"Chicken Little"

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"

"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"

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

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