Pending home sales tumble to 4-year low in latest sign the housing-market correction has arrived

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/pending-home-sales-tumble-to-4-year-low-in-latest-sign-the-housing-market-correction-has-arrived-2018-11-29

Smart Growth Realty reuses bamboo flooring for real estate sign riders with a cool look.

One day as I was walking in a Home Depot store in Pinecrest,FL looking for I forget what. I stumble upon a sale on bamboo flooring. I was wondering as creative as I am what can I use this for when it comes to my real estate practice.

A light bulb went off and I said to myself , why don't I take the flooring pieces cut them up and use them in the form of a real estate sign rider.

Not knowing how to go about this I went to Alex at The Sign Shoppe in The Falls area who does all my custom work and I said" Alex how can we take this flooring and create a unique rider never seen before" . We brainstormed for a minute and the final product is what you see. owning and running a Green residential real estate company in Coral Gables, I decided to make these bamboo riders to prove 2 points.

1. Differenciate my company from the rest.
2. Reclaim renewable materials for other uses.

Smart Growth Realty was founded to create an awareness for the need to build,remodel and retrofit Green and Sustainable homes in the South Florida area. Real estate brokers and agents have the unique ability to influence the spending of huge sums of money every year in real estate transactions. Not only in the purchase of the property, but in remodeling decisions, financing decisions, furnishing and decorating decisions.

Our motto is " Reducing the real estate footprint...one home at a time"

For more information on how to create this cool looking custom Bamboo Rider email me at Carlos@CarlosdelAmo.com

Ways to make your Thanksgiving more green by smart growth realty

I was wondering how to be more green on the day we eat the most ,researched and found these 12 steps on how we can still enjoy this great holiday and at the same time not try to waste or make an impact on our environment.

Here are 12 suggestions I researched on how to make your Turkey Day
a little more environmentally friendly.

1. Skip the factory farmed turkey.

2. Forgo the turkey entirely.

3. Buy organic.

4. Shop locally.

5. Save and share your leftovers.

6. Compost your scraps.

7. Use reusable dinnerware and storage containers.

8. Decorate with natural materials.

9. Remember your reusable shopping bags.

10. Recycle.

11. Turn off the TV.

12. Give thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving to ALL !!! 

Smart Growth Realty donates avocado tree to local gables resident as part of initiative

Fulfilling our clients wants and needs is what makes owning Smart Growth Realty so special to be a part of. We profile every client before we ever go show any properties. You see most real estate agents are so excited with working with a prospect they really don't take the time to listen to what they are really looking for in a home. In some cases what the client wants is not always what they purchase.

Take this perfect example:

I got a phone call from Mr. Diaz on one of my listings in Coral Gables. I let him know that my wife Giselle was doing an open and to go by. Giselle and Mr. Diaz clicked right away and a week later we had him as a client. In the coming months we previewed several properties and made some offers on REO's that never materialized. One day on a business trip to Colombia, I sent Mr. Diaz an email with a property that came on the market I thought he would like. Location and size was perfect , but not the price and style.

Our client had always wanted a 1920's Old Spanish gables home. I love the Old Spanish, however it if has not been totally remodeled to new building code it could be a money pit for the new owner. As time passed we saw other styles like mediterrenean and contemporary. When he arrived from Colombia we set up a meeting with a wonderful Kerdyk realtor named Rachelle Kaplan. We met at this lovely home steps away from the University of Miami off San Amaro. I introduced Rachelle to Mr. Diaz and we proceeded to look over the home.

The homes was custom built in the late 60's with an incredible open floor plan. Very unique for the time. Terrazzo floors in the living room and open family room that overlooks the pool. We also had the pleasure speaking with the original owner who built the house. In a market where Short Sales and Foreclosures still dominate the market,it was nice actually being involved in a NON Third Party Transaction. To make the story short,both buyer and seller were very happy and closed within 36 days.

Guacamole Anyone ?
The key in my opinion to being a successful broker or real estate agent is two things :

1. Put AWAY your EGO.

2. LISTEN and LISTEN !

Believe it or not the second one is sometimes the hardest to master. Pay attention to your clients conversations and take little bits and pieces and store them in the back of your head for future use. As an active member of the USGBC South Florida Chapter and Co- Chair on LEED for homes our company wants to make an impact on our environment,planet and homeowners lives.

During a simple conversation during the inspection of the home, I heard my client mentioned about the avocado tree lost in the storms. The bulb went on ! We had just received and avocado tree from Adopt A Tree at JC Bermudez park in Doral several weeks before. Giselle mentioned to me what a great idea to Reuse and donate the avocado tree to our clients as part of our company's green initiative program. We are happy to say both owner and tree are getting along very well.

Note: A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%.

Eurohabitat and Smart Growth Realty founders at DWR event in Coral Gables

Carlos del Amo,Eddy Gugliotta,Alessandro Gugliotta

Eurohabitat Green founders Eddy Gugliotta (Middle) and son Alessandro (Right) were the main focus at the Design within Reach  event held in Coral Gables to promote their sustainable and recycled furniture line.

