June Flowers and Property Sales

It might have been nothing more than a cruel tease but we got our first long, soaking rain of the season on Friday after months of little to no rainfall. Every green and blooming thing in town is radiating happiness and it seems to be affecting the humans as well.The month of May finished with a bang in the local real estate market. As of...

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Don't Panic...Yet

A fine example of Jurassic World Cocoa Beach wildlife. I've seen this guy chase snakes away.A few things: Several dozen property owners in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral woke up Sunday morning of Memorial Day weekend to find (if they looked) that their property was being advertised on Zillow as "foreclosed" or "pre-foreclosure (auction)"....

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Fear and Loathing in Cocoa Beach

I apologize for the long interval between posts. Over the last couple of weeks I began writing two different tales of shenanigans and outrageous behavior in the local real estate market, a favorite subject for writer and reader. Alas, a moment of level-headedness led me to shelve both articles. Rather than leave the reader hanging, briefly,...

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This Is No Social Crisis

Minutemen Causeway streetscape is nearing completion. Landscaping is being plugged in and it looks like the finished product will be beautiful. It's very welcomed. The oceanfront block is closed to vehicular traffic and is pedestrian only now, pavers and planters from Atlantic Ave. to the beach.Sales activity in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral...

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Welcome to the Slowdown

Snowbird season ended with a bang Easter Sunday and we woke up Monday morning to a different, much less hectic town. I can once again drive from downtown Cocoa Beach to Port Canaveral for lunch and expect to make the trip there, eat an excellent fish sandwich dockside and drive back in little more than an hour if need be.In the week from...

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Winding Down

The crush of snowbird season 2017 is firmly behind us now. After Easter we will drift into a brief slow season before school is done for the year and summer vacations kick in. Anyone who has only seen Cocoa Beach during the busy snowbird or summer seasons might be surprised at the laid-back feel here in late April and May. It's a good time...

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The Difference a Week Makes

More of the same this past week in the real estate market but a lot different feel around town otherwise. We are into the winding down of snowbird season 2017 with the departure of the first major wave of northward migrations last Saturday. The traffic in Cocoa Beach was noticeably lighter Monday April 2. By the time Easter has come and gone...

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There Will Be a Quiz

I skipped last week's summary so it's two for the price of one today. In summary, nothing much has changed with property sales almost exactly equaling new listings, a net zero effect on our meager inventory. For the seven days ending last Sunday, 23 condos and townhomes and 5 single family homes went under contract, six of them within a week...

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It Fell and Can't Get Up

You know you're in a beach town when the front rack of DVDs at the public library is all surf flicks. Cocoa Beach Library DVD room pictured.Will the Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral real estate market ever return to a healthy supply of properties for sale? I hope for more inventory but I'm not optimistic. Our historical supply peak was in 2006...

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February Roundup

Real estate activity in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral continued at the same steady pace last week with 28 residential properties going under contract in the week from Sunday, February 26, to March 5. Six of those were on the market for a week or less. The inventory was barely changed with 27 new listings hitting the MLS during that same...

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My Calendar Must Be Broken

First off, I would like to thank all those who have offered comments, suggestions, and encouragement over the years. All feedback is appreciated. When I began writing this blog twelve years ago I made a decision to restrict my research and commentary to the Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral markets and to leave the rest of the county to others....

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Valentine's Week, 2017

There were no big changes in real estate activity in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral the week of Sunday, February 12  to Sunday, February 19. The main themes of previous weeks remain firmly in place; low inventory and demand exceeding supply. Two-thirds of the 63 condo closings so far this year have been cash deals. Those hoping to purchase...

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The Week of February 5, 2017

New listings in the week of Sunday, February 5 to Sunday, February 12 came on at the lowest weekly rate so far in 2017. We had just 21 new MLS listings of  residential properties in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. Two were under contract within three days and three of the new listings were refreshed older listings.Fifteen of this week's...

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The Appraiser Is Not Buying It

The moon setting over Merritt Island this morning just before sunrise in south Cocoa Beach.I can examine the details of every single sale in Cocoa Beach every day for years, go in many of those sold properties and know things about many of the sales that aren't made public yet my opinion of property values in Cocoa Beach will never be held...

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Wrapping Another Week - Feb. 5, 2017

I shot the photo above last week on one of those magical still mornings when the Banana River is a sheet of glass except for the scattered schools of bait fish and feeding dolphins. Sure makes it hard to concentrate on work when surrounded by this kind of beauty.The week of Sunday, January 29 to Sunday, February 5 saw a welcome increase...

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Weekly Wrap Up - Sunday January 29, 2017

I appreciate the positive feedback about last week's wrap-up, so, here's another.For the week Sunday, January 22 to Sunday, January 29 there were 21 new MLS listings of  residential properties in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral, slightly more than last week. Fourteen of those were condos or townhomes and seven were single-family homes....

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The Weekly Wrap - Jan. 22, 2017

I am contemplating adding a weekly or bi-weekly wrap-up like the one below into the usual mix of ramblings about agent shenanigans and misbehavior. Feedback and/or suggestions are appreciated. I'm fond of the thought of "less is more" but I've been known to take that to extremes as evidenced by a couple of month long gaps between posts in...

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Bandits Are Back in Town

Beware the junk fee. It's one thing to be bested by the other party in a transaction. It happens. It is another thing altogether to be taken advantage of by one's own team. Most purchasers who are getting a mortgage scrutinize their lender's disclosures trying to figure out if there are any junk fees and, if so, where they are buried. It...

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The Curious Case of the Disappearing Agent

This is the true account of an interesting and perplexing transaction last month with a mysterious buyer and his communication-impaired buyer's agent from another city.November 3: A buyer's agent calls the listing agent of a condo in Cocoa Beach asking to show. The unit is vacant and available to show anytime, but, being from Orlando, the...

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Realistic Expectations

9:30 AM, New Year's Day 2017 and the sky in Cocoa Beach is cloudless, there is no breeze with a temp of 70 degrees and an expected high of 77. According to the Cocoa Beach MLS there are 198 existing condos and townhomes for sale in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral this morning. This is an all-time low. In addition, as I mentioned in my previous...

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