Condo and Lot Sales Increase – So do High Value Foreclosures

Newsletter: Single–family home sales stable while condo and lots sales show sales improvement. Foreclosure of high value properties accelerates.

Palm Coast, Florida – May 1, 2009 – The Palm Coast and Flagler County real estate market began to show some new signs of life in April. The number of building lots sold through MLS was up more than 250%. The number of condominiums sold through MLS also increased (from 11 to 16). Both categories showed the effect of foreclosures and short sales – lower selling prices.
Lot purchases and purchases of second homes or investment property are discretionary. When market activity in either category begins to pick up, it signals an increase in buyer confidence that prices have pretty much bottomed out. Of course the increased activity comes at a steep price for sellers. The median April lot sales price was $22 thousand, down from $77 thousand in April ’06. The median April condo selling price was $200,450 – down from $475 thousand only one year ago.
59.6% of all single-family home sales consisted of lender-owned (via foreclosure) or short sales. This was down from 67.8% over the first three months. Distressed (lender-owned and short sales) properties represented 29% of building lot sales and 25% of condo sales. Among single-family home sales, distressed sales were concentrated at the low end of the price scale, but both condo and lots sales indicate the recent entry of higher end properties into the distressed category. Three distressed sale condos sold in Canopy Walk, an Intracoastal Waterway condominium complex. Of nine distressed lot sales, only one was under $30 thousand; six fronted either a golf course, a lake, or the Intracoastal Waterway.
April appears to have been a transitional month for Flagler real estate sales. The 109 single-family homes sold were not remarkable. What was remarkable was that throughout the month, the number of homes available for sale (inventory) dropped. At the end of April, only 1,543 single-family homes were listed for sale on MLS. That’s down from 2,041 only ten months ago and from 2,423 in October ’07.
At the same time, the number of Pending and Contingent sales contracts grew steadily. At month end, there were 516 pending or contingent contracts. On January 1, there were fewer than 300. 80.8% of the contracts are for distressed properties. The chance of a short sale not closing is probably higher than a typical contract, but the sheer number of pending/contingent contracts is still impressive. It indicates that distressed properties are readily sold at current selling price levels.
As predicted, the level of foreclosure activity involving high value property is accelerating. Their entry into the "for sale" inventory will draw down prices in this market segment until buyers are found. Unlike people, lenders do not fall in love with their assets. They will quickly set aggressive prices, dropping them if necessary, until a buyer takes the property off of their books. The same phenomena occurred with the "under $200 thousand" market beginning in 2008. It will be a painful process for sellers but a necessary one. It’s how the system disposes of excess inventory most efficiently.
Among the 32 Certificates of Title issued by the Flagler County Clerk of Court in April were the following properties. Assessment numbers are for 2008. Certificates of Title are issued to the successful bidder (almost always the lender) as a result of a foreclosure sale. At a foreclosure sale, the lender enters the sale with a "credit" equal to the default judgment (loan balance plus foreclosure expenses). They typically bid up to a number predetermined by their loss mitigation department, which takes into account market value, selling expenses, etc.
  • A model by Discovery Homes in Yacht Harbor Village assessed for $994,776
  • An Intracoastal lot in Grand Haven purchased in 2006 for $700,000 and currently assessed for $463,162
  • Another Intracoastal lot in Grand Haven purchased in 2006 for $710,000 and currently assessed for $463,825
  • Several unsold condominiums and lots at Oceanside in Beverly Beach
  • A Hammock Dunes – Portofino condominium purchased in 2006 for $1,100,000 and currently assessed for $836,000
Flagler County Clerk of Court’s website lists sale dates for the following foreclosed properties. The most significant items are bolded. Not that most were purchased in 2004, 2005, and 2006. "Assessed Value" is the 2008 Property Appraiser’s assessed value, which is based on 2007 comparable sales. Needless to say, today’s values are lower. 
 
Schedule of Upcoming Foreclosure Sales – Flagler County, FL
 

Sale Property Assessed Last Sold Last Sold
Date Address  Value Date Price
4-May 29 Wood Arbor Ln 164,988 2006 255,000
4-May Condo#121 Tidelands 194,400 2006 386,100
4-May 97 Zebulahs Trail 171,207 2005 171,000
7-May Condo#B317 European Village 188,000 2006 410,000
7-May 43 Rolling Sands Dr 145,804 2005 204,900
12-May 17 Red Birch Ln 146,288 2006 222,000
12-May 143 Bird of Paradise Dr 215,396 2006 241,300
13-May 54 Pheasant Dr 112,126 1998
13-May 13 Riverside Ln 259,437 2006 312,900
13-May 68 Presidential Ln 164,290 2004 159,000
13-May 120 Berkshire Ln 136,313 2005 107,000
13-May 64 Florida Park Drive 120,723 2007 159,900
13-May 4 Old Oaks Dr S 738,919 2002 575,000
13-May 16 Felter Ln 138,370 2005 165,000
14-May 190 Heron Dr 155,000 2004 189,900
14-May 113 Riverwalk Dr S 265,000 2004 399,000
14-May Riverview condo A203 242,100
14-May Riverview condo A302 243,700
14-May Riverview condo A303 258,000
14-May 7 Spanish Oaks Court 324,000 2004 285,600
14-May Citation Estates  8,096,750 2006 10,500,000
14-May 30 Louisburg Ln 34,500 1993 18,700
15-May 32 Easterly Pl 181,984 2005 194,200
20-May 76 Princeton Ln 181,361 2005 267,000
20-May 204 Birchwood Dr 130,165 2005 221,500
20-May 163 Rae Dr 164,014 2005 267,400
20-May G1 Palm Coast Commercial 120,001 2007 149,900
21-May 5 Roma Court 220,000 2000
26-May 111 Ocean Way N 341,250 2005 410,000
26-May 58 Bannerwood Lane 221,807 2006 304,900
26-May 20 Ullian Trail 34,505 2004 69,500
26-May Cinnamon Beach condo 461 877,500 2005 926,700
4-Jun 16 Sellner Pl 171,733 2004 155,300

1 reply
  1. Carol Paulton
    Carol Paulton says:

    Great Statistical Analysis!

    Once again, I commend you on your research! Digging through the clerks files to translate legal descriptions into addresses is tedious work. I noticed that of the 80 or so auctions you listed for the month of April, only 32 certificates of title were issued. I know a few were under contract short sales but was suprised that at least 40 properties sales "vanished". Do you think these were all delayed by the homeowners? I’m also curious re: the long delays between a banks repossession and the property hitting the MLS. I’ve got my suspicions but would be interested in your thoughts.

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