Archive for January, 2008

New Residential Community Canopy Creek in Palm City Florida

Kolter Communities has developed a beautiful new community in Martin County. Canopy Creek is located in Palm City, just minutes West on Martin Highway. There are ten beautiful floor plans to choose from. Under air square footage begin at approximately 2,700 with the largest floor plan at approximately 5,700 square feet. Prices start in the $700’s.

Canopy Creek is a quiet, gated community in a serene and very sophisticated setting. Here you will find spacious executive homes on elegantly designed half acre lots. The community clubhouse is equipped with a Kids Corner, Fitness Center, showers and pool.

We visited the model which had some incredible features. The winding staircase was a beautiful and elegant feature and we were impressed with the office with three desks. A great feature for a family with children.

Mike Galleher is our Canopy Creek specialist. Please give Mike a call at 772-285-6637 or email to view the model today. View more pictures of Canopy Creek here.

Trump Says Now Is When Fortunes Are Made In Real Estate

Donald Trump sat down Thursday night with Jim Cramer of Mad Money (see video) to discuss the current economy. Although the discussion covered a variety of economic topics, what was most appealing to me was his thoughts on real estate. For quite some time now we have been advising our clients that the time to buy is now. In his interview with Cramer, Trump confirmed our advice and said, “…now is when fortunes are made in real estate.”

Now, that is not to say that everyone is interested in making a fortune. But, everyone wants to get a good deal. Remember, getting a good deal doesn’t mean waiting until the market has bottomed out. As I have said before, no one knows when that will be. Just know when you have a good deal in front of you and take advantage of it. There are good deals out there now.

We know that Fed Chair, Bernanke, is expected to lower interest rates again at the end of the month. Yesterday, President Bush announced a $140 billion stimulus package will be formulated to ward of a recession. Both are positive signs that our economy will improve and the housing market will benefit from it. All these efforts will provide a window of opportunity for attractive housing prices before prices begin to climb again due to consumer demands. Interestingly enough, Trump, who has investments throughout the nation, sees that the only two places in the nation doing well are Manhattan and our Palm Beach. We live in a unique area that does not follow the nation when it comes to the housing market.

As Trump stated, you have to find the right deal and the right place. We mentioned in a previous posting that developers are providing great incentives to purchase a home now (see Buying a Resale Home vs. Buying a New Home). We have a strong knowledge base of residential and investment opportunities in the area. Contact Cobblestone Realty for a qualified Realtor® to help you through the buying process.

Palm Beach Gardens Florida Real Estate: Frenchman’s Reserve One of America’s 100 Premier Properties

One of our local communities has been ranked by Links Magazine as one of their 100 Premier Properties for 2008. Not a surprise to us. Clients fall in love at first glance when visiting this upscale golf community. Frenchman’s Reserve is located in Palm Beach Gardens and is a beautiful golf club community with an abundance of amenities in an old world style setting. The homes are a beautifully designed, Mediterranean Revival, inspiration by the 20th century Palm Beach Mansions designed by architect Addison Mizner.

We are proud to have Frenchman’s Reserve as a part of our community.

Please call Joe Quirk (561) 427-9326 if you are interested in viewing homes in Frenchman’s Reserve.

Palm Beach Gardens Restaurants Win Florida Trend’s Golden Spoon Award

Two of our local restaurants were crowned winners of Florida Trend’s Top 20 Best New Restaurants. Both located in Palm Beach Gardens, III Forks at Midtown PGA and Amazonia Brazillian Grill in Legacy Place were both listed as restaurants worth checking out. See our review of III Forks. We haven’t returned there, but we have heard nothing but great reviews from friends and acquaintances. Check out Palm Beach Post critic, Charles Passey’s review of Amazonia.

We haven’t visited Amazonia yet, but feel free to leave your own review in our comments section. We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Buying a Resale Home vs. Buying a New Home

Recently, a client asked which was a better buy, a new home or a resale home? There are some advantages to both. Which you decide depends on your personal desires and what the market is offering. Instead of giving clients a definitive answer, I find it best to provide some insight and some points for consideration for clients to make a knowledgeable decision.

