Remodeling Your Home - Cost vs Value

Today more and more people are remodeling their homes. With so many great deals for people looking to purchase homes now days, most people will buy a home and then completely remodel it. There actually was a study done not too long ago that shows what the relationship is between the actual cost versus how much value it adds to the house. Since upgrading different parts of a home have a different value in different parts of the country, the study took this into consideration. If you are interested in learning more about cost vs value, please click on the link below.

http://www.remodeling.hw.net/content/CvsV/CostvsValue-project.asp?articleID=381305&sectionID=173

Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com

Real Estate Taxes Reminder

Miami-Dade real estate taxes are due on March 31, 2007. Most people that have a mortgage for a home have their bank create an escrow account for them. Basically the mortgage company takes a portion of each monthly mortgage payment and puts it in an account to pay the real estate taxes when they are due. For those people that don't have a mortgage or those that don't have an escrow account set up with their mortgage company, their real estate taxes are due on March 31st, 2007.

Miami-Dade County gives a discount every year for paying real estate taxes earlier than the March 31st deadline. Tax notices are mailed on or before November 1st from the prior year to property owners. Below are the discounts available.


4% if paid in November
3% if paid in December
2% if paid in January
1% if paid in February
If paid in March, no discount applies

Real Estate Taxes become delinquent on April 1st of the following year in which they were assessed. As of April 1st, a three percent (3%) penalty is added to the gross tax amount due. Discounts do not apply to delinquent payments.

If you would like more information on this topic, you can go to the Miami-Dade County real estate tax link below.

http://www.miamidade.gov/taxcollector/property_tax_real_estate_payment.asp


Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com

Real Estate Market Update

Here's a quick update on the South Florida real estate market for the month ending December 2006.

Miami-Dade County Statistics for December 2006

• There were 630 single family homes sold.
• On average, the single family homes were on the market for sale for 89 days before a contract was accepted with an average sale price of $370,000.
• There were 11,340 single family homes for sale.
• There were 664 condos/townhouses sold.
• On average, the condos/townhouses were on the market for sale for 91 days before a contract was accepted with an average sale price of $260,000.
• There were 20,463 condos/townhouses for sale.

Broward County Statistics for December 2006

• There were 802 single family homes sold.
• On average, the single family homes were on the market for sale for 90 days before a contract was accepted with an average sale price of $371,000.
• There were 13,231 single family homes for sale.
• There were 868 condos/townhouses sold.
• On average, the condos/townhouses were on the market for 99 days before a contract was accepted with an average sale price of $205,000.
• There were 20,793 condos/townhouses for sale.

Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com

New Property Assessment Limitation Changes

I just received a very important piece of mail form the Miami-Dade County Department of Property Appraisal today. If you are like most people, you will quickly scan and throw it away without reading it carefully. If you do that, it may cost you thousands of dollars in the future. So for everyone's convenience I have copied it word for word below. Please read it carefully.

The law affecting property assessment limitations was changed this year. Beginning in the second year of a Homestead Exemption the assessed value of a property is limited to a 3% increase. This is still true. However there is a new exception to the Save Our Homes (SOH) assessment limitation law. If you add a new owner to your property and the new owner files for Homestead Exemption on your property, the new Law now requires the Property Appraiser to remove the assessment limitation even if the original owner still qualifies for the original Homestead Exemption. What this means to a homeowner is often substantially higher taxes. There are however, exceptions to this rule such as an addition of a husband or a wife.

Before you make changes to the ownership of your property, I recommend getting advice from your lawyer. If you have any questions about the changes in the law, you can call the Property Appraisal Department at (305) 375-4125.

Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com

South Florida Real Estate Market - Perception vs Reality

The real estate market in South Florida has changed tremendously in the last year. With so many different stories by the media and just listening to people talk about the market, it is very difficult to separate perception from reality. I hope after reading this, you will get a better understanding of what the facts really are in the Miami Dade County real estate market.

• In November 2005, there were 803 single family homes that sold in Miami Dade County compared to 635 that were sold in November 2006.
• In November 2005, there were 5,440 single family homes for sale compared to 11,618 for sale in November 2006.
• In November 2005, there were 1,102 condos that sold in Miami Dade County compared to 654 that were sold in November 2006.
• In November 2005, there were 9,055 condos for sale compared to 20,640 for sale in November 2006.

Although the sales have gone down in the Miami Dade County real estate market a great deal in one year, there are some places where things are definitely not as bad. In Kendall, South Miami, and Pinecrest sales are within a few of being the same as last year. So the actual amount of people looking to purchase homes (buyers) is approximately the same from last year to this year. The biggest difference in any area in Miami Dade County from last year to this year is the amount of properties available for sale. In most areas it has doubled if not tripled.

If you are interested in finding out the statistics for your area or are interested in selling your home and want to stand out from the crowd, please contact me.

Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com

Happy Thanksgiving

The holiday season is upon us and I would like to take a little time to give thanks to all of you. In my daily sometimes hectic life, I don't always get a chance to thank everyone that has made my life so much better. To all my family, friends, and people I do business with, thank you so much for everything. I really do appreciate everything you guys do. Have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!

Always wishing you the best,
Amit

Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com

Tips on Saving on Homeowner's Insurance in South Florida

The cost of homeowner's insurance in South Florida has gone up dramatically in the last few years. It is not uncommon for a policy to double or triple from one year to the next. Obviously because of this, many people can no longer afford the home that they are currently living in. A local television station in South Florida (www.nbc6.net) recently did a segment on ways of saving money on homeowner's insurance, in some cases up to 40%. Please click on the link below to view the segment. Please allow up to thirty seconds for the video to load.

http://www.nbc6.net/video/10288820/index.html

I hope this helps.

Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com

What's Going on with the South Florida Real Estate Market?

What's going on with the South Florida real estate market? This seems to be the question I get asked the most now days. Is it a buyer's market? Is it a seller's market? How do we compare to the rest of the nation? These are some of the other questions that I get asked very often.

So how is the South Florida real estate market? It is definitely a buyer's market now. That basically means that buyer's can get a much better deal than they did compared to a year or two ago. Up until about the middle of last year we were still in a seller's market - low inventory, extremely high home value appreciation, sellers able to get asking or over asking price. The main reason it is a buyer's market now is because there are so much more homes for sale. In some areas there are two to three times the amount of houses available for sale compared to a year ago. Because buyers now have more choices, they can be more selective, take longer to make an offer, and make sure that they are getting a fair deal. It is crucial that homes are priced right now days. If they are not, the house can be on the market for over a year if not longer. Even though it is a buyer's market, homes are still going up in value for the most part. There are some areas that have dropped in price because there are way too many homes for sale, but that is the exception to the rule. Values are definitely going up a lot slower than before. If a home goes up five percent for the year, that is not bad anymore. A couple of years ago, homes were going up between twenty and thirty percent per year.

How does South Florida's real estate market compare to the rest of the nation? There was a study recently done by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO). According to it the metro area of Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL was ranked the seventh highest metro area for home price appreciation in the country. The metro area of Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL was ranked the 20th best in the nation. So although it may seem like the South Florida real estate market is cooling off tremendously, we are still doing very well compared to the rest of the nation.

Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com

Recent South Florida Real Estate Statistics

If you regularly read this blog you are aware that I have updated real estate statistics for select areas in South Florida. I get many comments and suggestions from people every month. The most common suggestions were to have more data and also statistics for all of South Florida. Because of all of this input, I have totally changed my monthly real estate market report. From now on I will post a link to get all this information. The few people that have seen the new reports are completely amazed with all the information. I hope you enjoy the new data and as always let me know if you have any other suggestions.

Please click on the link below to view recent South Florida real estate statistics.

http://www.miamire.com/statistics/statistics0706.html

Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com

School Calendar for 2006-2007

To view an easier to read enlarged picture of the calendar above, please click on the image and then click on the maximize symbol on the lower right side of the image.

Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com

Recent Sales in Kendall Village Homes Community

Recent Sales

April 20, 2006 8331 SW 124th Avenue 1743 Square Feet $315,000

June 06, 2006 8311 SW 124th Avenue 1743 Square Feet $326,500

July 19, 2006 8401 SW 124th Avenue 1690 Square Feet $314,000

July 28, 2006 8401 SW 124th Avenue 1690 Square Feet $315,000

Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com

Monthly Real Estate Report - July 2006

Here is the July 2006 real estate market report for select areas in South Florida. If there is an area that is not listed and you would like to see it in this report, you can request that it shows by emailing me at amit.bhuta@floridamoves.com.

To view an easier to read enlarged picture of the reports below, please click on the image and then click on the maximize symbol on the lower right side of the image.




Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com

Here is the June 2006 real estate market report for select areas in South Florida. If there is an area that is not listed and you would like to see it in this report, you can request that it shows by emailing me at amit.bhuta@floridamoves.com.

To view an easier to read enlarged picture of the reports below, please click on the image and then click on the maximize symbol on the lower right side of the image.






Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com

Monthly Real Estate Report - May 2006

Here is the May 2006 real estate market report for select areas in South Florida. If there is an area that is not listed and you would like to see it in this report, you can request that it shows by emailing me at amit.bhuta@floridamoves.com.

To view an easier to read enlarged picture of the reports below, please click on the image and then click on the maximize symbol on the lower right side of the image.

Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com

Monthly Real Estate Report - April 2006

Here is the April 2006 real estate market report for select areas in South Florida. If there is an area that is not listed and you would like to see it in this report, you can request that it shows by emailing me at amit.bhuta@floridamoves.com.

To view an easier to read enlarged picture of the reports below, please click on the image and then click on the maximize symbol on the lower right side of the image.

Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com