February Condo Surprise

14th St. surf wax graffiti in the 90s

In addition to the graffiti above on the wooden barrier at the 14th St. oceanfront dead-end, there was more wisdom inscribed on the seawall. My favorites were "Chad Can't Surf" and "Eric Shreds". The latter was later appended with "Lettuce". 14th St. was THE surf and gathering spot for the south Cocoa Beach crew throughout the 90s.

Condo and townhome inventory in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral remains more or less static with 310 units for sale this morning according to the MLS. After a strong December for condo sales we saw a brief slowdown in January followed by sales taking off in February with 52 closed unit sales. That means we have a six month supply which isn’t great but is an improvement in the supply/sales rate during the second half of 2025. Sales so far this year point towards an improving condo market despite the headwinds of escalating ownership expenses. The current inventory is still choked with over-priced listings but many of the new listings hitting the market are priced realistically and are selling.

Single family home supply has increased slightly with 70 MLS-listed houses available today. There were just four single family home sales closed in February at prices between $775,000 and $1,200,000, all four in Cocoa Beach. At that pace we have an almost eighteen month supply. Like condos, over-pricing among the current inventory is rife.

Median monthly fee of the closed condos was $725 with a median selling price of $365,000. The MLS tells us that the median time on market for the closed condos was 62 days but a look behind the MLS curtain reveals that 18 of the sold units had inaccurate combined days on market (CDOM) displayed, many of those listings deliberately manipulated by listing agents hoping to deceive and attract potential buyers to an old listing by giving it a “new” appearance. Entirely OK within the MLS rules but in the grey zone of ethical behavior. The actual time on market looks like it was much closer to 100 days than the 62 days the MLS is showing. A couple of units showing as zero days on market actually had been on the market for 285 and 172 days. Among the sold units, nine of them sold for less than the sellers paid, all of them purchased in the last five years.

There were eight direct ocean units closed in the month. Selling prices per square foot ranged from a low of $317/sq.ft. for a 2/2 unit in south Cocoa Beach without a garage that sold in a private sale to $487/sq.ft. for a beautiful and spacious corner at Solana Shores in Cape Canaveral. A side unit (not direct ocean) at The Surf in downtown Cocoa Beach changed hands for $1,062,000 or $600/sq.ft. It sold brand new last year for $1,000,000.

It’s still too early to tell what plants and trees will recover from the freeze but it’s obvious that many tropicals are not coming back. We are probably looking at a no-mango year in Cocoa Beach this year considering the condition of the trees I’ve seen. Same for younger coconut trees. Those who were exposed to the wind during the freeze are struggling if not already dead. We went through this about fifteen years ago and recovered nicely but it took a while. Life goes on.

“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” _George Orwell, 1984 These slogans were prominently displayed at the Ministry of Truth.