Palm Beach County Listing Activity Gets a Weekend Dose of Good News Real estate offices have been gearing up for the imminent spring selling season, the time when Palm Beach County listings swell to meet the expected surge in buying activity. I sometimes put quotes around ‘selling season’ because so many factors go into home sales that it can be slightly misleading—we do sell homes all year long, after all! But there is a lot of truth (and historical verification) to the idea that springtime brings a burst of new Palm Beach County listings and accompanying selling activity. There can be lots of reasons why that happens, but this past weekend, area homeowners who were reading The Wall Street Journal might have seen some extra reasons to hurry up and add their homes to the Palm Beach Cou... 03/19/2014

Highly regarded as one of the top ten yachting events in the U.S., the Palm Beach International Boat Show will deliver the yachting lifestyle to downtown West Palm Beach from March 20 to March 23.  Now entering its 29th consecutive year, the show will feature more than $1 billion worth of yachts, boats and accessories from the world’s leading marine manufacturers, including hundreds of boats ranging from small inflatables and center consoles to fishing boats and superyachts over 200 feet. With panoramic views of posh Palm Beach Island, the show attracts buyers and sellers from around the world.   In addition to the expansive display of yachts, boats and accessories, the Palm Beach International Boat Show also features educational activities and special events such as swimwear fashion sh... 03/18/2014

West Palm Beach Home Loan Rate Just this January 6, the Senate confirmed Janet Yellen to head the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, making it the first time ever that a woman has led the nation’s most important financial institution. In some respects, it makes her the most powerful woman in the United States. As with every personnel change in the Fed, Yellen’s rise has fostered plenty of concerns about the direction the Federal Reserve will take under her leadership. Since it’s the institution that determines the federal funds rate—which in turn dictates how much businesses and individuals pay for their loans—any change in Federal Reserve policy has a significant impact on our Palm Beach County home loan rates. Sooner or later, those rates affect just about all of us. So, what clue... 03/17/2014

Real estate agents in West Palm Beach are true veterans when it comes to every aspect of what needs to take place for a home to be sold. We know in advance what all the pieces of the puzzle are, and what needs to be done for them to fit together properly. We’ve also seen why some homes stay on the market for too long, while others get snatched up right away. And the best part is—we want our clients to know all those same things! Every rule may be made to be broken, but here are three generalities that just about every Palm Beach County real estate agent will probably agree are worth knowing: 1. Where speed is important, price your house just under the market. As real estate values strengthen, sellers are growing more confident about the value of their offerings—even as prospective buye... 03/13/2014

Micro apartments, once considered a momentary fad, are become an increasingly popular choice for city residents across the nation. It's a trend that might signal the beginnings of a shift in Palm Beach County apartment living as well. The tiny apartments known as “micro apartments” generally feature a small bedroom, private sitting area, bathroom...but not much more. In a typical floor plan, a living unit has 200 square feet or less ­-a far cry from American norms for the better part of a century. It is true, though, that there is nothing new about cramped apartments and shared living spaces. What sets today’s micro apartments apart is their success in combining comfort and livability with the affordability that is their main appeal. Design features such as folding bed alcoves, high ce... 03/12/2014

The children have grown; home feels… a little empty… Many people assume that an empty nest means it’s downsizing time—time for a smaller house or condo. In truth, for many a homeowner in West Palm Beach, downsizing is just one of a number of appealing directions. It may sound obvious, but it’s your interests and plans that should guide your next step. After a lifetime of deferring to other people’s priorities, many of us are ill-prepared to think creatively about what it is we want. When we do, downsizing might not necessarily be the springboard to life’s next great adventure. For instance: consider Upsizing. Moving a smaller family into a larger home may sound backwards, but if you have special interests or hobbies that call for a lot of space, now may be the chance to add the worksho... 03/11/2014

It can be perplexing—and not least because it’s one of the least-discussed details you run into when buying a home. The issue is flood insurance, and it’s sometimes first brought to the fore when you are buying a home in West Palm Beach that you would not have thought was on a “flood plain.” If it is, it’s going to require flood insurance before the bank will sign off on a loan. As we only see from time to time, devastating floods can strike when and where least expected: sometimes, in areas where that ruinous flooding is unprecedented. In 2005, when FEMA paid out over $17 billion in flood claims, it once again became clear why flood insurance is absolutely necessary. Here’s what you need to know about flood insurance if the home you are looking at is in a flood plain.   The Zone Matte... 03/11/2014

