S & J Journal

In Coral Gables, home sales slowed down slightly in the last few months, while i nventory climbed in September after a steady four-year downward clip from 650 homes on the MLX in 2009 to 260 homes in May of 2013. Now we are up to 273 single-family homes for sale but this has just inched up since June.    Although   Florida Realtors  reported that U.S. home prices are rising but at a slower pace than months before, we see the same thing in the Gables.   We do not foresee prices dropping. They have only fallen once (in 2007-2008) since I started selling real estate in the early 1970's. What we do predict is that buyers will begin to be more particular and not rush so much to get into a bidding war where multiple offers come in the first week on well-priced new listings.  The number of days listings are on the market will increase a bit.  We are going to be shifting from a very strong seller's market to a less st...

On the MLX, there are only 250 homes for sale in Coral Gables and just 97 of these are under $1M. Nationally... • The median single-family home price as of June is $190,100, according to the National Association of Realtors. The high was $230,900 in July 2006. • The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate is 3.59%, according to Freddie Mac, slightly above the all-time low of 3.49% last month. • The average cost to close on a mortgage fell 7% over the past year, according to Bankrate.com. Check back with us often.