How’s the market? That is an interesting question right now. The coronavirus has changed how we live right now and has put a lot of people on furlough or they no longer have a job. How is this going to impact the real estate market and our local economy? I am pretty sure our economy will take some time to recover along with the real estate market. I am not an economist and cannot provide any information on that front, but as a Realtor; I can help you understand how this will affect the real estate market. I just finished compiling the stats for the month of March and the first quarter of 2020 and this is what is happening on the Space Coast and the Cocoa Beach area.
Brevard County has been under 3500 active properties since July 2019 and we are now just above that number with an active inventory of 3527. So, we have had a slight change and I wouldn’t even note this if we weren’t dealing with Covid 19. Really the first quarter of sales, including March 2020 have been great. We had 1361 closings in Brevard County for the month of March. This puts us at under a 3 month supply of property for sale. The numbers show we are still in a seller’s market.
Some interesting stats from the 1st quarter of 2020. We had 39 properties sell for over $1M in our MLS. The highest-priced sale in Brevard County was a 5 bedroom, 5 bath, canal front home in Indialantic that was on a ¾ acre lot that sold for $3.65M. 1st quarter of 2019, there were 23 $1M+ properties sold.
Half of the homes sold during the first quarter of 2020 happened in 30 days or less. 25% of the homes sold in the first 7 days on the market.
We have had less than 100 bank-owned or short sale properties close.
Cash sales are 30% of the closings.
Conventional financing is 44% of the closings.
FHA & VA loans are 24% of the closings.
The remaining 2% are private lending, owner financing, USDA, or renovation loans.
Here is what is happening in Cocoa Beach & Cape Canaveral Florida.
Condo sales have stayed strong in the 1st quarter of 2020. Our Active condo inventory is at 217 almost 20% lower than this time last year. Total sales for the first quarter 136 which is slightly higher than last year’s 1st quarter. The average price per square foot is $216 SqFt. The highest-priced condo to sell was in the Solanas Shores community in Cape Canaveral for $851,000. This 4th floor 3 bedroom, 3 bath condo is a direct ocean condo. The lowest-priced condo to sell was in the Beach Club complex in Cape Canaveral for $63,000. This condo was a 1 bedroom condo that was under 400 square feet in size.
The best selling condo communities in Cocoa Beach were the Harbor Isles condominiums and The Beach Wind condominiums. Harbor Isles had 7 condos sell that were either 2 bedroom or 3 bedroom floor plans between $220,000 and $295,000. Beach Winds had 5 condos sell that were all 3 bedroom condos between $314,000 and $434,000.
The single family home market has been very strong. Active inventory is at 60 homes. The total sales in the first quarter for Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral has 50 homes selling, up from the 36 homes that sold in the 1st quarter 2019. Average price per square foot is $249 per square foot. Home prices ranged from a fixer in Cocoa Beach on the corner of Woodland and 4th St North for $285,000 to an amazing riverfront home in south Cocoa Beach that sold for $1.270M.
The two communities that had the most sales during the first quarter were the Cocoa Isles subdivisions with 9 home sales ranging from $332,000 to $830,000 and the River Isles subdivision with 7 sales ranging from $455,000 to $1.158M.
As you can see, we have had an impressive start to 2020 in regards to our real estate sales in the Cocoa Beach area and all of Brevard County. How will Covid 19 affect the rest of the year? There has to be some kind of impact based upon the number of people who are not able to work and all the small businesses that have temporarily closed their doors. I have been keeping a close eye on the active inventory and have been happy to see it hasn’t risen too badly. If this number can stay reasonable and the number of closings do not drop significantly, it could be an easy recovery. The beginning of May will give us a decent idea of what is coming and by the beginning of June, the trend will be there. It is safe to say that the 2nd quarter will be flat with the hopes of a strong recovery in the 3rd and 4th quarter. Time will tell & I will do my best to keep you up to date.
I get questions everyday from people wanting to know more about what is happening in Cocoa Beach and throughout the space coast & I love answering these questions! What’s on your mind? You can call me, text me, send me an email, or a direct message through any of the social media platforms, I would love to hear from you. All my contact info is below.
About the author:
Eric Larkin is a Broker Associate with REMAX Aerospace. He lives, works, and plays in the Cocoa Beach area. Eric has been helping buyers and sellers with their real estate needs since becoming a real estate agent in 2003. His focus is always on helping, answering your questions, and doing everything possible to make certain you have a smooth transaction from beginning to end.
What questions do you have about buying or selling a home? Contact Me
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