Vero Beach Florida Homes

The Navy has announced a $2 mil initial grant for an underwater robot project for Harbor Branch Research Center at the Treasure Coast Florida Atlantic University branch.  Applications range from oceanography research to port security. 

Florida will spend $24.3 mil to add 403 additional acres adjacent to the current Harbor Branch property.  The FAU Harbor Branch research center also conducts environmental research with dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, and indigenous birds. 

The Harbor Branch Ocean Discovery educational center is open Monday through Friday from 10 to 5 and Saturday from 10 to 2 with FREE admission.   Visit at 5600 North U.S. One, Fort Pierce.  Call 772-465-2400 extension 559 or connect to www.irrec.ifas.ufl.edu on the web. 

When you first purchase a house in Vero Beach, Hutchinson Island or Indian River Shores, you’re most likely thinking of ways to build a home for you and your family. A big yard means plenty of room for the children to play. A newly renovated kitchen means you can finally throw the types of dinner parties you’ve always wanted. A master suite, well, that’s just icing on the cake. However, when it comes to sell your Florida home, it’s important to remember that all those little (and big) changes can also mean big little (and big) changes in your sale price.

While most homeowners should make changes to their houses that suit their lifestyle rather than the eventual sale price of their home five, ten, or even twenty years down the road, there are a few things to keep in mind. After all, if you will someday be selling your Vero Beach house, you want to be sure you’re maximizing your profit.

• Repair all the little things – now. Most of the time, homeowners are willing to overlook the little idiosyncrasies like a broken step on the porch or chipping paint on the kitchen cabinets while they live in their house. These small repair needs are a bit like a knee that acts up in the rain or a car that always requires you to turn the key three times to the right before starting; they just become part of the everyday backdrop of your life. However, for someone buying a home in Vero Beach, Hutchinson Island or considering real estate in Indian River Shores, these things can become glaring problems. By fixing issues as they arise (rather than waiting until you’re ready to sell your FL home), you not only avoid making major repairs all at once, but you actually get to enjoy the repairs while you live there.
• Know your neighborhood. If you live in one of Vero Beach’s family-friendly neighborhoods, chances are things like well-maintained yards, large family rooms, and spacious kitchens will be worth more in the long run. If you live in a Hutchinson Island condo, you might find that built-in bookshelves and jacuzzi bathtubs are more appropriate. While you don’t have to tailor every change to your eventual sales audience, you can choose to make the types of changes that will translate into the highest returns.
• Don’t ignore the less visible changes. Almost all of the houses for sale in Vero Beach go through cosmetic changes before they hit the market. Fresh paint, new kitchen appliances, and good landscaping are fairly common. Less common are things like a new roof, updated plumbing, or even a newly-installed automatic sprinkler system. However, these things show up in a home inspection evaluation, and when you put your trust in a FL real estate agent like Ginny Mitchell, these types of changes will always get the focus and attention they deserve.

The most important thing you can do to your Vero Beach home is enjoy the time you’re going to spend there. However, by keeping its eventual sale at the back of your mind, you’ll be able to get the most out of your life – and your investment.

Vero Beach is the MOST undervalued real estate market in the whole US, according to a recent national study of 330 metro areas — sounds like a good reason to buy now while there are still plenty of bargains.  An economic research and forecasting firm, IHS Global Insight says that Vero Beach is undervalued by 42.5%.  Florida real estate (as well as California) has fallen by about 50% from their peaks in early 2005.  Contact us to find YOUR Vero Beach best buy soon.

Real Estate Update June 2009

Time on the market is coming down for newly listed properties, but there are still many properties that are priced too high initially and stay on the market a long time.  Where past sales are available, homes are selling now at 2003 and 2004 prices.

Island Single Family Homes showed an increase over last month’s sales. However, still the poorest YTD sales in 7 years with only 13 sales—20 homes sold for less than $500,000 with the lowest priced home selling for $300,000, a 2 bedroom home on Seminole Lane in Indian River Shores, and at the top end, a 4 bedroom 4 bath home on Ambersand Beach sold for $1,100,000. However, this sale was 45% below list price.  Island home sales that closed in May totaled 24. 

Another down month for Island Condo/Townhome sales—the worst May and year-to-date sales in 7 years with only 13 closed sales in May.  This type of property, which could be generally classified as resort property or second homes, is not selling well in this economy.  Sales ranged from just over $100,000 in Vista Del Mar and Vera Cruz to $1,000,000 in Baytree.

Mainland Single Family Homes demonstrated an increase in home sales to 168 closed sales in May over the previous month—the best sales month in 3 years. However, the median sales price was $135,000, which is a 31% drop from May 2008. In May 2008 the median was $184,900. Sales are increasing because homes are once again affordable to a larger percentage of the population, there are more investor purchases. The first time buyer incentive for $8,000 is just also helping.  Mainland prices ranged from16 homes sold for under $50,000 mainly in the south county to a canal home in Vero Isles for $550,000 and one in the Polo Grounds for $400,000.

 

Mainland Condo Homes:  Higher sales than last month with 46 closed sales in May, which was higher than the last 2 years. This increase is just on the mainland though. In our opinion, investors are taking advantage of the low price—24 of the 33 condos sold on the mainland went for under $100,000. Two bedroom units in Vista Royale went for under $33,000 and 1 bedroom units were selling for a little as $35,000. These are 2002 and 2003 prices. A couple more sold at The Inlet at Sebastian for $150,000 and $162,000. The highest condo sale price on the mainland was again in Grand Harbor for $269,000.

Only 4 sales this month on North Hutchinson Island, which is down from last month and down from last year. A short sale waterfront home that was in poor condition sold for $280,000, third floor in the Sands Oceanside sold for $200,000, one of the single units in the “Tri-Plexes” sold for $49,000, and a nice sale on the 4th floor of Ocean Pearl sold for $520,000. In general getting a mortgage on a condo is challenging. If the loan is to be underwritten by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, there are special association requirements that must be met concerning the % of rentals, the % of investor-owners, and the % of owners with past due maintenance fees. The general financial condition of the association is also reviewed. These requirements cannot be met by some buildings, and these requirements also increase the length of time to close. In one instance the closing was extended so long that another appraisal was necessary and the 2nd appraisal was lower, which required the mortgage to be resubmitted.