Thursday, September 25, 2014

Where It's At

A brief summary of the current market trends in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. All data is from the Cocoa Beach MLS.

We began the year on January 1 with 303 condos and townhomes for sale in our two cities, 10% of those distressed (either short sales or foreclosures). Since then a total of 491 units have closed, 16% distressed. The higher closed percentage of distressed is explained by the high number of short sales contracted before the end of 2013 but closing in 2014. The trend of cash purchases dominating the condo landscape has continued with 63% of all condo purchases so far closing for cash. That percentage has stayed between 63% and 71% for the last three years.

The inventory this morning stands at 251 condos and townhomes, 19 of those not yet built. Of the 251, a total of 9% are distressed.

Single family home trends are slightly different. Since the year started, 102 have closed with 45% of those purchased with cash, 18% of the total distressed. Inventory right now is at 54 properties, 11% distressed.

We seem to have returned to our normal fall slowdown in activity. During the years following the crash, the fall was almost as busy as the spring and summer but that trend hasn't expressed itself this year. New listings remain alarmingly low. Buyers who are looking now, as always, need to have financing preliminaries taken care of (if not paying cash) and be prepared to move quickly when an attractive opportunity appears. If it's priced right, recent history tells us that it will be sold in a few days. Out of town buyers would be well advised to have a buyer's agent they can trust who can visit likely targets immediately and advise whether to offer or not. Waiting to get here in person to view a desirable property will reduce a buyer's chances of winning the race. It's not a risky nor uncommon practice to write an offer on a property sight-unseen with an inspection period long enough to allow time get here to physically tour and inspect the property. If you need a buyer's agent you can trust to guide you through the process, I'm happy to help.

Price is almost always different than value. ...price is what you pay for an asset, but value is what you get. ___________Brian Nelson