S & J Journal

Price appreciation, low mortgage rates, and declining inventories in 2013 together contributed to more bidding wars. Take a look at our Sunday, December 29, 2013 Miami Herald Neighbors page for a market outlook...

From time to time, we like to peak at our blog's account stats and see who our audience is. The top searchers by country on our site are from: 1) USA 2) Canada 3) Russia 4) Germany 5) Latvia (interesting!) Jeannett

There are many, many staging tips on the web but in this list below, we try to give you the most effective and inexpensive ways to get a home ready to put on the market.  Realtors and their buyers are more likely to be interested in a home from the get-go if it is staged - this will allow the listing to sell quicker and for a higher price, maybe even getting several bids. Stage the home first so that it looks appealing to a wide variety of potential buyers, then take professional pictures to post online and print marketing materials. (You can keep a before-and-after for your own records.)  Here are the top   2 5 staging tips to get a home ready to sell. This list can be useful to sellers as well as agents. Start at the curb in front of the house and walk through to the back of the house as you would during a showing. Write down anything that needs attention. Also, have a friend perform a walk-through and add her/his ideas to your list. ...

As Seen in The Miami Herald : "Jeannett Slesnick, a broker-owner at Slesnick & Jochem LLP in Coral Gables, said the top challenge in the current market is the dearth of inventory amid rising demand. “It’s red hot. Red, red hot,’’ she said.  Slesnick recently listed a 3/2 old Spanish in north Gables that needed extensive work ... and got multiple offers on it almost immediately. It sold for over asking price." R ead the full article.

We have started the year off with lots of activity in the real estate market. (So much so, that Slesnick & Jochem is holding five open houses this Sunday!) Here is a chart we clipped from Miami Today (January 17, 2013 edition) prepared by EWM Realty that shows how the market has performed in the past ten years in Miami-Dade County - the graphic includes Inventory, Sales, and Prices... Our Sunday Opens (early so you don't miss the Super Bowl)

 2013 Spectrum Award Honorees from left to right:  Marina Bryant, Julie Grimes, Kathryn Q. Mikesell, Janelle Patty, Patricia Robbins, Penny Shaffer, Olga M. Ramudo, Jeannett Slesnick, Sabrina Cohen, Mary Young.   Press Release:  American Red Cross Member Jeannett Slesnick to be Honored with the 2013 Spectrum Award in March (Coral Gables, Fla.) … At a fundraising reception last month at Merrick Park's Jimmy Choo boutique, the Local chapter of the American Red Cross presented 11 outstanding women leaders who will be receiving the 2013 Sara Hopkins Woodruff Spectrum Awards for Women during a luncheon on March 5th at the InterContinental Miami Hotel. Among the extraordinary women being honored by the American Red Cross is Jeannett Slesnick, founding partner in the real estate firm Slesnick & Jochem, LLP, an experienced realtor and broker with more than 30 years in the business and a tireless community volunteer. She will be given one of the highest honors, t...

Mia Patch Licensed Realtor 305-333-7167 mia@slesnick.net  Mia Patch is a marketing and sales executive with more than 20 years of experience in the Florida and Colorado real estate markets. Slesnick & Jochem now brings our expertise to Coconut Grove, Brickell, Key Biscayne and Downtown Miami, in addition to Coral Gables where we have consistently been #1 in the number of homes listed and sold. Welcome, Mia!

2845 Granada Sold in 2 Days " The service and personal attention we received from Slesnick and Jochem, LLP was exceptional. Jeannett and Ginger are truly a high-caliber, high-energy team. Their knowledge of the local real estate market and their brilliant advertising approach helped us in selling our home. They recommended changes we should make to enhance the appeal to a buyer. We implemented every suggestion even though there was expense involved. We are very happy we did. Our home sold almost immediately for a price higher than we ever expected. This is not our first experience utilizing the expertise of Jeannett Slesnick and GingerJochem. They helped sell our previous home and find the home we just recently sold. In each case the results were outstanding." --written by Frank Ackermann and Julie Stroh

Out of the four states where 51% of foreign buyers purchase homes - Florida, California, Texas and Arizona - Florida has the largest share at 26%. This data stems from a study conducted from June 2011 to June 2012. Read the complete report online at Florida Realtors’ website: Profile of International Home Buyers in Florida 2012. Excerpts from the report: • 82% of international sales were cash transactions. • The median price paid by international buyers was $194,700 compared to an overall Florida median price of $125,100 and a U.S. median price of $167,758. • Canadian buyers tended to buy in the lower price range; European and Latin American buyers bought at a higher price range. • Condos account for 45% of properties, townhouses 10% and detached single-family homes 36% .

We have been touting the same information for the past 12 months : Inventory is down to the lowest levels we’ve seen in 6 years. And...in Coral Gables, prices are creeping up for homes listed under $1M. The total number of homes for sale under $1M has dropped to about 39% of the C.G. inventory. Lately, the average list price has equaled the average sales price. In fact, the last 5 homes that Slesnick & Jochem sold between $475,000 and $775,000 went under contract within a week and sold for asking price or up to 7% over asking. None of these were short sales or foreclosures. We typically get multiple offers because our properties are fairly priced. Read the Miami Herald article.

The amount of homes on the market is continuing to decline from a year ago. From May 2011 to May 2012, according to data from Realtor.com , most metropolitan cities’ single family homes inventory fell while prices continued to rise, indicating a real estate upward-bound recovery. Some Florida markets where inventories have dropped are – ·         Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.:    -39.76 % ·         Miami-Dade County, Fla.:   -33% ·         Coral Gables, Fla.:   -29.6% Prices rose in Coral Gables by 7.9% and in Miami-Dade County by 12.9%. Visit Slesnick &Jochem for available MLS listings.

Listen to Jeannett Slesnick and Ginger Jochem on the Coral Gables Real Estate Today Radio Show on 880 AM The Biz every Wednesday from 1 to 1:30 p.m. This past week, Jeannett and Ginger gave a glimpse of the cost of real estate around the world. The price per square foot in some of the world’s biggest cities will amaze you. See how Miami compares below… LOWEST WORLDWIDE Santiago, CHILE $160/sq.ft. LOWEST USA Houston, TX $54/sq.ft. MEDIAN WORLDWIDE Athens, GREECE $890/sq.ft. MEDIAN USA Chicago, IL $158/sq.ft. (Miami, FL ranks nearby at $178/sq.ft. Coral Gables’ price per square foot is $371) HIGHEST WORLDWIDE Paris, FRANCE $3,287/sq.ft. HIGHEST USA New York, NY $1,068/sq.ft. Prices in U.S. Dollars. Figures based on 2011 MLX data and Credit Sesame Blog.