Tuesday, September 17, 2019

How Much Is My Condo Worth?


It's that time of year again, the mullet run is on and big fish are in the surf. Now if the wind and waves would calm down enough to take advantage of it I'd enjoy catching a few rod-benders and maybe get a snook for dinner.

What can I expect to get for my condo if I list it for sale next year? Barring some unknown influencing factor you can probably expect more than if you sell it today. Notice the qualifiers? So many things can happen to change the value that it is fruitless to estimate future value. Changes in taxation or ordinances, economic and natural disasters; none of these can be predicted and can drastically change a property's value overnight. On the other hand, estimating current value is a relatively straightforward process. We can usually find recently sold similar properties that we can use to determine approximate value of the subject property. The question then becomes; can we trust the comps?

Specifics of listed properties are sometimes inaccurately stated on MLS listings. Using a sold property as a comp and not catching an inaccuracy makes for a flawed comp and flawed projection of value on the subject property. Sometimes honest mistakes, other times, intentional. Square footage is one of the more common mistakes. I've never seen a property that claimed to be smaller than it actually was which makes me think this one is almost always intentionally overstated. When in doubt, go bigger. When every unit in the building is and always has been 1315 square feet, claiming 1711 on the MLS is likely to be picked up by agents familiar with the building. Others might not catch the error and use it as a comp to suggest/justify fair value of a different property.

Terms of sale: Beneficial financing terms might explain an unusually high price. Included furniture or lawn equipment will certainly push the final number up as will a post-closing occupancy by the seller. Paying for furniture off the closing statement will reduce the closed price but the listing agent is probably not going to change the "full" furnishings notation in the MLS when she closes the listing. Listing agents don't always rarely note these details in the closed listing. Unusually high or low sold prices might indicate unknown terms and should be weighted accordingly in their use as comparable sales.

Condition and quality of updates: A remodeled condo unit is worth more than an identical unit in original condition. How much more is the big question. The cost to remodel a 2/2 condo can vary by $50,000 depending on the extent of the remodel and the grade of fixtures and finishes used. Most sellers are firmly convinced that their remodel job increased the value more than it did. My job is to use reasonably similar sold comps to illustrate how their conviction is misguided.

Sellers and their agents are often guilty of confirmation bias and naturally select the comps that seem to justify the price that they want. As a buyer's agent I am constantly pointing out flawed assumptions and bad comps. All buyers would be well-served to understand the nature of determining fair value and the ways bad comps can justify a wrong valuation. I may be able to show a seller that his asking price is too high and my offer price is fair but that means nothing if there is competition for that particular property. There are cases where participation may include knowingly overpaying. Knowingly overpaying can sometimes make sense, knowingly being the key word. The buyer that overpays also establishes the newest comp completing the circle of price justification. I was reminded in a recent episode of Million Dollar Listing New York that the newest comp thing can work in reverse for sellers. Holding out for an unjustified high price can backfire if a new comp records at a lower price.

New York agent Steve had a client interested in two similar units in the same building. The two units were similar enough to expect to sell for about the same price. Asking prices were $7.5 and $7.6 million, both well above market value. The buyer offered $6.5 MM on Frederick's lower priced listing. Frederick advised the seller that $7.5 was optimistic when he took the listing but went ahead and took it at that price hoping she'd be realistic when an offer came. She wasn't and countered at $7.4 MM. When delivering that counter, Frederick insisted to Steve that, to be successful, an offer number had to be in the sevens. Rather than counter at 7-something, the buyer decided to offer $6.75 on the other listing. Steve presented the offer and told the listing agent that they had offered and were negotiating at the same time on the other unit. That seller with that knowledge decided to accept the $6.75 MM offer with no counter. With a new comp of $6.75 established in the building the first seller realized she wouldn't be getting 7-something and wound up accepting a $6.6 MM offer. Had she countered more realistically to her first offer, there is a good chance she could have gotten at least what the buyer paid for the other unit, $6.75 MM. Her inflexibility cost her at least $150,000. Reality sucks at times but it can be expensive to ignore.

Buyers and sellers both need to stay aware of other sales and competition of similar properties and to use those as guidance for pricing. Values are not static especially in an active market. If a new comp changes the landscape it's productive to change one's expectations with it. That goes equally for buyers and sellers. For a better score, do your homework.

