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Archive for December, 2009
Will the Trade Up Market Be Alive Again in 2010?
1819 Elizabeth Place
Before the real estate crash, it was common for people to sell a smaller home and “trade up” for a bigger one. The real estate crash has rendered the “trade up” market nearly extinct. The price point hardest hit by this problem is in the $600-$900K price range.
This week, however, one of the few trade-ups of the year, closed.
The seller had a 2,630 SF house at 1487 Edgewood Avenue South that they sold for $475,000. The house they purchased at 1819 Elizabeth Place is a lot bigger at 4,089 SF. Because it was in short sale, they were able to snag an amazing deal and paid only $730K or $178 per square foot.
Prior to becoming a short sale, it languished on the market for nearly two years. The seller paid $1,200,000 for this house in March of 2005 and then re-listed it two years later (July 2007) for $1,430,000. They trailed the market down with successive price reductions as the real estate market weakened until the house finally lapsed into short sale status.
1487 Edgewood Avenue
The house on Edgewood was purchased for $505K in February 2005 so they took a “hit” (slang for losing money) on the sale but more than made up for it with the great deal they got on Elizabeth Place. To see the full details on both the house at 1487 Edgewood Avenue and 1819 Elizabeth Place, click here.
There are some great deals on “trade up” houses right now in both Avondale and Ortega. To see a list of them, click here.
Thanks for reading, please join me for my next adventure in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside real estate markets.
Monday Morning Market Update – Week Ending Dec. 6th, 2009
Wow – It’s already Thursday – Sorry to be so late with this week’s update! People must be getting ready for Christmas because all’s quiet on the Western Front. There were 12 new listings but 3 of those were “re-lists”. None of them jump out at me as ones that I feel deserve special attention.
New Listings: 12
Active/Contingent: 0
Pending Sales: 4
Closed Sales: 3
Price Reductions: 8
The most notable closing this week was a condo at the high end condo building - Villa Riva in Riverside. Unit # 1003 (MLS # 490760) closed for $761K and it was a cash purchase. The unit was a 3br/3ba with 2,725 square feet and the list price was $850K. The selling price was $279 per square foot and did not include a private garage.
There was another closing in Ortega as well. A little brick bungalow that the seller paid $342,500 for in 2006 closed for $290K. It had 3br,2ba and about 1,662 square feet. The selling price netted about $174 per square foot. The house had a very large backyard and is withing walking distance of a great park and St. Mark’s Church and School. The MLS # was 492336.
Thanks for reading — please join me for my next market update in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside neighborhoods of Jacksonville, FL.
Christmas in Avondale – A Wonderful Annual Event
The Robertson Family Enjoys Christmas in Avondale
The historic neighborhood of Avondale in Jacksonville, FL celebrated “Christmas in Avondale” last night. Next year, I’ll remember to tell you ahead of time so you can plan to be there.
Always scheduled for the first Saturday in December from 6-9pm, the event is sponsored by the Merchants of Avondale. It’s a cherished Holiday Tradition for the people of Avondale, Ortega and Riverside and has been enjoyed by the neighborhood for over 30 years — AND another great reason to considering buying a house in this great part of town!
St. John’s Avenue is closed to vehicular traffic so pedestrians can enjoy roaming freely back and forth among the beautiful shoppes of Avondale.
Special Events include horse drawn sleigh rides, pictures with Santa & Mrs. Claus, local church and organization musical and dance performances, strolling carolers, lighting of the Avondale Christmas tree, treats for the young & old, and the usual festival fan fare attendees have come to expect.
Prudential Network Realty played the movie “Polar Express” in an outdoor theater style show for anyone who wanted to drop by, offered bags of hot buttered popcorn and had arts and crafts for the little ones. They could make Jingle Bell bracelets, Christmas ornaments or color pictures — thanks to all who came by!
Please plan to be there next year — I’ll try to remind you at least a week in advance — but it’s always the first Saturday in December!
Thanks for reading — please join me for my next adventure in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside neighborhoods.
2009 Riverside and Avondale Condo Sales Nearly Even with 2008
Click Here to see Graph
In 2007, there were 18 Condominium Sales in Avondale, Ortega and Riverside. In 2008, there were 21 and so far this year (2009) there have been 18 with 3 more pending. The sale prices of the units has fallen quite a bit but, as you can see, the total number of units sold has been surprisingly steady.
A bright spot on the landscape has been Villa Riva – 5 of the 18 sales this year have been at this premiere building in Riverside — that’s a healthy 27% of the total sales year to date. 4 of the 18 sales have been at a building called 1661 Riverside which puts it at a close second with 22% of the sales. The third largest seller has been a waterfront building called Beau Rivage in Avondale that’s had 3 sales or 16% of the market.
For more information about the condo market in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside areas, please call us for a list of inventory and what we think are the best values in today’s market. We know these buildings inside and out. We can tell you which units have the best views, which buildings have a great management team and other important details about the various buildings in the area.
Thanks for reading, please join me for my next discussion of real estate in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside neighborhoods.
