Keyes Goes Over The Edge for Miami's Youth

72 Individuals Rappelled Down Keyes' Corporate Headquarters to Raise Money for Miami Youth for Christ

Top: Christian Vega begins his descent down Keyes'
corporate building in Miami. Bottom: Christian
Vega and Marie Pappas pose after completing his
trip down the side of our headquarters.

The Keyes Company is an incredibly community-driven organization. We have to be. Our job is to sell in our communities! Our philanthropic involvement in supporting these communities centers around four essential components of their infrastructure - education, children, healthcare, and home. 

On a rainy Saturday in late January, we continued that mission by hosting the 3rd Annual Miami Youth for Christ Over the Edge event. This year, 72 people rappelled down our headquarters in Miami, FL to help raise money to end youth violence in our communities.

Christina Vega from Keyes' Brickell office scaled the building as our representative in this year's event. Past years saw multiple company executives participate, including President and CEO Mike Pappas in 2017. 

This year's event raised over $160,000. "Miami YFC is deeply grateful for our partnership with The Keyes Company and their desire to better our community by investing in our youth," remarked Executive Director Bonnie Rodriguez. 

How Millenial tastes are changing South Florida Real Estate.

Cover Story: How South Florida's  residential developers are making  their projects millennial -friendly.

This week's South Florida Business Journal cover Story by Brian Bandell is on Millenial Housing Development. In it, Keyes Company CEO & President, Mike Pappas, is quoted on the livng styles of  the millenial generation. Read below! 

SoFla luxury condo sales to stay slow as single-family market grows in ’18, experts say

Condo developers to pull back after years of sky-high appreciation

With a large number of luxury condos remaining available paired with low sales, it can be expected to see many projects be cancelled in the 2018 year. However, this may prove beneficial to buyers as some sites may start reducing their prices. Mike Pappas, along with several other Miami real estate figures speak to The Real Deal about what to expect in the coming 2018 year.

“In the luxury market, they set prices too high.”

- Mike Pappas, Keyes Company CEO & President

Mike Pappas, president of the Keyes Company, said the double-digit appreciation new condos experienced between 2013 and 2015 created a false perception about what those same units could sell for in 2016 and 2017. “Over the last two years, we have seen that greater appreciation coming back to down to reality,” he said.

Read the full article here!

Want to make the most money on your home? Don’t sell it yourself!

Want to make the most money on the sale of your home? Don’t sell it yourself. On this week’s Miami Herald Business Monday, Keyes Company’s CEO Mike Pappas explains the importance of hiring a Realtor® when you are ready to sell your home.

If you want to save money by selling your home yourself, that’s OK. Just don’t expect to make any money doing it. A study by two leading economists finds that owners secure deals at prices below those on similar properties sold by Realtors using the Multiple Listing Service. 


Read the full article here!

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/real-estate/article186599503.html#storylink=cpy

Single Family Homes on the Market range up to $65 million.

Recent article of Miami Today discusses the amount of high priced single family homes.

Source: Miami Today

The number of expensive single-family homes is not dwindling, but instead there is an abundance of them. 

With the high price of these homes, only a small amount are willing to reduce the price. Many sellers are wary to reduce their price, but in the market for the past few years, it may be what is needed to get the listing sold. 

Sales of listing were also slowed down with the arrival of Hurricane Irma in South Florida. Agents were out of the office for about 2 weeks, causing closings to be delayed and making the market seem sluggish.

"There is a strong demand and interest for properties that are priced at a realistic market price and are in move-in condition," says Keyes CEO and President Mike Pappas. He ends with saying that he believes that the upcoming season will be good for the luxury market due to the proposed tax reduction.

New Tax Plan and it’s South Florida Real Estate Impact

The proposed tax plan’s biggest impact for our market may come out of state.

Source: Miami Herald

 Local real estate experts believe that the short term impact could be a slight decrease in pricing in the area as new buyers weigh the cost of renting versus owning a home. Eventually, the benefits of owning a home will outweigh the costs and that, along with South Florida’s abundance of foreign buyers, will keep the market steady. 

Most believe that the biggest impact will come from buyers from higher-tax areas like New York and California who might start looking at South Florida and Miami as much more desirable locations if the residential mortgage interest expense deduction is lowered.

Read it in their own words here!

Keyes Wellington welcomes Realty Elite agents!

Keyes increases Wellington market share with new acquisition.

The brokerage just finished a closing on the purchase of Realty Elite The Palm Beaches over in Wellington. The company founded by David Lopez back in 2007 had closed on $92 million in sales for 2016. 

