Doubled and Rising

The inventory of residential properties for sale in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral continues to increase. This morning there are 283 MLS-listed condo and townhome units and 41 single family homes for sale in our two cities. That total is over twice what it was last April. There have been 87 new condo listings in just the last 30 days while a quarter of the units for sale have been on the market for over six months without a sale. 

Sales activity so far in 2024 has been slow. The number of condo units sold in the first quarter of 2024 was the lowest in eleven years continuing last year's downward trend after the peak sales years of 2021 and 2022. April looks to follow the decline with 24 units closed so far at a median selling price of $460,000. Half of those units sold in the first 34 days on market with six of them selling in the first week. Three of those first week sales closed for over a million dollars and sixteen of the 24 sold for cash. Median condo fee of the sold units was $755 a month. Over a quarter of the remaining condo inventory has monthly fees exceeding $800.

Our market is noticeably different than a year ago. Sales didn't begin to slow down until mid-summer last year and that slowdown is continuing. The 126 listings that are older than 90 days are not listening to the market. Recent years' prices are not working now except for exceptional properties. Sellers that are clinging to what their neighbor got in 2022 are likely to see their listings continue to languish.  Sellers that bought before 2021 are probably in a position eek out a profit but those that closed in 2021 and 2022 are unlikely to be able to recoup their purchase price in today's market should they want to sell. There are quite a few listings that were just purchased last year and year before. Unfortunately for them, buyers are once again in the driver's seat in our market and can afford to be patient and selective with rising inventory and declining comps.

Just when we thought the season was over a huge wave of visitors rolled into town this past week. Traffic on the roads, sidewalks and at Publix has been thick and nine holes at the Cocoa Beach Country Club might take two and a half hours if your timing is unlucky. You won't know until you're on the course. Either way, the weather has been superb and rockets have been launching at a rate we've never seen before. Cocoa Beach is a special little surf town sandwiched between the river and the ocean and spaceships are a common sight. Not a description that applies to many places. Cheers, all.

"The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity." William Butler Yeats