Gulf-Front Homes Not Immune to Florida Housing Market Hazards
Frank D’Alessandro is a Florida mortgage broker with Gates D’Alessandro & Woodyard Commercial Realtors. Here’s his take on the state of watrerfront homes in the area…
Gulf-front properties are in limited supply due to the relatively small amount of privately owned beachfront real estate, and they offer an inherent uniqueness. But according to recent sales, these Gulf-front property came down with the rest of the Florida real estate market.
In March 2007 there were still a number of condo sales exceeding $600 per square foot, but one year earlier it was much more common to see sales exceed $700 or $800 per square foot. That is a difference of up to $200 per square foot less for a similar Gulf-front condo from just one year ago.
Let’s look at some examples of Gulf-front condominiums on Estero Boulevard in Fort Myers Beach by narrowing the comparison down to units with 1,000-1,200 square feet built around 1980. Last month a Gulf-front condo located midway on the island sold for $465,000, or $406 per square foot. A year ago, a similar condo just down the street sold for much more: $700,000, or $664 per square foot.
For some examples of Gulf-front single-family home sales, let’s look further south in Bonita Springs.
A 4,373-square-foot home on Hickory Boulevard recently sold for $2 million, or $457 per square foot. Compare that with a similar Florida mortgage transaction from a year ago, when a 4,130-square-foot home on the same street sold for just under $2.8 million, or $677 per square foot.
Need another example of this Gulf-front sales trend? A 4,840-square-foot singe-family home on Sanibel Island recently sold for $2.4 million, or $496 per square foot. Compare that with a similar transaction from a year ago, when a 4,570-square-foot home on the same street sold for $3.35 million, or $733 per square foot.
The comparable sales demonstrate factually that even Gulf-front property is not immune to the market cycle. It should also be noted that many such properties that sold a year or more ago were investor driven, similar to much of the residential market at that time.
However, this is good news for potential beachfront property buyers/Florida home mortgage loan applicants who may want to watch this market closely for buying opportunities.
