Florida Real Estate

"All the young dudes"

2009-11-14T12:16:00.003-05:00

"carry the news" David Bowie & Mott the Hoople

The pic is of the old fisherman's wharf, back in the day it was a cool place to take the kids because while you were waiting for your dinner the kids could go out on the dock and feed the catfish. It is now scheduled to be a condo clubhouse.

We were discussing in our last week's sales meeting the state of the market. In the month of October there were 596 single family homes sold in Brevard County. Of these 224 were under $100,000 and 245 between 100K and 200K, that leaves 127 over 200K. So it is not hard to figure out that the number of sales are up but the prices are well down.

Merritt Island

There is a complex of condos on S. Tropical,Sunset Bay, which is on the Indian River with pool and exercise room. There are several on the market but the one that grabbed my attention is a 1 bedroom 1 bath, foreclosure priced at $23,800.

A home off Newfound harbor, 3 bedrooms 1 bath built in 1960 and priced at $67,000.

A home in a golf course community with 3 bedrooms 2 baths and pool, priced at $238,000.

Newspaper

There was a article in today's paper that had a consensus of Realtors that thought the prices would go up in 2010, if they are right then it could be the time to buy.

Thanks
Jim Bagwell

Mr. Taxman

2009-11-07T10:54:00.002-05:00

"The Beatles"

First time home buyer tax credit.

I am sure most of you know that the 1st time home buyers credit has been extended with additional benefits.

For the 1st time buyer, which means you haven’t owned a principal residence in the prior 3 years. The tax credit remains at $8000 and time frame was extended to May 1, 2010, you have to have a signed contract by this time and have until the end of June to close the transaction. The income level for these buyers is now $125,000 annually and for married couples $225,000.

Current home owners

To me this is exciting news, for current home owners who want to buy a new principal residence, you will get up to $6500 in tax credit. You have to have lived in your current home for 5 consecutive years of the last 8 years. Income levels are the same as 1st time home buyers. This means over 70% of all home owners qualify for this program.

Purchase price of properties is now up to $800,000.

This is a real tax credit and can be used to pay income tax due or added to your refund.

This whole thing is a very good thing for home buyers because of the lowered prices of all kinds of properties now on the market.

Jim Bagwell

"You got to serve somebody"

2009-11-02T13:08:00.002-05:00

"It may be the devil or it may be the lord" Bob Dylan

I am sure most people were brought up similar to me to believe that a person’s word is their bond. Especially when a contract is signed to acknowledge this agreement that is the reason that foreclosures and short sales were so distasteful for all of us.

I have since had an epiphany that has really changed my attitude. We have helped many sellers and buyers with short sales and foreclosures and in each situation it was the right thing for both parties. There are so many people out there who are burning through savings and 401K’s to pay for homes and investments which are now valued as much as 50% less than when purchased. Now intelligently speaking this is not the best thing to do for your family or yourself, it is our pride that is forcing us to keep it going. Truth is it will be years before the prices are back to a point to sell at a break even or profit from a sale.

The lenders themselves are the main culprit behind our dilemma. For a few years the banks made huge profits and rolled along, now some have filed bankruptcies’ and others have been bailed out by the government. To pay us back for our generosity some of the bigger banks are now going to charge a fee to their clients that are never late and do not write bad checks, why because they don’t make enough money on the good clients. That is why I now feel that the majority of people, investors included should not have a moments worry over a default.

Some properties to consider:

At the top end, short sale direct Newfound Harbor home priced at $799,000. This home was built in 1979 and features 3709 sq ft, 5 bedrooms and 3 ½ baths, pool screened, 3 car garage, tennis court,2 boat lifts and a tiki bar. All of this sits on 1.22 acre on beautiful Newfound Harbor.

At the lower end a 1600 sq ft home on the canal with 3 bedrooms 2 baths updated in 2005. Priced at $179,900.

These are both short sales!

Jim Bagwell

For the serious fisherman

2009-10-26T12:17:00.003-05:00

Interesting how intelligent buyers are today, agents who do not recognize the facts are doomed to fail. A client was in my office the other day showing me the Wall Street Journal and the map of troubled real estate markets across the nation, now of course almost the entire coastline of Florida was in black which indicates trouble. For the good news, there was one white little square which was central Brevard County. I believe we can thank waterfront property for this anomaly. Basically there are very few areas which have the varied type of waterfront homes we have in Brevard.

The number of good buys are too numerous to focus on a few. With the exception of resale oceanfront condos of which the inventory is actually down, you can almost always find a home suited to your desires within your price range.

Our local paper over the weekend wrote that Sep marked the 4th month in a row that the number of resale homes in Brevard dropped however we were still above the 2007 & 2008 figures. The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that Home sales in Sep rose to a 2 year high and the inventory dropped to a 7.8 month worth which is the lowest in 2 ½ years. All of this equates to the fact that a buyer today can expect to pay 2002 price for a home today.

Pick of the day!

For the serious fisherman or woman, This home is located on a point of the east side of Merritt Island which means that you can go straight to the locks at the port and be offshore in the quickest time in all of Merritt Island. Home has 3 bedrooms 2 ½ baths and sits on .36 acre with great views of open water. Home also has a pool and spa with a 3 car garage and R/V boat space. Priced at $900,000.

Jim Bagwell
Broker

Brevard County Property Values

2009-06-29T08:51:00.002-05:00

In the Real Estate section of our local paper there was an article saying how much the activity has picked up in Brevard County. This is true and in my opinion is due to the pricing of properties. A lot of home owners are seeing what the foreclosure process is doing to their property value and are pricing accordingly.

As of 6/29/09 in our MLS there are 533 bank or corporation owned properties. Some of the corporation owned properties are owned by the developer but most are owned by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae or VA. There are also 1345 short sales in Brevard. So you see we have to work on getting these properties sold to really get the property values back to a positive posture.

Some of these properties are very interesting to be in foreclosure.

A 727 sq ft condo in Titusville priced at $9,900. This is not in good shape and not a very good location but for a rental property definitely possible.

A 3901 sq ft home on Merritt Island with pool and on the water with a short trip to open water, 4 bedrooms and 4 baths and priced at $719,900.

A 4 bedroom 3 bath ocean front penthouse in Satellite Beach with 3690 sq ft priced at $649,900. This is a good buy for this complex.

Short sale possibility

Remember that short sales can be frustrating but can be worth the wait!

A 3014 sq ft single family home with 3 bedrooms 2 baths and 2 ½ baths; this property is on the ocean on .35 acre. The HOA fees are $1647 per quarter but include structural insurance and lawn service. The only drawback to me is the location which is almost to Sebastian Inlet but for a 2nd getaway with great golf, fishing and surfing then this would be fantastic property.

Thanks

Jim Bagwell

Chinese drywall

2009-06-18T11:02:00.001-05:00

I am sure most of you have heard of Chinese drywall, this drywall was shipped during the time period of 2002 to 2008. Testing of the affects is not as yet complete but there are things that we are sure about what this drywall causes in the property.

The drywall manufactured in China emits a sulfuric gas that will turn copper pipes black and can damage A/C coils. Some residents in the affected homes have complained of respiratory problems and dizziness. The health issues are not proved as yet but the FDA is working on the test right now.

Most of this drywall was used in Florida but the class action suit will be heard in New Orleans and contain cases from 3 states including Florida.

Now most people think that if your home wasn’t built in this time period you are safe but when you think of all the remodels and repair of water damage that have been completed in this time period then the possibility is still there in older homes.

We have already put an addendum in place that addresses this issue so if you are buying a property ask your agent to use it. To be safe ask for a complete seller’s property disclosure and ask your home inspector to check for the possibility of the presence of the drywall.

Seemingly good buy!

I have not been inside this home but it appears to be a good buy. Not a short sale or foreclosure, the home has 2115 sq ft with screened pool and is on a canal. Priced at $319,000 located in Diana Shores in central Merritt Island.

Just cover your bases in all transactions.

Jim Bagwell

Your own worst enemy

2009-06-17T10:45:00.001-05:00

I have become very frustrated with agents who are still in the booming market frame of mind in a still down market.

Back in the day it was extremely rare to make an offer on a property and get an acceptance without a counter. There are still agents who feel they must have a counter when they get any offer on one of their listings. The fact of the matter is a lot of times the 1st offer will be your best offer and sometimes your only offer. Now what are they trying to do, maybe to say to their seller that they have worth but a lot of times they are hurting the very people they are hired to help.

The key to it all is to perform a very thorough market analysis and be very honest with your seller on what to expect. When you as an agent give your seller false hope on what their property is worth today you are contributing to the down market.

Always remember that as a seller or a buyer it is your call on what to offer and what to accept. Your agent is bound to follow your instructions; the agent is paid for their knowledge of the market and their skill of negotiation and to protect your interests always without fail. You should ask for your agent’s input but it is still your call.

Jim Bagwell

"Should 5% appear too small"

2009-06-15T14:25:00.001-05:00

"Be thankful I don't take it all"

Forgive my digression, my wife and I went to a “Classic Concert” featuring Beatle music and brought back all kind of memories. If you get a chance go see this show it is great.

You have heard me talk about Space Talk which is a forum that all our agents get a chance to speak about current happenings or ask for help. Recently we have had an influx of agents speaking about simultaneous closings which involves an investor buying a short sale and reselling the property instantly to another buyer at a profit to the investor. The second buyer was found while the short sale process was ongoing. These agents are screaming fraud which is totally ludicrous since these very same agents were buying pre-construction properties not that long ago and selling the same day at a nice profit.

The only way to recover this market is that there are people who have some money and want to make more money; hence you invest for a return on your money.

At the present time there are 58 short sales in Merritt Island alone, some of these are very good deals if you can get them at list price. The short sales are priced from $69,900 to $950,000; one of these is a 2 story pool home on Sykes Creek with almost 3000 sq ft. This home was purchased for $815,000 and is now on the market for $659,000.

The deals are there and there are buyers who sold at the right time and haven’t owned in the last 3 years which makes them eligible for the 1st time home buyer $8000 tax credit so it may be time to jump back in the game.

Jim Bagwell

"Money can't buy me love"

2009-06-06T10:46:00.002-05:00

photo courtesy of Don Hoover since my camera failed.

But it can buy a great property in Brevard County especially if you are a 1st time home buyer. If you haven’t owned a home in the last 3 years you can qualify as a 1st time home buyer. With this in place you can get an $8000 tax credit and this time it is not a loan, at tax time this credit can go toward your refund or reduce tax payment. One of the best parts of this deal is you can use this credit as a bridge loan for down payment and repay at tax time with your credit.

When you add this to the fact that the 1st quarter of 2009 had the biggest drop in property values since the downturn began and puts us at 2002 prices, it is a great time for the buyer and especially the 1st time home buyer. The last 2 months has seen a slight uptick in property value so we may be finally leveling out in prices.

If you are a 1st time buyer and are considering buying a home then you should go to a lender now and get a pre-approval and be ready to go when you find a home. It is now possible to buy a $150,000 home and have a monthly payment of around $1000 including taxes and insurance so now you can say it could be cheaper to own than rent. With a price of $150,000 the choices are endless and you can pick the home will fit your needs.

Now usually we specialize in waterfront homes but it is indeed an exciting time for 1st time home buyers so we have expanded our market. Sunset lakes is a nice gated community in North Merritt Island and there are numerous short sales starting at $162,500 now remember don’t be in a hurry if you are dealing with a short sale. There is a canal front home in Merritt Island priced at $178,200, this home has been stripped by the owner in preparation of renovation but it has now been foreclosed. This would be an excellent opportunity to use the FHA 203B loan and get renovation costs built in the mortgage.

Give us a call today!

Jim Bagwell
Broker

"You gotta stop and look around"

2009-05-13T11:54:00.002-05:00

"19th nervous breakdown" the everloving Stones

It has been awhile since I have posted and for that I apologize.

We have seen a very dramatic increase of activity in all markets but especially in single family homes. Condos are still a challenge but can still be obtained with diligence in financing.

The best advice I can give you is to really contemplate on what you want in a property and what price you can live with and then obtain a good buyer’s agent. A lot of buyers still think they can get a better deal if they work through the listing agent. This couldn’t be further from the truth, in Florida we are assumed to transaction brokers which means if we know what the seller will take for the property we are not allowed to share this information. However if you have a buyer’s agent they can still function as a single agent for you the buyer and any information gathered can be shared with the client. One exception of this is that if it is the agent’s listing then the agent has to convert to a transaction broker which is after all very fair.

