Condos-condos-condos! Introducing Reflections

If you’ve spent any time at all in Indian Rocks Beach, you can’t help but notice the two adjoining towers of Reflections, located at 900 Gulf Boulevard. Being the tallest building in IRB, this is THE vantage spot for Gulf views from every one of the 84 condos.

The 11-story block buildings were constructed in 1981 and consist of 42 condos in each tower, referred to as the North or South towers. Each condo is est 1275 sq ft, 2 bedroom with 2 baths, utility area, open living/dining area with large sliders opening to a tiled balcony overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. The master bedroom also features a Gulf facing window and sliders to the balcony. There are 4 penthouse condos that are est 1900 square feet with taller windows on the Gulf and unbeatable views. Here’s the view from a 10th floor balcony of the South Tower:

There is a keyed lobby entrance to the building, a recycling area and wheelchair ramp conveniently by the front door. Entering the lobby, one can access either of the towers via 4 swift elevators, or the common areas, including lounge area, kitchen, restroom facilities, and sauna. Other amenities include a Gulfside heated swimming pool, tennis courts and of course, the beautiful beach and white sand only steps away! There is covered parking under the building for each unit, and adequate parking for guests
Monthly condo maintenance fees range $500-550; the building is pet-friendly and condos can be rented out for a minimum period of 14 days. There is no onsite rental manager.

Average rental potential is minimum $875 weekly during December to April, and minimum $800 weekly during the summer season. Again, minimum rental period is 14 days, and many guests book for a month during the winter season. Average annual rental potential is $15,000-30,000 according to local real estate rental firms, and dependent upon various factors.
The list price of condos currently for sale at Reflections ranges $369,000-$529,000 and recent sales price average is $367,000.

Sales stats for March – Current prices of beach real estate

This just in:

Residential real estate sales for the month of MARCH in the following beach areas:

Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores, Belleair Beach/Sand Key

There were 27 sales, consisting of:

Condominiums- 16 sales

Single Family Homes - 5 sales

Townhomes- 6 sales

Average square footage = 1523

Average Beds/Baths = 2/2.5

Average list price = $472,594

Average sales price = $410,472

Sales price to List price percentage = 91%

Average Days on Market = 101

Number of properties that are on the beach side of Gulf Boulevard (NOT necessarily Gulf front views) = 12

High sale: $1,025,000 – Sand Key condo- The Grande- Gulf front

Low sale: $146,500 – Townhome, Indian Rocks Beach

DISTRESSED SALES DATA:

There were 3 distressed sales, consisting of 2 short sales and 1 foreclosure (REO, Bank-owned)

NOW- get over to my website and check out my featured listings and you can see the latest foreclosure lists for FREE!

www.MyPinellasParadise.com

New Series of blog topics! Condos, condos, condos!

For readers, and future beach real estate owners, this week kicks off a new blog series, Condos, condos, condos!

Each blog will give information about a specific condo community among the many along Gulf Boulevard, starting in Indian Rocks Beach.

To kick off the series, I am introducing Reef Club.

If you've driven along Gulf Boulevard through Indian Rocks Beach, you've probably noticed the newly-painted salmon colored building located at 1000 Gulf Boulevard.

This 6-story block building (5 stories plus under-building parking) was constructed in 1983 and consists of 55 condominiums. Each condo is est 1300-1380 sq ft, 3 bedroom with 2 baths, washer/dryer hookup, and a Gulf-facing balcony. Each first floor condo (units 201-211) have a spiral stairway fromthe balcony for easy access to the pool and beach. There are no obstructions or other buildings between any unit at Reef Club and the Gulf!

There is a keyed lobby entrance to the building and other amenities include a heated swimming pool and spa, BBQ area, tennis courts and of course, the beautiful beach and white sand only steps away! There is parking under the building for each unit, but limited parking for guests. On holiday weekends and other busy times, the parking lot is often full.

Monthly condo maintenance fees range $410-550, as some of the end units have extra windows and other units have different sized balconies. The building is pet-friendly and condos can be rented out for a minimum period of 7 days.

Average rental potential is minimum $1500 weekly during December to April, and minimum $1000 during the summer season.

The list price of condos currently for sale at Reef Club ranges $369,000-$449,000 and recent sales price average is $340,000.

Just a few words about stats

For the past six months I've been reporting sales stats on this blog for the areas of Belleair Beach/Sand Key, Indian Rocks Beach and Indian Shores. This data is pulled from our area Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and only accessible to active real estate licensees who pay membership fees for the access.