The Keyes Company President/ CEO Mike Pappas (Left) and Realty Elite founder David Lopez (Right)

This deal will be adding 64 new agents to The Keyes Company, adding to the other expansions that The Keyes Company has also acquired Bluffs Real Estate of Jupiter and two local offices of Colorado-based Shorewood Real Estate. 

Benefits to this will be that Realty Elite agents will be working out of the Keyes Wellington office, removing the cost of operating two different offices. 

Read more here!

Keyes Co. President Mike Pappas gives his insight on the current real estate market.

Cash is no longer king for South Florida homebuyers.

Cash sales peaked in the first quarter of 2011, when more than seven out of 10 deals didn’t involve a loan.

“The market has dramatically shifted,” said Mike Pappas, president of Keyes Co. in Miami. “Cash drove the market in the bottom-feeding and opportunistic times, but today we have a real market with real buyers, and they need mortgages.”

Investors descended on South Florida in 2011 and 2012 as the six-year housing bust was ending. With prices hitting bottom, bargain hunters with fistfuls of cash scooped up foreclosures and short sales for pennies on the dollar.

Read the rest of the article here!

Platinum Properties Acquires Bluffs Real Estate and Investment Properties

Palm Beach firm operating since 1985 joins Platinum brand as Keyes continues aggressive growth.

Platinum Properties, A Keyes Family Company, has announced the acquisition of Bluffs Real Estate and Investment Properties under its Platinum Properties brand. The acquisition of the Jupiter-based firm underscores the continued growth Keyes has experienced this year.

Founded in 1985, Bluffs serves Palm Beach and Martin counties, with listings located between the Intracoastal Waterway and the waters of Jupiter and Juno Beach. Bluffs has 25 agents and generated a sales volume of $25 million in 2016. The firm’s office at 4050 South U.S. Highway 1 in Jupiter is remaining open after the Keyes acquisition.

“We are excited to welcome Bluffs into the Keyes family,” said Keyes CEO Mike Pappas. “We know that the Bluffs team is filled with dedicated professionals, and we are eager to begin working alongside their experienced sales associates. This significantly strengthens our Platinum Properties brand.”

With roots in the local community, Bluffs’ agents are experienced in residential single-family homes, townhomes, condos and golf communities, as well as bank-owned and new construction properties.

Gail Lamborn has been the owner of Bluffs Real Estate and Investment Properties since 2002.

The Bluffs acquisition was completed shortly after Keyes acquired the Florida offices of nationally recognized residential firm Shorewood Real Estate. Shorewood has 40 agents based in its Florida offices, which are located in Aventura and Palm Beach.

Independently-owned and operated since its founding in 1926, Keyes is extremely active in luxury residential real estate. In 2016, Keyes listed more than $1 billion in luxury homes priced at $1 million or more.

Keyes is a Founding Member and Shareholder of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^®, a global network of more than 550 premier real estate firms encompassing 4,000 offices and more than 128,000 Sales Associates in 55 countries.

In July 2016, Keyes and Illustrated Properties announced the completion of a merger between the two companies, which continue to operate under their existing brands. Overall, Keyes and Illustrated generate more than $6 billion in annual revenue from their real estate service lines.

Following the merger, Keyes and Illustrated are, together, the largest independently-owned real estate firm in Florida and a Top 25-ranked firm in the entire United States. In Palm Beach County alone, the companies have in excess of 1,100 Sales Associates and produce double the volume of their closest competitor.

“We plan to continue growing through strategic acquisitions over the rest of 2017 and beyond,” said Pappas. “Profit margins are tightening in the brokerage industry, so we’re seeing more and more consolidation of firms that do not have the size and scale to withstand the new reality. We are fortunate to have the infrastructure, technology and diversity of services to help our brokers thrive.”

CEO Mike Pappas Gives His Take on Renting vs. Buying for Millenials

"The National Association of Realtors reports that people 36 years or younger make up the largest demographic of home buyers." - Mike Pappas.

An article in Money Inc. by our very own, Mike Pappas, President and CEO to The Keyes Company. In it, explaining the pros of owning rather than renting, as both sale prices and rent prices are rising it is still cheaper to own than rent.


Read the full article here!

With apartment units rising in numbers, what does this mean for rent prices?

"We're starting to see rental prices wane, or at least pause." - Mike Pappas

Apartments are constantly being built, and with the approaching over building of apartments it may tip the rent prices in favor of renters. 

Market watchers estimate that this year will see the finished construction of 15,200 new apartments across South Florida, including 5,700 units in Miami-Dade County, 5,000 in Broward County and 4,500 in Palm Beach County. 

The pos-recession rise in monthly rents may stop or even decline as the number of apartments in South Florida increases.

See the full article here: The Real Deal: South Florida Real Estate News.