The State of Real Estate in Brevard
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The State of Real Estate in Brevard

Brevard’s real estate market is, as Charles Dickens might have put it, currently at “the best of times, the worst of times,” depending on who you are.

Thanks in no small part to the pandemic, record low mortgage rates and a steady influx of buyers relocating to Florida, the market for homes new and old continues to be robust. Sellers and buyers are in good shape. Builders, however, face serious challenges.

Buyers are in luck, for it is likely they will not be facing the wild rollercoaster of the previous months, when folks desperate for houses began knocking on doors offering to purchase homes not even for sale.

“Inventory increased about 40 percent April to July,” said Dewayne Carpenter of the Carpenter/Kessel Compass home selling team. “This was our new baseline moving into the fall market with some slight decreases expected in November and December.”

So now you have more options as a buyer, with an average of 1,250 listings to choose from, but don’t think prices are going down anytime soon.

“Forty-nine percent of properties are selling at or above asking price,” added Carpenter. “That’s not a soft market at all, just maybe a tad not as crazy as it was January to April. Demand is still strong.”

Basement-level low mortgage rates continue to encourage buyers to jump in and purchase. A “normal” percentage for mortgage rates is 5.1 percent nationally. Currently, mortgage rates average just over 3 percent.

“It’s still favoring the buyers to purchase,” Carpenter said.

Sellers also are fortunate as not only are mortgage rates enticing buyers to sign on the dotted line, but also because the current market continues to make for sky-high appreciation of properties. While normal appreciation is 4.1 percent nationwide, today’s appreciation rates sit at more than 17 percent, and even up to 21 percent in beachside areas like Satellite Beach.

Sellers won’t have long to wait for an offer, either. During a normal market, a property would sit for an average of 52 days before being snapped up. These days, the figure is only 17 days, with still four to five offers per listing.

“Most of the time, listings will sell within seven days if it’s priced and marketed correctly,” said Kirk Kessel of Carpenter/Kessel Compass.

Prices have made for serious record-setting. Carpenter notes that 10280 S. Tropical Trail in Merritt Island recently sold for $4.2 million.

“Only five single-family homes in Brevard have ever sold for $4 million or higher,” he said. 

As for price for footage, 1505 S. Atlantic Ave. in Melbourne Beach sold for a cool $835 per square foot.

“That’s the highest sales price per square foot of any oceanfront home over 2,000 square feet,” Carpenter said.

According to Realtor.com, prices were expected to level during the fall and winter markets, but still remain strong and still a boon for sellers. A new sector of buyers, the hedge fund and institutional buyers, have also entered the real estate arena.

Now that the moratorium for foreclosures ran its course July 31, the pros predict a shift in the type of properties available for sale. 

“The expectation is that we will start to see more foreclosures entering the market,” said Christina Slate, president of the Home Builders & Contractors Association of Brevard. 

But it shouldn’t be anywhere near the glut of 2008-2009.

“Of the foreclosure filings, only 15 percent of those are actually in trouble and may go back to the bank,” Kessel said. “People have a ton of equity and will just sell on the open market before they go back to the bank. Also, many are negotiating loan modifications.” 

The snapshot offers a sunny picture. Statistics from the Space Coast Association of REALTORS® note that the median sales price for a single-family home in Brevard went up almost 21 percent in the last year. Approximately 12,000 homes, townhomes and condos traded hands in that time.  

Builder Woes

While buyers and sellers are enjoying salad days, builders are not having an easy time. There’s no shortage of demand for new homes, but meeting demand is a problem.

“Increased costs and material shortages are still a major issue,” Slate said. “Material price increases continue to plague nearly every trade.”

The HBCA reports that many new construction homes are sitting idle for long periods of time due to shortages, with one of the major setbacks being a lack of windows.

Even with new-home prices skyrocketing, builds have not been able to catch up with existing demand, in many cases because the trades are spread so thin.

“Labor shortages continue to be a huge issue for most all trades, between COVID-related absences and scarcity of skilled labor,” Slate said.

Even the utility companies have become migraine-inducing for builders.

“I am hearing reports from builders that the power companies are also behind on getting power to new homes, as they have been holding onto transformers for storm purposes, as well as recently deploying some of their resources outside our area for storm-related support,” Slate said.

Like Carpenter and Kessel, Slate believes the market is becoming more balanced, but demand will still be there as more buyers engage in a steady exodus from other parts of the country.

“The trend of people relocating to Florida is expected to continue,” she said. “Many are having difficulties finding homes in Brevard County with under 30 days’ supply and they are encountering homes with multiple-offer situations.”

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