Send to a Friend Follow Me On: Labor Market Springing to Life   In This Issue         Last Week in Review: The Jobs Report for February was released. Did the labor market show signs of improvement? Forecast for the Week: The end of the week features key reports on wholesale inflation, retails sales, and consumer attitudes. View: Answering these five questions can help you create a great experience for your clients.     Labor Market     Last Week in Review         "Missed it by that much." Maxwell Smart. For the first time in several months, the number of job creations came in above expectations rather than missing the mark. Read on for details and what this means for home loan rates. Despite the harsh winter weather, 175,000 jobs were created in February. This was above the 163,000 exp... 03/10/2014

You can have 100 reasons for wanting to move onto a larger, smaller, or just different house or neighborhood—and 101 why it keeps getting put off. Chief among them for most of us is the hassle factor. You start to run down a mental list of everything that will have to be done, and one of the larger issues stops you cold—just too much sheer hassle! Let’s deal with a typical one: the unfinished room. Staging a West Palm Beach home might seem doable enough, but when a portion of the house is actually unfinished, it can present a barrier that’s too time-consuming and expensive to even approach. In some parts of the country, such a room is usually a basement; in others, a garage that might have been almost converted into a specialty room. A Palm Beach County unfinished room may have to be l... 03/09/2014

When searching for a new house, topping most people’s list of requirements are the number of bedrooms, number and configuration of bathrooms, square footage, yard size—characteristics that are easy to compare. Architectural style might be important; asking price, certainly highly important, although many prospective buyers assume some wiggle room might be possible. There are so many facts to consider, particularly when that new home might include relocating to West Palm Beach, that one extremely important factor sometimes gets short shrift: the neighborhood. When I escort my clients on a tour of the properties they have decided to check out, I’m sure to remind them to observe the surroundings as well as the home. Some key details to observe about a neighborhood when relocating to Palm ... 03/08/2014

Follow Me On: YOU Magazine: Mother Nature Keeps Buyers Inside     Mother Nature Keeps Buyers InsideSevere winter weather from the south to the northeast kept prospective home buyers indoors, resulting in home buying traffic at its lowest pace since April 2013. Keep Reading »     These 10 Tips Will Help You Set and Reach Your Goals If you're having difficulty setting achievable and realistic goals, you're not alone. Sometimes it's difficult to clarify how you want to get to where you want to be. Just like all the numbers need to "fall into place" when opening a combination lock, it's best to have the right sequence in goal-setting to reach your definition of success. Keep Reading »     What Not to Buy at Drugstores By Cameron Huddleston, Kiplinger.com Here are ten things you're usually ... 03/08/2014

That Palm Beach County real estate prices have been on the rise for a while is certainly one factor that has coaxed some of the more cautious buyers off the sidelines. It’s made the market a much more lively (and happy!) place than it was a few years ago—and forecasters are fairly uniform in predicting continuing growth, though at a less overheated pace. For those who are even more cautious, the question remains whether property values and the Palm Beach County real estate prices that reflect them are likely to hold up over the long haul. They may know that, historically, homeownership has proven to be one of the most reliable investments, but the memory of that financial meltdown from a few years back can be hard to get over… They may be taking heart from an article I ran across earli... 03/06/2014

In conjunction with the rise in house prices, the profit potential for flipping a home in West Palm Beach is once more drawing the entrepreneur-minded. Flipping a home is the process of purchasing a property — often one in a rundown condition—then improving its value and reselling it for a quick profit. Quick is the key word in this strategy, since a fast turnover allows capital to be devoted to purchase and renovation rather than operating and maintenance costs. It’s why successful house flippers generally focus on quick gains over maximizing profits. While this has proven to be a lucrative strategy in the past, financing has always been the first major hurdle for anyone flipping a home in West Palm Beach. If you’ve been noticing some of the inviting house-flipping prospects in Palm B... 03/05/2014

