There were no new pendings and no sales recorded in August. There are 22 active listings currently, 13 in Boca and 9 in Bella. Activity in our market still remains deeply lethargic. There have been 19 price reductions on the current 22 actives, which is lower than last month – due in part to two listings being cancelled. There were 3 new listings in Vivante during August, they are 9047 (1,803sf) listed at $405,000, 96211 (1,915sf) at $450,000 and 8524 (2,338sf) at $668,000. All of these, it seems to me, recognise that new listings today need to be priced keenly; respectively, they’re at $225psf, $234psf in Boca (even with water views) and $286psf in Bella on the harbour. All of them are close to or below the average for all today’s listings.

I’ve written an article on the new legal forms we must use from 17th August for all buyers and sellers. The article can be found in the blog section of my website https://headforvivante.com/. After NAR’s settlement of the Sitzer-Burnett class action law suit the changes are systemic and it is therefore very important for both buyers and sellers to read and understand them. Please find and review the blog and, of course, feel free to call me for a layman’s guidance.

Happy Labour Day, 2024.

Vivante MLS Review 1 Sep 2024

There was one closing in July, 9433 (1,698sf) sold for $419,000, but there were no new pendings. That sale at $247 per square foot is positioned fairly closely to the averages for both Boca ($225psf) and Bella ($254psf). There were three new listings, 9442 (1,915sf) was listed at $425,000 ($222psf), 9925 (1,698sf) at $435,000 ($256psf) and 9041 (1,875sf) at $450,000 ($240psf). It seems to me that pricing of new listings is displaying some recognition of where we should be today. There are 21 active listings, 13 in Boca and 8 in Bella. Activity in our market still remains very sluggish. As you can see from the Review, the average asking prices generally are substantially ahead of recent sales, although there have been only six in the trailing twelve months, so comparatives are hardly definitive and several current listings are clearly out of sync with reality. Thirteen listings, 62% of the total, have already been reduced and those listings have seen 22 price reductions. Patience continues to be a necessity, not only in our insurance battle but also with ourselves as the physical recovery itself progresses slowly. One positive thought, if, and yes, it’s a big if at the moment, we succeed in our Citizens litigation, even partially, I think we can expect list prices to recover and the number of new listings also to climb into revitalised demand.

One more thing, the rule changes that all MLSs must apply in August may lead to a hardening of commission levels as the workload and risks on both sellers’ and buyers’ agents will increase.

Vivante MLS Review 1 Aug 2024

In general, the market for properties in SW Florida is not favourable to sellers and buyers. Both sides are affected by interest rates. There were no sales in June, but there were two new listings, 8534 (2,338sf) was listed at $750,000 and 8742 (also 2,338sf) was re-listed at $785,000 (see the third paragraph) – for a total of 20 active listings today. There is one sale pending, 9433 (1,698sf) was listed at $429,900 and is slated to close on 26th July.

In particular Vivante’s market is poor, mainly because we are affected by Citizen’s decision to welch on their policy with the COA. That leaves us with further possible assessments unless we win, at least in part, our litigation against them. That’s the top unknown among many unknowns. The next unknown is the future costs regarding Structural Integrity and Structural Reserves; although inspections are still some years away, preparation for their arrival is necessary and costly; we will also have a Structural Reserves Study that must be in place by the end of the year.

Prices have already been reduced, 19 times across the 20 current listings, some by as much as 35%. Interestingly, 8742, recently sold at $630,000, 12% below list, was re-listed at $785,000 within a few days. Does that indicate a turn? No, I don’t think so; it’s simply an attempt to flip.

20 listings is not an unusually high number, being 6% of the 342 units here, but it is higher than a year ago when there were 6 units for sale and the market was considerably stronger.

For both Boca and Bella, today’s asking prices average more than recent sales levels, indicating that they are still generally too high, but where’s the market and where is the level that discounts our unknown problems? Either time will tell us, or our unknowns will become focussed.

Vivante MLS Review 1 Jul 2024

There were seven new listings in May; 9934 (1,485sf) at $322,000, 8531 (2,398sf) at $849,000, 8925 (2,338sf) at $799,000, 9022 (1,803sf) at $475,000, 9433 (1,698sf) at $448,000, 9744 (1,485sf) at $357,000 and 9325, (2,338sf) at $675,000. There were three sales in May, 8742 (2,338sf) sold for $630,000 (12% below original list), 9637 (2,106sf) raised $375,000 (35% below original list) and  8936 (2,398sf) sold for $725,000 (11% below original list). That’s a total of five successful closings this year. There are no pendings.

