completing a chapter

“We’re not ending the journey today, we’re completing a chapter of a journey that will never end.” _Commander Chris Ferguson during the final flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis (pictured above)

Activity has been slow so far during the mini slow season between mid-April and the end of May. Condo inventory has surprisingly pulled back and stands at 290 MLS-listed condo and townhome units for sale this morning in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. That includes twelve yet-to-be-built condo units in a proposed building just off the ocean in north Cocoa Beach. The median unadjusted time on market for all units is 79 days. Fifty eight units have been on the market for over six months with thirteen of those listed for over a year. Only fifteen units have closed in the first two weeks of May. Median monthly condo fee for the condo units for sale is $750 with eighty between $900 and $2100 a month.

There are 58 MLS-listed single family homes for sale in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. Median price is $850,000 with a median time on market of 82 days. Six have closed so far in May including an oceanfront home in south Cocoa Beach that closed for $3.4 MM.

Historically, activity picks up again in June and stays busy through Labor Day when we enter the fall slow season. We’ll have to wait and see if that historical trend persists despite the current economic headwinds.

Morning walks on the beach are magical this time of year. Besides being quiet and uncrowded, the shoreline zone is alive in May. Turtles are nesting nightly and, with no sand renourishment this past winter burying the life at the water’s edge, the sand fleas are plentiful and shorebirds are taking full advantage of the bounty. Flocks of fat ibises and other wading birds are feasting at lower tides. A moment of inattentiveness and they occasionally lose a snack to an opportunistic and aggressive fish crow or grackle venturing outside their usual feeding areas for a taste of fresh crustaceans. Just offshore pelicans are dive bombing the massive schools of pogies that are resident off our shores in spring and summer. Mackerel, bluefish, tarpon, jacks and sharks among others are hitting the schools from below as the pelicans strike from above. I’d love to know how many pounds of pogies a pelican eats on an average May day. The population of marsh rabbits beachside in the dunes is thriving as well. These guys can have up to seven litters a year and my backyard has been chocka with adults and babies grazing at sunrise and sundown. On another note; it’s a shame no predators have developed a taste for lovebugs which are experiencing a plentiful hatch this year.

I closed my last transaction earlier this year and have decided it’s time to hang up the blazer. It’s been an interesting second career that began during the mania of the bubble years of the early 2000s. That boom quickly transitioned into a multi-year distressed market in 2007 through 2012 with distressed properties (short sales and foreclosures) peaking at 56% of all sales in 2010. Short sales; the unpredictable and excruciating Russian roulette of real estate transactions. I’m happy to never deal with one of them again. Those troubled years were followed by a strong decade-long market with strong sales and rising prices that peaked in 2021 at the same time that inventory bottomed. Sales began a slowdown in 2022 and many condo complexes saw lower and lower selling prices. That slowdown and price retraction has continued through the present with a few exceptions. Many who purchased in the 2021 to 2024 period are finding themselves underwater in 2026. I have no predictions for the future trends of this market but the past suggests that it will likely continue to surprise us. Good luck to all participants and thanks to the many good agents I’ve worked with over the years. You know who you are.

I’ve enjoyed researching and writing about our small market here in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral and meeting many of you along the way and honored to call some of you friends. It’s been a rewarding and gratifying experience. I may occasionally write here about Cocoa Beach and things other than real estate in the future should the mood strike me but for now this is goodnight and goodbye for the real estate specific writings. Cheers.

That’s why I’m glad we had this time together, ‘Cause it makes me feel like I belong. Seems we just got started and before you know it comes the time we have to say, ‘So long.’ ____Carol Burnett