It sits on a corner lot ( 8,800 square feet) behind a high wall which hides the lush tropical gardens surrounding the house. Winding Chicago-brick pathways lead to zen-like pockets where you’ll find shady seating, sculptures, and a pond with waterfall. There’s also a large deck off the bright Florida room and kitchen that is a natural extension of the 1,668 square foot home and is made for entertaining.

You enter through a coral rock screened porch to the living room graced by a coral rock fireplace and Dade County pine floors. Those floors extend throughout the entire house.

The kitchen has been updated to today’s standards, keeping the period feel of the place intact , and includes a Jenn Aire gas range. The open wall into the Florida Room keeps the cook in front of family and guests, unusual in homes from this time. Both rooms open onto the deck, as does the butler’s pantry off the dining room.

The house is truly special, and I really hope whoever buys it will preserve the charm and not – egads! – tear it down.

If you’re interested in this house, call me at 305 794.6570 for an appointment to see it.

Coconut Grove is a unique village, and you need a hyper-local specialist working for you here. Whether you are selling, buying, renting or investing I can help you make the right decisions. Call me at 305 794.6570 or leave me a note.

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The house has been featured in Architectural Digest, the Wall Street Journal, the Miami Vice movie, and I recognized it in a recent episode of our very own Burn Notice on television. There are 5 bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms, tropical pool and spa, a guesthouse, and a spectacular jungle-like lot that’s just under an acre in size.

The truly unique feature of this one-of-a-kind property is the upstairs open-air living space. There’s a kitchen, bar, dumb waiter (food elevator), gigantic seating areas, dining area, bathroom, and tanning terraces.

The property had been listed by Rex Hamilton and closed for $3,100,000 on April 24. Great jobs, Rex and Riley! View the details here.

Although it isn’t literally within it, the house sits just at the entrance to one of the most private and historic gated communities in the Grove, Ye Little Woods. The oldest home there was built in 1902 for William Vogleson Little, developer of the community. Other well-known past residents include Gene and Barry Massin, father and son artists and Baron Joseph “Sepy” Debronyi, the self-proclaimed bon-vivant and playboy who hosted his final bacchanal in April, 2010 and whose home is now for sale.

As well as the Baron’s home there are 4 other homes for sale now. You will see details of them all here.

New to the market is another spectacular home built in 1920 at 3948 Little Avenue, offered fully furnished for lease at $19,500 a month.

Coconut Grove is where I live, work, and play. If you are buying, selling or renting in Coconut Grove you need a local specialist. Call me at 305 794.6570 or leave me a note.

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Originally built in 1952, it was completely redesigned in 2008 with a flowing floor plan, beautiful hardwood floors, heated pool, impact glass windows, and extremely high ceilings.The house is on a single level with 2,955 square feet on a lot of 9,500 square feet with towering old oak trees overhead.

The new design of the home is stunning. The kitchen and 3 bathrooms are all works of art with unique and beautiful marble and glass tiles. The master suite has a large sitting room which can easily convert to a fourth bedroom if needed. And the setting of this home is so tropical and quiet, set at the back of the southern end of the cul-de-sac, that it’s easy to forget you are in a large city.

• 3 Bedrooms / 3 Bathrooms
• 2,955 Square Feet Interior Space
• 9,500 Square Foot Lot
• One-Car Garage
• Heated Pool and Spa
• Built-in Barbecue and Bar
• Offered At: $1,075,000 ($371 per square foot)

If you’ve been looking for that truly special home to make your own, I’d be happy to show you this one. You can call me at 305 794.6570 or leave me a message.

You can subscribe to my posts to get regular updates on the Coconut Grove real estate market. Once you register you must activate the subscription in a follow-up email.

Welcome to my new look! 2011 brings the name of RealEstateCoconutGrove.com and it’s all about Coconut Grove. Of course!

It just feels right to narrow my focus to the neighborhood I know best and love the most. When there’s a good reason I’ll throw in a dash of something outside Coconut Grove, but I hope this will be your go-to place for Grove-centric real estate information.

You see the new look featuring a view of the bay from Peacock Park, a streamlined sidebar making navigation through the site easier, links to other professionals who can help you, and new categories from which to select what most interests you.

I’m happy to hear your ideas and comments, and I’m most interested in helping you with all your real estate needs. Call me anytime at 305 794.6570 or leave me a message.

