To date Abacoa home prices are down about 4% this year
Nothing is more important to our clients, when buying or selling property in south Florida, than knowledge. That is, if the financial aspects of that transaction are important. While nobody can predict the future, in this day of "easy information" there are signs that will give us a very good idea of where things are heading, especially over the short term. For instance, we follow the volume of single family home sales in the Northern Palm Beaches very closely. In our last report we know they were up once again setting a new record high since we have been tracking this information. Because of the research we do we know that sales volume is going to drop, and fairly significantly, for the next few months. Count on it. But what is going to happen with prices?
When I think Abacoa home prices I think of middle America. Front porch sittin' as Alan Jackson puts it. By far the largest development in Jupiter we can get the pulse of the overall market by following Abacoa home prices and where they are heading. Today's real estate market is often times a conundrum, even for those of us who watch it so closely. One home may sit and sit and sit without a buyer while another gets snapped up by the first prospect who crosses the threshold. But when we talk median price, middle of the road, here in Jupiter, I think Abacoa. If you are a family with young children what better place to raise them. If you are a seasonal resident and want the picture perfect neighborhood what better place to be. Abacoa has something for everyone.
Lately, I hear many say we are heading for another bubble. Over the past month I have seen two resales come on the market in Abacoa at prices that did not seem middle America. One was listed at $989,000 and another resale in Mallory Creek is listed at $998,500. We are getting oh so close to the $1M threshold in Abacoa and we are not talking Valencia or one of the custom homes on Greenway. Maybe we are heading for another bubble. The highest price I can find of a "Divosta" resale through the local real estate community was at $799,000 for a Hemingway model in Mallory Creek last year. But that home sold for $210 per livable square foot and the two latest listings are priced at $216 and $218 per square foot. With the quality of finishes on the new listings I could argue they are both good values. Middle America is just getting more expensive so maybe we are heading for another bubble.
But remember we have that "easy information" at our fingertips. In reality, the median single family home price in Abacoa has actually come down about 4% so far this year. Down to $475,000 and still down 19% from the market high of $585,000 back in 2006. Last year, prices did jump over 18% from 2012 numbers which was substantial. Certainly not the 42% one year jump we saw in Abacoa home prices in 2005, now that was a bubble. I am happy to see a pullback, as 18% annual gains are not sustainable. To me, even with a few months of slower sales headed our way, the local real estate market remains healthy. Abacoa home prices reinforce that belief. Until a macro-economic event causes a shift, look for higher prices ahead once our seasonal visitors return to paradise. Always interesting, always fun.
Fins up.......
Tom Priester
Principal Broker
Paradise Sharks Real Estate
561.308.0175
tom@paradisesharks.com
www.paradisesharks.com
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