Bonnie's Blog: Hollywood News and Market Info.

Happy Thanksgiving!  Wishing everyone the blessings of family, health and happiness!

Bonnie

Most of you have seen that the trailer parks on the corner of Stirling Road and SW 35th Avenue have been removed and the community of ARDEN PARK was to be developed. Land was cleared ... but alas, the annoyance of construction vehicles, traffic, and a sky full of constant dust on Stirling Road and SW 35th Avenue has come to a halt.  Have you noticed that construction has STOPPED?  This was to be a residential community but the developer has applied for commercial zoning to build what I heard was to be a huge shopping plaza, bringing in more traffic and lower home values?  

The residents in surrounding communities, such as Arapahoe Farms and Hollywood Oaks spoke their mind and people listened....The application for commercial plat was not approved but rather tabled for 35 days.  Due for discussion again around 12/12.  The issue will continue.  If there is going to be a major confrontation it will occur in the City of Hollywood when it comes time to rezone the Arden Park property. 

The ultimate decisions will be in the hands of our elected officials.  Therefore, the future will be determined by the law, by facts, and by politics.  

Mayor Mara Giulianti and Commissioner Richard Blatner have both indicated their strong support to resist commercial development.  If you want more information, or to voice your opinion, get in touch with their offices.

Check back tomorrow for this week's market review!

Happy Weekend!!

Hey Everyone... and Happy Friday.   Check out the activity in Hollywood this week... from Sat. 11/17 through tonight 11/23.

New Listings: 29

Homes that went under contract: 8

Closed Sales: 7

Expired/Did not sell and off market: 19

Reduced Price: 46 (that's 87 price reductions in 2wks!)

HOLLYWOOD OAKS activity this week includes:

Just Listed at: 5561 Oakview Terrace

Under Contract at: 3385 Hollywood Oaks Dr.

Price Reduced at: 5635 Oakmont Ave.

Have a great weekend and please call with questions on any specific home(s)! 

Email me at: Bonnie@BonnieKaufman.com

See our listings or search the Multiple Listing service at:

www.HomesInHollywoodFlorida.com

www.HousesInEmeraldHills.com

For those of you who missed it, CBS ran a report last night on the state of the market and mentioned that sales are up...  especially high end properties.   Click the link below to check it out:

http://cbs4.com/video/?id=43797@wfor.dayport.com

Don't forget to check back Friday when I'll be listing the weekly STATUS of homes for sale in our area.

As always, check out our websites at:

http://HomesInHollywoodFlorida.com

http://HousesInEmeraldHills.com

Hey Hollywood...  just thought I'd share the market activity in our area this week (from Saturday thru Friday night)...here's a summary...

(Speaking in terms of Single Family only)

New Listings: 35

Went under contract: 3

Closed this week: 4

Expired and off market: 12

Price Reductions: 41 (wow!)

And if you are wondering what is included in our area...  From Pembroke Road to Just north of Griffin Rd from I-95 to 441.

If you want more details or info on a specific property or on Villas, townhomes or condo's, please email me, I'll be sure to get back to you. 

Have a great weekend!!  Enjoy the fabulous weather.

P.S.  OPEN HOUSE this Sunday from 1-4 at 4102 N. 51st Avenue in the Woods of Emerald Hills.  $359,900 for a 4/2.5 with pool and 2 car garage.  Lowest priced home in all of Emerald Hills!  Check out the virtual tour under the MY LISTINGS button!

Welcome to my Blog... and thanks for stopping by!

From here on in, I'll be posting information on the state of "our local" real estate market, neighborhood news, links to articles of interest, info on new listings and closed sales and anything else I think you might find informative and/or useful.

For those of you I haven't met, my areas of specialty are Emerald Hills, Hollywood Hills, Hollywood Oaks, and Aventura... although those of us in the Real Estate arena will certainly travel anywhere in South Florida to boost business! 

People ask me all the time, "How is the market?"  and my answer is always the same... GREAT!  We are always busy!  I also say, "STOP listening to the MEDIA and don't believe everything you read!"  The news people should start interviewing agents to get the real scoop.   Sure, prices have come down to more realistic levels (back where they were before things went crazy!) and there is a wealth of inventory out there... but things are moving... buyers are buying and sellers who are priced competitively are selling.

If you are a buyer or an investor, now is the time to buy! There are so many great deals out there.  If you are waiting for prices to keep dropping... don't wait too long... or consider offering what you think prices will be at next year and move this year.   The market is not SHIFTING... it has SHIFTED... it's almost done... This month we had more calls for showings than we had for 3 months prior. 

Our OPEN HOUSES bring people out and we sell houses.  We placed two of our own listings under contract in the last two weeks at OPEN HOUSES.  (3147 Johnson Street-Hollywood Hills and 5031 N. 36th Court - Emerald Hills) Two weeks ago we had 14 attendees come to our open house in the WOODS of Emerald Hills.  WOW!  That is a helluva turnout.  

If you need to sell your home, price it right and you'll find a buyer.  You may be thinking what is the right price?  Well it's not what your neighbor says you should get, and it's not what you would have gotten a year ago... the houses that seem to be selling are the ones priced at market value or slightly below.  The ones that have evaluated the recent closed sales in their area and priced near those numbers.  The closed sales are the indicator, not the asking prices.   People can ask whatever they want but the closed sales indicate what buyers are willing to pay.

To sum it all up, it's an exciting time.  Hollywood is a great area and people want to move here.   They are coming from all over the country (believe it or not) to live where we live.  

Feel free to post a comment or email me directly with any questions.  I WILL write back.

I'll be posting at least twice a week on Mondays and Fridays and perhaps in between..please check back... and thanks for listening.               

Bonnie

Reach us at either address:

www.HomesInHollywoodFlorida.com

www.HousesInEmeraldHills.com