To stay updated with all Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts via email by subscribing here.  Once you register, you must activate the subscription in a follow-up email.

Grovenor House and Grove Isle led all condominiums in Coconut Grove with increases in apartments sold and in price paid per square foot, showing their strength in this recovering market.

Grovenor House showed the most significant rise with 20 units sold in 2010 compared to only seven in 2009. The square foot price average increased from $518 to $556. Grove Isle had 22 closed sales in 2010 and only 14 in 2009. The average price per square foot there went up from $297 to $322.

The Ritz Carlton also did well in 2010 with closed sales increasing from 5 in 2009 to 13. The per square foot price went from $404 to $420.

Yacht Harbour and Grove Towers both saw a decrease in price paid per square foot. Yacht Harbour went from $248 to $230 and Grove Towers from $374 to $342. Grove Hill had 2 more sales than in 2009 with the per square foot price dropping minimally by a couple of dollars.

It’s not surprising that Grovenor House, Grove Isle and the Ritz Carlton saw such increases. Grove Isle is a private guarded island with its own marina and boutique hotel, Grovenor House is the newest with the most luxurious finishes, and the Ritz Carlton carries the internationally known name – and lives up to those expectations.

The links below will show you everything on the market now in each of the buildings mentioned above. If your plans include a move to a Coconut Grove condo in the near future, give me call and we can discuss the best one for you.

Grovenor House available now

Grove Isle listings

Ritz Carlton apartments

Grove Hill units for sale

Yacht Harbour on the market now

Grove Towers listings

Give me a call at 305 794.6570 to discuss all your Coconut Grove real estate needs. You may also leave me a note and I’ll get right back to you. To stay updated with all local real estate information, receive my blog posts via email by subscribing here.  Once you register, you must activate the subscription in a follow-up email.

The Ritz Carlton in Coconut Grove is composed of two high-rise buildings.The Executive Residences at 3350 SW 27th Avenue, is a 5-Star hotel with a private entrance to the individually owned condos accessible only to residents. The Tower Residences next door is only for private owners. The name Ritz Carlton sets the standard for luxury and impeccable service throughout the world, and owners enjoy all those amenities.

Sales in 2010 are up exponentially from last year. While there were only 2 sales in the Ritz Carlton last year, there has  been 13 apartments close in 2010. Since there are no pending sales now, this is most likely the total for the year.

The average sale price in the Tower Residence, dedicated to private owners exclusively, is $833,000 ($430 per square foot) while the average for the Executive Residences is $720,000 ($387 per square foot).

There are currently 30 apartments available for sale at the Ritz Carlton ranging from a one-bedroom short sale for $320,000 to a 3 bedroom penthouse listed at $3,600,000. In the entire complex there are no foreclosures and five short sales at the moment.

Closed sales this year include no foreclosed properties. Sales were between $390,000 and $1,745,000 (from $300 to $610 per square foot).

If you are interested in seeing any of the units at the Ritz Carlton give me a call at 305 794.6570 or leave me a note. If you enjoyed reading this article, why not Subscribe to receive the next one? Once you register, you must activate the subscription in a follow-up email.

To refresh your memory, this place was built in 2007 and the hand-crafted attention to detail gives it the character of  an older, more established home. It’s over 11,000 square feet of living space with 6 bedrooms, 6 full bathrooms and 2 powder rooms, billiard room, meditation room, guest suite, 3-car garage, and much much more, sitting on a lot that’s over half an acre.

The closing is expected soon, and I’ll post the selling price when that happens.

The latest sale of a super-luxury waterfront home in Coconut Grove was 3590 Crystal View Ct in the north Grove 2 months ago. It was listed for $11,900,000 and closed for $9,000,000, $739 per square foot.

There are currently 8 Coconut Grove homes on the market asking over $5,000,000. One of them is 3650 Klebba Lane, an original Walter DeGarmo design constructed for the pioneer Hugh Matheson family in 1926. It’s been extensively updated to today’s standards, but retains the stamp of those old Grove estates.

When you think Coconut Grove, think of me. This is where I live, work, play, and have been selling real estate since 1989. Questions? Ask me by calling 305 794.6570 or leave me a note. I have the answers to all your Coconut Grove real estate needs!

To stay updated with all Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts via email by subscribing here.  Once you register, you must activate the subscription in a follow-up email.

