The recent market activity for Miami Beach luxury homes, especially for premier waterfront properties, and South Beach condominium buyers is impressive. Although the national newsmedia continues to tell us that the national housing market is depressed, I can attest that my team and I are VERY busy these days. Almost all of our listed properties, whether they be single family homes or condominiums in both Miami and Miami Beach, have either sold or are under contract with well-qualified Buyers.

As I write this, in early January of 2011, my team and I have been overwhelmed by the strong Buyer activity of the past two months as high season has kicked into gear for Miami Beach Real Estate Buyers and Sellers. We're averaging a new Buyer inquiry EVERY HOUR- these usually come from our various Miami Beach condominium and luxury homes websites, and our international Brokerage partner portals in Latin America.

As our inventory of exclusively listed homes and condominiums in Miami Beach has been sold, we've been actively reaching out to homeowners in our target market of Miami Beach homes and condos. Potential sellers should be capitalizing on this growing demand for premier Miami Beach homes and condos from both USA-based and International Buyers by working with the RIGHT marketing Real Estate Agent / Brokerage Firm.

Key traits that Sellers should look for in a Miami Beach Real Estate Agent:

Latest Miami Beach Condominium and Homes Closed Sales Data:

When giving a Miami Beach Real Estate Agent the Marketing Exclusivity (Listing Agreement) to a particular property, what are some of the things that a seller should look for? Successfully selling Miami Beach waterfront homes or condominiums requires QUALIFYING potential buyers and other real estate agents.

Why qualify potential buyers, and agents representing buyers, before showing a property? Our #1 rule in real estate is to not waste time and to have a focused approach to marketing properties. There's nothing worse than having a seller clean, get ready for a showing, uprooting their family, and have a buyer (perhaps with a buyer's agent) show up to a house or condo that is listed for sale, and decide that "it's not what they are looking for". This leads to frustration, anger, and disappointment for all concerned, and demonstrates a lack of targeted marketing, as well as a breakdown in communication in the marketing and sales effort.

Therefore, one of the FIRST things we do is QUALIFY all buyers/real estate agents who inquire about a listing. We QUALIFY all potential parties by asking about the price range of the buyer, what kind of home or condo they may be looking for (contemporary, traditional, size of property, waterfront or non-waterfront, etc.), and we ask the agent working with them how long they have been working with this client, and whether they have seen other homes or condos on the market. For example, for a Miami Beach waterfront home on Palm Island, a listing agent should know if the buyer is interested in a guard-gated community, and if they are willing to pay a premium for this? Also, the buyer's agen needs to know the minimum price point of their client, and make sure that they are financially qualified to purchase in the price range of a Palm or Hibiscus Island waterfront home currently on the market.

We realize this process takes a little extra time, effort, and diplomatic tact (especially with the real estate agent representing the potential buyer). However, it is the feduciary duty of the listing agent to bring the seller QUALIFIED buyers, and to generate the best possible offer at the highest price. As always, the goal is to have a pending contract that has a high probability of closing - otherwise the seller will be forced to place their home or condo back on the market, having wasted time, energy, and financial resources with an unqualified buyer!

Almost every day, I'm getting phone calls and emails from new buyers looking to take advantage of the price declines that have occurred in the past few years here in South Beach. I'd like to highlight a few of the key attributes to look for in a strong Miami Beach Real Estate Agent who can get you that Amazing Deal:

- They should have long-term experience working in this market / neighborhood. Whether it's a condominium South of Fifth Street in South Beach or selling waterfront homes on Miami Beach's Venetian Islands, the agent you're working with needs to should have at least ten years of market experience. Ten years is the minimum to have the negotiating and market skills to competently represent a buyer in this market.

- Attention to follow-up and detail.This is perhaps an obvious one, but something that I have found sorely lacking among many local agents. This means having a specific SYSTEM in place for following up with all due diligence items- such as title issues, inspections, lender/mortgage broker approval, title issues that may come up, closing attorneys, and potential code violations, open permits, condo association approval process, and making sure that the agent representing the seller is also doing his job. I've seen many buyers lose out on great deals, only because the buyer's agent they were working with dropped the ball, opening the window of opportunity for another buyer to come in and "steal" the deal away.

- The agent should stay current with today's business headlines- both local, national, and international real estate and financial trends. Your real estate agent must be current with what's happening both locally and nationally with market liquidity, local inventory levels, and the financing issues that may come up for a qualified buyer.

- The agent should be well informed as to what's happening with both short sales and foreclosures in the immediate neighborhood, whether it's a condo building, nearby condo buildings, or with sales of waterfront and non-waterfront homes in a neighborhood. I've encountered many agents, especially in South Beach, in the recent past that pretend that somehow the condominium buildings or neighborhoods where they routintely work are not impacted by today's market realities. This is just not true. These agents not doing a good job on behalf of their sellers, and the buyer's agent needs to know how to navigate this situation.

- The agent should know the most recent closed sales in the specific condo buildings and single family neighborhoods that they work. Any buyer today (and also the lender) will not be willing to overpay- this means that the agent must understand the closed sales of the past two months. Again, many agents I've recently dealt with like to pretend that the latest sales are somehow not valid comparables. If it's a closed sale, it's a comparable sale that must be taken into account in making an offer.

- The agent should look, act, and conduct themselves professionally at all times. I know of several long-time agents that do not dress professionally, much less act in a civil manner to others, and in the process poorly represent their clients. Often times, first impressions do tell the whole story.

- The agent should embrace today's technology and business trends. Life and business today moves at a fast pace- lenders, attorneys, title companies, clients, mortgage brokers, etc. usually expect a fast response during certain critical moments in putting a deal together. If the agent does not, as a minimum, have a smart phone and respond to your emails and phone calls in a timely manner (within 12 hours) then this should be cause for concern.