Another misconception is this will cost the buyer to have a agent, typically the commission is paid by the seller and disbursed at closing. The upside is you have an agent working for you to find a property that you would desire, a automatic search can be built to notify you of anything in your price range with the amenities you desire emailed to you everyday until you hit upon the property. You may encounter a situation where your agent can find a “for sale by owner” and then they may ask you to pay commission, you could still very well win in that the property may be priced less than market value.

The opportunities are endless with canal homes now below 300K and the list goes on and on. We are still making a lot of short sale offers and they can be a great deal, keep in mind you have to patient to make it work, let your agent work for you.

Hope this helps and remember to hydrate!

Jim Bagwell

Merritt Island canal homes

2009-02-22T10:14:00.004-05:00

Merritt Island Canal homes

We did find one thing that is not exactly shocking but it did narrow our search. There is only one canal home on Merritt Island that is priced under $300,000 and offers 2000 sq ft. That one is a short sale; the water is not that good and it needs work. The home is priced at $249,999.

Now when we reached $300,000 to the mid 300’s we found good sized homes and some are in good shape. If you price your listings by sq ft dollar, this makes perfect sense.

Our listing at 1745 Basin st. has been reduced to $369,000. The best part about this home is that it has been renovated from the studs out to paint including wiring and plumbing. This is a benefit that you will only find in a couple of homes on the canals unless they have been torn down and built new but then of course you will pay a premium at new home prices.

If you would like to see pictures of this home, just email me at walkerbagwell@aol.com and I will email you the link.

Thank you

Jim Bagwell

"We're so sorry uncle Albert"

2009-02-09T12:43:00.002-05:00

You got to love the Beatles!

I did receive a negative reply from my last post on contracting out short sales. I can only assume it was from one of my Realtor peers. For the record I am not questioning anyone’s sincerity or ethics in this practice. My point is that the short sale process almost always turns out to be a very personal and emotional transaction for the seller. The most important part of the transaction is the initial meeting between the seller and the listing agent. The listing agent must at that time offer all alternatives to the seller and inform the seller what is expected of them to complete the transaction. Although foreclosure, bankrupts and short sales are much more common than most of us have ever seen, it still is a bitter pill to swallow. There are many of us that have never been in financial situations that we see at the present time and this makes for a very stressful time for everyone. This is the only reason I personally feel that contracting out short sales is not the most efficient method to handle the transaction but if the listing agent is totally uncomfortable or unwilling to put in the hours necessary for this type transaction then definitely find someone to help you and bring them in from the onset of the transaction. I hope this clarifies my position and I apologize if I offended anyone.

We are in the process of showing canal homes in Merritt Island that can be purchased around or under the $300,000 range. I will share our showings on the next post.

Jim Bagwell

"Its been a hard day's night"

2009-02-07T11:23:00.001-05:00

Recently I have seen agents advertise to other agents to handle short sales for a fee. Obviously experience is not a prerequisite since I have seen that some of the people offering have never completed a short sale. There are many agents that would never have considered being involved in the process because it is so time intensive with no guarantee of commission. Now that it is evident that there are so many short sales on the market that it is unrealistic to exclude these properties and still serve their buyers, they are coming around to the facts of the market.

With a small company of 18 agents, we are now in negotiation of 12 short sale contracts. This requires a staff and commitment from the entire team to bring these offers to fruition. It seems rather corny but it does bring a bit of satisfaction to get people out of a tight spot and on the other hand get buyers with patience a very good deal in a down market. We have seen more satisfaction from sellers who got the 3000 lb gorilla off their back than we have seen in good times with sellers walking with a couple of 100 grand.

I was looking to show some of my favorite listings that are priced right but the numbers are staggering. If you are looking to live on the water or not on the water then there is a price for you.

If it is a short sale just remember to be patient and keep looking once you have put in an offer on a short sale. Remember if you don’t have approval from the lender you are not committed.

Merritt Island Foreclosure News

2009-01-17T10:55:00.003-05:00

The good news is that if you are looking for a deal through a foreclosure or a short sale, the time couldn't get much better!

Florida has now moved into the number 2 position nationwide in the number of foreclosures. The top four states are 1. Nevada 2. Florida 3. Arizona 4. California. These states account for over 25% of the nation’s foreclosed properties. As a result these states will receive the bulk of the 100 billion in foreclosure bail out money, I wish I could shed some light on how this money will be used but I have no clue. Now these numbers don’t include short sales and a lot of these are in the foreclosure process.

I believe you will see the banks move to get to be more cooperative in closing these properties and get them off the books. At least we want to believe this in order to make our lives a little easier. At the present time we have 8 contracts in negotiation for short sales. It involves a whole lot of work especially for the listing agent. In no way do we represent the lender in the short sale process we represent the buyer, seller or both. However the lenders can be the biggest obstacle in this process. Look for an experienced agent!

My favorite properties in the foreclosed world of Brevard County.

An 1800 sq ft home in Viera priced at $169,900. This home has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths with a 2 car garage. Home was built in 1997 and features vaulted ceilings.

A home with over 2500 sq ft located in beautiful Villa De Palmas on a deep water canal that will accommodate up to a 40’ boat. This is a pool home with 4 bedrooms 2 ½ baths. This home was originally listed for $629,000 and is now on the market for $549,000.

Thanks

Jim Bagwell

2008 Recap

2009-01-08T12:54:00.002-05:00

I thought we would recap the market for 2008. We will do Merritt Island this blog and next we will do Suntree/Viera.

2008

In all of Merritt Island there were 421 single family homes sold in 2008. The price range ran from low of $47,500 all the way up to $2,800,000. Of these 421 there were 98 of the homes on navigable water be it canals or river. These 98 ran from $153,000 to $2,800,000. You do pay a premium for being on open water.

2005

In order to get a feel of the turn of the market, I went back to 2005. In 2005 there were 719 single family homes sold. The price range started at $65,000 (trailer) up to $2,275,000. Of these 719 homes 175 were on navigable water they were priced from $159,000 up to $2,275,000.

To start off 2009 we have 469 homes active in Merritt Island. The price range runs from $34,900 up to $4,242,500. The higher price is a home that can be built and seems to be an albatross as in one form of another it has been on the market since 2003. Of these listings 166 homes are on navigable water priced from $171,000 up to $4,242,500. When you get in the middle $200K range it is now possible to get a home on the water that you can actually move into and enjoy Florida.

A buy?

It is not often I recommend one of our listings as a buy but we do have a great house at a good price. It was built in 1968 and we all know what you get for a home built in 1968. This one is different since it has been taken down to the bones and put back with everything new including wiring and plumbing. This home shows great with 2324 square ft, 3 bedrooms 2 baths including a work shop on the back of the house for escape. The lot is landscaped to the 10th degree and includes a covered boat lift and dock. It sits on a wide canal with great views. Priced at $389,000 or $168 per sq ft.

Happy new year to everyone!

Jim Bagwell

"What would you do if I sang out of tune"

2009-01-05T15:38:00.003-05:00

Too bad that is how I sing!

Recently I read an article on MSN by Scott Burns about Madoff. Hopefully you all know who he is and what he has done. Mr. Madoff has made 50 billion of other people’s money disappear. Now that is a lot of milk money. Mr. Burns suggested that we revert to medieval times and declare Mr. Madoff an outlaw and the punishment would be he forfeit all his property and if anyone found him they could kill him on sight. Mr. Burns doesn’t think this would cruel and unusual punishment. Now I have my doubts that this would not be cruel and unusual but as yet I am not homeless so my opinion could change any minute.

Parallel universe

My wife showed property this weekend to some dear folks who are looking to relocate to Cocoa Beach. They already have a short sale contract in on a nice condo on the ocean. We suggested they continue looking since you never know the outcome on a short sale. They went to several complexes built by the same builder on the river and on the ocean. They look very well built with great views. The thing that bothers us is that even though the builder says a lot of units are sold when we search county tax records nothing shows up as changed as far as owners. The builder still controls the association since the percentage has not been met for sold properties.

Doubts

At Walker Bagwell we have always been cautious with buyers when they approach a complex we are not sure of the solidity of the complex or management of the complex. I spoke with my wife and my partner about being too cautious. We decided what we have done in our time of business is to advise our friends and clients in a way that doesn’t have anything to do with commission but everything to do with protecting their interests. We feel good about every deal we have advised against going to closing. No money made but when the turn comes the clients will still know where to go to when they want to buy their dream. If you think about the agents that didn’t see the downturn of the market and advised their clients to buy pre-construction and are now in foreclosure or short sale situations, it is mind boggling what commission was made and what money was lost. Fortunes were made or lost in the last 3 years.

Conclusion

What we have lost in commissions we have made up in trust and goodwill. I do believe we will continue what has worked.

Jim Bagwell

Real Estate Experts

2008-12-30T12:30:00.002-05:00

In the Real estate industry just like a lot of other industries some people can become a Real Estate expert just by proclaiming that they are the expert. Their opinion will apply to every situation because they are the expert.

A few months back I saw a printed ad from an expert that shouted “We are at the bottom, it is a great time for buyers” now is this fact or an opinion. In my opinion it would have to be an opinion since we are still seeing more price reductions than new listings. As always some properties are priced at the bottom and some properties are not there. Some of these properties will never be at the bottom. Now the bottom is some line in the sand that some expert will tell me when we get there. I can give you a pretty accurate market value but that figure is still missing a critical input.

Listening

The missing critical input is of course the buyer or seller’s motivation and needs.

Listening is one of the lost arts in America today. Some experts are capable of hearing their own voices but not the sound of what is coming back. They sometimes miss the critical input. The reasons for buying are always different for each buyer, the reasons for selling is always different for all sellers.

If you are retiring and you know what area you want to retire to and what you desire in a property then you are not as concerned with the price as someone who is only planning on residing in the property for a few years and then moving up. If you are concerned with what school you want your kids to attend and are willing to relocate to achieve this then the price may not be the ultimate factor to base your decision on whether to buy or not to buy the property. If you have a 2 year job commitment then price should be very important to you and your agent.

Some sellers are in a very good position still today in what they paid for their home and what the market value is today. There are some sellers who are stressed to the max on the amount of their mortgage due to adjustable rates, no interest loans due or change in their income, these sellers need immediate help with their situation and could account for short sale or foreclosure. Some sellers are at a mindset that they will not consider a short sale or foreclosure because they signed their name to the mortgage; these sellers need the experts to tell them truthfully if they can sell without bringing non-existent money to the table at closing.

The big difference is listening to each and every person as a person who has their own needs and motivation.

“Are those turnips on the side of your head?”

Thank you

Jim Bagwell

Condominium Governance Form

2008-12-27T11:25:00.001-05:00

I seem to have neglected the condo market in both Merritt Island and Viera. Effective in Jan of 09 if you write a contract to purchase a condo you should be given a copy of the “Condominium Governance Form” this form tells you about the owner’s rights, voting procedure, board procedure and etc. Ask your agent if they do not provide you with this form.

With the mortgage rates at the lowest point in 30 years if you plan on moving to our area,
This could be a good time to look. Even if you are looking for a winter place, winter golfing residence or if you have a student in this area the buys on the table are hard to ignore.

You can still spend as much as you desire to be on the water or for a couple of million you can have various penthouses with fantastic views of the Indian River.

A couple of my favorite condos on the market are as follows:

A 2 bedroom 2 bath unit 1122 sq ft located on the Rockledge Country Club is in foreclosure and listed at $62,900.

A 3 bedroom 2 bath unit 1376 sq ft located in Viera very close to the Viera East golf course is now listed in foreclosure at $69,900.

There is also a never lived in foreclosure on the water in Merritt Island with 2122 sq ft, 3 bedrooms 2 baths beautiful views and listed at $274,900.

I hope you all have a happy and very prosperous 2009!

Jim Bagwell

"Computerized"

2008-12-17T14:41:00.002-05:00

I was talking with a friend the other day about the state of Real Estate in our area. It is no secret that many large, medium and small companies have closed their doors. Other companies have found that using computerized programs can cut their costs. These programs include scheduling showings, agent call backs, answering phones on the weekends and many other tasks.

