Cocoa Beach Buyers

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!