Condo Prices in Bixby Knolls and Belmont Hts/Belmont Shore/Bluff Park

The August 2010 median sold price of a condo in 90807 (Bixby Knolls and adjacent areas) actually increased by $10,000--to $170,000--compared to August 2009. That's down, however, from the $240,000 condo median in April.  I chose this zip code because I actually underwent a first time experience ever of receiving a buyer's lender appraisal $20,000 less than the contract price. (This leads into issues about out-of-area appraisers and the AMCs, which will not be elaborated on here.) So therefore, it seemed a good idea to see what Clarus Data Metrics research revealed this month. The for-sale price in this zip code for condos shows an overall decrease in asking price by 23%, but an overall increase in selling price by 6%. December and April were two months of exceptionally high prices reaching up to the $300,000 median. The monthly number of units sold range from 4 to10 in the last 12 months, and the same range for properties in escrow each month over the last 12 months, currently up 75% from August 2009. The monthly total number of condos for sale ranges from 39 to 55 over the last 12 months.

The August 2010 median sold price of a condo in 90803 (Belmont Shore, Bluff Park, Naples, etc.) actually decreased by 4%, ranging in median price from $550,000 to about $275,000 over the last 12 months, with the current median being $326,000. The median asking price is currently $50,000 lower than August 2009. The number of sold properties for August--15 condos--is one of the two highest months for the past 12 months. The number of condos in escrow has fluctuated from 6 to 15 per month in the last year--currently the pendings are down (by 3 units) from July and down from August 2009. Currently there are 83 condos on the market in this zip code, the lowest number was 59 last January. So although supply is up, so is demand--9 sold in August 2009, 15 sold in August 2010.

Buyers and sellers should know that lending in condos means a review of owner occupancy ratio (less than 75% is a deal killer for some lenders, less than 51% is a deal killer for all lenders), the number of owners delinquent in their HOA dues (can't be more than 15%), and existing lawsuits are all items that come under review in their review of the association's documents. Other issues could be HOA reserve funds and signs of lack of common area maintenance.

FYI: "Median" is not the same as "average"--the median number divides the group into two equal halves: Half the properties sold were above $326,000 and half were under that price.

Any why are those cows there? Because they like to keep an eye on things too.