Vero Beach Florida Homes

For many people living in or moving to FL, the best real estate purchase is one that combines the comfort of home with a piece of history. Buying a historic home in Vero Beach, Hutchinson Island or Indian River Shores is fairly common in today’s market, thanks to an incredible real estate climate and one of the most dynamic historic districts in the state.

However, if you’re simply looking at the intricate architecture and are thinking how great it would be to own a piece of the city’s history, you might want to take a step back and consider all the work involved in becoming a historic home owner.

Home Quality

The most important consideration for purchasing a historic home in Vero Beach is the quality of the house. Whether you’re looking at a bungalow or a mansion, you have to remember that time is rarely kind to real estate.

In addition to outdated materials (like plaster instead of drywall or lead pipes) and difficult-to-work-with architectural styles, you have to consider the costs of restoring the house with authenticity in mind. Many materials are no longer available or can be costly if you want to maintain the historic integrity of your home. The same is true of the availability and cost of craftsman qualified to work with your particular home.

Florida Housing Regulations

Many historic homes are overseen by governing bodies that regulate what you can and can’t do to your own home. If you’re in the market to purchase a historic home, make sure you know who you will have to go through to get the right permits for renovation, or if you’ll need to register and pay a fee to get your home listed as an authentic historic site. You might also want to note what kind of tourist interest you will get from having a historically-listed site.

Financial Investments

Fortunately, not everything about owning a Vero Beach historic home is hard work! Historic homes, when restored with authenticity, safety, and modern comfort in mind, are an incredible financial investment. Many people are willing to pay top dollar for homes that are in perfect shape or that have a keen attention to detail.

Many local governments also offer tax credits and tax freezes for those who maintain a certain level of quality in their registered historic homes. This means that a historic home can be a great investment, as well as a beautiful piece of architecture.

Finding and Buying Your Historic Home

When refurbished to contain all the modern amenities today’s families need and enjoy, a historic home can become a showpiece – both for your own visitors as well as those interested in the history of Vero Beach, Indian River Shores and Hutchinson Island. As with all real estate purchases, however, this one should be made after much consideration and under the guidance of your trusted agent.

UDT-Seal Muster XXIV Event Thrills Thousands – November 7, 2009

The National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum on North Hutchinson Island honors the site of original frogmen elite forces training fields.  The Navy Seals are the only service branch extensively trained on land, sea and air to accomplish any job under any and all circumstances.  The executive director of the museum Captain Mike Howard welcomed the crowd numbering well over 5,000.     

Captain Richard Phillips shared his detailed personal account of being rescued by the Navy and Seals after his now famous ship the Maersk Alabama was attacked by Somali pirates.  Even though we all knew the basic story and favorable outcome, Captain Phillips riveted our attention.  His “out of the box” plan to hide and lock away his crew and cargo and board a life raft with the pirates plus his dogged determination not to give up was rewarded with the heroic rescue by the Seals without loss of American lives—truly awe inspiring.  The crowd demonstrated approval and appreciation as we all stood in applause. 

While this rescue mission is now well-known, most of the UDT-Seal missions are carried out without fanfare.  This does not diminish the patriotism and heroism of these elite forces. 

The crowd applauded with wild enthusiasm as the SEAL skills simulation—demonstration erupted with a BANG – literally!  Real life active duty SEALS emerged from the ocean in camouflage body paint to reconnoiter the intended assault target.  Then the helicopters quick dropped the SEALS who approached in stealth using only hand signals to communicate.  The target was approached and captured, but “enemy” troops arrived, and they were also “neutralized.”

With the mission accomplished, one group of SEALS hooked to their rope to the first helicopter and took off immediately dangling in the air as the helicopter “escaped” over the ocean.  The other helicopter landed and boarded that group to show non-emergency evacuation tactics. 

One lone SEAL startled us all when he then emerged from underground having been submerged incognito during the entire speeches and demonstrations.  

The only disappointment of the day was that high winds cancelled the planned parachute demonstration.

Color guard opens ceremonies

Captain Phillips addresses the crowd

Captain Phillips signs souveniers

UDT-SEAL helicopter quick-drops troops

SEALS demonstrate quick escape

Overall Median Home Prices in Indian River County rose after a gentle slide down over the last few months—we have a jump up to $155,000 median sales level. Indian River County is bucking the national trend in this category as shown in the 2 year graph below. Possibly this is because of the myriad of good press that the area has been getting lately.

Island Homes: Wow, this was the best October sales since 2004, with 24 sales this month, 40% higher than October 2008. There were 7 homes that sold for over $1,000,000 including one for $12,800,000 on the ocean south of the Moorings. At the other end of the spectrum 3 older homes sold for around  $300,000 in the central beach area. Bermuda Club had a good month with 3 selling for $425,000 to $465,000. Barring any surprises, however, as you can see from the 5 year sales chart below, the next few months are normally slow.

Island Condos: Sales dropped compared to last month which is typical for this time of year. However, sales were better than October of 2008. The two high sales were in Baytree, East of A!A at $540,000 and $805,000. At the low end there was one sale at $105,000 in Vista Del Mar. As noted on the 5 year sales graph, we will probably not see any appreciable increases in sales until February or March of next year.

County-wide homes:  Monthly sales at 142 stayed about the same compared with last month but were the best October sales in at least 6 years. County wide there were 25 “short sales” and 45 foreclosed bank owned homes that were sold. This represents almost 50% of the total sales.  ON THE MAINLAND, where most of the foreclosure activity took place, there were 42 homes that sold for under $100,000 (35%) of the total and no homes that sold for over $500,000. There were 2 homes that sold for over $450,000 in River Boat Club and Old Sugar Mill estates. We believe that sales will hold up in November because of the tax credit, which ends 11-30-09, but is likely to be extended, and then fall off a little in December and January, unless the tax credit is extended, before gaining momentum again.

Condos sold county-wide dropped off a little to 36 from the previous month, but it was still the best October in 4 years. ON THE MAINLAND prices ranged from 6 units in Vista Royale for under $31,000 to a high of $275,000 in River Run. This class of sales will also stay low until the snowbirds come down and get settled in.

North Hutchinson Island: There were a respectable 9 sales in October which was more than double the October 2008 sales and the highest October in 6 years. Inventory has come down throughout the year and based on the absorption rate of the last 3 months sales, there is now only a 15 month supply of homes and condos for sale on N Hutchinson Island. Sale prices ranged from $95,000 for a town home in the Galleons to a high of $499,000 for a center unit in Ocean Pearl; 2 one bedroom units sold in Sea Palms for $130,000 and 2 units sold in Tiara including a 14th floor corner unit for $375,000.