Wake up – September’s finished

How bout that graph? September condo sales in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral spiked up considerably over the previous year with 45 closed MLS sales of condos and townhomes during the month. There were four closed single-family home sales during the month, all in Cocoa Beach. One surprising stat was the fact that, of the 45 condo sales, only five were short sales.

The lowest price condo sale was $13,800 for a foreclosed 1/1 Golden Gate Manor unit in Cape Canaveral that sold in 2006 for $82,500. That’s a mind-numbing 83% off the peak. The highest price condo sale was $555,000 for a never-lived-in Michelina 5th floor corner, 3/3, 2524 sq. ft. This same unit was asking $849,500 just one year ago. It was the only condo sale for more than $500,000 in the month. The adjacent, slightly bigger Michelina unit (not a corner) also closed for $450,000 or $177 per square foot. Not bad for brand new oceanfront, even if side view.

A 7th floor, 3/2 Crescent Beach Club in south Cocoa Beach closed for $325,000 which bumps the comps down slightly for that building which is well into a major and very expensive concrete restoration project.

Harbor Isles was on fire in September with five closed sales. Not surprisingly, the ever-present Betty Siegel was involved in three of those sales. Looking back over the stats for the year, there have been ten MLS sales in Harbor Isles. Of the ten, my office has represented one or both sides of eight of those transactions with Betty being involved in six. You go, girl.

Another Hacienda del Mar direct ocean 2/2, 4th floor with garage sold for $248,500. It was in original condition.

I was able to close a short sale at Cape Winds of a direct ocean ground floor 2/2 with the wide patio for $210,000, a new low for direct ocean units in this very popular complex. With this sale and two other pending short sales there, the other overly optimistic sellers will now have to come to terms with the new reality.

There were three sales in the month of 2 bedroom units at Ocean Woods in Cape Canaveral at prices from $129,000 to $155,000.

In head-scratching news, in a year in which a total of only 20 units have closed for over $500,000 ( half of those at The Meridian) eight pre-construction units in an unbuilt oceanfront building in south Cocoa Beach popped up on the MLS this week at prices from $800,000 to $1,050,000. The same developer is offering 16 other units in four different completed new buildings on the MLS, most or all having been reduced substantially in price. A+ for optimism.

Fishermen, the mullet run is back on in force. There are acres of mullet moving south along the beach with packs of predators in attendance. This is the best time of year for fishing from the beach with opportunities to catch snook, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, kingfish, trout, redfish and tarpon among others. Take advantage if you enjoy fishing but, whatever you do, enjoy October for all the other reasons that make this month my favorite of the year in Cocoa Beach.

“As my memory rests but never forgets what I lost
Wake me up when September ends.”____Green Day

 

August sales

Sorry for the break in posts. I avoided the Labor Day crowd in the mountains of North Carolina.

The numbers are in for August. As you can see from the graph above, we have taken the first step off the seasonal sales cliff. After trending above last year’s numbers in June and July we had a total of 27 closed MLS-listed condos and townhomes in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral in the month of August, slightly behind last year’s 30 units closed. The sales ranged from $37,000 for a tiny Lamp Post efficiency in Cape Canaveral to $2.01 million for the entire top floor of Ocean Cove in south Cocoa Beach. This particular brand new unit was 6000 square feet with 4+ garage spaces and a private boat slip across the street on the Banana River. Shortly after this sale closed, the developer slashed over a million dollars off the prices of the remaining unsold units in the building.

Sales of note included a Meridian resale that went for $575,000, over a hundred thousand less than the new purchase price just two years ago. In south Cocoa Beach a fifth floor Crescent Beach Club south corner unit closed for $425,000. It was a three bedroom unit with 2278 square feet. Next door at the Constellation a 6th floor unit with 2419 square feet sold for $395,000 and a 5th floor south corner beautifully totally remodeled unit at Coral Sands went for $405,000.

A foreclosed Perlas del Mar in Cape Canaveral sold for $165,000, a remarkable $285,000 less than the new purchase price two years ago. A 2/2 townhome at Villages of Seaport closed for $107,000 as a short sale.

There were only four closed single-family home sales in the month, none for more than $200,000 and none on the water.

For those looking for direct ocean units in the lower price range, I can find 29 units this morning with at least two bedrooms asking under $300,000 that are east facing. Over-priced listings still dominate the declining inventory but gems are there for the patient. If you’d like a daily dose of new listings, price drops, sales and market news of note you can follow my Twitter feed. In case you missed it, snook season has opened and the fish are already on the beach feeding on the early schools of mullet making their annual run southward. Use a cast net to catch mullet from the beach, put one back out with a weight to keep it on the bottom and hang on for some of the best eating in the ocean.

Comments are welcomed on any of the posts here.