Here at Walker Bagwell Properties we have not cut services nor have we resorted to the computer to cut costs. We started this company with the notion that if there is one thing we excel at it would be customer service. We will continue that business model and it will always serve us and make us feel we are worthy to serve the public.

I have spoke before about the fact that most of our agents are in the business for the people. If a computer schedules your showing then you can’t give the important reasons that would make the property worthwhile to you. In my humble opinion the agent who is well versed on the market is the most valuable asset in the art of a deal...

Buying or selling Real Estate will end up being personal so do not sell yourself short with inferior service. You are in charge of the transaction!

Jim Bagwell

Distressed Property versus Distressed Prices

2008-12-02T11:41:00.002-05:00

With a lot of talk going on concerning short sales and a lot more coming up in 2009, I have noticed that the majority of people think this happens in the low to middle income areas. We are seeing more upscale homes coming on the market and selling by foreclosure and short sales.

GOLF

One of my favorite courses in our area is “The Duran” in the Viera section. There are some very nice upscale homes on the course. These homes were custom built and range from 3000 to 7000 sq ft. Some of the builders include the Toll Brothers and designs include Christopher Burton and Arthur Rutenberg.

At the present time there are 6 active listings in this section. These homes are priced from $599,000 to $1,650,000 of these listings 3 are short sales.

There have been 3 closings in this section this year. 1st home was listed at $1,199,000 and sold for $915,000 short sale, 2nd home listed at $1,350,000 and sold for $1,150,000 again a short sale, finally a home listed for $1,299,000 and sold for $1,250,000.

Just food for thought, that the market has affected all buyers and sellers regardless of price range and the bargains are not always distressed properties only distressed prices.

Jim Bagwell

Cocoa Beach Turkey Day

2008-11-28T10:10:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving day the headline on the front page of Florida Today was “Home prices allow more buyer’s in the game”. As you know I usually am very skeptical of most stories in print since they are usually skewed to fit the story.

During the past 2 weeks some sold homes were extremely good deals for the buyers and I would have to agree that buyers are able to get much more home for the dollar. The area will always dictate the prices to a certain degree, for example the prices on beachside condos are still remaining quite high although more good deals on beachside homes are starting to appear.

In Merritt Island there were several very good deals closed for the buyers and for the sellers depending on their circumstances.

A home built in 1965 with 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and a 2 car garage was listed at $139,900 sold for $139,500. Days on the market was an incredible 29 days.

A foreclosed home on the golf course in “The Savannahs area of Merritt Island” was originally listed at $304,900 after foreclosure it was listed at $199,900 and sold for $160,000. Pool home on the golf course with pool, 4 bedrooms, 2 ½ baths, 2477 sq ft.

The good deals in Suntree/Viera are still so numerous it is becoming difficult to quantify. For the retiring person or the1st time buyer I will highly recommend this area. Even if you have very specific wants and needs in a home it is becoming easier to find the home of your dreams.

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Shuttle

2008-11-15T10:59:00.002-05:00

We took this picture last night during an open house at the historical home we have listed on the Indian River in Titusville. It is amazing that during the early 1900’s people used to gather in the back yard to watch riverboats now they gather to watch the shuttle.

Recently my wife asked all the agents in our office to respond on what they liked about Real Estate, almost unanimously all our agents said it was meeting people. One agent likes the paperwork, strange but we couldn’t get along without her.

We had one of our most emotional closings this week that I have ever been part of to date. It was a short sale that took long hours and a lot of paper work faxed and emailed back and forth to the lender and the PMI Company. There was not a lot of money to the Real estate companies involved in this transaction but it definitely was rewarding.

The sellers are two very nice ladies who just didn’t want to live with a foreclosure. During these times there are a lot of people who have never had to deal with the stigma of foreclosures and bankruptcies’, there are people who just can’t live with this and short sales are an alternative to worse hits on your credit reports. It takes a lot of patience and a lot of work but it can be accomplished.

To be successful you have to love what you do.

Jim Bagwell

"Its a beautiful morning"

2008-11-10T10:27:00.001-05:00

You got to love the "Rascals"

Another beautiful Florida day, I must admit it is hard to complain about where we live.

Veteran’s day is upon us again. With the election and the economic downturn debacle we are currently enduring we sometimes lose touch with some very important issues. There are still American men and women dying on foreign soil and it is being largely overlooked unless you have a loved one in the conflicts that are underway. Most enlisted men and women have significant others who are in the same economy that we civilians are facing today, the big difference is with the pay scale enjoyed by enlisted personnel in today’s military they are more dependent on the 2nd income than most especially when children are involved. There is also the small item of facing hostile action everyday they are in harm’s way. So I just ask that we give thoughts to the sacrifices being made by all our military serving all Americans.

The market
I would still have to say that prices are still on the downward trend and may last for another 6 months. The new listings that I like are as follows:

Merritt Island in a beautiful section off S. Tropical Trl. Over 2300 sq ft with pool on .34 acre, priced at $299,900.

Viera on Crane Creek again, a beautiful pool home with almost 2000 sq ft that is now a short sale. This is priced at $225,000, we have sold identical homes for $350,000.

Merritt Island on a canal with pool. Now a short sale priced at $239,900.

This Merritt Island home has definite possibilities. Direct Banana River with almost 1/2 acre. 4 bedroom 2 ½ baths, over 3500 sq ft, 3 car garage, pool, great views. For the right price this will be worth the money.

The bargains are there if you are diligent.

Jim Bagwell

Yada Yada Yada

2008-11-02T12:26:00.002-05:00

Picture provided to me by our good friend Steve Donnelly from Auburn, NY.

Listing stuff

I was recently doing some research on listings that have sold or not this year. For a Real Estate firm to survive you must have listings, the trick is to get the listings that have a chance to sell in today’s market. One of the hardest things for the listing agent to do is to tell their client they are overpriced. In reality you are doing your client a disservice by not telling them. The primary point of listing the property is to sell the property not to make the company phone ring.

One home that I looked at hasn’t sold and looks to be a beautiful home which I have shown. It went on the market in Jan of 2008 priced at $749,000 this company had the listing for 6 months and reduced the price to $675,000. It was then given to another company and listed it at $675,000; it stayed at this price and company for 90 days. It was then given to another company and is now priced at $599,900. I submit that it may have been the price all along. I hope the seller’s get it sold and it will be a nice home for someone.

On the other end of the spectrum is a home that just recently closed. Originally it listed in April of 2006 for $799,000 with a very good Real Estate agent. It was reduced and reduced and reduced and the final list price was $459,000 sold for $395,000. It was on the market for 905 days with the same agent.

As a seller you can always go to the real estate office and have your agent go on the computer and show you the comps for your home. One of the best methods is to take you and show you the competition. That way you can actually see what you are up against.

Thanks

Jim Bagwell

"Chicken Little"

2008-10-29T10:57:00.003-05:00

Last week we had some very rare good news from the printed media about the Real Estate market. Home sales for Sep of 2007 in Brevard County totaled 313. Home sales for Sep of this year totaled 444. This represents a great turn year by year. I am normally skeptical about the trend on our market so what I did was to compare the sales of 10/07 to 10/08. From 10/01 to 10/29/07 the sales totaled 303; in the same period of Oct in 2008 the sales totaled 288. I would surmise that the sales for Oct 2008 will end up roughly the same as Oct 2007. This is not exactly bad news and I am grateful for any positive bump in the market. I feel it is not the time to be a “chicken little” agent and scream to all the buyers that the bottom is upon us. You can still get a great buy but it takes good comparables and negotiation to get the selling price to a point a year from now.

Condos

I was just looking at some riverfront condos in Merritt Island. There is a large complex on the Indian River called Island Point. This complex was built by “Homes by Town”; they are a very reputable builder and put together a quality condo. This is one condo complex where I would recommend buying from the developer since they have lowered their prices below the resale’s and sometimes we can negotiate a upgrade package. Right now they have a unit that is 3 bedroom 2 bath with 2275 sq ft with granite, tile etc. This model is never lived in and priced at $290,000. The units go all the up to $405,000 for the penthouse with 3 bedrooms 2 ½ baths and 2528 sq ft.

In Viera/Suntree area you can literally pay as little as $75,000 and on upwards to the $400,000’s. One that caught my eye was a 3 story townhome on the golf course with 2374 sq ft and a 2 car garage priced at $264,000. There are also some great buys in Heritage Isles which is an over 55 community with all the amenities on the Duran golf course.

On a side note we are a registered HUD broker which means we can get you in HUD homes and make bids for the buyer. There is now a small home on Merritt Island priced at $66,000. This could be a positive cash flow home as a rental.

It boils down to the fact that this can be a good time to invest in Real Estate if you are careful.

Jim Bagwell

"There's a hole in the world tonight"

2008-10-24T10:31:00.002-05:00

"there's a cloud of fear and sorrow"
"Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow"
Courtesy of The Eagles!

My wife and I stayed up late the other night watching Eagle's dvd's. We both said wow that sounds like the world today.

Prices of all properties are definitely showing the state of the market and the economy. I still have people asking me if we are at the bottom of the market in Real Estate. I still have the same opinion of the market that I have had for the past 2 years. Some homes and condos are at the bottom of the market if you priced them a year from now. What I mean by that is there are seller’s who are overextended and need relief. Some of these people have owned the property for a significant number of years but the other aspects of the economy makes it necessary to sell assets. These are generally the best buys without having to go to the short sale or foreclosure process.

This week I am going to concentrate on Merritt Island since I have been showing waterfront homes there this week. One note to remember about listings that I have learned is that if the property is on the water but there are no pictures of the water then the water is limited at best or the agent didn’t want to go outside.

Merritt Island 10/24/08

Some bottom priced canal homes with boat access either docks, boat lifts or even a boat house.

In Diana Shores which is a nice middle class neighborhood. A 4 bedroom 2 bath home on the canal with dock priced at $269,000.A 4 bedroom 2 bath home on the canal priced at $324,000 and another 4 bedroom 2 baths with 2 car garage and renovations have been completed and priced at $289,000.

There is also a home directly on the Banana River priced at $609,900. This home has over 2700 sq ft, 3 car garage and sits on .41 acre.

Best buy non-waterfront is located in a gated community in north Merritt Island. This home is a short sale. It was built in 2003 and contains 0ver 3300 sq ft, 3 car garage, great pool and convenient to everything. Priced at $299,900, keep in mind on short sales you can’t be in a hurry to close but it can be worth the wait.

Next week we will concentrate on Suntree/Viera.

Thanks for your support!

Jim Bagwell

"Vote for me and I'll set you free"

2008-10-16T10:54:00.002-05:00

Courtesy of “The Temptations” from “Ball of Confusion”

It doesn’t matter who you support as a candidate, it is a personal decision. The important thing is just to vote. Vote your conscious, vote your mind but just vote.
“This is Jim Bagwell and I support this message”

With the stock market being what it is we are seeing some relief in the Real Estate market since the property invested in is a tangible asset. Hopefully it will never be worth 0. We are having a very good month as a Real Estate company contributed to the very downturn of the financial market. Real Estate is always the safest investment if you find the value. I tell myself I won’t look at the stock market and my 401K but I can’t help myself, it is like watching a train wreck.

As far as the Merritt Island, Viera market goes in value, I do believe it is there.

Favorite closings this month.

Not a short sale, listed at $299,900 closed at $254,900. 2432 sq ft, 3 car garage, pool and built in 1997. We have sold several in this neighborhood and it appears to be a great place to live.

Brand new home with 2700 sq ft, 2 story on a lake. Listed at $279,400 sold for $275,000, new home with warranty.

Brand new home on a golf course in Merritt Island, listed at $399,900 and sold for $375,000. 3256 sq ft on .34 acre on the golf course.

Short sale in Viera! Listed at $195,000 and sold for $202,000. 2236 sq ft, 2 car garage and in a great community.

Favorite listings

A home in Merritt Island, foreclosure and listed at $142,500. This home is in a great area convenient to everything and has 2000 sq ft with 2 car garage. Built in 1997, this is a good buy regardless of condition.

Merritt Island home on the Banana River, .41 acre, 2700 sq ft and built in 1997. Priced at $609,900.

Foreclosed home in Merritt Island. 1248 sq ft, 1 car garage and built in 1962, the value is the price $68,900.

