Cocoa Beach MLS February Wrap-Up

March has arrived and Bike Week begins in Daytona. We usually see quite a bit of spill-over bike traffic here in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral as riders make day trips away from the Daytona area. The combo of snowbirds, visiting baseball teams at the Cocoa Expo, spring breakers and the Bike Week crowd makes March our busiest month of the year.

Rates have turned back down after spiking up briefly in January. Chart below is the average for Florida 30 year fixed rate mortgages courtesy of bankrate.com.



The MLS is likely not completely updated for February sales but as of today we're showing 26 closed MLS-listed condos in the month, down from 32 last February but a nice increase over January's meager 16 sales. Prices ranged from $37,000 for a small bank-owned unit in Cape Canaveral to $655,000 for a brand new, top floor 3/2 at the Meridian, the only sale for over $500,000 in the month.

Notable sales included a 5th floor Crescent Beach Club unit that sold for $374,000 or $24,000 more than the last three identical floor plan sales in the building last year. The increase in selling price probably had more to do with the already-paid $32,000 assessment than with an upturn in the price trend.

Another good one was a 3rd floor, 2/2 southeast corner at Canaveral Sands that went under contract within days of listing and closed two weeks later for $295,000.

A gorgeous, tastefully furnished south facing, 3rd floor unit at the 10 year old Sand Dunes in Cape Canaveral sold for an amazing $245,000. That qualifies for "smoking deal" status.

A 2nd floor, direct ocean 2/2 at Hacienda del Mar in south Cocoa Beach in original condition and with a wide open ocean view closed for $240,000.

A big (2044 sq. ft.), direct river, 2/2 on the 4th floor in a four year old building at Solana on the River sold for $217,000 or $94,900 less than it sold for new in 2004.

Drama continues at Mystic Vistas in Cape Canaveral with a 2nd floor, no-view unit in the C building selling for $195,000. This same unit changed hands twice before; first in 2005 and again last year for $359,900 and $358,800 respectively.

A second floor 2/1 (not direct ocean, no view) at the very popular Diplomat closed for $139,900 after being on the market for just 11 days.

There has been a surprising lack of good new listings appearing on the MLS in recent weeks. Like the Diplomat unit mentioned above, the desirable ones that are priced right are moving quickly. Attractive new listings and price drops this week included a couple of weekly rental units in popular buildings on the ocean, one below $300,000. My favorite right now is a short sale condo on a canal with a boat slip and garage, a short stroll from the beach and downtown, asking $159,900.

There's a party in my mind...And it never stops
There's a party up there all the time...
___________Talking Heads