Near the beginning of the year, many of us tend to be interested in taking a closer look at the events of the previous year.   In this post, I'm focusing on Ft. Lauderdale Luxury Real Estate for Sale, Ft. Lauderdale Waterfront Homes for Sale, Broward County Luxury Real Estate for Sale, and Ft. Lauderdale Luxury Homes for Sale and I'm presenting to you the 2007 Year in Review for Broward County Luxury Real Estate. 

2007 was a year of upheaval within the industry and we were constantly bombarded with media reports, mostly negative, about the Real Estate State of Affairs.  Many consumers started to internalize the negative messages.  As a Real Estate consumer, you need to understand, first and foremost, that Real Estate IS LOCAL, not NATIONAL, and that in order to make an educated decision about whether to buy a home or not, you need to evaluate YOUR wants, needs, abilities, long-term and short-term plans combined with specific facts (not guesswork and broad assumptions) about the City where you want to buy, the neighborhood, the section of the neighborhood, Taxes, Insurance, Association Dues, etc.  In a later post, I will write in more detail about how this information is VERY unique and why you shouldn't make your decision by thinking in BROAD terms (I have some information about it here).  2007 was also a year where Foreclosures increased drastically.  However, many of the Foreclosures and Pre-Foreclosures on the market here in South Florida ARE NOT good deals.  I talked about this briefly in one of my blogs back in December and will talk about it in more detail later.

The Ft. Lauderdale Luxury Home Market for single family homes is not as "soft" as other areas of the market simply because many in the Luxury Market have not been as affected by the Subprime Lending Industry and the tightening of Lending criteria.  As Sellers, many Luxury Home Sellers are more financially solvent and thus, capable of better withstanding conditions related to declining market values, etc.

The Broward County Luxury Real Estate Market for Condos has been more impacted by Foreclosures than the Broward County Luxury Real Estate Market for Single Family Homes, in part, because of declining market values and because many Broward County Luxury Condos were purchased by Investors. Investors who came to the game late and placed Deposits on pre-construction Condos or purchased completed Broward County Luxury Condos in hopes of "flipping them" quickly came to realize later that market conditions were no longer favorable for such.  Not only that, but due to slower sales and financial losses, a number of Developers have taken MUCH longer than expected to complete their Buildings.  Some Buyers have chosen to "walk away" from their Deposits instead of closing on the sale or continuing to wait for closings to begin.  Others who purchased already completed Broward County Luxury Condos and then realized they wouldn't be able to resale them quickly, ended up being "in over their heads" with carrying costs for single or multiple properties and were left with few options other than Foreclosure.  As stated above, I will discuss Foreclosures in a bit more detail in a later post. 

So, what sold?  I know that's what you really want to know!  As I've reminded you in other posts, it takes more than price alone to define "luxury", but for our review, I've selected only properties that sold at final sales prices (NOT the listing price at the time of the sale) of $1,000,000 or more. 

In reviewing the homes sold, you will notice price disparity between neighborhoods and homes.  A home that's very similar in size, age, and overall features can sell for significantly more or less depending on which city it's located in, which neighborhood, which section of the neighborhood, etc.  Also, consider that various Sellers are willing and/or able to sell for different prices depending on their personal and financial circumstances and motivation.

Note that the length of time necessary to sell Luxury Homes is typically significantly longer than a non-Luxury home. If you're not familiar with listing periods for marketing luxury homes for sale and think that a year or more is a long time to wait for the home to sell, then think again! Because there's a much smaller pool of high end luxury buyers and because the house may be highly personalized or not otherwise meet the buyer's requirements, luxury homes often take AT LEAST a year or more to sell (most listing Agreements for Luxury Homes START with a minimum listing period of at least 1 year). Of course, the higher the listing price, the smaller the pool of interested AND available Buyers. In another Blog coming up soon, I'll explain what's typically required for an Agent to market a Luxury Home.

In Ft. Lauderdale Waterfront Homes and Broward County Waterfront homes, the home's specific location is even more important.  The type of Waterfront view, the type of Waterfront access, the size of the home's Water frontage, the distance of the Home from the Ocean or Intracoastal, whether there is fixed bridge or non-fixed bridge Boat access, Dock size and availability, Seawall, etc. are all some of the factors that significantly impact the List price and Sale price of Ft. Lauderdale Waterfront Homes (this means that 2 otherwise similar homes right next door to each other can vary drastically in price simply based on their Waterfront specs).  

You will also notice some much older homes lacking updates that sold for much more than newer homes simply because of their location.  Also, because new land isn't being created and because location is numero uno, a number of older homes in Ft. Lauderdale Luxury neighborhoods are sold as "teardowns" which means that they're really old, severely in need of updates, and that the Land they're located on is valued at more than the Home itself.  Ft. Lauderdale Luxury Buyers who are interested in "teardowns" are primarily interested in the location, not the home itself, and prefer to demolish the existing home and build a beautiful new home in a prime location! 

MLS Records show that 23 Broward County Waterfront Lots sold last year at final sales prices of $1,000,000 and above.  One such Lot, an Idlewyld Waterfront Lot sold for $2.9 Million and another, a Hillsboro Mile Waterfront Lot sold for $6.5 Million (a VACANT Lot).

In the end, it really is always about "Location, Location, Location!"  

Without further ado, here's what sold, per S.E. Florida MLS Records.

496 Broward County Luxury Homes (Single Family Homes) sold at FINAL SALES PRICES of $1,000,000 and above, with the most expensive sold for $12,000,000, a Hillsboro Shores Waterfront Home in Hillsboro Beach, a city located ~15 minutes from Ft. Lauderdale.

372 Sold between $1,000,000 and $1,999,999
111 Sold between $2,000,000 and $4,999,999
13 Sold Between $5,000,000 and $12,000,000.  Click here to view them

138 Broward County Luxury Condos and Townhouses sold at $1,000,000 and above, with the highest sold for $3,950,000 in the St. Regis Ft. Lauderdale.

To show how Broward County Luxury Home Sales compared to the rest of the Market, sales under $1,000,000 for 2007 were as follows:

9,080 Condos, Townhouses, and Coops sold under $1,000,000
8,381 Single Family Homes sold under $1,000,000

As a Luxury Buyer, you need to be informed about the market where you're interested in purchasing.  You also need to know what to consider when making a reasonable offer.  I'll blog about that in more detail later.  In a later blog, I'm going to highlight some Broward County Waterfront homes priced UNDER $1,000,000 (I'm talking about Intracoastal and Ocean Access).

Since many of you are interested primarily in Condos, Townhouses, and Single Family Homes, I Blog about those, but so that there's no confusion, I just want to highlight the fact that there are property types that are selling other than Condos, Townhouses, and Single Family Homes.  These property types include Duplexes, Triplexes, and Fourplexes, Apartment Buildings, Vacant Land, Businesses, and Commercial Property.  Many Residential and Commercial Leases are also conducted through Brokers and those comprise a significant number of Real Estate transactions as well.

Feel free to call or e-mail me if you would like for me to e-mail you information about homes sold in areas where you're interested in buying or an area where you're interested in selling your Ft. Lauderdale Luxury Home.

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Vickie Arcuri, Realtor®
EWM Realtors
1700 E. Las Olas Blvd., Suite 103
Ft. Lauderdale, FL  33301
Cell:  (954) 708-9309
vickie@vickierealestate.com  
Fort Lauderdale Real Estate for Sale

Contact me if you're interested in buying or selling Ft. Lauderdale Real Estate for Sale, Broward County Real Estate, Ft. Lauderdale Luxury Homes for Sale, Ft. Lauderdale Luxury Real Estate for Sale, or Ft. Lauderdale Waterfront Homes for Sale.  I am available to assist you or someone you know with:

• Home Purchases and Home Sales
• Home Rentals
• Refinancing resources
• Ft. Lauderdale Luxury Real Estate Services
• Corporate Relocation & Home Purchases or Rentals in South Florida
• Professional Athlete Relocation & Home Purchases or Rentals in South Florida
• Relocation home purchases locally or if you are purchasing outside of Florida or outside of our local area in Florida, I can refer you to an Agent to assist you with your home purchase in the area where you're moving
• Investment property purchases