For some buyers there’s no question. They won’t buy anything but new construction. They are happier in a home that has never been occupied. The advantages of buying a new home make it an easy choice for buyers. It’s fresh, clean and ready to move in. There’s no need to worry about inheriting original fixtures from a home from circa 1960. You can budget repairs further out into the future than you will with an older home. Many of our investments are pre-construction.  We have worked with many of the developers in the area and all of the developers guarantee their products, top to bottom, for 1-2 years.

It takes time to build a new home. Some of our investments have taken as long as two years to be built. However, most have been built within 12-18 months. You can’t move in immediately, but it does buy you some time. Time to sell your current home and time for your new home to appreciate in value.

BUT, homes have depreciated! Yes, they have and one developer we buy from is offering an incentive that will safeguard buyers from a drop in prices while your home is being built. If you purchase one of their homes and the builder drops the price of the same house in order to generate more sales, the developer will honor the lower price at closing and lower your purchase price.

Incentives such as these are not always clear and just another good reason why you should always be represented by a Realtor® when visiting a new homes center.

Just as well, there are those who buy resale homes only. Today’s new communities do not provide large lots and some homeowners simply enjoy the architecture and design of an older home. Some buyers are not interested in living in a community that requires you to abide by an associations rules and regulations and pay fees to maintain the your property and common areas within your community.

Another consideration is the cost. Initially, a new home may be more costly. Factor in the cost of repairs, remodeling and decorating and you may find that the cost is more for a resale home versus the cost of a new home.

Whatever you choose, it is always best to be represented by a fully knowledgeable Realtor® who can guide and advise you through the buying process. A Realtor® with sharp negotiating skills can increase your chances of buying a home at the best possible price.

If you have any questions about buying, new or resale homes, please contact me at the number below.

Pros, Cons of Buying Home in Today's Market

When the housing market slows down, buyers often wait on the sidelines for a clear sign that the market has recovered. The only problem with this strategy is that you can only know for sure that a market has turned through hindsight. In other words, you can’t time the market.A slow market is perceived as an opportunity by some buyers, as it takes longer for listings to sell. The inventory of unsold listings tends to grow, giving buyers more choice than is the case in a hot seller’s market when listings sell quickly.

In a high-inventory market, there are usually fewer multiple offers so buyers can cut a better deal with the seller. However, it pays to be careful about what you buy and how you finance the purchase.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: The least expensive home in an area may not be the best investment. Unless you are a contractor with years of experience fixing up properties, you should hire the best inspectors you can find to look carefully at the condition of a property before you buy.

Many home buyers, particular first-timers, don’t give enough attention to the cost of maintaining a home. Home maintenance is a necessary part of home ownership. It can be expensive, particularly if you need to hire others to do the work.

Some homes require more maintenance than others. A good inspector should be able to give you a good indication about how much work a home needs now and how much it will need on an ongoing basis. Buying a well-maintained home that will also have relatively low ongoing maintenance is one way to keep your overall housing costs down.

Inexperienced home buyers should resist buying a fixer-upper just because it’s offered at a cheap price for the neighborhood. It’s difficult to get a firm grasp on renovation costs during the inspection contingency period, particularly if it’s a big job.

Remodeling projects can run over budget because of unanticipated problems like faulty electrical or plumbing, or an old furnace that goes bad. Or the city inspector could require that you do additional work to correct non-code-complying improvements done by previous owners. These sorts of costs can mount up so that you end up with far more invested in the property than it’s worth on the market.

Try to avoid buying a home that has an incurable defect. This is something that you can’t change, like a location next to a freeway. These homes don’t hold their value well when the housing market softens.

A risk of buying in a slow market is that the value of what you buy might drop before it rises. Or, prices could stay flat for some time, which means that you won’t build equity unless you pay down principal on your mortgage. If you should have to move during a time when prices are soft, you might not be able to sell for the amount you paid. To decrease this risk factor, don’t buy for the short term.

Give careful consideration to how you finance your purchase. Stay away from mortgages that have short due dates and balloon payments. If the market in your area stays soft for longer than anticipated, you don’t want to be caught having to refinance at a time when your home might not appraise for the price you need to complete the transaction.

THE CLOSING: A benefit of buying in a soft market is that you have the opportunity to buy at a reasonable price, without having to compete with other buyers. But, it makes no sense if you put yourself at financial risk.

Dian Hymer is author of “House Hunting, The Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers” and “Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyer’s Guide,” Chronicle Books. Distributed by Inman News