Miami-Dade, Broward Residents Moving North Face Logistical Obstacles, Scarce Information

You’ve heard a lot about South Florida residents migrating north in search of smaller crowds and lower prices, but you probably aren’t aware of what a logistical problem it has been for many of them. Some real estate agents in St. Lucie and Martin Counties (map), north of Palm Beach County, are trying to make it easier for migrants to find a home — which, in the end, benefits the local sellers.

“Almost 50 percent of the buyers of homes in Martin and St. Lucie are from down south, yet the Realtors down there have difficulty helping their customers buy homes up here,” said Jim Weix, president of The Real Estate Company-Treasure Coast, based in Palm City, Fla.

Weix’s firm recently purchased the access rights to the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) of the realtor associations of both Greater Fort Lauderdale and Miami-Dade County, meaning his company will directly market its existing stock of Martin and St. Lucie homes to South Florida agents. Weix had been fielding many calls from Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade agents without access to local listings, and who are subsequently out of the loop with homes that come on the Florida housing market.

“They were basically going to Realtor.com and getting the same information the public could get. Bottom line is, a big part of our market is people from there moving up here and I come to find out that access to our homes for sale is really minimal,” Weix said.

There are several different MLS vendors, with the board of directors of each association choosing which to employ. The Realtors Association of Martin County now utilizes one that provides Martin-only listings and shares data with another that features St. Lucie and Palm Beach homes. Overall, South Florida agents agree there has been a surge of interest in the Treasure Coast market, and believe cooperation is key to generating Florida home sales.

“It seems like Miami is very interested in not only personally moving up there, but also investing in the area,” Helen Jeanne Nicastri, honorary chairman of the Master Brokers Forum, said. “Even if you had access to all the listings, though, you would still have to work with a good broker up there because you’d be doing your customers a disservice if you’re not familiar with the marketplace.”

Nicastri said Master Brokers recently opened chapters in Broward and Palm Beach and said the Treasure Coast’s popularity could fuel the opening of another. Clearly, from the perspective of real estate agencies, sharing information is the key to generating sales. Even as the Florida home loan market gets pricier, there will be no shortage of interested buyers in South Florida. Be sure you make the best use of the information available to you if you’re shopping for a Florida home loan (and a house)!