Guess whos coming for dinner?

Have you ever had one of those friends or relatives that always knew what time dinner was served and just happened to drop by. This crane is such a friend, our neighbor feeds him so he drops by at the same time everyday.

OK so lets review!

We have had 2 more units go under contract in our 3 complexes.

Another front building unit at The Diplomat 2/1 750 sq ft. List price is $155,000.

A 2nd floor direct ocean, sand dollar plan, 2/2 1444 sq ft. List price is $354,000.

So far in 2008 there have been 12 closed units in our 3 complexes.
The Diplomat 4 front buildings average sold price $131,750 1 oceanfront $170,000
Windrush 1 front unit $137,500 3 tower units average sold $312,500
Windward East 1 town home $184,000 2 1 bedroom in the tower average $177,500

In the same period in 2005 there were 7 units sold.
The Diplomat 2 front units average sold price $186,000
Windrush 4 units in the tower average sold price $302,000
Winward East 1 town home $235,000

Our 3 complexes are still very desirable especially at today's prices.

Hang in there neighbors.

Jim & Ada

Hello to all you great people

We have not had much activity during the last week in our 3 complexes.

There is what appears to be a much updated unit now listed on the 4th floor of Windward East. This is a 2 bedroom 2 bath unit with 1394 sq ft of living. It looks very appealing. Priced at $459,000.

Now as you can imagine I have a vested interest in Windward East since it is my home. You could go to The Constellation in South Cocoa Beach, a unit there is over 2400 sq ft, designed by Clay Stephens (renowned local designer), underground parking, and priced at $489,000. Hmmmm!


If you are buying or selling you have to do the research. Good buys are there, you just have to find them.

49 properties have sold in April with another 39 under contract in the Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral area. Could it be the bottom, maybe but I couldn’t call it.

Hope you all have a great Sunday.

Jim Bagwell

Flip ???

I am sure you have all seen the new listing in Windward East. If you have been reading you will remember that one property that I recommended as a good buy was the 1 bedroom unit on the 1st floor that was listed at $179,900, I said if you really tried to keep it rented you would almost be in a positive cash flow situation. The unit closed for $155,000 which was a great deal for the buyer.

Well it looks as though the 1st flip in our 3 complexes is trying to be accomplished in a very long time. This unit is back on the market at $190,000. The old rule for turning Real Estate was that it has to be closed for a minimum of $10,000 return to the investor. This is close but it could be done. In a slow market the fly in the punch bowl is the carrying cost. Even if you paid cash you are still paying condo fees and taxes each month until closing. So you can see that it is imperative that you close quickly. The problem is that in the market today even though we see some improvements there are very few quick closings. I wish them the best of luck and it would great to see a flip.

Other possibilities

The front buildings in the Diplomat have had closings at prices that could also come close to being cash flow positive. There have been 4 closings this year in the front buildings. The average list price was $161,100 the average closed price was $131,750. The last one was listed at $175,000 and closed at $112,000. Now at this price if you crunch the numbers and wait for the rebound, an investor will look at these units. When I see the shuffleboard tournaments it sure looks like people enjoy staying there.

Optimism

I have cautious optimism about the remainder of the year. There have been more sales this year than the same period last year although the sales prices are down for the same period.

We have a long row to hoe but we are getting there!

Jim Bagwell

Any news that is news!

Hope all is well in our little beach world!

Has anyone else encountered the crazy crane that visits our backyard at Windward East? This beautiful bird comes in for a landing in the grassy area and walks around giving the eye to anyone who happens to be outside. Now I am not a timid person but when he walks right up to you and looks you in the eye at least I think he is looking you in the eye since his eyes are on the side it totally freaks me out so I usually run inside like a little girl.

New activity

Two new listings in the Diplomat. Direct ocean 2/2 900 sq ft priced at $375,000 this is on the top floor so it may get offers but the competition is fierce. Front building 2/1 750 sq ft priced at $162,000 on the 2nd floor. The front buldings are priced all over the place.