Send to a Friend Follow Me On:   In This Issue         Last Week in Review: The housing market continues to bloom, but there was mixed news from other parts of the economy. Forecast for the Week: The labor market will be front and center this week, along with key inflation and manufacturing news. View: Navigating personal and professional posts on social media is easy with the etiquette tips below.           Last Week in Review         March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. As March comes in this year, the housing sector continues to roar ahead with good news, while other sectors are struggling. Read on to learn the latest details, and what they mean for home loan rates. Despite the harsh weather, New Home Sales rose by 9.6 percent from December to January to an annual ra... 03/04/2014

Bears hibernate. Geese fly south. And Palm Beach County home buyers become different people in the spring. During spring and summer months, the competition, speed and market saturation can make selling a home in West Palm Beach an intense experience (in extremes, almost like speed dating!) When the selling season heats up, buyers can come flying through open houses in a veritable revolving door of showings. In the winter, selling a Palm Beach County home is a far more intimate exercise. To make the most of the next few months, it’s useful to recognize some of the hallmarks: 1. Buyers: They Expect a Deal For whatever reason—blame HGTV or the rumor mill—many buyers have come to believe that in the winter and early spring months, there’ll be deals aplenty. To handle that mindset, it’s use... 03/03/2014

Highlights From the 2013 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers For most home buyers, the purchase of real estate is one of the largest financial transactions they will make. Buyers purchase a home not only for the desire to own a home of their own, but also because of changes in jobs, family situations, and the need for a smaller or larger living area. This annual survey conducted by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® of recent home buyers and sellers provides insight into detailed information about their experiences with this important transaction. Here are highlights from the latest report. Sixty-six percent of recent home buyers were married couples—the highest share since 2001. For 42 percent of home buyers, the first step in the home-buying process was looking online for properties... 03/03/2014

The biggest benefit in this monthly marketing report for our readers is to provide content rich local information from a trustworthy source The Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches.  Understanding that an educated buyer and seller when provided with the latest facts in our marketplace creates trust and develops relationships to make educated decisions when it comes to buying and selling real estate. I hope you enjoy the reports and look forward in discussing any questions that you might have in one of the most desirable real estate markets in Palm Beach County Florida.   03/01/2014

Your first open house in West Palm Beach can be compared to a movie’s world premiere. We may not have strobes flashing and paparazzi jostling each other, but all eyes are definitely on the above-the-title headline star: your house. It’s a star that has to look its glamorous best, too, or the fans will be disappointed. The purpose of any Palm Beach County open house is to sell buyers on the largely emotional dream of potentially owning your home. Doing so means banishing everyday imperfections—the debris created by daily living—from the stage (at least to the extent it’s practical). Absolutely essential is insuring that the whole property, inside and out, is clean and tidy. Your first open house is one premiere that can use some set decoration and makeup wizardry, as well. They call it ... 02/28/2014

Heritage Village Townhome for Sale in West Palm Beach Now Under Contract! Our great listing in Heritage Village is now under contract! This two story townhome was meticiously maintained and featured 2 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and almost 1,300 square feet of living. Interior features included an oversized living room, tile throughout the ground floor and spacious bedrooms on the second. Exterior features included a privately fenced patio with additional storage.Heritage Village is a great non-gated townhome community in West Palm Beach Florida that consists of two story townhomes. West Palm Beach schools are only a short walk, bike ride or drive away and shopping, dining and entertainment is in every direction.If you are thinking about selling your Heritage Village townhome contact us tod... 02/28/2014

It’s a little like fashion in men’s ties. The really wide or narrow ones you laugh at today will be back in style sooner or later. There’s an analogy in our Palm Beach County listings. After the financial crisis in 2007, the average size of homes began to shrink. One major casualty was the “specialty room.” Specialty rooms (or special function rooms) are any room that serves a non-standard purpose. In the Palm Beach County listings, you find them described as gyms, saunas, home offices, laundry rooms, home theaters, au-pair suites, “man-caves” and outdoor living rooms. These are extras: desirable, but not really necessary. Once home sizes began to shrink, buyers demonstrated that they were willing to do without. But today, as the real estate market recovers and budgets loosen, home siz... 02/27/2014