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