This post first appeared at larrystake.substack.com on August 11.
I will keep this update short. On this first day of school we enter our historical slow season which extends until January when our snowbirds begin arriving in numbers. Until then expect continued slow/slower activity in our residential real estate market.
Condo sales in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral in the month of July stuck to their slow pace with 41 closed unit sales compared to 50 in July 2024. Our bright spot, single-family homes, remained strong with eleven closed sales compared to seven last July. Median time on market for condos was 94 days and 55 days for SF homes. About half of all sales in both categories were cash deals.
Condo inventory continues to shrink with a total of 332 condo and townhome units for sale this morning while single family inventory climbed to 70 homes. The number of condo units on the market at any time in our area is typically around five to six times the number of single family homes reflecting the actual makeup of residential properties in our two cities. At the moment the condo segment of our market is under pressure from substantially higher condo fees, higher master insurance premiums and ongoing concrete projects in many complexes. Condos and SF homes alike are feeling the pressure of near-7% mortgage rates.
The median monthly condo fee of the units currently for sale is $718 per month. That number would be much higher if not for the units with lower fees in one and two story buildings not subject to the new regulatory oversight. Compare that $718 median monthly fee to the $425 median of the sold units just four years ago in July 2021 when mortgage rates were hovering at 3% compared to just under 7% today. Someone buying a $500,000 condo today with a 20% down, 30 year mortgage can expect to pay around $3300 a month for mortgage payment and median condo fees (not including property taxes). A buyer who bought a $500,000 unit in July of 2021 would have been looking at around $2100 a month. That big an increase in so short a time adds friction to the process.
Hopeful sellers would be wise to reexamine their asking prices if they aren’t getting any action and adjust now if necessary. There may have been comparable sales since listing that would suggest a lower price. Those sellers that are aware of their competition and who outcompete them are the ones who’ll find success.
Buyers and their agents would be well-advised to stay abreast of recent sales so they can focus on listings with reasonable asking prices. Our inventory is riddled with overpriced listings but it only requires a little homework to be able to recognize those. It is time well spent. Be aware to be successful in this market.
They’re here. We’ve been hearing reports of the red-headed African agama lizards from our neighbors in Satellite Beach and further south but I have not heard of any in Cocoa Beach yet. I have seen one in south Cocoa Beach twice in the last couple of weeks so they (or at least one) have arrived. If anyone else has seen an agama in Cocoa Beach I'd love to know where you saw it. The battle for supremacy of the invasive lizards between these large and fast lizards and the already well-established and aggressive curly tails should be epic. I watched a big curly tail chase a full-grown squirrel across a parking lot so don’t write them off. The one below was my constant back porch companion for a long time a few years ago.
“We turn our experience and your money into your experience and our money.” the subtext to all financial advisory pitches
