I inspected this house in north Coconut Grove when it was open last week.  Swanson Avenue is a very pleasant, quiet street with the benefit of easy access to downtown Miami and Coconut Grove shops and restaurants.  The kitchen has been redone and the home has lots of charm, especially the cloistered back yard.  (There’s a storage shed which has seen better days, but that could easily be removed.)  There’s even a fireplace.  This 1945 three bedroom, two bath house is listed by Coldwell Banker at $639,247, right in the same price range as its immediate competitors in the neighborhood.  But the problem is that very little has sold in the area recently.  So even if your competition is priced about the same, if everybody’s price is too high to sell it doesn’t matter. 

Realist values this home at $450,000.

My pricing verdict:   Better than Realist, but still overpriced.

I don’t let my buyers pay too much or my sellers ask too much.  It’s just not good business.  If you’d like to see this house (and get my specific opinion as to what it should sell for) or any other home in South Florida, you can reach me at 305-401-8058 or bishopric.r@ewm.com.

I inspected this open house listed by Avatar Real Estate Services at $725,000.  The house is in decent shape, built in 1970 and looks like the kitchen was redone at some point.  But it is not really improved and needs updating.   It’s a 4/2.5 with a pool. 

Pricing a house is subjective, but in my opinion, this is overpriced based on objective comparable sales in the area within the last six months.  Realist, one of the automatic pricing tools available to realtors, puts this house at between $500,000 and $600,000.

Based on my own research, my pricing verdict:  Significantly Overpriced!

I don’t let my buyers pay too much or my sellers ask too much.  It’s just not good business.  If you’d like to see this house (and get my specific opinion as to what it should sell for) or any other home in South Florida, you can reach me at 305-401-8058 or bishopric.r@ewm.com.

Ye Little Woods Home

I was out looking at open houses today and saw this listing in the very private Ye Little Woods gated community off Douglas in the South Grove.   It’s listed by EWM Realtor Riley Smith, who has it priced right at $2,350,000 or $323 a square foot.  It’s got 7,286 square feet of living area and is on a 19,500 square foot lot.  6/6 with a guest wing complete with its own kitchen.  Pool, beautiful entryway and many great features.   Positives:  Private home in gated community, master bedroom only area on second floor for great privacy.  Negative:  Kitchen is small for the type of home. 

MY PRICING VERDICT:  PRICED RIGHT!

If you’d like to see this fine home or any other home in South Florida, you can reach me at 305-401-8058 or bishopric.r@ewm.com.

Father Roger M. Tobin,

If you are interested in real estate in easy-living South Miami/High Pines, you can reach me at bishopric.r@ewm.com or at 305-401-8058.  I’d be glad to answer any of your questions.

Private estate near downtown South Miami

Here’s a virtual tour and photos:  5353 SW 60th Place, listed at $799,000 (previously over $1 million) is a beautiful, architect-designed two story home with a master bedroom and sundeck at the top of a sweeping staircase overlooking a private 39,000 square foot garden with koi ponds and a resort-style pool and deck. This is the residence of a local artist who specializes in sculptures of birds and butterflies.  His works dot the area and are for sale. Enter the “Koi Gardens” iron-gates and you’ll find yourself in a relaxing escape just five minutes from downtown South Miami, but a world away from all the hustle and bustle.  You can reach me at 305-401-8058 or bishopric.r@ewm.com to schedule an appointment or for more information.

Worthy of Architectural Digest!

This 1954 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 2,600 square-foot home in Miami Springs has been completely re-modeled by the owner/construction professional.  He spared no expense.   An over-sized covered porch overlooks a magnificent pool and patio area worthy of Architectural Digest.  There is a guest house with its own covered porch that features a summer kitchen.  Marble floors, wood inlaid ceilings, tasteful wall coverings, and textured columns grace the interior that features an expansive eat-in kitchen with stainless steel appliances.  There is both a full-sized living room and family room. The home is on a full lot and a half in the heart of Miami Springs, the City of Trees.  Miami Springs is a delightful hideway north of Miami International airport and has golf courses, lakes, pedestrian walkways and has achieved national recognition in its efforts to promote a healthy tree canopy. 

I’d be glad to show you this home or any other in Miami Springs or South Florida.  You can reach me at bishopric.r@ewm or 305-401-8058.

If you’d like to see this fine home or would like information about any South Florida real estate, especially South Miami and Coral Gables, you can reach me at bishopric.r@ewm.com or 305-401-8058.

After three and a half months, a wall of Miami-Dade County building department permits, dozens of various workers wandering in and out, eating off paper plates with plastic forks out of cardboard boxes, the kitchen is finished. My life has sort of come to a halt in the last few weeks trying to get this job done. That, and a bad bout of illness, has kept me away from the blog for a while. Assuming we pass our plumbing, gas, electrical and mechanical/ventilation and then the master permit inspections in a few days, my life will get back into order enough to get back to somewhat regular blogging. I’m going to start covering South Miami more extensively–what’s happening, local events, local politics, restaurants, etc. So at least once a week I’ll be out there with my trusty camera seeing what’s going on and reporting about it.

If you’d like to know anything about South Florida real estate, in particular South Miami and Coral Gables, you can reach me at bishopric.r@ewm.com  or 305-401-8058. I’ll be glad to answer any of your questions.