Friday, April 29, 2005

Real Estate Weekly - U.S. mortgage rates edge lower

Real Estate Weekly: Real Estate Weekly -- April 29 - General News - Personal Finance: "U.S. mortgage rates creep lower

U.S. mortgage rates edged lower in the week ending Thursday, marking the fourth straight week of declines, Freddie Mac said."

Monday, April 25, 2005

Pre-Construction Sampler

I'm deviating a little from my normal general take on the market with today's post. I get so many inquiries about pre-construction that I thought I'd present a sampling of what's out there in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. From low to high, here are a few. Only one of these is my own listing. Most of these can be held for 10% of purchase price until building is completed. Some will probably not be completed until late in 2006.

Portside Villas - 3 BR/2 BA - 1523 sq.ft. $289,900


Maddison Caye 3 BR/2.5 BA - 1618 sq.ft. $449,000


Ocean Waves 2 BR/3 BA - 3000 sq.ft. $595,000


Mystic Vistas 3 BR/2 BA - 1994 sq.ft. $629,000


Un-named 4 BR/3.5 BA - 3610 sq.ft. $895,000


Almar 4 BR/3.5 BA - 2713 sq.ft. $800,000


3800 Ocean Beach 3 BR/2.5 BA - 2433 sq.ft. $975,000


Crescent Palms 3 BR/3BA - 2293 sq.ft. $649,900


Ocean Club 4 BR/3.5 BA - 3904 sq.ft. $1,279,900


This is only a sampling of what's out there. If you'd like a more complete list or info on specific projects email me or call me at 321.917.5786

Friday, April 22, 2005

April 22 Market Update - Cocoa Beach

April 22, 2005

Tax filing day has passed and the season has perceptibly changed in Cocoa Beach. The snowbirds have departed, traffic has eased, the grocery stores are peaceful and golfers can once again play a round of golf at the beautiful Cocoa Beach Country Club without an advance tee time.



We are anxiously preparing for next month's launch of the Space Shuttle. There is no other place in Florida where you can stand on your balcony and look over the ocean to a spacecraft leaving Earth. Check out this view of a night launch from the balcony of the 2100 Towers northeast penthouse.



For more photos of this incredible condo, click here.

Freddie Mac reports a continuing drop in mortgage rates with the 30 year fixed nationwide average at 5.80% this week, the third weekly drop in a row. Florida Today newspaper reports that median home prices in Brevard County are at $192,500, a whopping 106.5% increase in 5 years.

Market activity has continued it’s trend of increasing supply according to MLS records. We have had 32 condos go under contract in the last 14 days; 5 over $500,000 and 27 under $500,000. We have seen 121 new or changed listings during the same period. 37 of the changes were price reductions and 6 were price increases. Single family home sales have been brisk with 8 contracts (4 over $500,000) during the period from a supply of 54 active listings. Here's one example; a direct river home on Danube River Dr. overlooking the Thousand Islands. Listed for $749,900. This is the view.



Stats as of this morning, April 22 are as follows:

Active condominiums_______ 459
over $500,000_____________ 132
built 2004 or later__________170

Active single-family homes___ 54
over $500,000______________ 32


There has been some activity off the MLS record that is significant. A new development in Cocoa Beach between 4th and 3rd streets south has been announced. The entire block is being developed into luxury single family homes with prices beginning at $965,000. I have been told by the listing office that 17 of these are already reserved. This is remarkable in that the MLS reports only 5 properties (both condos and single-family) going under contract in the last 120 days over $900,000. Other off-the-record activity are two reported sales at Portside Villas of 2 bedroom units for $247,000 and $252,000. If these reports are accurate this represents a nice jump from the previous $230,000 range. There is still considerable inventory of re-sale units at Portside and I continue to think these represent good value as the lowest-priced new construction on the beach.



According to the developer, the first buildings should close in August or September.

