Alongside the Women’s Council of Realtors, Related ISG principals Philip J. Spiegelman and Craig S. Studnicky presented the 2012 business resource meeting, which highlighted “Miami 2020: A Look At The Future of Downtown Miami.”

Century 21 is generating substantial buzz through its use of social media, which includes an upcoming Super Bowl advertisement and an extensive online media campaign to endorse the ad.

 
Brickell Magazine will honor Jorge Perez as the face of the annual January/February real estate issue. In a cover story titled, “Return of an Icon,” the Miami developer gives insight into his life — from art collector and $35 million donation to Jorge M. Perez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County, to leading a new revitalized cycle of construction for Miami’s real estate scene.

2011 was a record year for Miami tourism, with Miami-Dade employing more workers than it did before the recession and hotel revenues increasing 14 percent this year. In fact, taxes at these hotels, up 29 percent, have erased the losses from the recession. Tourism is doing so well that some are wondering if Genting’s planned mega casino is even necessary, according to a recent article in the Miami Herald.

The Builder trade journal has stumbled upon an interesting anomaly in the Florida real estate market – rather than downsizing, an increasingly popular trend that has been increasingly covered by numerous outlets since the housing downturn commenced, builders in the Sunshine State are taking advantage of the inexpensive land costs and building bigger.

The nation continues to face a “highly dysfunctional foreclosure process,” particularly in Florida and other states in which judges must approve repossessions, according to RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine, Calif.-based firm that lists foreclosed properties for sale.
Although foreclosures declined sharply last year in South Florida and across the country, filings are expected to increase in 2012 before the housing meltdown reaches bottom.

Century 21 Premier Elite Realty announced some new additions to its team: sales associate Ireri Arreola Torres and Realtor associates Heather Undorfer and Judith M. Kaplan.

The new year is often a time for resolutions, for looking forward, for increased expectations – and thanks to new Miami sales data for the month of November, those fresh outlooks will be easy to attain.
According to new data from the Miami Association of Realtors (MAR), pending sales in Miami for single-family homes and condominiums increased by 25 percent from November to December, rising from 2,598 to 3,348. Year-over-year, pending sales were even more impressive, rising 14 percent for condos and 43 percent for single-family homes.

Standard & Poor’s released the latest results of its influential Case-Shiller Home Price Indices just moments ago for the month of October, and like the previous collection of data, it shows both monthly and year-over-year declines for housing values in the vast majority of U.S. metropolitan areas.
Monthly, home values were down 1.1 percent for the 10-City Composite and 1.2 percent for the 20-City Composite, from September to October, while annually, the composites were down 3.0 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.

Miami Agent will be taking a brief break next week, but we’ll be back the first week of January to continue bringing you the most timely, invaluable real estate news around.
Happy Holidays!