22 November 2012

Thanksgiving Wishes


Let's be grateful for what we have.

A very happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones,

Tobias

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Photo: Ilkahöhe near Tutzing/Bavaria, © tckaiser

16 November 2012

Challenges in Marketing Modern Architecture


Florida's lovely Tropic magazine, the legitimate successor to Homes magazine, also a brainchild of capable publisher John O'Connor, focuses on all aspects of contemporary and mid-century modern design and living in Southeast Florida.

In its November issue, Tropic has a riveting piece – I must state that, I'm mentioned in it – on the challenges of marketing modernism, specifically modern architecture.

It's not the life of the Fast and Furious, or the Rich and the Famous. Not really; more the opposite.

As my dear colleague Martie always says: if you want to become rich in real estate, don't specialise in modernism. But we have super-interesting clients and even fun, don't we?

To read more on the ins and outs of marketing modern homes, pick up an issue of Tropic anywhere around the TriCounty area, read the article online here (jump to pages 22-24) or download it here as a PDF, for yours to keep and cherish.

Oh, and let me know what you think of it.



02 November 2012

South Florida Housing Market in September

Happy Friday – and don't forget US Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend, so set your clocks back one hour Sunday morning at 02:00 am (or Saturday before you go to sleep).

Rewind to September, when home sellers must have been smelling something in the air. Asking prices across all three counties increased – and promptly widened the gap between what sellers expect and what buyers are willing to fork over. Though Broward County was the most modest, it still showed a gap score of 154*.

And buyers were not impressed.

Despite moderate increases in selling prices year-over-year (three to seven percent), on a monthly basis selling prices dropped a bit, and so did the number of houses that actually changed hands.

The same goes for the asking prices of those homes which sold. Consequently, inventory – in the graph below the blue curve – is up again.

Shows again: realistic sellers in difficult markets can make things happen; unrealistic ones sit around or pay, as a client of mine called it last week, the "stupidity tax".

Chart and graph for single family home sales in Southeast Florida for the month of September:

South Florida home sales September 2011-2012, Source: SEF-MLS, ©tckaiser/modernsouthflorida.com

If you were in the market in September – as a buyer, seller or professional – what was your experience?

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(*100 being complete pricing agreement between sellers and buyers).