Housing Market update 2020 after 6 months of COVID
You do not need this blog post to point out 2020 has been a crazy year…but I will let you know how crazy the real estate market is on the Space Coast and in the Cocoa Beach area. This is a breakdown of the last 6 months for our housing market to go over some continued trends and to compare things to the same 6 month period in 2019 along with an overview of the September sales here in Brevard County and in the Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral area.
Hows the market?
The market is crazy. COVID and the nation shutting down in the spring did have an effect on the property being sold. Even though our 2nd quarter was the slowest we have seen in over 5 years our 3rd quarter sales came back and were the strongest we have seen in 5 years.
The buyers never really left the market due to COVID, it was the sellers that slowed things down. Too many unknowns with the virus that sellers still living in their home did not want to expose themselves and their family to this unknown. Since the homes that were on the market were still selling quickly, home owners that needed to sell to purchase their next property were afraid of being homeless if their house sold before finding the next one. We are starting to see more property coming on the market now but we are still behind last years new listing numbers by 8%.
To see how intense the market really is, I like to look at our months supply of property. It’s a simple formula that divides the active inventory by the sold property number for the month. This gives us a month’s supply of homes that are available. We have been around 3 months for over 5 years. Certain times of the year it’s above 3 months, other times it’s just below 3 months. I don’t remember ever seeing it below 2 months until this summer. Our current supply is at 1.49 months (6 weeks!!)
If you really like to geek out on stats and numbers, another KPI is the absorption rate. Even though I don’t pay as much attention to this as the month’s supply of property, you can see that most of the homes on the market are selling every month. Pre-COVID, our absorption rate has been averaging mid to low 30% range. YTD in 2020 is over 46%. The 3rd quarter averaged 65.99%. We are selling ⅔ of our inventory every month.
Predictions for the 4th quarter, 2021 & beyond
I have the same magic 8 ball that you have, it’s really hard to say what might happen. I know all the information I am seeing with our housing market is we will continue to be in a sellers market for a while. We have had a lot of people moving into our area because of EVERYTHING happening at the Space Center (Thank you SpaceX, Blue Origin, NASA, ULA, Sierra Nevada, Firefly and all the other companies doing amazing things with our Space Program)
We also have a lot of people moving into our area due to the defense/government/aerospace contract companies (Thank you to L3Harris, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Embraer, and other companies that are here in Brevard County) We now have a lot of people that have been given the opportunity to work remotely on a permanent basis & living near the beach in a tropical climate is very desirable. If you are moving here for any reason, see what is available for sale by visiting my website https://cocoabeachinsider.coSm/real-estate/
If you have been thinking about selling your home or condo, we should certainly talk. Demand is exceptionally high & will be this way for some time. If you are not ready to meet just yet you can visit our website to get more information on the value of your property https://cocoabeachinsider.com/real-estate/
More stats-September 2020 numbers for Brevard County
Active inventory is at 2035
Property sold in September 1369
35% of the property sold in 7 days or less
62% of the property sold in 30 days or less
23 property sold for over $1M
Highest priced property sold in Cocoa Beach. Direct ocean. 5 bedrooms 4 ½ baths. 4791 SqFt built in 2017 $2.3M
Average price $298718
Median price $250000
Average days on market 46
Cocoa Beach & Cape Canaveral Market Update September 2020
The condo market in Cocoa Beach & Cape Canaveral
The condo sales in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral year to date are just behind 2019 numbers. Just like the rest of the county, the condo sales dropped significantly in April and May of this year and had a very strong 3rd quarter almost catching last years numbers. The only thing keeping our condo sales from being higher than what they are right now is the lack of active inventory. We only have 131 condos on the market for all of Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral compared to 220 we had available at the start of 2020. The low active inventory is because we just aren’t seeing the same amount of condos coming on the market like we have seen in the past. Year to date through 9.30.2020 we have had 630 new condo listings on the market compared to the 702 through the same time period in 2019…we are 10% behind.
The best selling condo complex in Cocoa Beach & Cape Canaveral for the 3rd quarter was the Four Seasons Condominiums in Cocoa Beach. This 2 and 3 bedroom condo complex is on the Banana River just south of 520+ were built in the early 80’s. They offer condos in one of the multiple 2 story buildings and also have 3 mid-rise 5 story buildings that are direct river. The association will allow a 6 month minimum rental and are OK with either a cat or dog that weighs under 30 pounds. There were 8 condos to sell in the Four Seasons ranging from $175K for a 2 bedroom 2 bath 1058 SqFt second floor condo to $390500 for a fifth floor corner unit direct river with 3 bedrooms 2 baths and a one car garage.
Here is a breakdown of the condo sales in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral for September 2020
52 condos sold in September
Average condo price is $270968
Median condo price is $239500
Average days on market 93
Lowest price was a 1 bedroom condo sold in the Atlanta Gardens for $70,000
Highest price was a direct ocean 3rd floor 3 bedroom condo in the Cape Club complex for $599,000
The housing market in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral
Home sales in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral has been active and doesn’t seem to have been affected by COVID. New home listings are slightly behind last year (195 vs 199) and home sales are up significantly. YTD sales in 2020 are at 148 homes versus the 125 homes through September in 2019. Our low inventory of 36 homes for sale right now is the lowest I recall ever seeing in Cocoa Beach & Cape Canaveral. Fortunately, new homes coming on the market are at least keeping pace with last years numbers; we could certainly use more homeowners to become sellers in the foreseeable future.
No surprise most of the homes sold were in the Cocoa Isles communities. This section of homes in Cocoa Beach is definitely the largest subdivision going from South Banana River Boulevard to Cocoa Isles Boulevard. Closed home prices for the 11 homes ranged from a bank owned property on Bermuda Ave for $255000 that needed complete renovations to an amazing direct river, 5 bedroom 3493 SqFt pool home for $1,290,000.
Here is a breakdown of the home sales in Cocoa Beach and Cape Cananveral for September 2020
27 home sales in September
Average home price $655559
Median home price $507500
Average days on market 56
Lowest price home was a 3 bedroom bank owned home that needed complete renovations for $255000
Highest price home was a 5 bedroom direct ocean home that was built in 2017 near downtown Cocoa Beach for $2,300,000
Does this breakdown of the sales help you understand what is happening with our housing market in Brevard County in 2020? Whether you are moving into the Space Coast or out of the area, I hope this helped! In case you didn’t know, I get questions everyday about our area that I love to answer and I look forward to hearing from you. You can call/text me. You can email me. You can comment below and I would be happy to answer any questions you have.
Eric Larkin is a Broker Associate with Real Broker, LLC. He lives, works, and plays in the Cocoa Beach area. If you have questions about moving or relocating to Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast, let me know! I get calls, texts, direct messages & comments on my posts every day about the real estate market and things that are happening in Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast that I love answering. Ask me your questions on moving, relocating here, or anything about the community. I am here to help. I have been helping buyers and sellers with their real estate needs since becoming a real estate agent in 2003. My 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
Call/Text 321-795-1854
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