South Miami Real Estate Category

Where are the “Green” Homes?

Category: Luxury Real Estate, Miami Beach Real Estate, Real Estate News, South Florida Real Estate, South Miami Real Estate and posted on April 23rd, 2012

2020 Alton Road Render (from http://www.bobvila.com & The Florida Green Home Design Group)

2020 Alton Road Render (from http://www.bobvila.com & The Florida Green Home Design Group)

Inspired by Earth Day this past weekend, I started looking up “green” homes in Miami to showcase on the blog. After a few minutes of searching I found that eco-friendly homes are still a relative rarity in South Florida. When the housing market stalled, so did many construction projects including green developments. If you search a bit you can find examples of homes or buildings remodeled to be more efficient but in general the Miami market is lacking in LEED or Energy Star certified homes.

The US Green Building Council established the LEED standard to measure and rank sustainable buildings. LEED is the most popular sustainability standard in use today. There are 4 levels, of which Platinum is the highest. Platinum certified homes and buildings are the gold standard of sustainability and can approach “net-zero” energy utilization, meaning that the buildings produce as much energy as they consume.

Interesting fact: There are only two LEED Platinum certified homes in Miami – one on Miami Beach and the other is in South Miami. As the sustainability movement gains momentum the number of LEED certified homes in Miami should surely increase.

If you’re looking for a sustainable luxury home in South Florida, we can help you find eco-friendly options. Give us a call at 305.520.5420 to get started!

posted by Steve Gunn // Leave A Comment

How will the halt in the foreclosure market effect you?

Category: Ask Lani, Coral Gables Real Estate, Foreclosures, Lending, Pinecrest Real Estate, South Miami Real Estate and posted on October 11th, 2010

The latest news about the fraud and mismanagement that has occurred in the foreclosure market is both worrisome and disappointing for those of us in the industry. Just as we are beginning to feel a bit of an upswing in the market we’re hit with more bad news. Virtually everywhere I have gone in the past few days, people have been asking me about it. “Is your business at a standstill?” “How is all of this affecting your bottom line?”.

While the halt in the market will certainly be a setback for the broader South Florida real estate market (and the already damaged reputation of lenders), the fact of the matter is that in many of the areas where we work, foreclosures are few and far between.  A recent Miami Herald article stated that over two-thirds of the current inventory in South Florida are bank-owned properties.  In Pinecrest, Coral Gables and South Miami combined, however, foreclosures make up a mere 3.7% of the residential properties currently on the market. In these areas only 13.4% of the total sales year-to-date have been foreclosures. *

One of our mantras here at Lowell International Realty is that real estate is local in nature.  We read or hear these sweeping statements about the market in the news and they simply don’t always pertain to us – or to you!  Whether buying or selling, find someone who really knows and understands what is going on where you live – or want to live.  Make sure your Realtor updates you regularly about the trends in the neighborhood where you’re selling or looking to purchase a home.  Continue to pay attention to national and state-wide trends – of course it is always good and important to keep the big picture in mind. But know, however, that in Miami-Dade, we have some very unique neighborhoods and circumstances that often times cause us to buck the trends in real estate.

*Data taken from trendgraphix.com & is deemed reliable but not guaranteed

posted by Lani K Drody // 1 Comment »