Many buyers are aware they can "search the MLS" through various websites, what they may not be aware of is that not all data is carried through and there is more than ample room for errors in the system.

One indicator that is reviewed each month is the Days on Market (DOM). This should give an idea of how long properties are actually on the market, with a shorter time frame seeming to indicate market improvement. Most people assume this figure is the number of days from the time a property is listed for sale until the day of closing, but this is incorrect.
The DOM numbers from the MLS can be very misleading.

Example: A recent closed sale was reported as a short sale and showed 117 days on the market- not bad! However, when the data was analyzed further, it was 117 days from the date of the listing until the contract was accepted. It took another 90 days for the transaction to close.
In my professional opinion, this should have been reflected as 207 days that the property was actually on the market.
Bottom line: not everything is the way it seems!

Another item of frustration is the Sales Price to List Price ratio. For the past 6 months, if one is reading the results as they are available from MLS, the average is 90%. The average person would assume that means a house originally listed for $200,000 eventually sold for $180,000.
This is another number that can be misleading, as the Sales Price to List Price ratio is based only on FINAL list price. If a property was originally listed for $325,000 but reduced eventually to $200,000 and then sold for $180,000, it is reported as a 90% Sales Price to List Price ratio, even though a true analysis would report this as a 55% ratio, indicating a possible "great deal".

However, having said that, I do not feel that list price on short sales is a reliable indicator as there does not seem to be a uniform method used to set such list prices, it seems in some cases to be at the whimsy of the listing agent. Some properties are priced very low in order to generate interest, with little to no regard for actual current market values.

In closing, I want to encourage prospective buyers studying the market to make contact with a real estate professional for a truer picture of real estate activity in a specific area.

www.MyPinellasParadise.com

Sales stats for February – Current prices of beach real estate

This just in:

Residential real estate sales for the month of January in the following beach areas:

Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores, Belleair Beach/Sand Key

There were 24 sales, consisting of:

Condominiums- 16 sales

Single Family Homes - 6 sales

Townhomes- 2 sales

Average square footage = 1414

Average Beds/Baths = 2/2.5

Average list price = $362,908

Average sales price = $322,219

Sales price to List price ratio = 92%

Average Days on Market = 120 (There was only 1 listing that was on the market over 365 days)

Number of properties that are on the beach side of Gulf Boulevard (NOT necessarily Gulf front views) = 11

High sale: $640,000 – Sand key condo- Gulf front

Low sale: $84,900 – Condo, Indian Rocks Beach

NEW DATA THIS MONTH:

There were 9 distressed sales, consisting of 7 short sales and 2 foreclosures (REO, Bank-owned)

If you'd like to live here, full time or part-time, NOW is the time to buy!

www.MyPinellasParadise.com

Sales stats for January – Current prices of beach real estate

This just in:

Residential real estate sales for the month of January in the following beach areas:

Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores, Belleair Beach/Sand Key

There were 19 sales, consisting of:

Condominiums- 14 sales

Single Family Homes - 4 sales

Townhomes- 1 sale

Average square footage = 1925

Average Beds/Baths = 3/2.5

Average list price = $598,578

Average sales price = $525,579

Sales price to List price ratio = 90%

Average Days on Market = 244 (There were 4 listings that were on the market over 365 days)

Number of properties that are on the beach side of Gulf Boulevard (NOT necessarily Gulf front views) = 10

High sale: $2,100,000 - Belleair Beach house (non Gulf front)

Low sale: $110,500 – Condo, Indian Rocks Beach

NEW DATA THIS MONTH:

There were 7 distressed sales, consisting of 6 short sales and 1 foreclosure (REO, Bank-owned)

If you'd like to live here, full time or part-time, NOW is the time to buy!

www.MyPinellasParadise.com

Homeownership rate declines

Investors – are you listening? As homeownership rates decline, this signals an upcoming abundance of renters needing a home.

Homeownership rate declines – Commerce Dept says homeownership rates lowest in 10 years.

Another report by the Urban Land Institute suggests that, while homeownership is still much desired in the U.S., there will be a decline over the next few years.

This creates opportunity for the seasoned real estate investor! NOW is the time to pick up distressed Real Estate bargains.

For current bank-owned real estate on and near the beautiful beaches of Pinellas County, just west of Tampa, just visit my website!

Have a great week!

www.MyPinellasParadise.com