Over this past year, there have only been a dozen or so of closed residential land sales in South & North Coconut Grove.  Most of the sales have gone to individuals who can’t seem to find the perfect home and resort to building it!  After all sometimes after renovating and redoing kitchen, baths, floors most of my clients and friends exclaim, “We should have just built, it would have been easier to get exactly what we wanted!”  It is a great time for developers to build again since inventory is low, land deals are still lurking around and there are lots of young families having more babies who want something new and nice to move into with more space.  There just isn’t plentiful amounts of land to even purchase or consider in North and South Grove.  I think from a resale value and location stand point it is always best to find a parcel of land or tear down in a gated community and heck if it’s on the water even better!   I just want to mention a few details from sales in 2011 in gated communities.  A tear down sold in Ye Little Wood for $730,000 which is 21,000 SF of land to a buyer who may build a spec home or create his own custom home.  Only one property sold this year for land in the adored Moorings and recently closed for a healthy $82/SF. I am pretty sure the buyers couldn’t find their dream 2^nd winter home but sure did pick a great location in the tropics!  The last land sale in The Moorings sold back in 2010 for $70/SF. Another lot which sold privately without Realtors sold for $2,580,000 in Four Way Lodges which is the gated portion of Poinciana Avenue towards the water.  Max Strang is in the midst of building the lucky new owners a magnificent modern masterpiece on the water. Gated communities will command more $/SF because of exclusivity and the location.   Keep in mind most land sales are tear downs and typically categorized in the MLS as single family homes so may be difficult to track since they won’t pop up if you are searching just on land.  Most Realtors will input them as both RE1=single family home and RLD=residential land.  Also, since they are not making more of it expect to see some sales above average.  Some savvy buyers understand and are willing to pay the premium for location to build. 

Is it time for a talented tasteful developer to start building Spec Homes in Coconut Grove? 4055 SW 37^th Avenue/Douglas is screaming to be developed.  This ~8 acre, 320,000 SF property rests peacefully between the amazing Kampong Tropical Botanical Garden and residential Bayhomes Drive backing up to the beauteous Bay.  Sold back in 2000 for $9,000,000 the owner of this land has been offered over the years triple what she paid for it but has never sold.  Annual taxes alone are $360,000.  If Ugo Colombo could get his hands on this parcel and build 30 or so homes I think it would be a total success especially if the architecture and finishes were reminiscent of his condo project on Bayhore Drive, The Grovenor House.  Young families and savvy buyers are not looking for cookie cutter McMansions or the overdone Mediterranean we see over and over again but rather modern, clean, sleek, sophisticated and classic Architecture.  There is a generation of buyers looking for homes that are currently nowhere to be found and I think would be quickly under contract if this specific parcel of land was developed and constructed. 

One reason to team up with a local, specialized Realtor to purchase or list your property is for their knowledge of the market.  Knowledge is power when buying or selling real estate.  If you are thinking about buying or selling in Coconut Grove call me at 305-807-9199.