Condos

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer and our daily rains. I am enjoying the summer but the rain is not helping my golf game.

The only news from our complexes is that the side unit in Windward East is under contract. This unit is on the 4th floor with 2 bedrooms 2 baths and over 1400 sq ft. It has been updated and the agent did a good job on the pictures. Believe it or not there are still agents using cell phone pictures. "Pictures are worth 1000 words" this is very true in Real Estate.

If you read the Sunday morning Real estate section you may have noticed the Broker opinion section, this Broker is very convinced that the condo market is improving according to the MLS research. I sincerely hope she is correct but I have my doubts. The single family home market has seen prices drop to a point where it is at pre 2002 price range. There are also a ton of short sales and foreclosures in that market. When you follow the condo market you will see that a definite increase in activity has occurred this year. The problem with the theory is when you use MLS to see inventory in the condo market is there are a lot of new condos that are not listed and a lot of builders are shopping blocks of these condos to investors. The inventory figure if using MLS is usually incorrect. There are still quite a few complexes that probably contain over 100 units that have not hit the market.

Pricing

The fact is when you are showing condos as we do daily you will notice that prices in general have not fallen as quickly as the single family market. A lot of buyers will turn to canal homes which can now be purchased at the same or below the price of a 2 bedroom condo.

We will all get through this downturn and looking forward to the turn around.

You may email me if you want to know more about the latest housing bill. walkerbagwell@aol.com

Jim Bagwell

4th of July

I hope everyone had a glorious 4th of July weekend. I am in the office today showing some properties but I will never complain about any opportunities.

Not much has happened the past week in our complexes.

We now have 2 of the big unit’s direct ocean in The Diplomat on the market. These are owned by the same person. They are also listed by the same agent. One started at $799,900 and is now at $699,900 after 9 day’s on the market. The other one started at $749,900 and is now at $649,900. When you follow the market rather than lead the market it makes for a weaker position as a seller. The units in the price range of these units are very new, very large and contain all the amenities. We wish them well!

There is a new townhome on the market in Windward east, priced at $245,000 the other townhome is priced at $249,000 and has been on the market for 271 days. Buyers today are much more knowledgeable than ever before and they will look at comps. Agents have to be even more knowledgeable and look at comps before they list. Time wasted is something you will never get back.

In the words of John Lennon “Lets give peace a chance” on this significant occasion.

Jim Bagwell

Update

Can you believe we are half way through 2008? The older I get the faster this life goes by. I thought I would catch you up on the market trends for our 3 complexes. It doesn’t always have to be bad news.

So far in 2008 there have been 13 units sold in the 3 complexes. 5 in The Diplomat, 5 in Windrush and 3 in Windward East. In the same period of 2007 there were 4 sold in the 3 complexes. 3 in The Diplomat and 1 in Windrush.

Now the main difference is of course the price but any movement is good to bring prices back to stabilization. I believe we have a ways to go for stabilization because I feel the lenders are still hiding foreclosures by not foreclosing. I believe we will see the foreclosure rate increase for the rest of the year. Keep in mind that lenders try to hold their bad debts to around 3% in order to attract investment money.

The 3 front buildings sold in The Diplomat sold for an average price of $159,300. The Windrush with over 1800 sq ft sold for $475,000. This is what happened in 2007.

So far in 2008 there have been 4 units sold in the front of The Diplomat at an average sold price of $131,750. This would be a decrease of 17% of sold price. This figure is typical of the market. The 3 units in the Windrush tower sold at an average price of $312,500 this compares to the unit in 2007 sold for $475,000. This would be a decrease of 34% but the unit sold in 2007 had about 300 more sq ft which would equate to the difference in price.

Bottom line is you can’t take too much stock in the talking heads or the media in general. You have to get specific data when comparing markets.

Peace to all!

Jim

Summertime Blues!

There has not been a lot of activity this past week in our complexes.

I do believe in Windward East we have the hardest working maintenance man you could ever find and the place looks great.

What is going on in Cocoa Beach?

Prices are still falling rather rapidly, I even saw a canal pool home reduced to $325,000. If you don’t need to sell a single family waterfront home then my advice would be to hang onto for awhile. However if you really need to sell then find a agent who will show you what the competition in a comparable market, the worst thing that can happen in this market is to price yourself out of market. You really need to be in the lowest 3 priced properties that are comparable to yours. If you price too high to start with then you will miss showings and that will be the downfall of selling your property. The last thing you need is an agent who will tell you what you want to hear and waste your time with unrealistic expectations.

Update

Windward East

There is a new side tower unit 2 bedrooms 2 baths1450 sq ft priced at $335,000 on the 4th floor.

The potential flip on the 1st floor has been reduced to $185,000. That price is just about break even. Be very careful when you are considering a flip in today’s market. Whoever looks at this unit will look at when it sold and at what price it sold at previously. Please get good advice!

The Diplomat

The oceanfront unit with 2520 sq ft has been reduced to $649,000. This is still a hard sell but I wish them well.

Windrush

The 2nd floor unit with sand dollar floor plan that was listed at $354,000 closed for $310,000. This is typical of what is happening in today’s market.

If you are listing in the market today, list it at a little above what you will take. If you list at $60,000 or even a $100,000 above what is the realistic price then you just shot yourself in the foot or the head.

Peace to all

Still Crazy!

Greetings Neighbors

Some of the prices we are seeing is getting rather crazy!

There is now a 3 bedroom 2 bath condo on the 4th floor in south Cocoa Beach. Kitchen updated and looks very nice. Priced at $250,000, we are not sure what this will do to the appraisals once this unit closes.

Windrush

The side unit in the tower has been reduced to $199,900 from $220,000. 1st floor, no ocean view,1517 sq ft and a 2 car garage. Nice price!

The 2nd floor unit with sand dollar floor plan is scheduled to close next week. I will let you know what it closes for.

Windward East

The 1st floor unit that is being flipped is still active and still priced at $190,000. Time is getting short for the profit.

The 4th floor unit is still priced at $459,000. This is a tough sell since you can buy a brand new unit with 2000+ sg ft, direct ocean priced at $499,000. I wish them well and hope it sells for full asking price.

The diplomat

Nothing new has occurred and the 2 oceanfront units haven't had price changes.

Activity is still occurring and buyers are still trying to get good deals. The good deals are what is closing. If you are overpriced right now, you may have to ride it out for awhile.

Jim Bagwell

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