Seminole Woods Tops Flagler’s Distressed Sale List While Grand Haven Fares Best
Distressed properties dominated Palm Coast and Flagler County homes sales for six years after the housing bubble burst. Over that period, some areas fared better than others.
Palm Coast, FL – June 16, 2014 –Distressed properties dominated the Flagler County and Palm Coast real estate market for six years after the housing bubble burst. During the period including 2008 to 2013, 9,915 single-family Flagler home sales were reported through the Flagler Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Of these, 4,641 (46.8%) were distressed sales; 2,686 short sales and 1,955 REO (lender-owned). Some communities within the county fared better than the county as a whole, other communities not so well.
Seminole Woods topped the list with 63.7% of home sales categorized as distressed over the 6-year period. Grand Haven fared best with only 21.8% distressed sales. The Hammock Dunes DRI (Hammock Beach, Hammock Dunes, Ocean Hammock, Island Estates and Harbor Village Marina) came in second with 28.1% distressed.
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Many factors affect the ratio of distressed homes:
- Financial staying power of the communities property owners. Affluent communities had fewer distressed sales.
- Timing – If a large percentage of homes in a community were built or sold during the 2004 to 2007 timeframe, there were likely to be more distressed sales. Among the original Palm Coast communities, Palm Harbor, Pine Lakes and Cypress Knoll were mostly established before the bubble. They had the lowest distressed sales rates.
- Investors v. owner/occupants – Investors, particularly those who had intended to flip in the short term got stuck.
- Home prices – Communities with lower median selling prices fared worse than those with median selling prices above the Flagler County median selling price.
Keeping Grand Haven Grand!
Props to the Grand Haven CDD and Master Association for planning and executing the ‘Keep Grand Haven Grand’ programs. The programs have identified and prioritized security, safety, distressed properties and infrastructure repair as important investments that have paid off in part by attracting and maintaing a dedicated home owner and lowering the percentage of distressed properties.
The distressed housing situation here
Ideally, in areas with above 30%, there should be a building moratorium and let the market clean this up. Regarding distressed homes, a house on an adjacent street from us is for rent. It’s also in foreclosure. I contacted the realtor listing the rental and pointed out that the property has a Lis Pendens. He didn’t care. He said, oh, well, I guess the tenant would have to move. Lesson here is, always check a rental property for ownership and legal status. The distressed housing situation here has attracted some unsavory business people and made some homeowners desperate.
Surf Club doing in distressed sales
Surf Club seems to be avoiding the distressed sales,