August 2018

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August 27, 2018

 

More builders are outfitting newly constructed homes with smart-home technology, and many buyers say they’ll pay extra for it, according to research from John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Sixty percent of home shoppers say they’d spend more on a home with a smart thermostat, the consulting firm’s survey of more than 23,000 shows. Slightly more—67 percent—say they’d pay extra for an oversized kitchen.

Person using smart-home app

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More than 60 percent of new-home buyers also say they’d pay more for an exterior security camera and smart locks.

In a separate John Burns survey of more than 300 home builders, 53 percent say they incorporate smart-home technology into new construction. Even so, 42 percent of buyers say they would purchase additional technology.

John Burns Real Estate Consulting found some differences among certain segments of buyers regarding which smart-home tech they find most attractive, including:

  • Young singles and couples: most likely to choose smart thermostats.
  • Families: most likely to choose a smart garage that is responsive to app controls and voice commands.
  • Older buyers: most likely to pay extra to have smart locks.

Many Seniors are purchasing these inexpensive gadgets to observe for themselves any breach of entry by neighbors or strangers!

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I’ve enjoyed visits with many of my friends and potential buyers in the Ponte Vedra and Ponte Vedra Beach area of NE Florida.  We came across this area primarily because of the brutal heat in the Central and Central West coastal areas.

This area has also branded itself as the Mecha Golfing region and TPC stadium courses as well as the Golf Hall of Fame. I must say we have some extremely challenging courses. Please allow me to share some of the statistics I’ve researched recently and in combination with Realtor.coms research, this is what I would like to share.

August 10, 2018

In the past 365 days as of August 10, 2018, the Statistics show 983 homes in the Ponte Vedra Beach area have sold from 1,000,000 to $3,500,000. This only includes the homes East of the Intercoastal and the Gauna River.

In the past 365 days from today’s date August 10, 2018 the NE Florida MLS has recorded 4,170 homes home sales West of the Intercoastal and the Guana River and the majority in the Nocatee community. This price point range was searched between $350,000 and $995,900

It’s a good time to be selling high-end real estate: The luxury market is posting a record number of sales, and 19 major areas also saw double-digit gains in July, according to realtor.com®’s 2018 Luxury Home Index. The index measures the entry-level luxury price tier, which is the top 5 percent of residential sales among 91 U.S. counties.

© Tom Merton – Hoxton/Getty Images

In 49 of the 91 markets analyzed by realtor.com®, the luxury tier had an entry point of at least $1 million. The number of sales at or above $1 million climbed 12 percent over the last year, realtor.com® reports.

“The strong economy is bolstering demand for luxury homes,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “They are selling fast and demand for these homes has pushed the entry-level price point to more than $1 million in half of the markets studied. Although there are some pockets of weaker performance, we’ve seen double-digit price growth in 19 markets for the first time in four years.”

Luxury homes are selling faster, too. The median age of inventory in the 91 luxury markets tracked was 108 days in July, down 11 days or by 9.3 percent year over year, realtor.com® reports.

The fastest-growing luxury market in July: Sarasota, Fla., which continued to hold onto its top spot on realtor.com®’s list. Luxury sales prices in Sarasota have risen 21.2 percent since last May. Half of all luxury homes there have also sold within 157 days, which is 21 days faster than a year ago.

Exploring a new adventure, and only minutes from the East Coast Beaches with a great sea breeze and extremely low Electrical rates. Our 2700 sq ft home has never exceeded $130.00 and this is a summer bill. Winter months you may experience rates below $100.00. Call me for an appointment to explore your future possibilities.

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Rats, Mice, Gophers, squirrels, armadillos, and raccoons can do thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars in damage to your home and lawn. nearly every homeowner’s insurance policy contains a clause excluding gradual damage caused by rodents. But nearly every homeowner’s insurance policy will cover sudden and unexpected damage that is caused by rodents, or that results in the damage to your property by rodents after other sudden and unexpected damage to your home.

Typically the language in your policy will read something to the effect of “Unless the resulting loss is a Loss Not Insured, we will pay for accidental direct loss for” and then there is a reference to a list of causes of homeowner casualty such as windstorms, fires, tornadoes, and, if you purchase an appropriate rider or a separate specialized policy, earthquakes and floods.

A homeowner reads this and says HUH?

I can not give you legal advice here, but the question you need to ask your insurance agent or your attorney is whether you are covered for the consequences of insured losses.

A quick example, a windstorm blows shingles off your roof, and then a family of raccoons takes up residence in your attic and their poopy raccoon pooh leaks through gnawed holes in your drywall ceilings. Before you can get your roof repaired, your insurance company will probably pay for both the damage to your roof and to your ceiling. If a family of rodents takes up residence in your attic and then a windstorm blows shingles off your attic, you will probably just get paid for the damage to your roof.

As a Realtor, I’ve experienced more incidents of damages by raccoons, to the point they broke water pipes and the owner of their 2nd home didn’t find out about it for almost 45 days. A family of Armadillos on more than 6 occasions have compromised, concrete patio’s, a bedroom concrete slab, pool decks, shed foundations, and it goes on. Beware and be covered.