I recently wrote a blog on Artificial Intelligence, here’s a quick precis. AI is with us, it is already being used to imitate voice and construct false emails in real estate communications. Such scams could cause substantial financial loss. Large value deals can become attractive targets to hackers and thieves. It’s becoming more and more important to be aware and careful in our business communications. We must all exercise caution and react to anything that makes us feel wary; be proactive and react to that feeling. How can I help? Firstly, my voice is fairly distinctive; an AI version may sound good but may contain some sounds or use words that raise a doubt because they may not be the way I phrase or emphasise sentences. If you feel in any doubt, even slightly, hang up and call me. I promise I won’t be mad if you cut me off if it really was me calling! In written communications, I will always, always, always use English spelling (colour, favourite, programme, normality, emphasise et al.) and I’ll definitely always write dates out as day, month, year. If you ever feel something might be awry, call, text or email me using the contact information you have for me and know to be good. By being aware and reacting to the smallest inkling of a potential falsity, together we just might avoid a financial catastrophe.

Vivante MLS Review 1 Jun 2024

There are two pending listings, 8742 (2,338sf) was listed at $679,990 (originally $718,000) and is slated to close today, and 9637 (2,106sf) was listed at $399,990 (originally $575,000) and should close on 5th June. There were five new listings in April; 99415 (1,698sf) at $449,000, 9944 (1,485sf) at $389,900, 9824 (1,485sf) at $397,000, 9026 (1,595sf) at $448,000 and 9923 (2,106sf) at $448,900. There was one sale recorded in April, 9931 (1,915sf) closed for $430,000 yesterday; that’s three this year and only four over the past twelve months. It’s getting to a stage where I think it’s becoming very attractive to wait – some of these discounts to recent market levels more than fully recognise the “Citizens” problem. In recent economic comment, Florida Realtors recently commented that consumer sentiment for the next five years among Floridians ticked up 1.3 points in April to 73.3 from March’s revised figure of 72: and at the end of March, expectations for three rate cuts in 2024 were dashed by April’s stubborn inflation figures.

Post the NAR Settlement in March, 2024, buyers will be required to enter an Exclusive Buyer Broker Agreement (EBBA), which, like the seller’s Listing Agreement, should provide clarity to the buyer/broker relationship and define the level of compensation payable to the buyer’s broker at closing. Commission splits will no longer be entered onto listings on Stellar MLS; the buyer will be responsible to pay the broker the amount agreed to in the EBBA, but it will be the buyer’s broker’s duty to seek compensation from the seller through the listing broker. If the seller agrees to pay at a lower rate than the agreed level in the EBBA, then the buyer will pay the difference at closing. Transparency is the desired result, although, in my opinion, this settlement has only led to misinformation and confusion. Please go to my About Me tab to read my 15th April Blog “National Association of Realtors Class Action Settlement”. The two articles I’ve linked there will give some clarity to the situation.

Vivante MLS Review 1 May 2024

Two listings went pending in March, 8742 (2,338sf) was listed at $679,990 (originally $718,000) and is slated to close on 1st May, and 9637 (2,106sf) was listed at $399,990 (originally $575,000) and should close on 5th June. Both were substantially reduced as you can see and found buyers; they are about and looking for bargains. There were three new listings in March; 9449 (1,698sf) at $449,000, 9748 (1,915sf) also at $449,000 and 9944 (1,485sf) at $389,900. There were no sales recorded in March; so far there have only been two this year, and remember there were no closings in the second half of 2023. Prices continue to be cut and I suspect this trend will continue softly while the financials at Vivante remain subject to litigation against Citizens. Trying to discount a future potential assessment, a number that we know is unknown (a Rumsfeld conundrum perhaps!), is somewhere between guesswork and impossible. The valuation question is – have prices been cut enough already, some by over $100,000? There is an upside to all this though; what do you think might happen to the current low prices if the litigation results in even a partial settlement? As last month, the US economy remains buoyant and looks likely to remain so for a while – enough to encourage the FOMC to forecast three interest rate reductions this year.

Vivante MLS Review 1 Apr 2024