We’re here to tell you that NEW is the new market trend! Nationwide, eager buyers are looking for newly built homes, says Dave Ramsey; recent real estate news suggests that the slow rate of new construction is contributing to the rising prices over the last few years. In fact, new home construction is projected to increase by 8% in 2019!

While the Ocean Reef real estate market typically sets its own trends, we seem to be following suit with the new construction bandwagon. New construction and recent renovations seem to be sold before the listing hits our MLS.

Take these recent pending beauties as examples: (Two of them didn’t even last a month!)

 
(Above: 17 Country Club and 23 Dilly Tree)

 
(Above: 7 South Harbor Drive and 50B Fairway Lakes)

As you know, hind sight is often 20-20 in real estate; especially at Ocean Reef. Buyers who are “new construction” homeowners are scoring the most desirable homes by acting quickly. 

Our recommendation is to act fast with an agent you trust; don’t suffer from “I'm Not the Buyer Remorse.” 

https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/real-estate-trends

https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/articles/what-to-expect-from-the-housing-market

Florida is known for sunshine, blue skies, and hot wives (referencing those funny air conditioning billboards- you know what I’m talking about). Us Floridians are used to 365 days of 80-degree weather with temps only fluctuating about 10 degrees depending on the time of day. However, this “winter” has been a wacky one with “cool fronts” coming through just about weekly! These cooler temps have us thinking about fireplaces, cozy sweaters, space heaters (Thank you 19^th Hole!).

If you have a fireplace in Florida, I’m sure you’ve actually felt compelled to use it this year so we are here to give you answers to your top 5 fireplace questions; from how do they work, to whether or not they are safe and how often you should clean them. Here Zillow does a beautiful job of breaking it all down. We also found this article for you with tips to help achieve maximum coziness in your home; who would have thought perfecting your hot toddy game was one of them!

Investing without a return can burn! Good thing we’ve found a list of four types of renovations that are better left undone, including a study that the National Association of Realtors came out with on the different characteristics that increase and decrease the price of new housing.

We do take this list with a grain of salt since we are such a unique community; heck, most of the time we set and follow our own trends. However, according to Andrew at BiggerPockets, four things to add to your “Thou Shalt Not” list when it comes to rehabbing your properties include: Fixing a Property Up Too Nicely, Awkward Additions or Upgrades That Don’t Fit the Property, and Upgrades That Are Mostly Just a Headache.

Of all the information packed into this article, the fact that the National Association of Realtor’s still finds that adding a pool adds a whopping zero percent to the sales price never ceases to shocks us!

Do you believe that a pool adds to a home’s sale price? If so, why?

Am I the only one that feels like summer temperatures have been hotter than usual? And there’s nothing like feeling hot and uncomfortable to allow yourself to complain just a little. Especially when frizzy hair and armpit stains aren’t the only things to be annoyed about; think: bugs, burned feet, expensive power bills and brown grass.

While here at Ocean Reef, we are lucky enough to enjoy the most beautiful swimming pools (including that to-die-for infinity pool) and refreshing ocean breezes to combat the warmth, here we’ve found a fun article about how to nix 9 irritating things about the summer heat; and some of them are surprisingly simple (I’m all about the backyard water feature).

While the first day of Fall is approaching, I’m not sure we’ll be seeing cooler temperatures anytime soon. Enjoy your flip flops, burgee caps and tropical drinks, it’s the dog days of summer.


Samantha Ochoa, Sales Associate
Watson Luxury Properties

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs raised their kids technology-free! Hard to believe, right? I mean, the two biggest technology moguls in our country were strict about the use of technology in their homes? Believe it.

Recently, our LinkedIn feed has been filled with articles about the physical effects of spending too much time on our phones, the damage blue light can do to your eyes, and how inactive our younger generation is – spending 7.5 hours daily in front of a screen! SCARY! Real Estate Agents particularly, know what it’s like to be constantly refreshing their MLS sites, following up with leads via email and text, and scouring the internet to keep up with real estate news and trends.

Now, I know it seems silly that this topic inspired a blog post, because, well, I typed this as I stared at my computer screen, and I only came across all this data on screen-time because I was scrolling in my LinkedIn app, but that’s the terrifying part! I bet there isn’t one person reading this that doesn’t feel they spend too much time in front of one screen or another.

The easiest ways we’ve learned to reduce daily screen time can be found right here. My personal favorites include: no screen time while eating, and setting a timer. Yes, a timer; seriously, I can get sucked into my Instagram feed and not come up for air until I’ve realized I’ve lost 30 minutes of my day!

Leave a comment below to share your tips on breaking the habit!

Other Links:

Business Insider's article on Bill Gates’ and Steve Jobs’ tech-free kiddos

WebMD tips we like on how to reduce kids screen time


Samantha Ochoa, Sales Associate
Watson Luxury Properties

Thinking of putting your home up on the market?

Wanting to sell quickly and at your asking price?

Besides the obvious: you should list with our office; you may ask: “Is home-staging really that impor…” “YES!” (Sorry to cut you off.)

You can find tried and true staging tips all over the internet, but the most important tip, in my little ‘ol opinion, is DECLUTTERING. All the clutter must go and no one ever said it will be easy. Your style may not be the style of everyone else; and decluttering allows your space to look BIGGER. Yes, BIGGER, and cleaner, and more appealing. Here we’ve found 21 helpful staging tips from Houzz to get you started.

Now let’s rewind. Decluttering does not mean EMPTY! (I know. I know. There is a fine balance in staging for a sale. It’s not fair.) So what do you do if your home is unoccupied and bare? Fill it!

Here we bring you a little #TBT when we were asked to sell an empty home earlier this year. Brand new furniture was whisked in from John Rudolph Designs and the buyer even had the option to purchase all or some of the pieces!

What are your thoughts? Does staging really make a difference?


Samantha Ochoa, Sales Associate
Watson Luxury Properties

Ocean Reef is known for having one of the most beautiful and well maintained dog parks in South Florida! That simple fact alone tells us that the Ocean Reef community is one that truly cherishes their dogs.

My daughter’s terrible allergies don’t allow our home to be that of a pooch’s paradise anymore. Since the passing of our beloved pup last year, a cute little cockatiel calls our house its home now (and we don’t mind the peaceful daily chirping).

However, as a former dog mom, I know that leaving your pooch at home while you work, or even for a quick trip to the grocery store, can be a stressful event for our four-legged babies.

To keep your pup from missing you too much next time you plan to be away from home for a few hours, try these easy and simple tips to keep your dog happy while you’re out. Spoiler Alert: It begins with exercise! Have you tried out our dog park?

P.S. We love meeting your furry family members! Next time you’re headed to or from the Ocean Reef Dog Park, remember to pop into our office (9 Barracuda Lane) so we can give your pup a pat and a treat!