Manuel Elgarresta is a Realtor with Elite Ocean View Realty in Miami Beach.

Every week, we ask a Miami real estate professional for their thoughts on the top three stories from the week before. This week, we talked with Manuel Elgarresta, a Realtor with Elite Ocean View Realty in Miami Beach.

Miami Agent (MA): We recently reported on a Trulia study that shows Miami’s home prices are 6 percent greater than the nation’s baseline. Is there any concern that South Florida properties are overvalued? Why or why not?

Manuel Elgarresta (ME): Situated on the Atlantic coast and with the only genuine tropical climate in the continental United States, South Florida offers the same clear tropical warm waters usually reserved only for island nations, along with the relative economic and political stability this country affords citizens and investors alike. In addition, the recent (20-year) trend from Miami as the “Gateway to Latin America” means Miami and South Florida in general has more to offer than just endless summer. If anything South Florida’s premier properties are still undervalued and offer great value in relation to other high end resort towns, like East Hampton, NY for example.

MA: Miami is known as an attractive destination for wealthy foreign buyers, particularly due to its beachfront properties, low prices and low interest rates. Do you view Miami as a stable, long-term destination for foreign investors, or will rising prices scare them away?

ME: Prices will keep rising as long as the market will bear them. Investors will keep buying so long as they believe a gain is to be had. The frenzy of recent years is unsustainable, so the fervor will diminish. But the rise of Asia in the world economy means there will never be a lack of wealthy investors that want a piece of the Miami pie. The danger is that there will soon be no room for even upper middle class buyers to consider a single-family home on Miami Beach.

MA: We recently reported that mortgage standards are easing and mortgage availability is increasing. Are clients in your market having an easier time receiving funding, and are financed-buyers having better luck closing deals than in previous months?

ME: It does seem to be getting a tiny bit easier, with a few banks easing up and agreeing to lend to people with FICO scores of less than 600, but rising housing costs and high rates (some over 4 percent) are still making it difficult for a lot of people to find an affordable monthly payment. In my particular case, I don’t have a lot of prior months to go by, but my colleagues are certainly busier now than they were a few months ago. More closings means more loans are happening! That is a change from a year to 18 months ago, when banks seemed to be finding excuses not to lend money.