Charlette Seidel is the managing broker for Coldwell Banker in Coral Gables.

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 Charlette Seidel, the managing broker of Coldwell Banker in Coral Gables. A manager for Coldwell Banker for 30 years, Charlette is a native of Coral Gables, and she takes a very active approach to the managing of her office in constantly attending broker’s opens (at least two a week) and engaging in the civic fabric of her community.

Miami Agent (MA): Recent data has suggested that home prices are rising faster in the Miami city market than in the surrounding suburbs; is that consistent with the listings you’ve been seeing?

Charlette Seidel (CS): The city of Miami includes Coconut Grove and Brickell Avenue, and both those areas are very, very popular. Brickell is booming. There’s a lot of new construction, and prices are higher per square foot because of the contemporary finishes. The locations may not be as good – the older buildings tend to be right on the water. But, they don’t have the new, modern touches that people like. Brickell is a totally urban environment, and I think Miami is really progressing that way.

But although those areas in the city are definitely rising rapidly, Coral Gables is skyrocketing, and so is Pinecrest, which is very, very popular. Many of the homes are beautifully appointed, and you have the best schools. Coral Gables is increasingly popular with young families, because you can walk to the city.

MA: Compared to last year, has demand from foreign homebuyers gone up, down or stayed consistent?

CS: It’s been higher. We have premium medical facilities, so we’re seeing an increase in the number of Asians who are moving here, who work for the University of Miami, Jackson Hospital – all the various things that the University of Miami is doing. Donna Shalala, the president of the university, has really supported this and pushed it.

There’s all these new expansions, plus booming small businesses, banks abound – there’s so much in the way of business that’s expanded, and lots and lots of small, international firms. And in addition to the Latin Americans, who have always come in, there have been many European and Asian homebuyers.

MA: With your agents, have you found much of a use in Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com, or have you found other methods for online marketing?

CS: We have a program called “Feature Agent Branding,” or the FAB Plus, and the agent can take a contract through Coldwell Banker for a discount and they’re listings are featured on Trulia, Realtor.com, Zillow, MSN, RealEstate.com, Yahoo! Homes, AOL – eight major sites. We are really getting great Internet leads, and it’s quite a bargain for the agents and a great benefit for being at Coldwell Banker.

We do sell properties from those sites, as well. For example, a Mexican buyer knew just what he wanted on Brickell Avenue, and we listed a property, the buyer contacted his broker, who contacted us, and we had a contract in the same day. I think the websites work, but it may not necessarily be a customer who goes to our agent.

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