I recently had a friend tell me that a agent was looking for a home in a specific price range and couldn’t find a property. The mistake the agent made was that he looked only in the price range and not above the price. In today’s market you have to search sometimes $100,000 over the price range to allow for negotiation.

Just food for thought!

Jim Bagwell

My favorite generation

2008-10-11T10:17:00.002-05:00

Sorry for my absence in the blogging world. In addition to the financial crisis that we are facing, we also experienced the passing of my mother who was just short of her 88th birthday. She was a fabulous lady and will be greatly missed.

Being a 60’s child I hate to see the generation of my parents leaving us. I personally think they are the greatest generation of all. As we endure this financial debacle it makes me ponder on the trials and tribulations of that generation. I feel our pain pales in comparison. Being a Real Estate small business owner, of course I follow the ups and downs of the market. I don’t see a quick fix coming to us.

The good news is the real estate market is picking up for the buyers and for the motivated sellers. There are actually some investors back in the game.

I recently had to write a letter to a major bank and tell them what my thoughts were on the decline of the market because of a short sale we are trying to help some nice folks get off their plate. The subject property is a small condo conversion that is around 600 sq ft, totally renovated and was purchased in 2006 for $123,000. When I researched the market, I found that there were 9 sales of this type condo during the 1st quarter of 2006 in a 3 block radius that averaged $123,222 per unit. In the same period of 2008 there were 6 sales in the same area with similar features, the average sale price was $56,328 per unit. This unfortunately for the seller is where the market is today. I feel that it will be a buyer’s market for another 2-3 years, good for many and bad for many.

The picture shown is a new listing we have in Titusville. Being a history buff, I was enthralled with this property. Tax rolls show it built in 1939 but it was actually built in 1891. .81 acre on the Indian river with original hardwood floors, if you are interested in seeing I can send you the visual tour or pics.

There are so many good buys out there I haven’t had time to prioritize but will do so in the middle of next week.

Hang in there and don’t despair!

Jim Bagwell

Different but the Same

2008-09-08T11:03:00.001-05:00

We are going on more and more listing appointments with people who are very frustrated by the fact that they have had their house on the market with a Real Estate agent and their home has not sold. Now most people feel that it is the agent’s fault that they haven’t gotten a buyer. In some cases this could be the truth but in most instances it will be the more obvious reason.

We have had people tell us that their agent refused to do open houses or to provide flyers. These things should be discussed up front. This is a very difficult time for everyone and particularly for Real Estate agents. The truth is that open house’s are not as popular as they once were but in my opinion they are still a valuable tool. The majority of people you will receive at open house’s are friends and neighbors but people talk and they may have motivation for their friends or family to buy in their neighborhood. We have gotten a lot of calls from the flyer box, I also think this is a valuable tool but it does involve printing costs for the company but you are either in the business or you are a “discount broker”. We are a full service brokerage so we will try our very best to fulfill our seller’s expectations.

In today’s market some things have changed but the basics are still true. When selling a property, keep these 3 things in mind and you have a better chance to succeed.

1. The available inventory is still staggering. You need legitimate comparables and you need to be in the bottom 1/3 of the price range. If a serious buyer is available and they have a good buyer’s agent then they will have the same comps as you.

2. Ease of showing is imperative. When agents are showing 20 homes in a day they are not going to call Uncle Ned to get the key. Try your best to have a courtesy call and use electronic lock box.

3. Condition of the home is critical. There is so much to compare your house to other properties that if the buyers have to walk around Butch the pit bull then they will quickly cross you off the list.

This is a great market for a lot of people; you just have to have the knowledge to make it work.

I do hope this helps a lot of you frustrated seller’s.

On a side note with the Fed’s taking over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, look for the mortgage rates to drop some more. This may create a positive bump in the housing market.

As always thanks for your time.

Jim Bagwell

Fact or Fiction

2008-08-21T11:18:00.002-05:00

Are we seeing a stabilization of the market?

I recently read another MSNBC article that stated that foreclosures in July were up 55% over last July. I know there are an abundance of foreclosures all over the nation. I also believe that different areas have very different markets especially when it comes to foreclosures. Most if not all government relief programs are geared toward the primary residence owner and in my opinion rightfully so. Investors should be more knowledgeable about mortgages, interest rates and loan programs. They are also the first owners to bail since it is not their homes it is strictly business and I understand that theory.

What I did was research the last week’s sales and this I thought was fascinating. There have been 7 homes sold in Merritt Island and Viera areas during the last week. The interesting part of this is that of these 7 closings the sale price versus the list price was an incredible 95%. I must believe that these homes were priced right and the low ball offer didn’t work. These homes were priced from $99,900 to $309,900 so you see it was most of the middle consumer levels and only one of these homes was a foreclosure or short sale.

Does this mean market stabilization? I believe it shows that owners who price their homes to sell will still find a buyer and that some short sales and foreclosures are still priced too high.

There are still bargains galore if you are contemplating making Brevard your home.

Jim Bagwell

Love, love, love

2008-08-11T13:13:00.003-05:00

Positive thoughts. I was out on the porch last night talking with my wife. Lightning was flashing over the ocean, surf was lapping and believe it or not a hawk was screaming. I just had an Epiphany that I had become much too negative. I will never go back to wearing pink pants but there are opportunities at our feet with the market we are in at the present time. We are working with a very good friend and his fiance at the present time to find them a home to buy at a good price naturally. We have recently closed their home for over $500,000, we are now looking for a home around $200,000. The choices are endless and of course you are hesitant to pull the trigger. If you are buying a home to live in then the market is not as important as if you are moving in a couple of years. The value is in the home itself and I guarantee that eventually the market will rebound, I just don't know when.

I don't really know when we evolved in this direction but negativity brings more pop and more readers, listeners and viewers. All you have to do is look at Rush Limbaugh and the huge contract he recently signed. The brilliance of this man is that he can't lose since you know he will have improved ratings if Obama is elected and he has already came out and said he doesn't support McCain. 4 more years of negativity guaranteed with higher ratings. So if you are against everything then life is very simple but not very fulfilling.

"Truth will set you free"

I firmly believe that all professions should always tell the truth about what the market is doing at the present time. This does not only apply to Real Estate, if you have a money manager then you know what I mean. If you count on one commission at a time with no regard to protecting your client then you are committing the ultimate sin and it will always bite you in the butt.

Merritt Island & Viera

There continue to be very good buys in this area of the market.

I noticed a 1700 sq ft home in Merritt Island 4 bedroom 2 bath with a new pool and completely upgraded. Priced at $209,900. I would expect to get this home under $200,000.

For you people over 55, there is a 1/2 duplex never lived in with over 1800 sq ft. This property was priced over $300,000 and is now $195,000.

A property in Sunset Lakes on Merritt is a great home, priced at $459,000. This home has over 3000 sq ft, great pool, 3 car garage and all the bells and whistles. It sits on 1/2 acre.

There is always a short sale. This one is on Merritt Island. It is a 2 story home with over 2000 sq ft, pool. Priced at $199,900, this could be a good buy with the appropriate inspections. Be very patient when presenting offers on short sales.

It is usually easy to tell your family that you love them but it is usually hard to tell a friend.

Next post I may be back to being cynical.

Jim Bagwell

Friends and other misconceptions

2008-08-03T09:26:00.002-05:00

As you know I have always said to get a good agent who knows the market when making a Real Estate purchase. You have to be very diligent in order to be assured that you won’t pay over market value.

What I have not stated near enough is that you have to be just as diligent when shopping for a mortgage. Just as there are many properties that are overpriced for the market there are still many mortgage brokers who are still charging excess fees in order to inflate their profit. There is usually nothing illegal about these fees as the industry is being watched as never before. You just have to shop and make sure to look at your good faith estimate or get another opinion of someone you trust.

We are in the process of closing a single family home. The buyers are very qualified and decided to use VA as the method of mortgage. They decided to use a family friend as their mortgage broker. We asked to see a copy of their good faith, what didn’t sound right was the origination fee. The normal use of an origination fee is to buy down the interest rate of a mortgage. In this case the buyers were paying 1% origination fee and were receiving a higher interest rate that is available without the origination fee. This makes the closing costs for buyer much higher and the mortgage payment higher through the life of the loan. Luckily this was caught before we were all at the closing table.

Market News

Not many people realize that we have a lot of part time residents that do not reside on the beach. Merritt Island canal homes have become more and more affordable. A lot of full time Orlando residents are keeping homes on the canals to serve as a weekend, holiday getaway. They don’t have to trailer the boat over and can spend more time on the water. We will go over a few of these buys.

There are 2 possibilities in Diana Shores on the west side of Sykes Creek. This takes a little longer to get to the locks but it is a pleasurable boat ride to spend a day in the ocean. One of these homes is 3 bedroom 2 bath home with a 2 car garage priced at $315,000, the other is a 4 bedroom 2 bath home with a pool and it is priced at $389,000. Keep in mind that these are list prices and you won’t be offering full price, also make your contract contingent on the appraisal being at or above the purchase price.

The other 2 are on the east side of Merritt Island on deep water and a very short trip to the locks. Both these homes should accommodate larger boats. One is an almost new home with over 2200 sq ft, pool, 4 bedrooms and 3 ½ baths. It is priced at $579,000. The other is a home on the end of a cul de sac and has over 2700 sq ft, pool, 3 bedrooms and 3 baths. This home sits on a beautiful .79 acre plot and has great water views. The home is priced at $895,000.

Irritation

It totally irritates me that an agent will take a listing on a great property and then takes no pictures, too few pictures or crappy pictures. They are not doing their sellers much of a service.

Hit them long and straight!

Jim Bagwell

Agent Fees

2008-07-14T12:02:00.002-05:00

I recently read a article on MSNBC. The article was about agents charging a transaction fee. It is very true that some agents will charge a transaction fee to their buyers. The article made it sound like this was SOP. In reality there are a small minority of agents who follow this practice. It is also the large companies who do this since their agents are charged a transaction fee by the mother ship. The agents are trying to recoup their expenses however they shouldn't’t do this at the expense of their clients. The article also stated that a lot of buyers didn’t know they were being charged this until they were at the closing table, if this happens to you then your buyer’s agent is in violation of the disclosure regulations and if I was the buyer I would just refuse to pay. I guarantee the agent won’t stop the closing because of this fee. When I was with large companies, we had the option of charging a transaction fee however if ever challenged legally then the agent has to prove what the transaction fee was spent on outside regular business. That is very hard to document as a outside of regular business expense. In summary it is just as slimy as undercoating and no agent in our company will ever charge a fee to a buyer.

Update
The market is still very active and the prices are getting more insane on a daily basis. Some of my favorites are as follows:

Merritt Island

A listing has just been raised in price from $350,000 to $450,000 after 2 days on the market. This could have been a mistake by the listing agent or seller’s remorse. It would be a low listing at $350,000 even in today’s market. This home has over 2100 sq ft but the best part is it is on the east side of Merritt Island which means it is a straight shot to Port Canaveral with no bridges. This means you never have to take down the flying bridge and can be at the locks in 10 minutes.

A short sale on a canal was listed at $195,000 and sold for $185,000. This was a great buy even if in bad condition. It even has a pool.

A foreclosure in south Merritt Island in a great school district was listed at $84,900 and sold for $85,000. Just over 1000 sq ft and built in 1957 but at $85,000 this was a great buy.

Viera

A short sale listed at $449,000. This home has over 2900 sq ft and a pool and is located on a lake. This is a brand new listing and I don’t think it will last long.

Another lake front home is listed at $239,000 and is not a short sale. It has over 1700 sq ft and a pool. This is a good listing in a very nice neighborhood.

A home with over 3300 sq ft, pool, and a 3 car garage was listed at $435,000 and sold for $387,000.

If you should find a perfect home that will fit your needs then by all means look at all the options. You may be able to find another home that is a little smaller or doesn’t have a pool. If you can get this one like $100,000 less then you could have one heck of a pool.

Jim

News, News and more News!

2008-06-28T10:41:00.002-05:00

Being in the business that I am, I tend to be a news junkie. I have a son who is in law school at the University of Florida and is also in the Army Reserves and recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan. He has a few years left on his Army commitment which also serves to motivate me to stay on top of things.