Reduced price

there is a home on Esther that is now priced at $599,900. This home sold in 2005 for $400,000, it was then taken down and rebuilt. It is now a beautiful 2 story home with 3250 sq ft 5 bedrooms 3 1/2 baths with dock and all the bells and whistles. The downside is the street is year's away from catching up to this home. If however one wanted this for their home and not instant gratification then you could enjoy this beautiful waterfornt home and wait for the equilty to build.

Hang in there and don't take any wooden nickels.

Jim Bagwell

Update

I hope everyone is doing well on this cloudy Sunday in Beautiful Cocoa Beach.

Even when the sun is not shining we are in one of the greatest places around. Just to give you an update on what is happening with our complexes. We do have some new listings and as usual they vary greatly in price. Everyone is still trying to find the magic price.

The Diplomat

There are 2 new listings in the front buildings.
Both are 2 bedrooms 1 bath with about 750 sq ft. One is priced at $175,000 and the other is priced at $153,000. There is also one of the big units direct ocean units listed at $699,000. This will be a very difficult sale for obvious reasons. We are still in a definitely buyer's market. There are brand new units with more sq footage priced well below this price. There is also an auction coming up on May 17 to sell 10 units in Mystic vistas in Cape Canaveral, this will be an absolute auction with no minimum bid and no reserve. The choices are out there so to sell a high end unit in an older complex is very difficult.

Windrush

One new listing is a 2 bedroom 2 bath with over 1500 sq ft and a 2 car garage. This unit is a side unit with no view but priced at $220,000 it will get some looks.
Top floor sold for $325,500 listed at $375,000. I think this was a great buy with the views.

Windward East

No Activity.

Overall Market

Sales are increasing county wide but have decreased a little in Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral.

There has been a definite decrease in the number of RE agents and companies. The correction should have been anticipated but the severity was not anticipated. We will be here if you need us.

Jim & Ada Bagwell

We don't need no stinking snow!

Last week in March

Not much to report in our three complexes for the week. Only 2 listings expired in Windward East.

To let you better understand what is happening in the market and why the closed prices that we are now seeing I will share the following:

Last week there were 6 properties closed in Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral. None of these were single family homes. Of the 6 condos that closed 1 was a short sale in a weekly rental complex and 1 was a bank owned penthouse in south Cocoa Beach, 3402 sq ft, Multi-floored unit that closed for $630,000. There is a unit in this bldg with 1000 sq ft less that is listed over $100,000 more than this sold price.

There are at the present time 7 properties on the market in Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral that are short sales. In addition there are 14 foreclosed properties in this area on the market. As we all know these properties will hurt the property value of their perspective complexes or subdivisions when they do close. Even though the appraisers should give weight to the fact that it was a distressed sale, the down market will show up on the appraisal.

I do like 2 listings that showed up that are not short sales or bank owned.

#1 is a top floor never lived in unit on the river with 2600 sq ft 3 bedroom, 3 bath, 2 car garage, all the amenities. Priced at $495,000 which is well below what the developer is still selling his units.

#2 is a Constellation in south Cocoa Beach 4th floor, great views, 2484 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. I have always liked this bldg and it is priced at $499,900.

Hit them straight and we hope the info helps!

Jim & Ada

Woody

This guy came to see me the other week at our open house. We have been having good turn outs to open houses which is always better than the alternative. The buyers are rather indecisive but like the area and will buy in the near future.

Our complexes had a little activity since our last post, we are probably the most active of all complexes except for the weekly rental complexes.

Windward East townhome in the front closed for $184,000. The 1 bedroom on the 1st floor closed for $155,000. This was an amazing deal since I remember when they would close above $300,000.

I showed a foreclosure in South Cocoa Beach the other day. It has over 2700 sq ft with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2 car garage and amazing views from the 4th floor. There is one identical to this one on the 5th floor priced $130,000 more than the 4th.

Stay real!

Jim Bagwell