“When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.” _________Jonathan Swift

 

The World is a Vampire

Delta rocket launch, sunrise Aug. 17, 2009

We’re halfway through August and, as expected, activity has slowed. We’ve had 12 closed sales from the Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach MLS, 11 condos and one single-family home. The home was a small 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath short sale on south Orlando Ave. that closed for $139,000. The sold condos ranged from $79,900 for a foreclosed, non-waterfront 2 bedroom 2 bath unit at Costa del Sol to $425,000 for a 5th floor direct ocean, southeast corner at Crescent Beach Club in south Cocoa Beach. This unit had 2278 square feet with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a massive wrap balcony.

An interesting sale was the 2nd floor, southeast corner at Palmas de Majorca in downtown Cocoa Beach. This 3/2 unit had been on the market for 731 days, always overpriced and was down to $549,000, the most recent still-too-high asking price when something enticed the seller into accepting $400,000. Maybe he read my “Breakdown, go ahead and give it to me” post or perhaps the appraisal came in low. At any rate, for $186 per square foot, this one was a deal. The too-close boardwalk traffic intruding on the privacy from the 2nd floor probably contributed to the low price. It was, beside that shortcoming, a very nice unit.

Another good deal was a Constellation 3/2, this one on the 6th floor with 2419 square feet and panoramic views of the ocean and the Banana River across the street. Sold for $395,000 or $163 per square feet. Don’t expect to get a smaller unit for these $/sqft numbers as large size contributes to the low ratio.

Someone picked up a 2/2 direct river, 2nd floor Sunset Harbor for $146,000. Needed some updating. Another foreclosed 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath Perlas del Mar in Cape Canaveral sold for $165,000. It sold new two years ago for $450,000.

The 3rd floor south ocean view Cape Winds, 1 bedroom 2 bath unit that was offered as a short sale for $150,000 got a contract in just seven days.

That’s it for now. New listing activity is slow as are sales and there have not been a lot of compelling new offerings. That is normal for this time of year. If the short sale bottleneck opens up we could have a surge of closings which would be welcome. I received lender approvals this week for two short sales that have been in the system for 105 and 75 days while I have four others that have been leapfrogging desks for up to 150 days without approval. Go figure.

“Despite all my rage, I’m still just a rat in a cage.”
_____________Billy Corgan

 

Cocoa Beach MLS February Wrap-Up

March has arrived and Bike Week begins in Daytona. We usually see quite a bit of spill-over bike traffic here in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral as riders make day trips away from the Daytona area. The combo of snowbirds, visiting baseball teams at the Cocoa Expo, spring breakers and the Bike Week crowd makes March our busiest month of the year.

Rates have turned back down after spiking up briefly in January. Chart below is the average for Florida 30 year fixed rate mortgages courtesy of bankrate.com.

The MLS is likely not completely updated for February sales but as of today we’re showing 26 closed MLS-listed condos in the month, down from 32 last February but a nice increase over January’s meager 16 sales. Prices ranged from $37,000 for a small bank-owned unit in Cape Canaveral to $655,000 for a brand new, top floor 3/2 at the Meridian, the only sale for over $500,000 in the month.

Notable sales included a 5th floor Crescent Beach Club unit that sold for $374,000 or $24,000 more than the last three identical floor plan sales in the building last year. The increase in selling price probably had more to do with the already-paid $32,000 assessment than with an upturn in the price trend.

Another good one was a 3rd floor, 2/2 southeast corner at Canaveral Sands that went under contract within days of listing and closed two weeks later for $295,000.

A gorgeous, tastefully furnished south facing, 3rd floor unit at the 10 year old Sand Dunes in Cape Canaveral sold for an amazing $245,000. That qualifies for “smoking deal” status.

A 2nd floor, direct ocean 2/2 at Hacienda del Mar in south Cocoa Beach in original condition and with a wide open ocean view closed for $240,000.

A big (2044 sq. ft.), direct river, 2/2 on the 4th floor in a four year old building at Solana on the River sold for $217,000 or $94,900 less than it sold for new in 2004.

Drama continues at Mystic Vistas in Cape Canaveral with a 2nd floor, no-view unit in the C building selling for $195,000. This same unit changed hands twice before; first in 2005 and again last year for $359,900 and $358,800 respectively.

A second floor 2/1 (not direct ocean, no view) at the very popular Diplomat closed for $139,900 after being on the market for just 11 days.

There has been a surprising lack of good new listings appearing on the MLS in recent weeks. Like the Diplomat unit mentioned above, the desirable ones that are priced right are moving quickly. Attractive new listings and price drops this week included a couple of weekly rental units in popular buildings on the ocean, one below $300,000. My favorite right now is a short sale condo on a canal with a boat slip and garage, a short stroll from the beach and downtown, asking $159,900.

There’s a party in my mind…And it never stops
There’s a party up there all the time…
___________Talking Heads