We have endured 2 years of our local paper playing “chicken little the sky is falling syndrome”. Now the latest headlines in the local paper and national news is the month of May having the 1st increase in home sales over May of last year by 2%. As you can imagine I really hope this is a trend but I really think that distressed sales are what is driving the volume upwards. Now this is still a good thing since it will aid toward price stabilization. I investigated the figures of what is happening in our market as far as single family home sales as well as condo sales.

We have 2 associations in Brevard County, Central Brevard which is my home association is called Space Coast Association of Realtors (SCAR), south Brevard is the Melbourne association of Realtors.

I have researched SCAR only and this is my findings:

During the month of May this year there were 475 single family homes sold in the month. During the month of May in 2007 there were 474 single family homes sold. You can see that the increase is one home.

During the month of May this year these were 120 condo and townhomes sold. In the month of May 2007 there were 130 sold.

The prices of single family homes sold in 2008 were down between 17 to 20% depending on the range of prices. The prices of condos are still falling and average between 22% and 30% decrease and I believe we will see a further reduction. We have seen one large complex go to auction with about 19 sales that sold for about 50% of the original list price. We will see other complexes go this route or be reclaimed by lenders.

Now I don’t want to be known as Gloomy Gus but my thoughts are as such. There will be tremendous opportunities to be had for buyers for at least the remainder of 2008 and possibly the 1st quarter of 2009.

Pick and choose very carefully and know when to walk away.

Find a buyer’s agent if you are relocating to our area, it is just too difficult to drive by and look for signs. Most of the time the listing agent is not your best bet to get the deal on his or her listing and that includes me.

.

Jim

Real Estate is like a box of Chocalate?

2008-06-24T12:00:00.002-05:00

Almost everyone knows that most things in Real Estate are not as true as they used to be in the recent past. Change is always inevitable and usually some good will come from change.

One of the truths that still remain is that the worst house in the best neighborhood will still draw interest. One example of this is the foreclosure in Cocoa Beach that recently closed for more than the listing price. This home is located on Andros Av in a very desirable neighborhood. It was listed at $399,900 and received multiple offers ,our company had one of the offers. It closed for $419,700. This home needs a ton of work but could still have built in equity.

Another home that has gotten my attention is a Suntree home built in 1986. It is also a foreclosure and is the worst house in the best neighborhood. This home has over 2400 sq ft, pool, 2 car garage, 3 bedrooms, 3 ½ baths and sits on a lake with .26 acre lot. I am sure it needs a lot of work and it is also frame construction so a detailed inspection would be imperative to see if it is worth the price but this is definitely a possibility as it is priced at $170,000.

A Merritt Island home that is not a foreclosure or a short sale is in Villa De Palmas Sykes Cove subdivision. This is a great smaller neighborhood of homes with some located on the water and some not on the water. This one is not on the water but is priced to sell. It was built in 1995 and is concrete construction. It has over 2100 sq ft, solar heated pool, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car garage and all the bells and whistles. This home is priced at $229,900. I believe the appraisal should be more that the purchase price.

The good deals are becoming more and more prevalent both in single family homes and condos. The sellers who are not in the position of foreclosure or short sales do realize that in order to complete they have to price accordingly. For the sake of argument lets assume that we have another 8 months of market decline. If this is the truth which I really don’t know it to be then you need to do the comps and get the property at a price that would be of value 8 months from now. That seems rather easy, however there are some properties that are priced to sell at a year from now so if you low ball you will lose the property i.e. the Cocoa Beach foreclosure.

Bottom line is to find an agent that is knowledgeable and aggressive and has their buyer’s best interest at heart without the commission being the most important part of the transaction.

Busy Busy Busy !

2008-06-19T11:28:00.002-05:00

I have spoke about this before but to be successful in Real Estate you have to build your reputation and depend on referrals and return business. The worst sin you can do in Real Estate is to assume you are much more intelligent than the public. There was an article in the paper this past weekend that the agent was offering the following for the buyers, if you buy an ocean front home for 1M plus then you will receive a Merritt Island home free of charge. Now let’s face it if the Merritt Island home is worthless to the seller then what is worth to the buyer. Now could it really be that the home on the ocean is overpriced and the seller won’t reduce the price. Now I have been in the grocery store and found a 2 for 1 sale on a 24 pack of toilet paper, I really don’t need that much toilet paper so sometimes they will give me one pack at the sale price. So I would ask to see an appraisal on the 2nd home and ask for a reduction on the 1st home.

This has been a busy week for the Viera and Merritt Island market.

From June 7th through June 19th there have been 23 single family homes sold and closed. Of these there were 10 in Merritt Island and 13 in Viera.

A few of my favorites in Viera are as follows:

A 2400 sq ft home with 3 car garage, pool built in 2001 by Lennar. This home was listed at $335,000 and sold for $315,000.
A 2300 sq ft home built in 1996 was listed as a short sale for $264,900 and closed at $237,000.
Now there was a beautiful 3300 sq ft home with a 3 car garage, great pool sitting on .86 acre listed at $599,900 and sold for $534,000. This was a deal even in a down market.

Merritt Island picks:

A short sale sitting on the 11th hole of Savannahs golf course. Over 2000 sq ft with a pool listed at $295,000 and sold for $297,000.
A Banana river front home 1700 sq ft, pool, 2 car garage with direct access to the Banana River. This home was listed at $399,000 and sold for $358,000
This is a Swiss family Robinson special. A very tropical A frame Banana River 1 car garage with an additional 3 car garage detached over 3000 sq ft. Listed for $699,000 and sold for $500,000.

In this same period there were 84 new listings in Viera and Merritt Island with 44 in Merritt Island and 11 of these were short sales, in Viera there were 40 new listings and 7 of these were short sales. A lot of agents will shy away from short sales because it takes longer to close, much follow up and there is no guarantee on the commission. Short sales are great tools for buyers and sellers if you are not in a hurry to close. I have put together a team to handle short sales for both buyers and sellers. We have all the necessary tools to make it work and we have a dedicated team of 3 lovely ladies to bring a successful closing. Don’t be afraid to ask for help!

Good Morning Viera!

2008-06-08T09:31:00.001-05:00

We are going to look at an update on what is selling in the Viera area at the present. Viera is one of the most unique areas in Brevard so you have to stay on top of it. Before we do that I want to take you through a typical history of Real Estate in a capsule during a down market.

I met a client in 2002 who was relocating to our area. We found and purchased a 3/2 home on Merritt Island for $175,000, we listed and sold this home for $205,000 in 2004. The client had decided to upgrade so we found and purchased a very nice 2000 sq ft pool home in Viera for $260,000. In 2006 we listed and sold this home for $340,000. So far so good but the client upgraded again with a waterfront home and the market turned on us like a fickle friend. If we can sell this home it will be at a significant loss. Now as you see that the 1st 2 homes were sold at inflated prices. The 3rd will be sold at a deflated price. I know it is very hard to reconcile yourself with this but if you consider your enjoyment of your home while you lived there, mortgage interest write off and previous profits then it could be a wash. If you were of the mind set that the market would never correct and took all value out of the home through refinance then that is where the short sales, foreclosures, sub-prime mess and all the factors that cause a down market have came from today.

Viera update

Since April 1 of this year there have been 93 single family homes sold in the Viera area. Of these homes there were 24 that closed under $200,000. There were also 2 that closed over $1M. Some of the ones that caught my attention are as follows:

2 pool homes sold on the same street as mentioned in the previous paragraph. One sold for $250,000 and the other sold for $255,000. Interestingly 1 of these was listed at $248,800 and sold for $255,000 and the other was listed at $250,000 and sold at $250,000. Now remember that the one sold in 2006 for $340,000. Some homes are priced right with no room for negotiation.

Another home was a short sale with over 2700 sq ft, pool, 3 car garage and all the bells and whistles listed at $465,000 sold for $465,000.

Another short sale listed at $229,900 sold for $230,000. Home has over 2100 sq ft and a 3 car garage. Multiple offers because it was priced right.

A foreclosure with over 1900 sq ft, 2 car garage and built in 2002. Listed at $189,900 sold for $175,500.

Now finally we have a brand new home that contains over 6000 sq ft, 2 story, top of line pool, custom kitchen, 3 car garage. This home showed beautifully and was custom built. Originally listed at $1.79M and sold for $1.4M.

Sorry to be so long but I wanted to show you how many choices there are in this area. You just have to be diligent in finding what suits your needs in home and price.

Next time will be shorter.

Jim Bagwell
walkerbagwell@aol.com
321-213-0615

As promised

2008-05-31T10:37:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned in last post, following are the last sales figures for Merritt Island and Viera.

Jan 1, 2007 thru May 30th 2007 there were 184 properties sold in Merritt Island. The prices ranged from $65,000 to $2.275M. In our MLS system we didn’t include short sale stats in 2007.

Jan 1, 2008 thru May 30th 2008 there were 151 properties sold in Merritt Island. The prices ranged from $41,000 to $2.8M. Of these sales 8 were short sales or foreclosures.

Jan 1, 2007 thru May 30th 2007 there were 286 properties sold in Viera. Prices ranged from $112,000 to 1.075M this was the only home over 1M sold during this period.

Jan 1, 2008 thru May 30th 2008 there were 231 properties sold in Viera. Prices ranged form $80,000 to 1.4M, in this time period there were 4 properties sold over 1M. Of these sales there were 16 short sales or foreclosures.

A couple of my favorite picks in Merritt Island are as follows they are in the higher price range, the multitude of choice in the low and medium priced homes are endless.

#1 is a short sale located on the Banana River. This home has over 5000 sq ft, pool, and 3 car garage and built in 2006. This home is priced at $929,900. It is a short sale so you have to be patient if you are the buyer.

#2 is a home built in 2006. The home has over 3500 sq ft with pool, 3 car garage with RV or boat space. This home is priced at $995,000. This is not a short sale so conventional closing will occur.

#3 is a home also on the Banana River. Priced at $849,000, it contains over 2400 sq ft with pool, 2 car garage and the views are amazing.

Next time we will explore Viera. This is a new community with upscale shopping and dining. Most shops are new and most properties are newer. The community has many golf opportunities as well as being convenient to everything. Why they even have a super Wal-mart and a super Target.

Stay in the game.

Jim Bagwell

"Its the economy stupid"

2008-05-29T12:05:00.000-05:00

I know new home sales went up for the 1st month in forever and that is good news. The rise was 3.3%. I also know that all pundits want you to feel we are at the bottom.

“It is all about the economy, stupid” Just a paraphrase not an insult. All agents in our community are busier now than in couple of years and I believe the reason is twofold. One is the prices of the properties we are selling and two is there are fewer agents working in Real Estate.

I have just completed a course to become a “Certified Short Sale Professional”. I did this because I believe that there are a lot of people out there who obtained a mortgage in 2003 or 2004 which was 100% financed and was an ARM. These loans are due to adjust this year or next. The value is no longer there in order to refinance. These home owners are going to need help in order to stay on track financially for their future. Since we all helped these people buy the properties then we should be willing to learn what we can in order to help the same people get out with their future. Yes there are good buys everywhere you look; all you have to do is find the good buy not the buys that are stuck in 2004. Foreclosure and short sale no longer have the stigma that it once did, since there are so many people that are facing the fact that the value in property is no longer what it once was back in the day. The difference in foreclosure and short sale is the hit you will take on your credit score; it is probably about 150 pt difference.

There are remedies to the tax consequences also but I will have to refer you to your CPA but I can point you I the right direction.

Merritt Island canal homes were once the hottest investor property out there; recently there was a 4 bedroom 2 bath canal home with pool and boat lift that closed at short sale for $242,000. 3 years ago this home would have closed in 30 days for $389,000.

So if you selling price it well and if you are buying, get the price you need to make it work.

I believe the correct thing to do is to work for the people both buyers and sellers.

Jim Bagwell

"Change will do you good" Cheryl Crow

2008-05-18T10:48:00.001-05:00

Diversity

Although I live on Cocoa Beach, my wife and I have been doing a lot of business in Merritt Island and the Viera area.

There are several active blogs in the Cocoa Beach area, a couple are cheerleader type blogs that will tell you that it is the time to buy. There is another that is down to earth and is realistic to the market. It all boils down to the buyer’s motivation. In an effort to service all potential buyers, I am going to focus this blog on the Merritt Island and Viera area. Of course I live in Cocoa Beach so if I can answer questions or show you properties, please contact me at walkerbagwell@aol.com. Keep in mind that if a Real Estate professional ever says you can’t lose, then run don’t walk to the nearest exit.

