S & J Journal

This is a really neat website that a friend sent. I found all of my old houses on it - find any address in the world... http://showmystreet.com/ .

Cindy Birdsill, Ginger Jochem, Marti Bueso and Yolanda Woodbridge. We attended the opening night of Other Desert Cities at Actors' Playhouse. It was a wonderful performance and the press seems to think so, too. Enjoy these photos. The show plays at the Miracle Theatre through February 10th. Box Office: 305-444-9293. http://www.gableshomepage.com/2013/01/20/guests-celebrate-other-desert-cities-debut-at-miracle-theatre/  

The Tour of Kitchens is an annual fund raising event of the Coral Gables Community Foundation. TheTour is in its fourth year and will return on Saturday, January 26th, 2013, 10 AM-2 PM.   The Tour features the kitchens of select private homes in Coral Gables, Florida. Tickets are $50 per person and are all-inclusive. Varying from eight to ten homes each year, the Tour offers a variety of experiences: food tastings, cooking demonstrations, vendors offering kitchen-themed merchandise, table settings, cookbook author signings, local celebrity chefs, and a glimpse into some very fabulous homes! To buy your tickets: Email -        info@coralgablestourofkitchens.com Call -         305-446-9670 Website -   www.coralgablestourofkitchens.com

The Home Price Index report just released by CoreLogic shows home sales prices increased in 2012 by 7.5% and predicts they are on the road to rise 6% in 2013, leading to a continued housing recovery. Read the Florida Realtors article and access the full report.

The advocacy group StudentsFirst published a "report card" that ranks states by grade (A through F) based on how well they use education reform laws and policies to serve students and schools.   Florida is one of only two states to get a "B-" and was at the top of the list of schools with better policies. Read the NY Times article. Read the StudentsFirst press release.

Our Clients are looking for...   ·        Two 4-bedroom homes in the $800,000 to $950,000 range in Coral Gables north of Sunset.    ·        A 3-bedroom/2-bath home in Coral Gables for $500,000 to $600,000.   ·         A 7,000 square foot or larger lot in the Gables for a builder to put up a spec house (could have a tear-down home on it).

I thought I should post this interesting report from Florida Realtors about the reliability of Trulia and Zillow: According to the study funded by Redfin, online listing services such as Trulia and Zillow didn’t have the same accuracy as broker-owned websites, in large part because licensed agents have direct access to a local Multiple Listing Service (MLS)...   Read the full article.