Daytona Beach Shores is a home to a condo row known as the Oceans. They started in the glorious 70s and at that time were quite a statement for a small quaint place on the Atlantic Ocean.

They go by the numbers: Oceans One, Oceans Two and so on, skipping Oceans Nine, and it ends in Oceans Ten. All by one developer, Bellemead. In addition to the Oceans from One to Ten, which are all direct oceanfront buildings, there are also two twelve-story Oceans Atrium and Oceans Atrium One, sitting between Oceans Three and Oceans Four.

Majority of them have already undergone major concrete restoration replacing rusted balconies, some have replaced elevators, and some are in the process of doing it. The buildings, though not new, and far from today's stringent codes, proved to be quite resilient and survived through the hurricane season of 2004 without major problems. Buying there you may reasonably expect that it would cost you to bring it to a sparkling condition.

Rental restrictions differ and you should not be surprised that the minimum can be 3 months. Yes, you can rent it, but renting 4 times a year will not make you Rockefeller.

Oceans One, Oceans Three, Oceans Five, and Oceans Seven are the same architecture. Six units on the floor, zigzagged building provides direct oceanfront from any unit, while allowing for the great views of both the ocean from each unit, and the intracoatal.

Besides direct oceanfront buildings, the Bellemead Oceans complex (not an official name) includes two 22-story towers of One Oceans West Blvd (two rounded towers on the left, built in 1983, and the last building in the Oceans complex - Oceans Grand. Actually, Oceans Grand was not built by Bellemead, it was built by another developer (Callahan & Sons -developer, Yates - builder).

You can see it in the photo to the left. This was the last high-rise built in Daytona Beach Shores, which has set the height limit to 120 ft (12-stories max), but had to allow the  construction of Oceans Grand, as it was grandfathered.

There are two more buildings farther north. They are 7-story Coverleaf South and Cloverleaf North. Pretty neat concept, with a circular garage in the middle, so that you can get to your floor, and 4 wings. All of those buildings offer breathtaking views of the Ocean and the Intracoastal. Oceans Grand was competed in the spring of 2006. First pre-construction prices for a two-bedroom were about $250K on the 9th floor, then quickly went to $300K, then went up again. The slowing of the market came with the closings, and the developer was lucky enough with the timing.

The building is with 9' ceilings, double doors entryways, large 2 bdr/ 2 bath units with a den starting from 1,649 SF plus a balcony. Granite standard.

The older buildings in the Oceans series are all with 8' ceilings. 2 bdr/2 bath units on the ocean are about 1,200 SF plus a balcony. The exception is the Oceans Four, where units are much larger. Newer buildings in the series are a bit nicer. All buildings in the complex are not really luxury buildings. They are more bare bone type, which is not surprising for older buildings in Florida.

The complex enjoys enviable location. This is a rare place in Daytona area, where you may live without a car. A shopping center anchored by Publix is just across the street (see photo), two drug stores are right there, plus a bank.

Below is the table showing all available for sale units on MLS. It is accurate as of June 24. There was a rush of sales recently and there is a bunch of contingent and pending contracts, and the prices are up from $140K lowest asking a month ago to $159K lowest asking today. Speaking about falling market...

You see the photos, and the areal photo below gives you a better idea of the Oceans complex

2 BDR/ 2-BATH UNITS SOLD IN THE OCEANS RECENTLY: