Oscars Assistant

As the rest of the country was shutting down in March, South Florida’s top brokers were getting phone calls from wealthy out-of-towners looking for high-end homes they could rent — preferably with a pool and spacious backyard, and possibly a tennis court. The majority of inquiries came from New York, though some also came from other states hit hard by the pandemic, including Michigan and Illinois. Another unexpected source of rental and broker fee income? Those already living in South Florida condos were looking for space where their kids could run around, away from common areas and elevators. At least […]

As expected, the coronavirus pandemic soured sales in Miami’s residential real estate market, according to a report published Wednesday. But the market is regaining steam. An analysis by Coral Gables-based brokerage firm Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty verified what many Realtors have been saying: that the market for single-family homes and condos slowed at all price points during the first two weeks in April. But the first two weeks in May have brought marked improvement, based on data from the Southeast Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service. “While not at the levels we’ve seen year-over-year in previous selling seasons, the early […]

As many city dwellers ride out the coronavirus pandemic in their apartments, there’s a sudden rush on real estate in the suburbs. “I would describe it as nothing short of a frenzy,” said Alison Farn-Leigh, a sales agent with Berkshire Hathaway. Interest in buying or renting a home in the ‘burbs went from zero to crazy in just a few weeks, Farn-Leigh told CBS2’s Vanessa Murdock. A young family from the city placed the winning bid for a home in Greenwich, Connecticut. Another home rented in just one day. “I get a lot of, ‘In one to two years, we […]

Despite the novel coronavirus throwing the global economy and U.S. housing markets into chaos, certain real estate markets are holding up better than others. For the third month in a row, Colorado Springs, CO, was ranked the hottest market in the nation, according to a recent realtor.com® report. The monthly ranking is based on where buyers are clicking on the most home listings on realtor.com and where homes are selling the fastest, with the fewest number of days on the market. “Colorado Springs has a lot of lower-priced homes for sale at the entry level,” says Javier Vivas, director of […]

Is the demand for Denver real estate staying strong despite the COVID-19 crisis? That’s what industry experts have said in recent stories about home prices holding steadier than expected during the stay-at-home order and a strong start to the resumption of in-person showings amid Colorado’s safer-at-home program — and Jim Smith, owner of Golden Real Estate, sees plenty of evidence that this trend will continue. “There’s an under-supply of homes” in the Denver metro area, Smith says. “We’re not going to have a crash, because there’s too much demand and too little supply.” Smith sounds as bullish about the local […]

The coronavirus pandemic has made us all a lot more familiar with our homes. But it has also thrown up a great number of questions over the future of the property market. While global markets were thrown into turmoil in the early days of the outbreak, the property market, broadly speaking, has remained resilient. As of April, the median U.S. house price rose 8% year on year to hit $280,600. That’s good news for investors. Real estate continues to rank as the top investment pick for the majority of Americans (35%), ahead of stocks and bonds (21%), savings accounts (17%) […]