Vero Beach Florida Homes

The Environmental Learning Center celebrates the 13th Annual EcoFest Sunday, March 1st from 12-4 in the afternoon.  The event is FREE for all ages.  Plan to park and shuttle to the Center for encounters with furry, feathery, scaly, and winged new friends.  The brochure below is printed with permission from the ELC director, Holly Dill.  Join us at the ELC off Hwy 510 at the Wabasso Causeway - 255 Live Oak Drive, Vero Beach, FL 32963.  Call 772-589-5050 or visit www.DiscoverELC.org for more information.  

What should buyers look for, or look out for when purchasing a home in the Vero Beach, Hutchinson Island, Indian River Shores Florida areas? This article will help sellers look into some important aspects of selling their home and what potential buyers look out for as well.

The way you live in your house is not the way to sell your house. So, what makes a house a home for sale on the market, and one that soon has a “SOLD” sign out on the front lawn? And what aspects are important to look at because potential buyers will ask the question, “How much work are we going to need to do prior to moving in and beyond?” The appearance and cleanliness of the home are significant. Always have your home ready to be shown at a moment’s notice with me, your agent, Ginny Mitchell because this is what buyers are looking for. And a tip- burned out lights need to be replaced; classy lighting and upgraded fixtures can ameliorate the value of a home. Also, buyers said they would be willing to pay more for a home with a renovated kitchen.

Here are some things a buyer will look out for when dealing with the purchase of a home. The buyer will consider the following:

• Exactly what property is included in the sale? Lighting fixtures, drapes or blinds, refrigerators, stoves, washing machines and dryers are often problem areas.
• Is the neighborhood quiet, friendly? Are the homes well kept?
• Are there any development plans that will affect the property?
• The inspection report - are there any substantial problems with the house?
• Real estate taxes - what are the current property taxes, and what impact will your purchase have on the taxes?

Another issue that raises concern regarding buyer appeal is that sellers often mistakenly think that viewing empty properties will give the buyers an accurate sense of the space available. On the contrary, it is more difficult to really judge the size of a room without furniture and other objects as reference points. An empty room even allows buyers to focus on negative details instead of getting a sense of the overall space and the flow of each room to the next. Buyers need to ask themselves the question, “Can I see myself in this home?” Therefore, staging really helps buyers envision themselves in the space.

The idea of “staging” a home to make it look alluring to buyers has become popular during the last decade, as manifested by the proliferation of numerous home staging companies offering advice about how to make the house more attractive to buyers. Check out next’s months article about “Staging a Home.”

When selling your home with myself, Ginny Mitchell, your agent keep in mind what buyers look for, or look out for before coming to look at your home in the Vero Beach, Hutchinson Island, Indian River Shores Florida areas.

The following 5 year sales graphs and commentary reflect the closed sales as of the end of January 2009

Island home sales:  January was a weak month for sales of homes on the barrier island in Vero Beach with only 8 sales. Even though January is normally a slow month because these homes probably went under contract during the holiday season, it was the worst January in 6 years and the worst month since October 2007. There is some good news, in that time-on-the-market decreased to just under 12 months, and the sales to list price ratio was 74%.  There were no high-end sales, though as sale prices ranged from $275,000 in Central Beach to $550,000 in Seagrove.  In anticipation of historically higher seasonal sales, there are currently 590 homes for sale on the island, up 43 from the previous month. 

Island Condo/townhome sales:  This was the worst sales month is 6 years for Condos and Town Homes on the barrier island. Only 1 sold, a 3 bedroom garden view unit at Windward in the Moorings that had been on the market for 37 months, originally listed at $399,000 and sold for $170,000.  However, it does not look this bleak for the future. So far this month, there have been 2 sales, and there are 18 more under contract.  Inventory is up 43 to 467 units.

County wide home sales in January were about the same as the last 2 years. The big change was the median sales price of $151,000 compared with $190,000 in 2008. However, as we have said before, this 25 % reduction does not necessarily mean the price of any given home went down 25%. Some of the reduction in sales is due to the fact that smaller homes are being sold. Again, as prices fall, time on the market decreases and for many recently listed homes that were priced right, the sell-price to list-price ratio is going up.  Inventory has risen to 2376 homes for sale, an increase of 98 homes.

County-wide condo/townhome sale:  15 sales for condos county-wide is just about average over the last 6 months. Prices ranged from a low for $35,000 in Vista Gardens to a high of $830,000 in Grand Harbor. There were 2 other sales in Grand Harbor just above 400,000 and 5 sales under 60,000 in the Vista condo complex.  An increase of 84 units for sale brings the current inventory in the condo category to 1082. 

On North Hutchinson Island 3 properties sold in January, 2 condos and a lakefront home in the Sands Riverpointe. The home was a real bargain at $350,000, a builder’s distress sale. It was originally priced at $610,000 and had been on the market for 12 + months.  2 condos were sold, #1503 in the Tiaria for $370,000– on the market for 3 months and sold at 100% of list price.  Also, a small lakefront condo in the Sands that needed refurbishing sold for $87,000. It had been on the market for 37 months and was originally listed for 274,000. Inventory increased 32 units up to 247 properties for sale.