Thanks to all of you who have contributed to the various relief funds for the people of hurricane-ravaged Abaco. It's going to be a long, long time for Abaco and its people to get back on their feet. In addition to their homes and belongings most have lost their jobs as well. If you haven't contributed but would like to help some particular and especially hard hit people consider giving to the staff at Cruise Abaco in Marsh Harbour. These are personal friends and are all good and currently needy people. This money goes only to the staff. These guys are surviving on donations at the moment and crammed into crowded shelters. Most can't consider coming to the US in the interim because of our immigration policy. If you want to help the Bahamas in general, there are many worthy charities found with a quick search. If you'd like to help Shorty, Luke, Joe, Aaron, Ray and all the other Cruise Abaco staff and their families, you can contribute directly through Mark and Patti's GoFundMe here and see updates on how your money made a difference. Everything is appreciated and not a penny will be wasted.

This is Shorty and his kids who have lost everything and are currently living in horrid conditions at an overcrowded shelter in Nassau. Shorty said the men take turns sleeping standing up supported by each other and the women and the kids get the bare floor.



“The simplest acts of kindness are far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.”  _____Mahatma Gandhi

Sunday, September 01, 2019

The Death of the MLS

South Cocoa Beach the Saturday before Dorian. 

Waiting on a hurricane. As of Wednesday last week the prediction was for Hurricane Dorian to roar ashore in Cocoa Beach as a Category 2 storm during the night tonight and tomorrow morning. As of this morning, Sunday, the latest prediction is for the storm to pass close offshore as a Category 3 Wednesday morning. This after sitting over my beloved Abaco as a Category 5 for two days. The impact there is sure to be extensive and heartbreaking. My heart is with the Bahamians even as I breathe a sign of relief at the possibility of not taking a direct hit here. There have been no casual conversations with anyone around here for the last week that was not hurricane related. Cocoa Beach this Sunday morning appears to be well-shuttered and ready as best we can be for what comes our way. Best wishes for everyone.

Our inventory is almost back at the 2015 record lows with only 187 existing condo and townhome units for sale in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. Single home inventory is equally sparse with but 43 existing single family homes for sale in our two cities. That is the lowest number in the last 15 years, possibly ever. The developer of the old Joyce's Trailer Park property in south Cocoa Beach has once again changed development plans, this time shifting from riverfront condo towers to a small neighborhood of single family homes offered at prices from $895,000 to $1,395,000. They of course come with promises of dockage and an over-the-water clubhouse that will sound familiar to the buyers of several oceanfront condos in south Cocoa Beach.

Sales of single family homes in August were tepid with thirteen homes closed in our two cities at prices between $314,900 for a fixer-upper in north Cocoa Beach to $1,995,000 for a brand new, two story, direct ocean home just south of downtown. That beauty has five bedrooms, 5.5 baths, two garages (3 spaces), 4275 square feet and a pool. Median price was over a half million with three of the closed houses over a million.

Condo sales were strong with 64 units closed, more than the same month last year. Median price was $250,000 with seven closed over a half million and highest, a 2nd floor Meridian at $765,000. There appears to remain strong demand for ocean facing units with prices steadily rising. Three units at Boardwalk downtown went under contract in one week all reportedly over $400,000. Royale Towers in Cocoa Beach has likewise been busy with multiple sales in the month.

I wonder how big a commission discount it would take for a typical seller to risk not listing on the MLS if they could reasonably expect their listing agent  to produce a buyer willing to pay their price? If the agent is already attracting a steady flow of both listings and buyers he has the means to accomplish some sales at fair market price without the MLS. I see a potential new business model for some agents that doesn't include the MLS or other brokers and agents. Sellers should already expect a discount should their agent or his team bring the buyer but I can see that discount becoming much larger without the MLS listing. You heard it here first.

My lifetime of religiously recycling has been undone by a single pre-hurricane day's sales of bottled water at the Cocoa Beach Publix alone. An approaching hurricane is not a good reason to buy four cases of individual size water bottles in my humble opinion. Extra water on hand? Sure, just not dozens of small ones. 

"If everything in your portfolio is doing well at the same time, it is a good indication that you are not diversified." __Ned