When we bought stuff in Mexico someone was telling me I should buy in AZ or FL instead as prices were better. Now prices in AZ and FL are much better while Mexico has stayed more or less the same (except the peso is up some). Then again, the expropriation risk in Mexico is a bit higher.
Eatmywords - look at it this way - it's about $5500/year in rent ($4200 maintenance + the occasional repair + more or less amortization of the $11,000) and there's substantial risk that the community association will need to increase maintenance if units are left unsold, owners default on maintenance, or major repair is needed. How much is rent for a similar unit down there these days? (or do you just walk into one?)
So was down there this weekend, and the kings point prices are def a point of discussion - basically Orik's breakdown is spot on. Oldest development around, several of the buildings are in need of refit, and assessments are generally expected.
The other issue with communities like this, especially the thousands of 55+ single family home communities, is that you basically just own the concrete pad. I wonder what happens once the original generation that buys in dies out? My guess is the state of Florida rewrites a bunch of emminent domain laws to let developers wipe out entire complexes at once. That should be quite profitable for the lawyers.
I think prices are probably pretty much implying no value to the land in thsoe developments w/o contingent liabilities to cloud things up, but the amount of supply to be absorbed is amazing. And as ELA said, demand has its own issues at the moment.
Also amazing is the amount of empty strip malls.
I've been wandering around the Hobe Sound - Jupiter - Stuart -Fort Pierce area for a few days, and plan a few weeks more. We're looking at homes, condos, etc for a winter place. I'm amazed at how many places have remained on the market, some since last Spring, and how flexible rents have become.
We began inquiring about rental availability in November and heard a lot of "three months only". By New Year's, it was "we'll consider six week deals", and by mid-January it was "we'll take any reasonable deals". Calls from landlords offering new prices, etc. Where we are on the beach on Hutchinson Island, there are plenty of bulletin board notices of places for sale, still for rent, or trade units (up or down). Rents are cheap. $2,500-$3,000 will get you oceanfront private beach, tennis, golf onsite, fitness, multiple pools, 24 hr security, 2BR/2BA
The Zillow price listing history and sales records suggest there's still a lot of denial in the market. We looked at a house in one community that was advertised for $400,000. Other houses in the same neighborhood sold for under $325,000. Many condos and separate homes go on the for sale market in April, and get pulled off in January.
AB's comment about the over 55 market and first generation buyers dying off highlights a big problem. In some 1970s communities, prices are half what they were in the mid-1990s, and the communities are still half empty. Nobody wants higher assessments to upgrade the area, the renter mix is growing, and the difficulty in getting people to serve on boards has reached critical levels in some places.
There may be a bottom somewhere, but almost five years later, this part of the globe is still bumping along. I understand from two agents that estate sales and foreclosures / short sales are putting a lot of pressure on the market. Once the peak season rentals end, there will likely be a lot of property on the for sale market.
