Number of monthly home sales in Miami-Dade declines slightly

Sales for existing homes in Miami-Dade County dropped slightly in April 2015 compared to April 2014, dragged down by a lack of interest in older condos as new luxury towers pop up on the beach and across the downtown.

But prices still rose last month in Miami, and the market in Broward County made gains in both home sales and values, according to reports released Thursday by the Miami Association of Realtors and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors.

In Miami-Dade, sales for single-family homes were up 8 percent in April 2015 compared to the same month last year. But a 6.8 percent year-over-year drop in condo resales meant that combined Miami-Dade residential sales hit 2,698 last month, compared to 2,712 a year ago, a decline of 0.5 percent.

Currency crises in Latin America and Europe have hurt the ability of foreigners to purchase condos in Miami. Foreign buyers usually conduct their transactions in cash, and the number of cash sales fell to 51.9 percent of total sales in April 2015, down from 59.3 percent in April 2014.

But prices were up for both single-family homes and condos, especially in the single-family market where inventory is tight.

In Miami-Dade, the median sales price for a single-family home hit $260,000 in April, up from $243,000 in April 2014, a 7 percent gain. The median sales price for a condo rose less aggressively to $199,000, up from $193,000 a year ago, a 3.1 percent gain.

In Broward, home sales and values both went up.

The median sales price for a single-family home grew 5.3 percent, reaching $287,500 in April 2015, up from $273,000 in April 2014. Condo prices were up 4.8 percent, hitting $125,700 last month, compared to $120,000 in the previous year.

Overall sales also grew year-over-year, increasing by 7.7 percent, with growth driven by sales of single-family homes.

This article was originally published on Miami Herald. See it here

How To Find A Real Estate Agent - Samuel Nathan Kahn

Buying or Selling any Property

When it comes to buying or selling any property, the issue of choosing a best estate agent arises.  A good estate agent is not easy to find because unlike other professionals we do not have the information about this profession. We have to be careful while choosing the estate agent. But the question arises how to find the one. Samuel Kahn is a real estate agent, lives at Salford, Lancashire, England, UK.

He is among the best known estate agents in UK. He is an experienced estate agent and has explained many steps which would help anyone who wants to invest on a property in real estate. Below are some steps which would surely help you to find a good real estate agent:

Talk with recent clients: Recent clients who have invested in a real estate would provide the required knowledge you want. When you have shortlisted the estate agents then the next step would be to question their recent clients about what they feel about that agent. Ask them if they would recommend them again or not. If yes, then you have to proceed further for the next step.

Check the licensing: This is the most important step in this process. You have to check that the selected agents have license and if there have been any complaint about him or any bad review over internet.

Analyze the agents: Ask as many questions as you can to assess your agent. This helps you to find out whether they meet your requirements or not. A lot of questions asked would clear all your doubts. They more you ask, the more you will know.

Select the agent with best credentials: After you have analyzed all the estate agents, you have to select the one with best credentials. This step may take some time but is the most important part of the process.

Research about their previous work: Knowledge of their previous work is important to know how they behave professionally. This will help a client to find out whether they have worked well, or any work is left incomplete. Their reviews from the previous clients have to be satisfactory.

Ask for the property near by: The last step by which you can find out if your estate agent is perfect or not is by asking him about any local property of his area. If he knows about it and could provide all the information related to it. Then he is surely the best.

Samuel Nathan Kahn takes personal interest helping his clients for any investment. He is being recommended by many clients over again and again. All the above steps explained by him is due to the fact that he himself understands how difficult it is to find a best estate agent. An agent, who focuses on your needs more than the paper work, can really be useful. Thus, don’t worry next time you want to hire a good estate agent.

Above tips will definitely help you to get the best one without any stress. May be this process is time-consuming but that doesn’t mean that you should panic. It is important because every bug of your money is essential. You just cannot avoid this as real estate investment is a future investment.

10 Tips for Choosing an Estate Agent - Samuel Nathan Kahn

Property selling is not an easy job for everyone, so you should choose an estate agent that would handle everything about the sale. Thus your first choice is to choose the right estate agent or the agency.

 All estate agents seem friendly and thus it becomes more difficult to choose the right one. Samuel Nathan Kahn, a real estate agent lived at Salford, Lancashire, England has explained 10 tips for choosing an estate agent. They are listed as:

• Ask for family and friends recommendations: Family and friends are the one whom you can trust and thus asking their suggestions, experiences and recommendations would help a lot in choosing a good estate agent.
• Make a shortlist of estate agent :Create a list of some agents you want to consider using. You can names of the some by your friends, family and even through neighbors. You can look at some through the advertisements in the newspapers or over internet.
• Narrow down the choices: Then the next step is to check out all those agents and start analyzing them by the way they have sold the other properties, and does that match with your requirement. Check out the properties they have listed for sale. Then after this, narrow down your choice and shortlist 2-3 best agents.
• Visit them: After you have short list the agents, the next step is to visit them. Instead of calling or sending an email, the best way is to go and see them personally. Face to face talk would be beneficial.
• Get advice: Be ready to get their advice. Put all your needs and requirements in front of them and then listen to their advice.
• Evaluate the agent: Ask as many questions you can ask so as to assess the agents. When you start assessing them, you will find about their behavior and whether they actually help you to get what you want or not.
• Check all terms and conditions of all the agents: This is the most important step while choosing the best estate agent. It is your responsibility to check all the terms and conditions before signing any legal binding.
• Decide the estate agent’s fee: It is important to negotiate with each agent about the fee he would charge. Remember, lowest rate doesn’t always means the best service.
• Decide and choose the agent from all the agents: After you have met all the agents, know what fee they would charge, found out about their terms and conditions, had their opinions. The next step is then to choose one from all these agents.
• Start working as a team: Now that you have chosen your agent. Talk to them and start discussing about the process of putting your property on the market. Start working as a team.

All the above tips will definitely help you to choose the best estate agent. Being a famous estate agent, Samuel Nathan Kahn has all the features that a best estate agent should have. He has all the local knowledge so that he could give the best opinion. He has the best connections and the representations which led him to build the list of buyers and other important contacts required. Hard work and honesty is what makes him different and best from other estate agents.