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This Week in Miami Real Estate: Realtor safety, Miami Beach resilience and more

by Andrew Morrell

The Miami Association of Realtors issued a notice to its email subscribers Sept. 13 warning them of an incident at an open house in Jupiter, Florida, that amplified the issue of safety among real estate agents. According to the Miami Realtors email, just minutes before the scheduled end of an open house event in Jupiter Sept. 9, the agent hosting the event was approached by a couple with two young children. The Realtor later stated the couple appeared suspicious and “asked rather strange questions,” then left. Soon after, the agent took a drink from her water bottle sitting open on the counter and immediately realized something resembling a crushed pill had been placed in or around the bottle. The Realtor did not ingest a significant amount of the substance and no serious health effects were reported, but local police were notified of the incident.

Miami Realtors used the story as an example of the importance of following simple safety precautions at open house events, including having all guests sign in with a photo ID and properly securing all entrances and valuables inside before the showing.

In other local real estate news:

  • Hurricane Florence made landfall off the coast of North Carolina the morning of Sept. 14. While the storm should stay well clear of Miami and Florida, it comes just days after the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Irma. Fears of catastrophic flooding from Florence, the likes of which were seen with Irma, have renewed calls from the National Association of Realtors and others for Congress to reform the National Flood Insurance Program, the primary underwriter of flood insurance in the U.S. that remains chronically underfunded in the wake of recent severe storms. An analysis from CoreLogic estimates that Miami is the country’s most at-risk city for storm surge flooding that often accompanies hurricanes. The study estimated that as many as 789,000 Miami-area homes could be at risk of storm surge damage in an “average or above-average” hurricane season, which would cost more than $156 billion to repair. 
  • The Miami Herald hosted its 2018 Real Estate Reveal Sept. 12, which included panel discussions and insight from local real estate experts. The event was centered around the Herald’s recent annual report on the state of the Miami housing market, and included additional contributions from Fernand Armandi, who helped conduct polling for the study, as well as panelists including Alicia Cervera LaMadrid, Ned Murray and Lynda Fernandez.
  • Mia Patch, former managing broker at S&P International Realty, will join the Miami Beach office of Keller Williams. With nearly 25 years of industry experience, Patch will assist KW with its training program for new associates, Ignite. “I am excited to get to work as the Ignite instructor,” Patch said in a press release. “Teaching has always been a passion of mine and now I get to do it in a way that I’ll be able to see the agents grow in their real estate business, and that is important to me.”
  • DR Horton purchased 32 single-family home development lots in south Miami-Dade County near Homestead Sept. 10, according to the South Florida Business Journal. The national homebuilder already has at least eight communities in the Miami area listed on its website, with another near Florida City in the works. The deal was closed for $3.04 million, or $95,000 per lot.
  • South Florida developer SobelCo. announced it would build 94 “private executive homes” priced between $500,000 and $700,000 in its West Palm Beach Banyan Cay community. SobelCo. will host a grand opening event of the VIP home model Sept. 20 from 10 a.m. to noon at 3100 North Congress Ave., West Palm Beach.
  • A study conducted by the Urban Land Institute in conjunction with the City of Miami Beach found that the illustrious municipality is “on the right track” when it came to stormwater management and adaptation to rising sea levels. “The City was recognized for its innovative approach in engineering and prioritization of its stormwater pumps, carefully crafted communications materials, ability to raise funds through utility fees and collaboration with regional partnerships including the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities,” a release from the ULI said. The study estimated that some 93 percent of all property in Miami Beach lies in a Special Flood Hazard Area, while a considerable number of historic properties in the area are built less than 3.7 feet above sea level. The city has devoted substantial resources to combatting the rising risk of flood damage, but the ULI cautioned that officials must “maintain a sense of urgency” for years to come in order to remain successful.

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