SW 200 Street and 137 Avenue.  It was sorely needed! It was fully functional sometime in May.  There was only one STOP sign there before.  The traffic on 200th had the right of way.  I felt bad for everyone on 137th avenue trying to join the crowd. When I first moved to Miami, I lived a little north of the Redlands, where I live now.  I used this particular intersection every single day to drive my kids to school and get to work. I quickly discovered that if you didn't have an extra 20 minutes to spare and had to stop at this intersection, you were going to be late!  It was impossible to get onto 200th Street from 137th Avenue during rush hour.  They sa... 06/09/2007

I was playing around with my super-dee-duper new graphmaker and thought I'd post one of the graphs I made.  This one shows the relationship between the List Price (asking price) and the Sales Price (actual sold price) in the 33187 zip code. 33187 encompasses part of the Miami Redland as well as Southwest Miami (west of 147th Avenue and south of 152 Street). As you can tell, the list price averages a lot more than the sold price.  Something happened in November and they were almost identical.  A fluke, I'm sure.  Apart from that the difference between the two is remarkable. Numbers do not lie.  This is a great example of the importance of pricing your home to sell.  Don't let it sit on the market too long and get stagnant.  Price it right from the start.                                  ... 06/09/2007

The other day I heard a noise outside my window and took a peek.  I found this little fella.  Of course I took a peek through the closed window.  I'm not a chicken but would rather not run the risk of having him come inside and get too comfy here. When I moved to the Miami Redlands I knew it would be different than the Queens, NY neighborhood I grew up in.  In Queens, we heard the ambulance outside.  Let's not forget the bus that whooshed by every 20 minutes or so.  Except when someone needed to get off at the bustop right outside our window.  Then it stopped and we could hear the hydraulics as it took off again.  And that was our bedroom window.  The kids were actually used to the noise and had a hard time adjusting to the quiet in our new Miami neighborhood. I kid you not when I tell ... 06/09/2007

It's not every day I get stuck in traffic behind a horse.  Oh, living in the Miami Redlands, I see horses being transported all the time.  And I usually see local horse owners taking them out for leisurely rides.  But today I saw something different. I was driving on SW 200th Street when I saw a horse galloping like a bat out of you-know-where towards 200th street.  I knew that if I didn't slow down he and my vehicle might actually have a sudden and, more than likely, injuring collision.  As he reached the street he barely slowed and turned onto the street and in front of my car.  He didn't even signal.  That told me he's a Miami native ;-)  My daughter and I were very interested in seeing where he was going.  He continued galloping at about 25 miles per hour with us right behind him.  ... 05/19/2007

Living in the Miami Redlands makes it easier for me to sell real estate here.  Easier because I don't just sell real estate in the Redlands, I live it, know it and love it. The Miami Redlands area is a historic agricultural community.  As such, you can't beat it for finding wonderful plants, be they for landscaping, windowsills or gifts.  There are many plants to be found here.  One of my favorites is the orchid. Next time you're in the market for some orchids try Remarkable Homes and Gardens at 20990 SW 147 Avenue.  They are known for their $7 orchid sales.  Yes, you read that right.  Only seven dollars.  If you've been to the local home improvement giant's garden department, you know orchids are pricey.  Yes, Remarkable has orchids that are priced a lot higher than $7, but their selec... 05/13/2007

11th Annual REDLAND INTERNATIONAL ORCHID FESTIVAL May 18-20, 2007 Fruit & Spice Park 24801 SW 187the Avenue Homestead, Florida America's Favorite  Orchid Festival  This is also right next to my church, Redland CommunityUnited Methodist Church, thecutest little church in Dade.Started in 1913 and destroyed andrebuilt after Hurricane Andrew, we have a powerful congregation, some of which have been members 50+ Years!You are welcome to come, services are 9:30 Sundays followed by Dunkin Donuts!  05/03/2007

The Redland area of Miami is a great place for real estate.  It's intermingled with single family residences and nurseries growing and selling all kinds of beautiful plants.  Most homes are on at least one acre.  Considering that most new construction in other areas of Miami is being built on lots of about 6,000 SF, an acre, at 43,560 Square Feet, provides plenty of elbow room.  But said elbow room doesn't come cheap in Miami.  I've seen one acre homesites for sale at $289K in the area, while 5 acres are listed at about $700K.  Land only. I've noticed some interesting construction going up in the Redland area.  These homes are interesting because they're HUGE!  There are two in particular that have always caught my eye.  They've been under construction for about 2 years now.  The first ... 03/06/2007

Here's a few numbers representative of the current real estate market conditions in historic Redland in Miami.  These numbers are for Single Family Homes: Homes for Sale:  91 Range of prices:  $281K - $2.5m Homes under contract:  19 Homes Sold in the last 30 days:  4 Inventory available:  22.75 months (or roughly 1.9 years) The inventory number is calculated by dividing the number of homes for sale by the number of homes sold in the last month.  This results in how "many months worth of homes" are presently available.  That means that if every home listed for sale were to actually sell, it would take that many months to sell them.  This is a very good number to keep your eye on.  The higher the number the higher the indication that we're in a Buyer's Market (which we are).  This is a gr... 03/06/2007

I love living in the Redland area of Miami.  It's not just about selling real estate here.  I love being close to the city, yet removed enough that the country charm comes through.  Redland is home to nurseries that grow plants and tropical fruits shipped all over the States.  Once you live here, you start developing a taste for tropical fruits and are no longer happy just buying and eating them, but want to grow them too.  I've added several fruit trees since I bought my home in the Redlands and already enjoy some of the fruits of my labor (excuse the pun).  One thing I won't be able to produce myself though is wine.  Luckily for me, there's a local winery doing that already, and doing it quite well. Schnebly Redland's Winery is unlike most wineries.  They have the distinction of being... 03/06/2007