Middle of September 2020 and there are 137 existing condo and townhouse units for sale in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral as reported by the Cocoa Beach MLS. There are another ten unbuilt units available, with just six units left for reservation at the soon-to-be-built, luxury oceanfront building downtown, The Surf of Cocoa Beach. The remaining unreserved units there range from $875,000 to $1,450,000.
The existing units for sale range from a $3,297,000 mack-daddy penthouse at Villa Verde on the river in south Cocoa Beach to a couple of efficiency units in Cape Canaveral asking under $100,000 with a median of $339,000. Buyers looking for a unit with at least two bedrooms and two baths in an oceanfront complex have 67 to consider with prices beginning at $230,000.
Activity so far in September is typical for this time of year with 57 units getting a contract so far in the month, three of those at The Surf at prices above one million dollars. Thirty nine previously-contracted units have closed so far this month. Notable sales included a modestly remodeled 6th floor NE corner 3/2 with wrap balcony at Royale Towers in Cocoa Beach that closed for $590,000 or $352 per square foot. Furniture may have been included but the Space Coast MLS does not require that included furniture be noted in a closed listing. A glaring omission, easy corrected but apparently not worth the effort.
Another notable sale was a mildly updated & furnished 5th floor, south facing unit at Canaveral Towers that sold for $385,500 or $336/sf. That's a rich price for a unit without a garage that isn't east facing but Canaveral Towers allows weekly rentals which means income potential is much higher than a non-vacation rental unit. Two other oceanfront units broke the $300/sf barrier, both east-facing with garages, one at Stonewood and the other at Windjammer.
Single-family home inventory has been cut in half since the start of the year with only 25 existing homes offered for sale in our two cities. Another 10 are offered as pre-construction reservations in a proposed development in south Cocoa Beach at prices around $1,000,000. Considering that 22 homes have closed since September 1, the current inventory isn't enough to last to Halloween. Buyers must be aggressive if they hope to purchase a fairly priced home with the current imbalance between demand and supply.
The tropical weather map at the top was from eleven days ago. We expected things to really heat up from that frightening time but today there isn't a single system or area of interest in the Atlantic region. Fingers crossed that we can cruise through the next four or five weeks without a significant storm. November always brings welcome relief from the constant apprehension of peak hurricane season.
"When you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression." __unknown
