Buyer's Market in 55+ Gated Communities 2019
Rising interest rates and a general slowdown in the market in south Florida has been showing more and more of late. New inventory appears daily on our local hotsheet. Price reductions are the order of the day.
Please bear in mind, this can and does vary by community. There are some 55+ condo communities where inventory is still harder to come by.
A couple of months ago I wrote Is the Market Starting to Turn. In my opinion, the signs are there in my market, in Delray Beach and Boynton Beach, especially in the gated 55+ active adult communities. I'm going to share a recent experience I had with you.
I was house hunting in the pet friendly gated 55+ communities in Delray Beach and Boynton Beach with a client. There was a good amount of resale homes to choose from in several communities. We narrowed it down to a few communities because of certain variables the client desired.
Sellers were pretty firm in their prices as we went around. Days on market was beginning to show. Houses were not flying off the shelves, as they were six months or a year ago. Mind you, these homes are not new. They are about 20-22 years old, which in south Florida terms means due for a roof in the next 3-5 years, a costly investment for an S-tile roof.
It also means they were built at a time when hurricane protection was not yet mandatory. New houses in south Florida are double the price, so buyers can do very well with a resale and some fixing up. Location also comes into play.
We made several offers. One offer was to an original owner, who was more than doubling their money. The house badly needed updating. No hurricane protection had ever been added. Sellers were firm about their price, and the buyer walked.
We made an offer on a second house. Sellers came down but not enough. Same thing - house needed updating and hurricane protection. Again, the buyer walked. Why not? There were several other houses to choose from. This is a fact I'm fairly certain some sellers have not yet come to terms with, especially in these senior communities.
We made a third offer. Same thing happened and the buyer walked.
On the fourth house, we made a deal. Buyer was happy until the inspection, which revealed too much work to be done to justify the price to the buyer. Since it was an As-Is Contract, we canceled the deal and the buyer, once again, walked.
Now, I ask: How many times in the past five years has a buyer been able to walk away from four houses and there are still more to look at? You don't have to answer!
On the fifth house, in the same community, we made a deal. Sellers were easy to deal with, they were reasonable, and the house had had some updating. Inspections went well and we are fully under contract now.
In the past week, the first four houses we had offers on have all had price reductions, some more than others. I believe we are definitely shifting to a buyer's market and this story proves that. I haven't had that many houses to show one client in years. Houses were flying off the shelves. Not so in the 55+ gated communities in Delray Beach and Boynton Beach any longer.
MAP OF BOYNTON BEACH
RELATED POSTS
- Market Report for the Valencias | Boynton Beach FL - Nov 2018
- Should I Hire a Buyer's Agent for New Construction
- Tivoli Lakes | 55+ Pet Friendly Houses in Boynton Beach FL
Buyer's Market in 55+ Gated Communities 2019
Comments(7)