Of the twenty condos closed so far, only four sold for more than $200,000. Sales of note included;
A fully furnished 2nd floor Flores Ocean Suites direct ocean 3 BR, 3 BA with 2060 square feet and garage that closed for $473,000.
A fully furnished 4th floor, direct ocean Shorewood 2 BR, 2 BA with 1866 square feet and garage that sold for $370,000.
A partially remodeled 4th floor direct ocean B building Royale Towers 3 BR, 2 BA with 1445 square feet and garage closed for $284,000 after 32 days on market.
A north facing 3rd floor River Bend 3/2 with 2292 square feet and one car garage closed as a short sale for $215,000.
A beautiful foreclosed 3rd floor, 7 year old direct river Majestic Bay 3/2 with 2052 square feet and private 2 car garage closed for $196,000 after 6 days on market. It sold new in 2007 for $450,000.
Of the twenty closed condo sales all but four sold for cash. Almost half (9) were distressed, either foreclosed or short. This morning total condo and townhouse inventory in the two cities stands at 320 units, 30 of which are either foreclosures or short sales. There are but three distressed single family home listings of the 57 total.
A casual observation of my own and other agents' recent activity is that this is one of the busiest winter seasons in years in our local market. I use the term "winter" loosely as today is but the second day this year requiring more than shorts and a singlet to be comfortable. Competition for good properties is intense in large part because the inventory is so low and so picked over. Of the dozen or so offers I've presented this year, at least a quarter resulted in multiple offer situations. There are no rules for how multiple offers must be handled. A seller can simply choose the offer she prefers and work with that one. What usually happens when more than one offer is received is that the listing agent will go back to the buyers' agents and ask for their best and highest offer to be considered by the seller at the same time. Highest offer doesn't always win. A cash offer and/or a quick close might win over a higher offer that is contingent upon a mortgage. If you find yourself being asked for your best and highest offer consider your offer carefully. The availability or lack thereof of other acceptable properties might affect how aggressive your offer should be. You may not like it but if you want to buy a good property in a desirable market with low inventory, you should be prepared for this possibility. Prices, though moving up, are still far below levels of recent years. Many condos are still selling for less than the cost to build them.
Mid 80s predicted by weekend. Our brief "winter" appears to be over.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." ___Mark Twain