I subscribe to a site called Keeping Current Matters, which caters to real estate professionals. Today I received a post from KCM listing 5  reasons why you should use a Realtor when selling your home. Since I couldn’t have said it better myself, I’m posting this on my site for everyone to see.

Here are five important reasons to use a real estate professional:

1. Pricing Is Difficult

Just a few years ago, you didn’t have to worry about overpricing your home. If it was too high, all you needed to do was wait as historic appreciation was taking place. The situation is quite different today. With experts calling for another drop in home values, overpricing your property will cost you time. In this market, time costs you money. A professional real estate agent will discuss how increasing inventory could dramatically impact the value of your property in the months to come. They will help you set the right price in today’s market.

2. Negotiating Ability Is Crucial

Buyers today have an almost unlimited supply of homes from which to choose. They realize that puts them in a great negotiating position. Most buyers are now being represented by an agent. Sellers need to also be represented by a professional expert trained to negotiate real estate contracts.

3. Mortgaging Is Key to the Deal

The biggest impact of the housing market collapse is that lending standards are much stricter today than they were a few short years ago. Rules are constantly changing. Even FHA has gone through a guidelines overhaul in the last several months. You need a real estate expert who has teamed up with a knowledgeable mortgage professional to make sure that the buyer in the deal is in fact capable of obtaining a mortgage. Losing time with an unqualified buyer costs you money in a market where prices are falling.

4. Your Family’s Safety

We have always found it puzzling that the same person that will lock every door and window and set the alarm today will then allow total strangers into their house tomorrow. The real estate industry trains its practitioners to take steps to protect themselves and their clients. Take advantage of putting a person between you and the person calling on an ad or yard sign.

5. You Probably Have More Important Things to Do

Selling a home could turn into a full time job. Learning the necessary disclosures, coordinating the dates of your closings, dealing with a challenge regarding your appraisal and re-negotiating the offer after an engineer’s report are just a few of the concerns you may face. You would probably be better of spending that time with the items important to you and your family and leaving the challenges to your agent.

Bottom Line

To make sure the sale of your home is handled professionally – hire a trained professional. In the long run, you will wind-up with more money in your pocket and have less challenges with the move.

If you are thinking of selling your home, let’s get together and make a plan for you. I’m always available at 305.794.6570 or you may leave me a note.

These were the first loft-style condos to be built in South Florida in 1976, and they are as “today” as anything being built in 2010! There are 3 interior levels connected by a stunning wood floating-staircase. The wall facing each private garden also frames all the interior levels, and it’s entirely glass! Each one has a rooftop terrace with outrageous views of the Grove, and an attached two-car garage.

My friend and co-worker, Leslie Jones, has just listed the only one to come on the market in quite a while at 3126 Center Street. It’s original loft floor plan has been kept intact with extensive updates to the kitchen and bathrooms, and the master suite has been enlarged and enclosed for bedroom privacy. The second bedroom has room for an office overlooking the garden with a cozy sleeping loft over its bathroom.

• List Price: $469,000
• Square Feet: 1,591
• 2 Bedrooms, 2 and a Half Baths
• Deck Off Master Suite
• Rooftop Decked Terrace
• 2-Car Garage Attached with Laundry Area
• Community Pool
• Monthly Maintenance: $300

This is a special place to live and I’d love to show it to you. Call me at 305 794.6570 to arrange an appointment.

One of the most enjoyable things imaginable is to walk out your door, get on your boat, and cruise straight out to the ocean, whether it’s Columbus Day or not. Here are the fabulous homes for sale in Coconut Grove now that have their own docks.

The following EWM listing is located in the south Grove at 3575 Battersea Road. It’s got 160 feet of seawall with a boat and water-ski lift, and sits right on the open bay. Notice the tile mural in the pool of a mermaid and dolphins. Nice touch!

Details of this one-of-a-kind home include:

• Over 11,000 square feet under air
• Lot Size of 39,000 square feet
• 5 Bedrooms, Six Full Bathrooms and One Half-Bath
• A One Bedroom Guesthouse
• Home Theater Seating 10 Persons
• Listed For: $7,999,000

There are currently 17 homes with their own docks for sale in Coconut Grove.

Comparing Closed Sales in 2010 to those closed at the same time last year, the average per square foot price is WAY down. Last year the price was $709, now it’s $399!

If you are thinking of buying or selling your own waterfront piece of paradise, you want a neighborhood specialist working for you. Please call me at 305 794.6570 to arrange a meeting to discuss your needs.