I hope you continue reading and I will start sharing with you deals and not so good deals in the Merritt Island and Viera area. For people who are relocating to our area, the choices are great. For the young family transferring to start a life the price range on the mainland is much more varied.

Consider this:
The median priced canal home in Cocoa Beach is priced at $465,000, good condition with dock.

The median priced Merritt Island canal home is priced at $329,000, completely renovated, 100 sq ft larger than the Cocoa beach home.

A 4 bedroom home in Viera, median price of $459,900, 3 baths, 3 car garage, pool and built in 2003.

A 4 bedroom home in Cocoa Beach, median price of $459,000, 1 car garage, pool and built in 1958.

These areas are great if you are relocating to our area or if you are looking for a canal front home to get away to enjoy a weekend of fishing. The choices are almost unlimited in the number, prices and style of homes.

At the time of this post there were 631 single family homes active in Merritt Island priced from $74,900 to $4M, of these 61 are on the Banana River priced from $299,900 (a short sale) to $2.5M and also 98 on navigable canals priced from $199,900 (a short sale) to $1.1M. Now it seems that a canal front home is more affordable than they have been for years. More people than you realize keep a home on the canals with their boat on a lift and commute from Orlando for weekend fishing and other holiday events.

At the same time there were 598 homes in the Viera area priced from $72,000 (foreclosure) to $1.799M, there are 26 homes in this area over $1M and one of these is a short sale. There are some beautiful golf course homes that are becoming very affordable.

The next post will be on sales in these areas and any trends that I can decipher.

We also do a newsletter for our complex and 2 adjacent complexes. You can view this at www.cocoabeachwindward.com . Research shows that 1/1/05 thru 5/18/05 there were 7 units sold in these 3 complexes. In the same period of 2008 there were 12 units sold only the prices were changed to protect the buyers.

Your friend
Jim Bagwell

Real Estate Excitement ?

2008-05-12T12:05:00.001-05:00

It doesn’t take a whole lot to make us Real Estate people excited these days. We had a very much improved 1st quarter compared to the last couple of 1st year quarters. That being said it is still very much a buyer’s market and the price reductions are showing it to be true.

I have been attempting to assist a reporter on some research on the condo market which has been much more distressed than the single family home market. The results are interesting if you are into that sort of thing. I have to try to keep my finger on the pulse of the market so I do this sort of thing continually.

Please keep in mind that averages are just that averages. All kind of things affect the averages. You aren’t buying the average property; you are buying the property you desire with the amenities you desire.

Details

During the 1st quarter of 2005 in the Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral area there were 58 condos sold in this area. The average sale price was $529,328. Of the sold units 16 were new units which drove the average upward. These units are all oceanfront.

During the 1st quarter of 2007 in the same area there were 30 units sold for an average price of $464,237. Of the sold units 3 were new units which didn’t have a lot of effect on the average. Again all oceanfront.

During the 1st quarter of 2008 in the same area there were 38 units sold for an average sold price of $396,448. Of the sold units there were 4 new units and 1 was a foreclosure which had little effect on the average. Again all oceanfront.

Pick

The condo I mentioned on a previous post is a 2nd floor condo with over 2400 sq ft, totally redecorated with great ocean and river views. It is listed at $489,000, in 2005 there were 3 sales in the complex with an average sale price of $680,667.

I hope I have helped you and not confused you but the point is the prices we are seeing now are a much more true feeling of the market. The most severe price reductions are in the low to medium range priced condos.

At the end of the 1st quarter there were 803 condo town homes active in our area of that number almost 20% were new construction condos with a lot more than that not on MLS.

May the force and a good agent be with you in finding your buy!!!!!!

Jim Bagwell

Busy April !

2008-05-04T09:53:00.002-05:00

We have had a very active April which makes everyone in our business very happy. There were 49 properties closed in the Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral area and another 39 went under contract. Almost every full time agent is showing on a daily basis. There are a lot of experts saying we are at the bottom of the market and we could very well be however I can’t call the bottom. I do know the prices I expected are not materializing; there are good ocean front buys that are priced at 2003 and 2004 prices. When I look at it this is what we should have expected to occur. I charted 3 complexes and this is what I have found in my research. I tried to take a very low priced complex, medium priced complex and a top end complex.

Essex house condo (river front complex of efficiencies)
Aug 2005, a 512 sq ft unit listed at 154,900 sold for 150,000
Oct 2003, a 512 sq ft unit listed at 62,500 sold for 60,000
April 2008, a 512 sq ft unit listed at 75,500 sold for 60,000
2003 Prices

Crescent Beach Club (a medium ocean front complex with above average sq footage)
Nov 2003, 1804 sq ft unit on the 5th floor listed 398,000 sold 394,000
Jan 2008, 1804 sq ft unit on the 7th floor listed 409,000 sold 350,000.
Below 2003 prices

The Constellation (A top end complex with large sq footage and all amenities)
Oct 2005, over 2400 sq ft in this 7th floor unit listed 859,900 sold 825,000
Oct 2007, over 2400 sq ft in this 7th floor unit listed 430,000 sold 415,500
2003 prices

Now you wonder what the hell he is talking about, I am saying that I think some prices are right where they should be even if it took 2 years to get there. I am concerned about the bounce when a couple of properties sell at listed prices and then serious buyers will be disappointed on the price they will end up paying.

For those of you who have been in the military you will remember how it was in basic training when they got in your head and you were so gung ho, ready to kick ass. Then you were deployed, the crap hit the fan and you were wondering what the hell was I thinking, these people are crazy!

There are some Real Estate people who are in the same frame of mind; it is a matter of survival. No expert can call the bottom; all we can do is look at the evidence.

Excuse my rant

Jim Bagwell

Foreclosures ????

2008-04-26T12:02:00.001-05:00

I am sure you have all seen all the foreclosure web sites with all the foreclosed properties. The problem with these sites is that they are for the great majority not foreclosed properties. If you want to see the details of these properties you have to join with a fee. When you do this you will find that most are people that have missed 2 mortgage payments or some type of lien has been filed on their property. These properties are far, far away from foreclosure. There has been fantastic money made by techies who just access public records and sell membership to the public. Banks and lenders are very reluctant to foreclose on properties in today’s market, when they foreclose it comes off their income sheet and goes on the bad debts. If we only knew how many people were behind in payments, we would be amazed!

The lure of the deal!

We are rather predictable in our behavior. You would not believe how many shirts I have bought that 50% were off only to bring them home and not to ever wear them. I totally felt good when I left Macy’s, in your face I got the deal! Don’t even get me started on how many shoes my wife has bought on sale, we are totally getting over on Macy’s. If I want a lot of looks at a property, then put sold as is, short sale, preforeclosure, etc. Anything that makes the buyer think the seller is at a disadvantage. Truth is all sellers are at a disadvantage in today’s market however some don’t realize it but are slowly catching on to the truth.

I have shown all sorts of short sales and foreclosed properties. For the most part all these properties are in extreme disrepair. When you think of it, if you find a property that is priced well and is not in a short sale or foreclosure situation you will get a much better deal than the foreclosed property since you will have to put much less into the property to make it livable. My wife recently put in an offer on a foreclosed property for $200,000, the property closed for $320,000. In my humble opinion this property would have required $100,000 in repairs so who won? The bank won this battle since the foreclosure contained the lure of the deal.

Win Win

The best real estate deal is the one that is a win win situation for the buyer and seller. There are many sellers out there who just need to be out of the property for various reasons. These sellers are willing to take a loss and who are still taking care of their property, this is much better than buying a property at a distressed price but is a distressed property. A lot of these properties are such that the power and water has been off for sometimes a year. Know what you are getting into before you buy.

Ocean front

We now have a condo on a 2nd floor in beautiful south Cocoa Beach. It has been totally redone by a prominent designer with over 2400 sq ft. It is now priced at $489,000.

Have a good day!

Jim Bagwell

Do you know what site you are on???

2008-04-20T10:04:00.002-05:00

Real Estate Deception

If you have been searching for property at a distressed price and find yourself inundated with emails from RE agents that are unsolicited on your part, there is an explanation.

Almost all RE agents in our area are members of Space Association of Realtors, we pay significant dues for the right to be part of this group. Part of our dues go to supporting the web site with public MLS access, this feature allows the public to view all listings that all realtors have on the market in our area. We also get ethics training from SCAR, Hmmmmm!

With the market being how it is, I am sad to say it has brought out the worst in a lot of our peers. If you search www.brevardmls.com you will get the Innovia site which is the official site of our board to allow the public to search all listings. However if you google brevardmls you will find that you are on a brokerage site or an agent site that is funneling inquiries to their personal site and they will commence to inundate you with emails for business.

Is this right? Absolutely not, can it be corrected, only with a willing board to step on toes and hold people liable to following the few rules that we have to serve the public. I have faith in our board and the situation has been brought to their attention. I hope this will not become a legal or ethical problem but we will see what shakes out of the bushes.

In the meantime find a buyer’s agent you can trust and go with it. There are good deals out there!

Example:
A brand new home on a canal in Cocoa Beach priced at $599,900. It appears that the original price was $629,000 however if you do the research the original listing price was $799,900. This home sold in 2005 for $400,000, it was then taken down and rebuilt. It is now a beautiful 2 story home 3250 sq ft 5 bedrooms 3 ½ baths 2 car garage, dock and all the upgrades. Is there a downside, yes the street will take years to catch up to this house. Upside, if you plan on making this your home you have time to wait and meanwhile enjoy this wonderful home on the water.

Enjoy

Jim Bagwell

Cocoa Beach Confusion

2008-04-13T09:04:00.003-05:00

I can only say that we are seeing some positives and some negatives in the market as of late. Yes there have been some excellent choices made by property buyers and they are very happy with their investments. There are also some property owners who are trying to sell their property but are still priced out of the market. I totally understand to feel that you are losing money on a transaction is a bitter pill to swallow especially when your neighbor sold the same house 3 years ago for $100,000 more than what you are listed right now. Look to your motivation and your carrying costs and the fact that the market price may slip again before we see the light. Now if you sell your property today and then the market slips again, you would be the winner.

1st quarter sold stats

Brevard county residential Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral
Jan 341 units sold Jan 34 units sold
Feb 474 units sold Feb 40 units sold
Mar 537 units sold Mar 30 units sold

The other shoe?

Interestingly enough, we were talking about auctions in last week’s sales meeting and the fact that they weren’t working because of the minimum bid requirement. Today we received a card advertising an absolute auction with no minimum bid or reserve. This complex is new construction and some units have ocean views. All the units are large modern units, most have 3 bedrooms 2 baths and the complex appears to be well built. We have talked before about what will happen to the large complexes that are built and not sold out, this could be a preview. I plan on attending the auction and I will let you know how it went down.

We have also talked about the large developer in town who never lowers prices but offers incentives, well today that just changed with the developer lowering prices for the 1st time that I know of in the Cocoa Beach area.

The sound you hear is the other shoe dropping or maybe opportunity!

Next week we will explore Real Estate deceptions. You may think you are on a public site but in reality you are on a brokerage or agent site and you wonder where those emails come from.

Jim Bagwell
321-213-0615
walkerbagwell@aol.com

Not a bad March day in Cocoa Beach!

2008-03-30T10:23:00.002-05:00

Things you need to know

Because of the drop in prices we have all been showing new never lived in condos at distressed prices. As a buyer there are certain things you need to pay close attention to when preparing a offer on new condos.

I do believe that my partners and I have showed every new condo on the market on Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral. There are some very good buys in some very nice buildings, there are also some on the other end of the stick.

Even when buying new, always get a thorough inspection. I am not a builder but there are certain things you can't skimp on when building on the beach such as exterior doors,sliders,windows and outside fixtures. I showed a unit the other day that is new construction but the stairwell door is rusted shut. All these doors should be replaced immediately since it is a fire escape. If you have ever bought a new construction of any kind you will remember how the punch list wasn't quite as important once you have closed on the property, I believe it is called motivation.

There are situations where the amount of people who have closed are very limited. This makes you wonder what may happen to this kind of complex, someone is paying the everyday expenses and the carrying costs. Be very afraid if there are 100 units available and only 10 have closed and no owner lives in the complex. It could be that you would pay new construction price but the other 90 may go to the bank.

