Showing posts with label homes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homes. Show all posts
Miami's Top Real Estate Agent
Meet Audrey Ross
of Esslinger Wooten Maxwell, Inc., Realtors ®
It's The Ultimate Lifestyle
The elegant serenity of the coast and waterways. An international ambiance that adds pizzazz to the opulent neighborhoods. Picturesque views of beautiful sunsets and a manicured skyline. This is the Miami that Audrey Ross knows and loves.The city has a pulse all its own... and the person keeping the closest tabs on its trends and transformations is Audrey. As a longtime resident of Coral Gables, she has watched over the bustling activity that has transformed Greater Miami from a world class beachside resort city to a dynamic international trade mecca.
The sun, surf, and rare wildlife of the Everglades and Biscayne national parks remain and are now complemented by great ethnic and cultural diversity, the world's largest port and the United States' busiest international airport.
A Visionary In Her Own Right
Audrey had the foresight to research this incredible growth as it was happening and learned what this influx of people would mean to both current residents and those relocating here.Her clientele list is a veritable who's who of the movers and shakers of the world - Fortune 500 executives, film stars, international entertainment figures, sports celebrities and heads of foreign countries.
Audrey Has High Regard For Her Client's Privacy
Her uncompromised policy keeps her clients referring friends and colleagues to her. This unique service is what has led her to her success listing and selling many of the most significant estates in the history of Miami.Audrey also recognizes the importance of widespread networking and using innovative marketing techniques in the sale or purchase of luxury real estate.
Through her company's prominent affiliation with Christie’s Great Estates and Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate, FIABCI, RELD, and Forbes.com, Christie’s Great Estates/EWM offers national and international exposure for estate listings.
The Ultimate Choice For The Ultimate Lifestyle
When you're buying or selling real estate, Audrey believes you should not settle for anything less than what exceeds even your expectations, and she goes to work to make this happen.South Florida's Best Real Estate Connection To Luxury Property
With a career that has emphasized service sales and consulting and has ranged from heading a division of a major city school system and presiding as president of a national educational association to operating her own real estate company, Audrey Ross is the epitome of an individual who is dedicated to excellence.Whether it be in achieving the the goals of her real estate clients or in achieving her public service life goals as a board member of one of her favorite organizations: Miami's public television station (WPBT) or The Miami Lighthouse for the Blind. Through her company, Esslinger Wooten Maxwell, Inc., Audrey Ross has not only marketed the cream of Miami's real estate properties, but has also negotiated the sales of Brickell Avenue's office towers.
Did you know?
Audrey Ross sold over $200 million in the year 2005.
Our largest sales volume year was 2005, like most others in real estate, when we sold over $200 million. We have on a number of years, sold more than $100 million, and this year, in the first quarter (in what many consider still a "down year"), we have booked and appear to be closing approximately $60 million.
Audrey Ross named REALTOR® of the Year in South Florida's BEST 2002 Competition
Audrey Ross was named the #1 Agent Company-Wide
Our Company
In South Florida, it appears that we have been successful, because everyone owning any property over a million dollars, will generally recognize the name and associate it with luxury real estate whenever luxury property is discussed. Our largest sales volume year was 2005, like most others in real estate, when we sold over $200 million. We have on a number of years, sold more than $100 million, and this year, in the first quarter (in what many consider still a “down year”), we have booked and appear to be closing approximately $60 million.
Our firm can best be described as a luxury real estate firm catering to high net worth individuals in a private atmosphere. As a note on the last part of that statement, Audrey Ross has been, since she sold her company (Ross and Associates) to EWM in 2000, the top volume producer for EWM for the ensuing SIX YEARS RUNNING – 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005. In 2006 she persuaded EWM to ELIMINATE her name from the lineup of agents and not have her in the competition for “Top Producer” ... the Audrey Ross team wanted to provide a sense of 'private brokerage' to the top 100 of their very substantial clients and develop that clientele... much as the private equity firms, most notable being KKR in NYC and The Blackstone Group… have done.
The 2010 Real Estate Market
2010 -- This year, Miami real estate will be filled with challenges: a slow economy, little population growth and uncertainty in the retiree market. But with sales activity rising and prices stabilizing in many markets, plus the federal tax credit extension for buyers, there are clear signs of an upturn that will create new opportunities for Miami real estate condo investors.
“On a statewide basis, Florida has been experiencing a difficult economic cycle”, says Sean Snaith, directory of University of Central Florida Institute for Economic Competitiveness. “But this is not a structural economic problem like Michigan faces with its devastated auto industry. Florida remains a desirable destination and conditions will improve, gradually.”
John Tuccillo, president of Tuccillo and Associates in Sarasota, and former chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, says Florida has been hit harder by the real estate slump than any other state east of the Mississippi. “For 2010, I see a better economy and real estate market for the state, but no sharp recovery either” he says. “It will be a tug of war between increased buying power and a growing distressed property inventory. Buying power will win, but only by a bit.”
One factor to watch for signs of a recovery in 2010 is new home starts, according to analyst Lewes Goodkin, president, Goodkin Consulting, Miami. “To me, that’s a real indicator of when a market has reached the bottom. There has been minimal new construction across the state, but with land prices falling and builders willing to sell new product at little to no profit, we will probably see a modest increase in activity this year.” Noting that the pace of real estate transactions increased in 2009, and the 12 month moving average of prices turned upward, Snaith says, “Developers tell me that the prices of existing homes have fallen below replacement costs”, he says. “That indicates that pricing has overshot on the way down, because the long-run floor for prices has to be replacement costs. That points to prices rising in the future”.
“The big challenge for the Florida’s real estate market is the absence of population growth and ongoing slowdown in the construction sector”, he says. “We have more rooftops than we need, so the first step will be filling those new homes”. Another big issue is the number of foreclosures expected to continue through 2010.
Florida’s population is unlikely to grow much, if at all in 2010. After losing residents in 2008, for the first time since World War II, Florida’s population was expected to end 2009 with little change, while Snaith projects a very modest 10,000 person increase this year. “Until the labor market recovers, we won’t see strong in-migration” he says.
However, Florida’s market presents excellent opportunities for several market segments such as first-time buyers, investors and international buyers who want to take advantage of low prices, low interest rates and great deals on new home inventory. The extension and expansion of the federal income tax credit program is also expected to stimulate the state’s real estate market.
President Obama recently signed a bill providing a tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time buyers who have closed a transaction or have a binding contract in place by April 30, 2010. A $6,500 tax credit is available to current home owners purchasing a new or existing home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010. However, this will probably not do much good to those looking to relocate to the Miami area, as real estate prices are still very high.
“The substantial rise in home sales we’ve seen over the past few months proves that the tax credit is working”, says Charles McMillan, 2009 president of the National Assocation of Realtors. “Extending and expanding the home buyer tax credit will enable even more families to take advantage of current low interest rates and affordable prices to invest in their future through homeownership”.
