Kelly Hunt's Artwork at Plaza Cafe in Walker Arcade, Bermuda

Last week Plaza Cafe held a held a wine tasting to showcase the photography of  Kelly Hunt.

Here I am with Kelly, artwork in the background enjoying the ambience of The Plaza Cafe (old Rudi's cafe in Walker arcade). Many people were staying for dinner and that looked very good too.

Donte Hunt is running the restaurant and bar side of things and if you click here you can take a look at their menu  Plaza Cafe

Kelly is young and talented and is about to have her work exhibited in a New York Gallery. Take look at her website Kelly Hunt Photography to see her photography

3 bedroom town house for rent in Flatts, Bermuda

REDUCED TO $4000 PER MONTH

AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY

3 bedroom 2.5 bathroom townhouse for Rent - Only a 10 minute drive from Hamilton. Contact Sharon Cranfield cell: #305 8074

This condo has it's own private patio and garden and is centrally located. It is fully air-conditioned, has new pvc windows, a carport, huge storage rooms and communal pool.

Brightly lit kitchen, split level living room and dining room leading to covered patio and private yard.

Master bedroom has a private balcony and water views. It is en-suite with ample closet space .

The 2nd bedroom is on the same level as master with a huge loft or 3rd bedroom above. Great for guests or den. Tons of storage.

For an appointment to view please contact Sharon Cranfield cell: 441 305 8074 or email scranfie@logic.bm

Plaza Cafe - a great new restaurant and bar - Walker Arcade, Bermuda

Are you looking for something different to do on a Friday evening after work?  Why not do happy hour at the Plaza Cafe  in the Walker Arcade (used to be Rudi's cafe).
 

Kelly and Donte Hunt have done an absolutely brilliant job on updating and renovating it.  They have opened it up inside with mirrors and bright artwork.  The high ceiling is acentuated by textured wood beams and I loved the new counters, lighting and display shelving.  It works equally well as a bar at night and a restaurant in the day. 

The drinks tasted great, were reasonably priced and the waiters were friendly. Kelly say that it is a brilliant venue for a party and encourages private functions which can take advantage of their outside plaza setting in the arcade.

Weather related

Hooray the sun came out! I'm not accustomed to ongoing bad weather.  It seems like months since we had a straight week of sunshine without wind or showers and I know that I 'm getting older but I don't remember it being like this in previous years.

On the way back from St Georges today I stopped near Shelly Bay to take a picture of the white caps and swell on the sea and was totally soaked in salt spray within a few minutes.  The colour of the water was still clean turquoise and there was a windsurfer riding the waves.  I can't think what possesses people to go into the water in weather like this! 

Cedar Cottage

Who wouldn't want to own a cute 3 bedroom Bermuda cottage?

Especially if it sat on a decent size piece of land?  Well, I have just the thing...It even has a cute name - Cedar Cottage.

 

Here it is nestled in about a third of an acre complete with picket fence along the road and loads of parking. Nice useable yard at the front and plenty of land at the back.

Inside we find a cozy living/dining room with working fireplace, a master bedroom with large ensuite bath and big closets, there are 2 more bedrooms and a second bathroom as well as the kitchen and separate laundry. Asking price for this property is $1,200,000.

Click on virtual tour for more pictures of the property or contact me on cell # 305 8074 for more information.

Rentals - what is happening in the rental market

Well it seems that the number of rentals were up 18% last year over 2008 but the average price per unit went down 15% . Bad news for landlords as property maintenance fees etc. continue to rise.

Fewer properties were rented at over $9000 per month and properties remained on the market longer.

Coldwell Banker Bermuda Realty reported that based on 2009 figures, the average price for 1, 2 and 3 bedroom properties was as follows:
1BR @ $2,378
2BR @ $3,576
3BR @$5,514

Obviously prices vary according to location and amenities based on supply and demand. Looking on the various websites at present there seems to be a lot of inventory out there - particularly in studios and 1 bedrooms which are usually very hard to come by at a reasonable price.

To read more about the rental market in the Coldwell Banker January Newsletter in its entirety click here

Real Estate Sales - January Newsletter

What's been happening and what can we expect in 2010??

My sales manager at Coldwell Banker Bermuda Realty, Susan Thompson, published her bi-annual newsletter last week and in it she compares sales figures for houses and condos in 2008 and 2009 here's what she says:

"the figures for 2008 vs 2009 are little changed (which may surprise some people) with the average price of a single family home in 2008 at $1,415,003 vs $1,422,169 for 2009.

Condo/townhouse prices were basically unchanged with $803,271 reflecting the 2008 average price and $807,274 in 2009.

Vacant land again nearly the same with $644,136 (2008) vs $624,447 (2009) once the $10,000,000 South Shore Road (2008) sale and Loughlands (2009) land sale at $11,864,000 were removed as anomalies.

Because all 2009 figures are unaccounted, it is difficult to reconcile the overall strength of the Bermuda housing market. We suspect that even though the average price per unit has not varied greatly that the overall volume of properties sold has diminished. We can report that 40% of the recorded inventory for 2009 that successfully closed were condos, followed by 25% being single family homes. Only 9 properties thus far have been recorded as selling at $3,000,000+.

Available inventory is still at an all time high with 56% of the inventory condos. Based on unsold inventory, the average days on the market (DOM) is approximately eleven months. For those looking to buy, a third of the inventory is $1,000,000 or under. So, the market is still promising for those looking to purchase as interest rates are low, choices are plentiful and sellers are somewhat more negotiable."

To read the January Newsletter in its entirety click here