This may sound depressing but the deals are there you just have to be diligent and have someone who will do their research on each and every unit. We do have a very well known developer who has built very nice complexes in our area for a very long time. They never lower prices to their credit in order to protect the owners, they do offer incentives like decorator allowances etc.

Hang in there and there is a deal for you!

Jim Bagwell

Cocoa Beach Buyers

2008-03-22T10:31:00.002-05:00

I showed a foreclosure yesterday in Cocoa Beach. The unit is a 4 bedroom 3 bath over 2700 sq ft with a 2 car parking space under the building. This unit is new never lived in and priced well under what the investor paid 2 years ago. This unit is on the 4th floor with fantastic views. As we were looking at comps in order to prepare an offer, we looked at the unit listed one floor above identical to the one on the 4th floor. It is priced over $130,000 more than the one I showed to the potential buyer.

This is what is confusing in today’s market. There will always be sellers who are not going to accept the truth about value in today’s market.

If you are seriously considering buying a property on the beachside then you have to be even more diligent than when the market was on the upswing. There are deals to be had but you have to search these properties out of the entire market. This takes work and research but it can be done. You also have to put several contingencies in the contract to protect you as the buyer of the property. With the lending market the way it is today, you will almost certainly have to put down at least 20% down payment but you can put in the contract that it must appraise at or above the purchase price.

Market update

So far this year there have been 90 properties in Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral closed in 2008. In the same period of 2007 there were 107 properties sold in the same area. This is rather indicative of the market as a whole. The difference is the sale price of all properties. If a seller doesn’t really want or need to sell their property in today’s market then they shouldn’t be in the market at the present time. I fondly remember the days when all it took to sell a property was a sign, the table has now turned and Realtors have to step up and out of the box to sell a property. Don’t feel bad about making your Realtor work in today’s market. We should all be checking the market on an hour by hour basis in order to find the best deals for our clients!

Good Alternative

If you really don’t have to be on the beach side then the deals on the mainland side are very impressive. My wife has been showing single family homes in the Viera area for the last month and the short sales and foreclosures are abundant and the prices are phenomenal for the amount of house you can purchase in today’s market. If you are relocating or retiring to FL then the deals are there with the details you desire.

Thanks for your time!

Only in Cocoa Beach

2008-03-07T13:53:00.003-05:00

Only in Cocoa Beach

I have never thought of us as the Mayberry of Florida but I have worked all over the country and I have never encountered a situation like I did yesterday. I was walking from our office to the bank. A UPS driver stopped me and said I had a package being delivered to my home and I would have to sign so he gave me a number to call the other driver. The other driver then came to my office to deliver my package. I can tell you this just doesn’t happen in Miami or Atlanta.

.

Market update

In a snapshot of the market looking at only Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral the numbers for February are as follows:

After I clean the data I come up with 115 new listings in the month of Feb I am not relying on this information since there is so much manipulation going on with days on the market. This includes some new condos that you could have purchased one year ago but come up as new listings.

There were 39 sales in the month. Naturally this is our peak season for activity and it has been rather active. I believe the closed sales in March will be higher yet. Truthfully 3 year’s ago these numbers would be terrible for the beachside and one company would easily beat that by themselves. In Real Estate the market always changes so we have to be able to change with it. Weekly and monthly rental properties are still the hottest commodity because of the cash flow. A lot of these properties make sense even today because of the price reductions.

Frustration

A good friend of mine used to always say in Real Estate “We have met the enemy and it is us”. Short sales are good for the owner and good for the investor or home buyer, it is also a time consuming process. It does no good whatsoever to put a listing in MLS as a short sale if the owner has not done their homework. They should prior to listing, contact the lender and inform them of their decision. They will then have to submit a package to the lender showing why they have to do this and ask for permission for the agent to contact the lender. If you don’t follow these steps then the lender has no idea what to do if they receive a contract from the listing agent. When you make an offer on a short sale ask your buyer’s agent to ask the listing agent if the package has been submitted and if the agent has talked to the lender. It will usually still take longer than a normal contract but there is at least a light at the end of the tunnel.

Have a good one

Cocoa Beach

2008-03-03T14:56:00.002-05:00

Cocoa Beach

An epiphany I would share. This weekend was a very busy weekend in our limited world of Real Estate. My wife and I did take time to go over to Coconuts sit on the deck consume fish, shrimp and yes a cold beer. As we were sitting there in about 75 degree weather, I realized that we didn’t really appreciate where we live. I remember when I was a kid and the family would go on vacation. When I would hear the sea gulls cry I would know I was on vacation so it was time to get wet, run and build sandcastles. I haven’t really heard the sea gulls in awhile so it was time to step back. This morning I went driving around looking for the Great white pelicans which come to Cocoa Beach once a year. Interestingly enough they don’t go to the ocean they stay in a protected canal and it is a site to see. Sadly I didn’t find them today but maybe tomorrow if they haven’t already left. I did find a regular guy sitting on the boat ramp sign which I have shared.

Snow Birds

I also got a visitor down from Michigan who stopped by our porch for awhile. He felt much the same way I felt about life. His kid sister had just passed away and he was feeling that he was not enjoying life as he should since you never know when it will end. He is looking into at least getting away from the cold weather part time.

Market

I am not going to delve too deep into the market state at the present time I will bring more detailed info as the time is right. As far as our little company goes we are having a good year but I think it relates to our methods and doesn’t have any correlation to the general state of the market. I am sure that most of you have seen in spite of all the FED cuts the mortgage rates are going up a bit; I believe this is because of inflation. The FED does not really control the mortgage entirely.

Party like a rock star because you never know when it is over!

Jim Bagwell

"What we have here is a failure to communicate"

2008-02-24T11:32:00.005-05:00

Total confusion?

This guy was playing in front of me the last time I played golf at Cocoa Beach (A beautiful 27 hole public course)

I have been reading an endless supply of opinions on the state of the Real Estate market. I think a lot of people just chose a side and stick to it until it doesn’t work anymore. I personally feel that nobody really knows. There are always means to manipulate statistics to support your argument.

Selling Real Estate

I have seen that there still are a lot of agents and companies that follow the opinion of NAR (National association of Realtors) and FAR (Florida association of Realtors). As far as I know NAR and FAR don’t sell real property. I am a member of both associations and they do good work at what they do. They provide excellent education for Realtors; they have standards of ethics that we are all held to as Realtors. They promote the Real Estate market in general. No one likes to see people quit the business but it is happening and that means less dues paid to both associations. I think it has been proven recently that no group can turn or influence the Real Estate market not even the FED. I believe that “what we have here is a failure to communicate” (Cool Hand Luke), the market is going through a market correction and it is very hard on sellers, investors and Real Estate agents. It is a natural occurrence and as hard as it is to bear, it has to happen. If it never happened then no one would be able to buy a property in years ahead. If we had continued to see property values increase 20% a year then consider this; a home bought in 2000 for $150,000 would sell today for $644,944. Now that would mean that you could own a nice little 3/2 1500 sq ft for $644,944.

We recently closed a short sale on a never lived in luxury town home. It was purchased pre-construction in 2005 for $299,900 as a flip. It closed last week for $195,000! This is an extreme example but that is what is still happening in the market today.

Repeat business and referrals

As a smaller company we depend heavily on repeat business and referrals, we really have to try our very best to perform for both buyers and sellers to get the good word out there. We can’t afford to count on a buyer coming in and making a purchase and then we will never see this person again. We have to have satisfied customers and usually they become friends. We don’t get some listings or we can’t take these listings because of price and expectations. We market our listings heavily and do whatever it takes to get them seen. When they are priced at the owner’s price rather than the market price it usually results in bad feelings by both. I think the best way to do this type of listing is to try it at the owner’s price for 30 days then lower to the market price if the owner agrees on this strategy.

I am convinced the most creative people in the world work for bumper sticker companies, send me your favorite and I will post it.

Jim Bagwell

Happy Valentine Week

2008-02-16T11:27:00.001-05:00

Valentine week update

Hope all is well with everyone and we appreciate all your comments and suggestions.

If you are looking for a bigger home on the water, we may have one more possibility. A home on a very nice canal in a very nice neighborhood has been reduced $100,000. It is now listed at $699,900, this home started out at $890,000. The home that was a foreclosure one street over will sell for around $550,000 but needed a lot of work. This home appears to be well maintained with around 3500 sq ft, great pool, covered boat house, new a/c’s, 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, etc. If you could get this home for around the mid $600,000 range it would be a better deal than the foreclosure.

This week’s summary

There were 7 closings this week in the Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach area. None of the sales really got my attention as a real deal. Please keep in mind that to get a really good deal you have to do your research and validate your offer. We usually take a day at least, to formulate the right approach to submit the contract and cover letter to the listing agent and hopefully they will share the package with the seller. We have at least 2 closings next week that are very impressive and I will share these when they close.

Buyer’s market?

Regardless of what you hear from large Real Estate Corps and organizations like FAR, NAR and the Mortgage Broker associations; we are still in a buyer’s market and will be all year. In my opinion 2008 will be a better year than 2007 because of reduction in sale prices. I feel that 2009 will be a better year for the sellers but only if they stay realistic about the price of the property. In the Cocoa Beach area we are seeing new condo complex’s being reduced by $100,000 per unit, reason for the reduction is obvious. They were totally unrealistic in the pricing of the units and in my humble opinion they still are overpriced. It is not the buyer’s problem that the developers paid too much for the land and the builders paid too much for the construction. For an inexperienced developer I believe you should start small while you learn the market.

Stay in touch and we will share more info later.

Jim Bagwell

Cocoa Beach, Good Morning!

2008-02-12T12:17:00.000-05:00

Cocoa Beach , Good morning !

In our Sunday morning paper real estate section we had a guest columnist. I have a lot of respect for this broker and she is very successful at what she does. To paraphrase, she thinks that our market in Brevard County has reached the equalization point or that property prices are such that low offers will no longer work. I would love to believe this theory but it is just too much of a generalization. Certainly there are homes and sellers who have reached their bottom price. Some sellers are bringing significant money to the closing table; there is only so much money to bring to the table so these people are at the bottom. There are many more properties still at 2005 prices and if they don’t negotiate then they will not sell the property. You still have to have a very active agent to explain to you as a buyer that each property and each seller are in very different circumstances.

State of the Market

At the present time there are 6,394 single family homes on the market in Brevard County. 64% of these are priced between $100-300,000. During the past year there have been 4977 homes sold in Brevard County. 76% of these sold between $100-300,000. In the condo market there are presently 2772 condo/town homes on the market. 54% of these are priced between $100-300,000. During the past year there have been 1237 condo/town homes sold, 65% of these priced between $100-300,000.

Buyer’s Market

This period we are in is still very much a buyer’s market. The market may be moving toward equalization but it is not there as yet. To give you some examples of what I am speaking of consider the following:

Recently there was a direct river home sold for $450,000. This home is a 4 bedroom 2 bath home that definitely needs updated but it sits on .33 acre with great views of the islands in Cocoa Beach. This home was listed at $599,900 and sold for $450,000.

A luxury condo on the intracoastal waterway, the Indian River, over 2200 sq ft, this unit was purchased in 2005 for $543,900 it is now under contract with a list price of $375,000.

Buyer’s market, I think so!

It could be the time to make a offer on your dream!

Real Estate Excitement ?

2008-02-07T11:14:00.000-05:00

As you can imagine we haven’t had much to be excited about running a Real Estate Brokerage during the last two years. We have started 2008 in a very positive manner. All our agents are showing property and closings are happening in a very regular time period. I believe prices are driving this cautious comeback. I still take what NAR and FAR puts out with a grain of salt since their business is to pump up Real Estate Agents and the public about the market. You will never see me wear the button that says “It is time to buy Real Estate” however in 2008 you may see me wear a button that says “It could be the time to buy depending on the price”.

Market update

So far in 2008 there have been 26 condos sold and 8 single family homes. Some of my favorite deals were as follows:

1800 sq ft condo top floor with ocean and river views. This unit needed updated but sold for $350,000. It was listed originally for over $500,000. (there is now the next door unit listed for $399,000, the seller will have to look at what sold next door)

1153 sq ft daily/weekly rental unit direct ocean, already leased Feb & Mar for $3000 monthly. This unit sold for $260,000.

