A Few Qs on Weston (Plantation, Country Club: custom home, price, club)

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by jhlcomp

You wont't find cleaner streets, better maintained areas than anywhere in this country. No kidding.

If you are talking exclusively about Weston, I 100% agree. I have NEVER seen anything even remotely as well maintained. I don't know what they think they are running from in this place. Objectively the only problem with this place is the cost of living, and the overcrowded high school, yet it still manages to outperform almost anything in the state, which is NOT ranked in the bottom 10 despite common belief, and there is SOME snobbery (not even that much when you consider how much money there really is out here). I used to think it was pretty uptight here but I found out it's really the same as anywhere else. My main issue with the place is how bland everything is, but look at the areas people are fleeing to. At least Weston has some diversity and some very good Latin bakeries to keep me entertained.

Originally Posted by Lost in Translation

Thanks to everyone for the feedback:

I guess another question to ask everyone here is why are prices falling in Weston faster than in other places like Coral Gables, Miami Beach, Ft. Lauderdale proper, etc.? I mean foreclosures and short-sales are happening everywhere in So Flo, but prices don't seem to budging in other areas as they are in Weston.

At least that's my perception - I could be wrong!

It's a suburb, and except for the Sawgrass area and Miramar it's at least a half hour to the closest major business district in rush hour traffic. Established urban locales ALWAYS hold their value better because they are closer to work, or in Coral Gable's case offer an irresistible charm that sets it apart. Weston is still more expensive than a similar house in Cooper City or Coral Springs.

The foreclosure rate is only particularly high in 33326. The other zip codes aren't having any more than other areas, but the prices keep on falling.

[acegolfer]

Originally Posted by Lost in Translation

By the way, do you think the short-sale trend will continue to drive prices down, or are we seeing the end of the downward spiral?

Despite the fact that I bought a property this year, prices will continue to decline at least for another year. Compared with last year, I noticed prices have fallen by 20%.

[compelled to reply]

Our head real estate expert/economist wild style claims even more. I think rock bottom will be fall 2009. An "Average" property in Weston should be worth around 270k max (Some say 3.5X is OK but I don't), as the median income is in the 90k range. We don't really have that much more to go here before we stabilize although other areas do. I really think Weston and west Broward should be rock bottom by next year.

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by Lost in Translation

Thanks to everyone for the feedback:

I guess another question to ask everyone here is why are prices falling in Weston faster than in other places like Coral Gables, Miami Beach, Ft. Lauderdale proper, etc.? I mean foreclosures and short-sales are happening everywhere in So Flo, but prices don't seem to budging in other areas as they are in Weston.

At least that's my perception - I could be wrong!

you are right, the reason is ignorant home owners. They don't want to lower prices. They feel by some magical stroke of luck someone will pay these dumb prices. They are just prolonging the inevitable.

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

Our head real estate expert/economist wild style claims even more. I think rock bottom will be fall 2009. An "Average" property in Weston should be worth around 270k max (Some say 3.5X is OK but I don't), as the median income is in the 90k range. We don't really have that much more to go here before we stabilize although other areas do. I really think Weston and west Broward should be rock bottom by next year.

CTR

where did you get the median income for Weston? Is there a site that will tell me that for each area in Broward? Can you find out Plantation and Fort Lauderdale for me? Specifically Rio Vista, I am curious to see how long they have to go.

[acegolfer]

Does anyone have the latest stats on income and house prices?

According to money.com best places to live, median family income in Weston is $108,441 and the average home price is $510,581. I believe these are 2006 numbers, when the home price peaked.

From these numbers, average home price has to fall by 36% to be 3 times the income (=$325k). It may sound crazy, but I see many home prices in Weston already fell by 30-40% from 2006.

I just bought my house for 39.2% less than what my next door neighbor paid for the identical spec house 2 years ago. Sorry, can't give you the address.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

CTR

where did you get the median income for Weston? Is there a site that will tell me that for each area in Broward? Can you find out Plantation and Fort Lauderdale for me? Specifically Rio Vista, I am curious to see how long they have to go.

Well, that was in the thing they gave me in the mail, but you can find anything else at American FactFinder

[acegolfer]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

you are right, the reason is ignorant home owners. They don't want to lower prices. They feel by some magical stroke of luck someone will pay these dumb prices. They are just prolonging the inevitable.

I'm not defending these sellers, but there might be a legit reason why they don't want to lower prices. Some people can't lower the price because the listing price is already close to or below their mortgage balance. They would need cash to close to sell, as it happened to my default seller on my first contract. She bought it last year and needed $100k to close, which she didn't have and ultimately breached the contract.

I don't know about other Broward markets. But Weston has come down a lot from 2 years ago. If you see high listing prices online, it's because the low priced homes are already sold. It's called survivor bias. If you are a home buyer, keep looking for new listings. I have been following new listings for 5 months and good priced homes go really fast. DOM of 2 weeks or less are common, if they priced right.

Or, you can really make a low ball offer on stale listings. I remember seeing a house listed at $450k closed for $350k.

[compelled to reply]

Check out this link for detailed time-price comparisons as well as sales volume.

SouthFlorida.BlockShopper.com | South Florida Home Sales Prices, Real Estate News, Property Statistics.

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by acegolfer

I'm not defending these sellers, but there might be a legit reason why they don't want to lower prices. Some people can't lower the price because the listing price is already close to or below their mortgage balance. They would need cash to close to sell, as it happened to my default seller on my first contract. She bought it last year and needed $100k to close, which she didn't have and ultimately breached the contract.

I don't know about other Broward markets. But Weston has come down a lot from 2 years ago. If you see high listing prices online, it's because the low priced homes are already sold. It's called survivor bias. If you are a home buyer, keep looking for new listings. I have been following new listings for 5 months and good priced homes go really fast. DOM of 2 weeks or less are common, if they priced right.

Or, you can really make a low ball offer on stale listings. I remember seeing a house listed at $450k closed for $350k.

good point! My heart doesn't bleed for them though.

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

Well, that was in the thing they gave me in the mail, but you can find anything else at American FactFinder

man that site is nice, lets you do it by zip code! thank you sir