Total Value of All Property Sold on Marco Island UP 1% ($709 Million vs. $700 Million)
Total Number of Sales on Marco Island (All Property Types) DOWN 4% (976 vs. 1,012)
Number of Sold Single Family Homes DOWN 6% (361 vs. 385)
Number of Sold Condominiums UP 3% (485 vs. 469)
Number of Sold Single Family Vacant Lots DOWN 23% (108 vs.140)
Average Sale Price of a Single Family Homes Sold was $1,007,000 UP 6% from $949,000
Average Sale Price of a Condominium Sold was $599,000 UP 10% from $545,000
Average Sale Price of a Single Family Vacant Lot was $474,000 DOWN 10% from $524,000
The overall List to sell Ratio was 93.24%. This means that on average properties sold within 6.76% of their asking price. Put another way, the average sale price was negotiated down 6.76% from the asking price.
Average days a sold property was on the market DECREASED from 181 days to 172 days.
This means properties were on the market 9 days less than last year. (In this case, the RED is good)
Current Inventory of Single Family Homes is UP 6% (319 vs. 302)
Current Inventory of Condominiums is UP 14% (388 vs. 339)
Current Inventory of Vacant Single Family Lots is UP 6% (300 vs. 283)
State Of The Real Estate Market Address
2018 was a rock solid year for Marco Island Real Estate and was basically a continuation of 2017. The dollar volume went up a smidgen from $700M to $707M, the total number of properties sold was down a tad from 1,012 to 976 and the average sale price overall was up a bit from $949k to $1M. Homes and Condos in the higher end of the market (Over $1 Million) are doing very well and I don't see any weakness here for the foreseeable future. I can tell you that in December the total number of properties sold was $50M in 2018 vs $54M in 2017 and the total number of properties closed dropped from 84 to 65. However, the average sales price went up from $643,000 to $773,000 and the median sale price went up from $494,000 to $600,000 which again reinforces the notion that the higher end is getting stronger and expanding. (This also proves that the rich are getting richer; right HP?) Another thought is that most of the higher end deals are cash (no mortgage) and as the interest rates have crept up past 5% this is causing a bit of weakness in the under $1,000,000 arena as many of these buyers obtain mortgages. The stock market has been an absolute roller-coaster and some folks are getting sick, jumping off, and bringing their puked on money to Marco to secure a place for their early retirement.
Now let's talk about vacant lots. Here the story is different, the number of lots sold is way down and the average sale price is down as well. Why? Well, here is the slant I have taken for the past year or so and it goes like this... A bunch of wealthy people came to Marco 2-4 years ago and bought up a whole bunch of lots and spec built homes on them. Many of these homes are still for sale and these spec home builders have decided to take up yoga instead of buying more lots and building more homes. (Why yoga?, because punching people isn't cool). On top of that, I am hearing that the price per square foot of construction has gone up and seawall prices have really gone up which makes spec building a more expensive proposition. However, there are always buyers looking for nice new homes so either they will buy a lot and build their dream home or a new bunch of speculators will come into the market and buy up the lots, build more spec homes and the ebb and flow will continue. Overall, I think the market is very healthy, not crazy at all, and picking up steam as we move into the busy season. Now is the time to make your move as inventories are creeping up slowly and there are more properties to choose from. All is good!
So I spent some time in the hospital with kidney stones last week. I was told by my first wife that she heard passing a kidney stone hurt as much as having a baby and she laughed and laughed as she told me this. When all the dust settled, I passed 6 stones or my little sextuplets as I refer to them. Naturally, I have opted to name them. First out was Andre "The Giant", now 5 millimeters may not seem like much when you look at a ruler, but when it's shaped like a razor blade it's massive. Next came Hillary and Donald, they both had big heads and started fighting and crying in the specimen cup. Then I pushed out little Tommy Brady and man is he a winner. Then came Squirt named both literally and figuratively. Last, but not least, was the Barbara stone, this one was the smallest but caused the most pain and suffering by far. 17 oxy's and 12 ice packs later, I can now write my name in the snow. My 7.6 faithful readers know there is a moral buried in here somewhere and this is it - Sometimes there is some pain in real estate transactions. Maybe you don't get as much money as you want, maybe you have to pay a little more than you want, possibly it takes more time than you want, or it could be that you thought the deal was done and then something happens which causes the pain to start up again. But just like kidney stones eventually everything works out and you get to go back to normal. As they say, "this too shall pass" and I am now a firm believer in that saying more than ever. And just like childbirth, eventually you forget the pain and you may even try to have another, and another, and another, because it does get easier and the joys certainly outweigh the pain.
On the extreme downside my dad passed away on January 5th at 89 years old. My current wife (she lost her dad in September) and I were out eating lunch at the Sunset Grill last week talking about life, our kids Willy and Andy, and how we needed to get back on track after our mourning. As we were finishing our lunch and getting ready to pay our tab our server told us a nice gentleman had paid our bill. I looked up and there is an old customer of mine smiling. He had no idea what had just happened in our lives, but his kind gesture meant more to us at that moment than he could ever know. There is good in this world and when you least expect it, bang, there it is. I know he doesn't have a lot of money because one of his friends told me he drives a goat truck. I'm not sure what a goat truck is, but apparently, there are lots of them in Michigan and this guy must be the best goat trucker there is in my book. Regardless, my wish is that each of my 7.6 faithful that read this will go out and do some sort of "pay it forward" gesture for someone because it really can make a difference in someone's life.
For those of you keeping score, the HIGH sales for the year by catatory are:
Single Family Home - 1002 Royal Marco Way sold for $7,225,000 CASH
Condo - Madeira Penthouse 1506 sold for $6,200,000 CASH
Vacant Lot - 1431 Caxambas Court sold for $2,910,000 CASH
The LOW sales for the year by catagory are:
Single Family Home - 1216 Fruitland sold for $285,000 CASH
Condo - Seabreeze West unit G2 sold for $100,000 CASH
Vacant Lot - 797 Whiskey Creek in Key Marco sold for $50,000 CASH
Congratulations to our winners!
Call, email or text with Real Estate questions and/or dinner invitations. Speaking of dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Roache` (pronounced like the French bug Roh-shea) took us out to ZaZa's for Mexican food, but I ordered the French Fries in their honor. Come on folks, let's step it up with the dinner invitations, my current wife is down to 89 pounds.
In 2019 I still will not be out thought or out fought when it comes to Real Estate.
Gerry Rosenblum
Broker Associate
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty
Realtors
2008 Realtor of The Year - Marco Island
239-450-4770 (cell)
1-888-239-5131 (toll-free e-fax)
1-800-237-8817 (toll-free)
To View the Entire Marco MLS go to: www.viewmarco.com
1-888-239-5131 (toll-free e-fax)
1-800-237-8817 (toll-free)
To View the Entire Marco MLS go to: www.viewmarco.com
