‘Fake News’* in the Miami Real Estate Market

Extreme Opinions are Shaping Miami’s Real Estate News

I feel impelled to write a blog on what has come to bother me more and more over the last few months: ‘Fake news!’ It is about the apparent Miami real estate news that makes its way to the public ears and eyes almost on a weekly basis by well known citywide or nationwide mainstream news providers. We are either told to be incredibly positive and bullish on the Miami market and to buy everything that can be built, or told to be bearish and that we should all be selling our real estate and donning life vests waiting for the imminent doom of rising flood waters sure to engulf us in the next 20 minutes!

* my quip on fake news is not to side with any particular political group. I am first and foremost a Brit and so my vote does not even count! I also tend to be less politically correct than most and I am not writing this to point fingers at anyone in particular, but feel it is important to not water down my content to the point of becoming tepid and useless.

I am not saying my opinion is any better than anyone else’s, but at least I live in Miami and I am on the ground dealing with sellers and buyers on a daily basis. More importantly, everything I put out in black and white is backed up with some kind of statistical information. As I say: ‘don’t trust the opinions, trust the numbers.’

A good Miami real estate agent does not shy away from the truth

I am aware that as a Miami real estate broker it is understood that I have a vested interest in seeing the boom of the Miami Real Estate Market. The truth is that I have told many buyers in the past (and will continue to do so in the future) to not buy, but rather to wait on certain markets. I do this, because I am sure that when the market rebounds, I have a plentiful supply of trusting clients who will work with me after the solid predictive advice I have given before. I also do very well as a listing agent when markets correct, as I tend to pick up a lot of listings. Much like a stock broker I can make money when the market is going down as well as when it goes up.

Two frequently asked questions on the Miami real estate market

These are the two questions I got last week that I think is worth addressing:

1 ‘I hear Miami is going to be underwater soon. Am I to hold off on buying Miami Real Estate?’

There is no doubt rising sea levels are a concern to the planet, but with billions of Dollars at stake on the Miami coastline I doubt that the city is going to go quietly into the night and accept such a fate. Very much the same as New York, certain parts of Miami are certainly more prone to flooding than others, but examples such as the $100M Miami Beach project focusses on this concern and more money will continue to counter such problems.

2. ‘I read: Miami real estate is in melt down!’ Is this true?

This is probably the most pressing question. Undoubtedly, certain neighborhood submarkets are experiencing corrections. The ultra luxury market on Miami Beach and the mid market ($500,000 – $1,000,000) in Brickell and Downtown are two examples of this. However, some markets can be slow and stable while other markets are actually strong and still getting stronger. Submarkets are price specific and neighborhoods often experience economic containment or contamination from surrounding areas. Also remember there are always exceptions to the rule and every market has a ‘floor’ and a ‘ceiling’.

The Complexity of the Miami Real Estate Market is not either Black or White

At the same time I got a call from a well know ‘local’ news group whose reporter called me to ask about the state of the Miami market. What struck me as rather crazy was that the reporter in question did not even know the location of key neighborhoods or the name of very well known condos. This makes me think that this person is not familiar with the Miami market at all and therefor I doubt they even live here. I spent a good 20 minutes trying to give them clarity on the market and the complexities held within, but I could tell that they were looking for an ‘angle’ to write something attention grabbing and juicy that will get the readers attention.

I encourage every news editor to make sure their writers have a grounding in the market they write about. You don’t see me writing about Palm Beach real estate, because I don’t live there and have no business writing about something I don’t have first hand experience of.

The truth is that the market is one of a very complex dynamic and cannot be summarized by a sexy headline of a couple paragraphs of second hand narrative. Writing about a market that you clearly don’t know is dangerous and trying to sum it up in a few lines can only be misleading. The truth is that held within every market is a complex dynamic and the neighborhoods and price submarkets vary so enormously, that it is impossible to write just one article on it. You must not only study a large number of variables, but must also be speaking to a lot of buyers and sellers to get a true sense of where things are moving.

What you will find on my site under Miami real estate news or Miami Market Reports is a micro level of analysis on real estate relevant to you. It may not make a sexy headline article nor make a simplified route to success but it will be in-depth enough to be useful and relevant to the complexities of the decision the make the best deals.