Very new lake view unit, 1698 sq ft unit sold for $195,100 fully furnished.

2nd floor corner unit with great views, 1600 sq ft with a huge wrap around balcony sold for $269,900. Great building with fantastic lobby.

On the residential side of things there was a sale of a canal front home, sold less than a year ago for $450,000 and then completely renovated. This home sold this year for $450,000.

Some of the deals that are scheduled to close in Feb are even more impressive. I will post when they are actually closed.
My favorite listings
Some of my favorite units listed would be as follows:

My own listing is a beautiful home with 5 bedrooms 3 baths, fantastic pool, 2 docks,2500 sq ft and over 120’ of waterfront. This home has been totally redone and listed at $599,000 which is a loss to seller.

Another one of our listings is a 3/2 canal front home with a huge Florida room, dock with boat lift, landscaped to the 9’s. Just move in and enjoy, convenient to everything shopping, schools, dining, beach and everything else. This home has been reduced to $479,000.

Thank you for your time and we would love to work for you!

Cococa Beach don't look now!

2008-01-31T13:51:00.000-05:00

Cocoa Beach, Don’t look now!

Recession? I believe we are already there. As the talking heads are discussing if we are heading into a recession, it doesn’t take much to figure out that we were into it a month ago. People are struggling to make good on their existing obligations, there are over 4000 short sales in Brevard County, foreclosure’s are at an all time high. Credit card companies are going to take a big hit when people decide what to pay and what to skip.

Opportunities

As strange as it may sound the opportunities are endless as they always are in the down turns. When the average American finds themselves paying 2 mortgage payments and the carrying costs that go with it then something has to give. 2 to 3 year’s ago the investor bought a property in hopes of turning it over in a short time and bank the proceeds. This worked for over a 2 year period. As sad as it is to say there were some agents who couldn’t stop saying “This is a no lose opportunity” we saw the market changing about 2 ½ year’s ago, at that time we would advise all our clients not to enter into a transaction with the intent on flipping in a short term manner. The lives changed for the worst due to bad advice is staggering. If you can’t afford to lose the investment then you shouldn’t invest the money.

At the bottom

Everyone comments that they are waiting for the market to bottom out. The smart buyers are determining what the bottom is with their offers. A lot of these offers are being accepted and the buyer is well on their way to building equity. I have been through several down markets and I have yet to see the sign that tells us “We are at the bottom”.

Good buy!!!

This is a sweet home with state of the art pool, 2 docks, over 120 ft on the canal. This home has had a new roof, stucco and paint, recessed lighting and on and on and all improvements made in 2007. Bought 12/06 for $640,000 and $60,000 put into the home. It is now listed for $599,000, now this could be the bottom.

Cocoa Beach Condo Market

2008-01-23T12:38:00.000-05:00

Cocoa Beach Condo Market
The one certainty with the Cocoa Beach Condo market is that prices are coming down to accommodate the buyer’s market. We are seeing prices that we have not experienced in quite some time. To the inexperienced buyer the prices seem to not have fallen that much. To the agent who is constantly doing their homework on sale prices then it is evident that there are people who are in financial trouble and have to sell now.

A lot of sellers are still in denial with what value their unit is worth in today’s market. These owners do not take into account what the carrying costs are running them on a monthly basis. If you are willing to list your property at a price that is 100,000 higher than similar units in the complex then you are not a serious seller. At these prices they get no phone calls or showings but their neighbors that are priced less get their showings as well as their own. Some of these owners are paying $5000 a month in carrying costs, when your unit stays on the market for 1 year or more then it doesn’t take much to figure out what you are losing by listing at a price that is not going to sell or be shown.

We have talked about the volume listing agent before but when units in the same complex are listed as much as 100,000 apart it makes the agent seem to not know the market or simply do not care except for the listing. They are banking on phone calls and steering the buyer to another unit. This is shameful and takes away all the knowledge they have worked so hard to acquire.

Walker Bagwell Properties
We started this company 2 years ago at the worst possible time in the market. Today we are thriving because of truth and honesty. I could not express in numbers how many listings we have turned down because of price. It only causes ill will to list a property at a price you know as a professional has no chance to sell at a close proximity of the listing price.

My partner and good friend Larry Walker and I meet every morning to discuss the market news and the state of Cocoa Beach Real Estate. Most of the time we share horror stories of what we have been through the previous day with other agents. We started this business with the thought of changing perception of the “Real Estate Agent”. I feel that as a company we have done a great job on putting forth a professional attitude and taking care of our clients. I have had no negative feedback as yet and I don’t expect any forthcoming bad news.

What really concerns me is the fact that a lot of agents are under the gun to make a living in the down market that we are experiencing at the present. I see a lot of behavior that I find totally unacceptable. As an agent when another agent presents an offer you have to look at the rationale of the offer. If there are comparables to support the offer you should receive the offer in good faith without inserting your own unfounded expectations. The listing agent should have prepared the seller for what was likely to come.

There have also been several instances of blatant false presentations. My partner recently had an out of country buyer call to say he had found an ocean front unit at a fantastic price. On examination the unit is in an ocean front complex but there is no view whatsoever. When confronted the listing agent said that he had done one virtual tour for the entire complex. This is a terrible practice and I hope we have corrected this problem.

I hope all the readers can see what we are up against to change our profession but we are very resilient and will persevere.

A top floor condo in beautiful South Cocoa Beach with 1800 sq ft, 3 br, 2 ba, and fantastic views just closed at $350,000. A tremendous deal.
A good time for the well informed!!

Jim Bagwell

Property Tax in Florida

2008-01-20T09:36:00.000-05:00

Property Tax reform

Jan 29th, we will vote on the proposed tax amendment that will benefit the long time property owners in Florida. It will not do anything for the people moving to our state or the 1st time home buyers.

I will probably vote for the amendment as a start. We rank 38th in the nation at the present time on Property Tax rates with no state income tax which is the good thing. What I would like to see is the county governments and the municipalities being held to a responsible budget. When the property values were soaring and the economy was roaring just what did the local governments do with all the money received from the increased tax dollars. It would seem they spent or allocated every dime with no thought of what would come when the market would turn and the market always turns. Our education system has made significant strides upward which is a very good thing. I feel with our diverse culture in Florida we should be at the top or near the top in education. Our teachers are still underpaid along with law enforcement agents & fire fighters and this I believe falls again on local government. The voting process is the only way to make significant change.

Insurance
I was very pleased to see the State suspend Allstate from writing new auto policies until they turn over their records that the State has requested for the last decade. The insurance lobby is one of the largest and well funded lobbies in the world so again look at your candidate and see if they are in the pocket of the insurance industry. Since this post the courts have overturned the State's decision to suspend Allstate from writing policies.

The Real Estate Market
The 1st month of 2008 has been rather positive for our little company. We are seeing more calls, more hits on the web and more people looking to buy. Some complexes are seeing realistic sellers who have lowered the prices of condos and individual sellers of homes. The weekly rental condos are still very popular with the investor.

There was very recently a home hit the market on a Cocoa Beach canal. Less than 3 years ago it was purchased for $1,000,000 it hit as a bank owned property listed at $534,900. It is now in negotiations with 3 offers. It needed a lot of work but the value was there. This just goes to show there are deals to be had when you are ready to buy.

A new year!!!!

2008-01-09T13:01:00.000-05:00

Hope you all had a great holiday season!

I had a great one and ended up going to Tampa to watch the Bucs lose! It was a crummy game but a great time since I watched with my son who is just home from Afghanistan and just getting back to Law school at the U of F. You take your blessings where you can get them.

As Seinfeld would ask "What's up with the buyer agent bonus's"

I was taught Real Estate in the way that commission was the last thing you looked at after the property was under contract, I teach Real Estate in the same way!

When the Real Etate market went south with the birds the philosophy changed with a lot of companies and experts including the late Robert Bruss. The new theory is if your property won't sell then raise the commission and offer a buyer's agent bonus. This sounds rather innocuous but when you examine it the theory is flawed. You, the buyer, tell your agent what you need in a property. Does your agent then find the properties that fit the criteria of your needs but then go through the listings and cull the ones that are low on commissions. What happens when the agent finds a bonus, does this property go the top of the list even though it is flawed? The buyer is the person buying the property, the buyer deserves the best deal going regardless of the commission or bonus. The agent's mission is to serve the buyer not the commission. I don't know of any Real Estate company that is a non-profit organization but we are a repeat business industry and that entails taking care of all your clients. If you look at one sale or cashing in on one bonus you will surely fail.
As Seinfeld also said "If a man is walking a dog and a man is carrying the poop, who is in charge"

A couple of my picks of the week are a never lived in condo 3br 2ba,2348 sq ft, river view priced at $289,000 or $123 a sq ft.

A home that is a 2 story, 2256 sq ft, direct river,4br 3ba,this home has been reduced $250,000 and is now priced at $499,900. It could be that the seller is motivated.

Wish all of you a happy new year and if I can help you just call Jim at 321-213-0615 or email walkerbagwell@aol.com

LOCATION,LOCATION,LOCATION

2008-01-04T10:45:00.000-05:00

Are you as tired of this mantra as I am?

I heard Donald Trump still use this as a Real Estate term the other night and it may well still apply in Manhattan. I really feel that in the market we are trying to recover from in Florida, we need to adjust this outlook.

PRICE, PRICE, LOCATION

Hopefully in 2008 we can change to PRICE,LOCATION,LOCATION but at the present time for the buyer the inventory is still at the point that you can specify the location that you are interested in pursuing in Florida. Your agent can then give you choices,investigate the circumstances of the sale,then make a offer with the price you are comfortable with paying and go from there. It all depends on research and giving your validation of price to the listing agent or owner. It takes work to get a deal but it can be done with a happy ending for all.

Deals

There are deals to be had in our market and more coming on the list everyday.
There are several bank owned condos that are priced to sell! Direct river condo,2300 sq. ft.,3/3 priced at $445,000. $200K less than the owner paid for the property. Direct ocean penthouse,$725,000, 3400 sq.ft.,4/3 1/2,2 car garage,beautiful beach,the unit needs some cosmetics but the price is well under market.
We also have a townhome in a oceanfront complex with private beach access,tennis,pool on the beach side,2br,2 1/2 baths,1 car garage and reduced to $199,900.

Canal Homes

2008-01-04T09:35:00.000-05:00

Flickr: Photos from jimbagwell

Is it time to buy Real Estate

2007-12-29T09:48:00.000-05:00

Buying anything at the wrong time is always a valid concern.
In my opinion this question is answered by the buyer in a Real Estate transaction. It would all depend on the buyer's situation,motivation and goal in the property market. The buyer has to be given the necessary information to make an informed decision, your agent should give you the information and tools to make this decision but not sell you something that you are not ready to buy.

If you are relocating to our area then it is a excellent time to buy a home.
Our inventory is down somewhat but it is still at a volume that we haven't seen for a long time. In 2005 there were 26 canal front homes sold in Cocoa Beach with a average list price of $600,000 and a sell price of $574,000. In 2007 there have been 19 homes sold with a average list price of $478,000 and a average sell price of $443,000. If you have dreamed of owning a beachside canal home with your boat in the backyard then it is a great time to fulfill this dream!

Condos are still a good alternative!
It would seem that the better buys are with individual owners rather than new construction. A lot of owners and investors have came to the conclusion that their property is not valued at 2005 prices and are looking at offers. Your agent can give you the comparables to help you determine a offer that should be looked at by the seller. It is now possible to get into a ocean front complex well under $300,000.
As far as builders and developers in new complexes there are still sales but we do have several large complexes that are completed or nearing completion that have not sold out and quite a few investors have sacrificed their deposits rather than close. This seems like doom and gloom but it could turn into a great time for the investor who is ready to step up for a value.

For our Canadian and European friends there is a added bonus!
With the euro at almost 1.5 to 1 dollar added to the distressed prices the value is there for the international buyer. We are seeing a majority of these investors looking for the daily or weekly rental complexes because of the added cash flow. The complexes with 3month minimum rental restriction are much more plentiful and make a good investment for second home/rental.

Hope all this helps and we will follow with more.

Jim Bagwell
Walker Bagwell properties
walkerbagwell@aol.com
321-213-0615