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.
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A model by Discovery Homes in Yacht Harbor Village assessed for $994,776
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An Intracoastal lot in Grand Haven purchased in 2006 for $700,000 and currently assessed for $463,162
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Another Intracoastal lot in Grand Haven purchased in 2006 for $710,000 and currently assessed for $463,825
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Several unsold condominiums and lots at Oceanside in Beverly Beach
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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 |
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.