There has been very little movement of investor re-sale units in new condo projects. The supply of investor-owned units represents, I believe, a good buying opportunity for informed buyers. There are many beautiful, brand-new units available at very attractive prices from investors who never planned to live in the units. As prices continue to soar towards and beyond the $1 million mark in new buildings, the current supply of under-$500,000 new units are worth a look. Here's an example; a southwest corner unit in Majestic Bay for $458,900. Building will be completed in May and this unit will immediately be increased in price if seller has to close. Check out the view.



If you’d like a list of current supply of units that I like, email me or give me a call at 321.917.5786. You can see selected listings here.

As always, these opinions are mine alone. I could be wrong about my projections and assumptions but I am on the front line and I do know my stuff, so, chances are, I’m closer to right than wrong.

Sunday, April 17, 2005

Rates Drop Again This Week

Freddie Mac's Primary Market Mortgage Survey: "
LONG-TERM MORTGAGE RATES TAKE A DIP

One-Year Arm Rises, While Five-Year ARM Eases Slightly

McLean, VA – Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market SurveySM (PMMSSM) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.91 percent, with an average 0.7 points, for the week ending April 14, 2005, down from last week when it averaged 5.93 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.89 percent."

Saturday, April 09, 2005

April 9 Update

Good news this week as mortgage rates dropped slightly. Freddie Mac’s Thursday survey reports a national average of 5.93% for 30 year fixed rate and 5.48% for 15 year fixed. Activity in the Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral market continues to be dominated by increasing inventory and slowing sales. According to our MLS, there were 135 new condo listings in the last 14 days with 36 units contracted in the same time period. There were 21 new single-family home listings with 6 contracts in the period.

ACTIVE LISTINGS TODAY

Condos all prices_____428
-Over $500,000______135

Single family homes___57
-Over $500,000_______34

The obvious trend in these numbers is increasing supply. If you’re purchasing, you have more power to negotiate than you did a few months ago. I expect this trend to continue as pre-construction speculators are forced to close on contracts that they had hoped to flip. The upside is that there are bargains to be had now and in the months to come. If you want to receive alerts of new properties as they are listed, email me at larry@southcocoabeach.com

Saturday, April 02, 2005

Larry's Take - April 2, 2005

Mortgage rates continued their upward movement this week although the pace has eased to a crawl with the 30 year fixed-rate, national average at 6.04% as reported by Freddie Mac. Market activity in the Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral market has slowed as well according to statistics gathered from our MLS. In the last 14 days, 28 condos in all price ranges went under contract, compared to 48 in the preceding 2 week period. Just 5 units over $500,000 have gone under contract during the whole 4 week period. During this same 4 week period, 11 single family homes have been contracted in the same area with prices ranging from $275,000 to $749,000.

Statistics for currently active MLS listings in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral

Single family homes - 45 from $279,900 to $1,700,000 (30 over $499,000)
Condos - 420 from $99,000 to $2,525,000 ( 29 over $1 million and 139 over $500,000)

Of significance in these numbers is the fact that 76 of the condo listings over $500,000 were new listings during March. During the same time that these 76 new listings hit the market, only 5 units in the same price range went under contract. In fact, only 8 condos over $500,000 have gone contingent since Jan. 1, 2005. That is in sharp contrast with the 95 units under $500,000 that were contracted during the same time period. As I’ve stated in recent reports, I think there is opportunity in the under $400,000 condos. I also think that single-family homes, especially waterfront, represent good opportunity for appreciation. The very limited supply of waterfront, single-family homes should continue to propel this segment of our market. As always, these opinions are my own. Do your own due diligence before purchasing any real estate. If you’d like an informed, accredited buyer’s representative to help you find property in Cocoa Beach or Cape Canaveral email me at larry@southcocoabeach.com or call me at 321.917.5786. I know our market and will work hard to find you what you want. You can view some featured properties at beachKulture.com

The numbers I’ve used here were gathered from our MLS. There probably were private sales that happened outside the MLS system that will change these numbers, but the overall trends reflected are accurate.