Condo sales county-wide were 14% higher than November but down 13% over December  2010. Year-to-date condo sales are 13.4% ahead of last year.

On the mainland the prices seem to be drifting up a little as the low end sales in Vista Royale/Gardens ranged from $25,500 for a 1 bedroom to $76,500 for a 2 bedroom unit. There were 7 sales in Vista Royale/ VistaGardens which was down from earlier months. On the mainland at the high end, there was a sale in Vista Villas for $142,000 and one at HarmonyIsland in Grand Harbor for $145,000.

Inventory of mainland condos decreased to 690 units for sale from 721 the previous month.

Single family home sales county-wide were down 2% compared to the previous month and down 5% compared to November of 2010.  Year-to-date sales were up 13.9%.

On the mainland, there were 51 houses that sold for under $100,000, 27% lower than the previous month.  Again most of these sales were in the south end and the northwest side of the county. The high sale was a canal front in Vero Isles at $440,000 and a 3500+ sq ft house inn Oak Harbor $510,000.

County-wide inventory of single family houses decreased 100 units from the previous month.

House sales on the island in Vero Beach were 12% lower than last month and 29% lower than December of last year. However, remember that November sales of barrier island houses was the best in 8 years. 

Year-to-date single family home sales on the island have increased 31.8% over last year.  At the low end there was a 2 bedroom house on Coco Plum Lane that sold for $121,000, one on Sabal Palm Court that sold for $180,000, and one on Date Palm the sold for $280,000.  At the high end, only one sale was over $1,000,000, down from 4 last month. This was a 5000+ sq ft house in the Anchor at the Moorings that sold for $1,050,000. Next in line was a 3500+ sq ft house inBermudaBay that sold for $895,000.  We expect a good selling season this winter and believe prices will hold for Island Houses, especially at the mid and high end.

The median price of houses in the Vero Beach Indian River County  area increased 25% from $132,000 in November to $142,000 in December. This was approximately the same as December of 2010. We are now a little above average median price over the 3 years. This is good, indicating that prices are stabilizing. There were only 46 houses, 30%, that sold for under $100,000. During the 3rd Quarter of this year approximately 42% of the houses sold were under $100,000. This is the first time that the median has gone up for 3 consecutive months since 2005.

Inventory of houses and condos in the Vero Beach Florida Indian River County area moved down 5% from November 2011 and has declined 19% since the December 2010. Also since the high point in January 2008, inventory has gone down 36%. Overall Indian River county-wide sales increased 1% compared last month and increased 11% over December  2010.  County-wide sales have increased 13.8% over 2010. This increase took place while the median price only slipped 4%. 

Total sales increased compared to 2010 in all Indian River categories and adjacent Hutchinson Island.

The median price of houses in the Vero Beach Indian River County area increased 25% from $108,000 in October to $132,000 in November. There was also a substantial 10% increase from November of 2010.  We are now back close to the average median price over the 3 years. This is good, indicating that prices are stabilizing!

Remember that the median price change does not necessarily mean that the value of an individual house has increased or decreased. The median also influenced by the number of high or low priced homes sold in a certain period. We have noticed that the sq ft sizes of more houses being sold are smaller than they were 4 or 5 years ago. 

Inventory of houses and condos in the Vero Beach Florida Indian River County area moved up 9% from 2678 units for sale in October 2011 to 2702 in November. However, inventory has decreased 16.4% from November 2010. Overall county-wide sales decreased 2% compared with last month but increased 2% over November 2010.  Year-to-date county-wide sales have increased 15.3% over 2010. Sales have increased year-to-date in all 5 categories including Hutchinson Island.

House sales on the island in Vero Beach Florida were 56% higher than last month and 14% higher than November 2010. This was the best November sales of barrier island houses in 8 years. This could indicate that we are seeing an upturn in homes purchased by future retirees because they are starting to feel that the economy is stabilizing and that prices are at or near the bottom.  Year-to-date single family home sales on the island have increased 37% over last year.  At the low end there was a 2 bedroom house onCoco Plumb Lane that sold for $121,000 and one on Dahlia that sold for $138,000.  At the high end, sales were steady with 4 sales over $1,000,000.  The high sales were a 4500+ sq ft oceanfront home in Palm Island Plantation that sold for $1.270,000 and a 4000+ sq ft house in The Estuary  that sold for $1,150,000. We expect a good selling season and believe prices will hold for Island Houses, especially at the mid and high end.

Condo sales on the island were down 34% from the previous month and were down 30% from November 2010.  Year-to-date condo sales on the island are up 20% over last year, however.  This may seem to contradict our statement about why sales are increasing for island homes. However, our experience indicates that more retirees buy houses rather than condos.  More condos sold as 2nd homes. The highest sale this month was $320,000 for a condo in the South Passage subdivision at the Moorings–a slow month for high priced condo sales. At the lower end, 4 sold for under $200,000,  Harbour Side II for $175,000, Riverwalk for $170,000, River mews for $175,000 and Harbour Inn for $190,000.  We expect a good selling season forIsland condos this winter, especially at the mid and high end as inquires are increasing, and the weather has already shown previews of a stormy winter in the Northeast.