The event was a success as local Gables Residents walked down Miracle mile and pondered into the showroom intrigued by the modern and unique pieces of Alessandro's work. Alessandro also is a project Coordinator LEED AP at Mexal Corp, a  private company categorized under Building Contractors and located in Miami, FL. Records show it was established in 2000 and incorporated in Florida. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of $1 to 2.5 million and employs a staff of approximately 1 to 4.

The event had a pleasant ambiance as wine and appetizers were served from 6 to 11pm. Design Within Reach were very gracious to hold this event at their showroom and shows how the City Beautiful is making a big push towards sustainable building practices.

Coral Gables is were Smart Growth Realty decided to call home. We are located at 3211 Ponce de Leon Blvd Suite 200 and walking distance to the city core. Our Walkscore is a healthy 84 out 100. We have the Gables Trolley stop about 50 ft away from our office which makes lunch time on miracle Mile enjoyable in the early Fall/Winter periods of Miami. "Reducing South Florida's Footprint...One Home at a Time" is our company motto and we donate part of our commissions back to local Green Organizations to promote what we really believe in.

Overall the event was a wonderful time spent with The Eurohabitat Team and the guests I met.
Thank you DWR and city of Coral Gables. Continue the movement towards a healthier and more energy efficient Miami Dade County.



 Eurohabitat  Tableware



Benefits of going green in Miami and South Florida

There is a variety of reasons to go green, but most come back to supply and demand. We have a limited amount of resources available and more and more people using them up. If we want our future generations to enjoy the same standard of living we've experienced, we need to take action.

Green building is a great place to start, as buildings consume 14% of potable water, 40% of raw materials, and 39% of energy in the United States alone (according to the US Green Building Council). That's 15 trillion gallons of water and 3 billion tons of raw materials each year! If that's not enough to convince you, here are some other reasons to go green:

For The Environment

Want to make the world a better place? Implementing green practices into your home or office can help reduce waste, conserve natural resources, improve both air and water quality, and protect ecosystems and biodiversity.

For The Savings

Want to make your dollar go further? Green systems and materials reduce energy consumption, which in turn reduce your energy bills. They also increase asset value and profits and decrease marketing time; making your dollar go further for longer.

For Your Health

Want to live healthier? Green building isn't just good for the environment; it's also good for YOU. Sustainable design and technology enhance a resident's overall quality of life by improving air and water quality and reducing noise pollution. According to a 2006 study by the Center of the Built Environment, University of California, green office buildings improve productivity and employee satisfaction in the workplace.

An abundance of green service professionals and products are available to help you get started. For more information, find an NAR Green Designee in your market or begin earning your NAR Green Designation today!

Courtesy of The Green Resource Council

Building a raised bed vegetable garden out of recycled wood decking in Miami



Scareabella keeps birds and pests away

For many months my wife has been after me to build her a raised vegetable garden in our backyard and this was the final product. It took some proper planning but the overall presentation was more than I envisioned.

It started with reclaimed wood I rescued from a LEED home project in Lighthouse point. The Zahn family were building a new LEED home on the water and were about to use a more durable and sustainable material for their dock. So I asked them if they would mine if I hauled the old pressure treated wood back to my house so I can reuse it in some future home projects I wanted to do. They said OK.

One Saturday afternoon I got inspired to make the raised bed garden. It was quick and easy to put together in a few hours. I am sometimes up hauled when I see locals selling these same gardens for almost $500 when you can put in 3 hours of light work and less than $50 in materials and do it yourself. The wood was braced with joining brackets on all four sides and leveled before the ground installation.

My deck was done and it was ready to be installed. I cleared an area of grass and put a weed blocker under before I filled the bed with a mixture of the original soil dug out and some new organic soil  bough at Home depot. The soil  filled up to 6 inches from the bottom.

Plants in the Bed:

We started our vegetable garden with Tomatoes,parsley,thyme,Bib lettuce,Mexicali and Bonnet peppers,arugula,and basil. Watering technique was something  I learned from my next door neighbor's mom who raised and sold organic herbs and vegetables through her company Anna's annuals that watering these plants the traditional way was incorrect. The correct way was to soak the soil around the plants so it stays moist then give it a light mist and you are done.

We have been enjoying are garden every day as it grows. We pick what is ready to eat for the day and in the future will be building future gardens to grow other vegetables.

Note on SCARE-ABELLA:

Our daughter named this scarecrow we purchased at Target in memory of the chicken we had over a year ago called ISA-BELLA. She is keeping out the birds and pests quick nicely. I do not claim to be a handyman by all means,however building this garden was a family fun project.

Miami Green Homes is copyrighted and the official blog for Smart Growth Realty. SGR is a green real estate company based in Miami Dade County and a leader in sustainable residential real estate.

Miami Today article on green real estate company opening Smart Growth Realty

Our company , Smart Growth Realty had the honor of  being written up by The Miami Today publication in the August 5th issue. " Reducing the real estate footprint" is our motto. We want to contribute in any way to reducing the carbon emmission with every home we sell.

Thank you Miami Today for helping us get the word out to make Miami a more healthier and energy efficient place to live.