Whiteway Delicastessen – Great Sandwiches for those “In The Know”
Sammy Salem - Whiteway Deli Owner
When we moved to Jacksonville, FL one of the FIRST places I was taken by my new neighbor, Gina Donahoo, was Whiteway Deli. Gina said it’s a local “institution” with the BEST sandwiches – so off we went and I quickly became a Whiteway devotee.
A favorite among Avondale, Ortega and Riverside locals, Whiteway is a place where you’ll ALWAYS see tons of people you know and consistently get great food.
Served inside pita pockets, most of the sandwiches feature tabouli which has Middle Eastern origins. It’s made with parsley, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, cracked wheat, lemon juice and olive oil – delicious!
Many of the sandwiches are named for locals. The Anne Beard, for example, has turkey, tabouli, feta cheese, banana peppers and Italian dressing and is one of the best sellers. Wrapped in old fashioned “deli paper” the sandwiches have timeless appeal.
A breakfast favorite is the Emmet special. Named for Judge Emmet Ferguson the dish is an egg white omelet with bacon and tabouli served in (you guessed it) a pita pocket.
Whiteway Deli is a family business that’s owned and operated by Sammy Salem. He has taken over daily operation of the place that his father bought in 1962 but that was opened in 1927 — you can bet there aren’t too many restaurants with that kind of longevity. The restaurant is now proud to count second and third generations of the same families among their loyal customers.
Open only for breakfast and lunch, the hours of operation are 7am – 3pm Monday – Friday. Get there early if you want to go for lunch because the line gets long. If you’re in a hurry, call your order in ahead of time at 904-389-0355. If you have time to sit down, the address is 1237 King Street.
A favorite of the doctors and nurses from nearby St. Vincent’s Hospital, local businessmen, ladies who lunch and area old timers — nearly everyone names Whiteway as a local gem.
Thanks for reading — if you have a favorite place in the Avondale, Ortega or Riverside neighborhoods that you’d like me to blog about, please send me a note!
Average Sale Price of Ortega Waterfront Up 12% from 2008!
4561 Ortega Blvd.
I ran a quick statistical analysis this m0rning to see how waterfront sales in Ortega this year compared to the sales from 2008.The figures below represent a year to date look and do not include sales from 12/3 – 12/31/09.
In 2008, there were 10 waterfront sales for a total volume of $15,188,073 making the average sale $1,518,807. This number included a little house on Country Club Road that backed up to a “duck pond” — which can’t really be considered waterfront.
In 2009, there have only been 6 waterfront sales with a total volume of $10,290,000 making the average sale $1,715,000 — that’s an increase of 12% over 2008. Does that mean that the price of your home is worth 12% more now that it was in 2008? Unfortunately, no.
It is true that the average sale price is up 12%, but this figure is misleading. We all know that the price of waterfront property has dropped by hundreds of thousands of dollars and sometimes by as much as million! So, while this is a legitimate and factual statistic, it just goes to show that not all data points to the real truth of the matter. You must have an experience realtor who knows the local market to interpret the statistics for you and give you the real truth about the value of your waterfront house in Jacksonville.
To see the list of waterfront homes that sold in 2008, click here.
To see the list of Ortega waterfront homes that have sold in 2009, click here.
Thanks for reading! Please join me for my next discussion of real estate in the Ortega, Avondale and Riverside neighborhoods.
Are the Ortega property values reported on Zillow accurate?
A friend of mine in Coconut Grove, FL recently wrote a post about Zillow which made me interested to see what Zillow is reporting about the values in Ortega. I found some VERY surprising information!
Zillow is honest about how accurate (or inaccurate) their data might be — they have disclaimers all over their site that discuss this. They admit that they aren’t aware of how great your interior renovations are or if your house is backs up to a busy (and noisy) roadway. They let you know that their data comes from public records and that there may be a delay from the time of a sale to when they are able to report it.
A quote from their site states “our data may be incomplete or incorrect. Also, we have not physically inspected a specific home. Remember ZEstimate is a starting point and does not consider all the market intricacies that can determine the actual price”.
Market intricacies — we all know that market intricacies are really the whole ball of wax so the fact that they don’t consider “market intricacies” says it all.
A particular house in Ortega Forest illustrates this perfectly. One screen of Zillow shows the sales price of this house followed by what they think the value might be now (the ZEstimate). If you believe this ZEstimate, then the people who bought 5058 Ortega Forest Drive in August 2009 have made out like a bandit!
This house closed for $865K in August 2009. Zillow states that their house is now worth (just four months later) $1,221,500. That sounds like the real estate boom times doesn’t it? A fat 400K profit in just a few short months? Oh, how I wish Zillow was right.
But….they aren’t.
This house was listed for $1,185,000 in April 2008. I even considered this house myself because on a price per square foot basis, $1,185,000 seemed like a great price. But, once I got inside, I saw that the house had very low ceilings and a choppy floorplan (among other things) and I decided to pass.
The house was reduced to $1,100,000 just two months after being listed. It was reduced again six months after being listed to $1,049,973 (that’s an odd number). Still…no bites. This listing expired and the property was re-listed at $969,000. It finally sold for $865K in August of this year.
So….the market has shown us that no one would buy the property at $1,185,000…..or $1,100,000…… or $1,049,973…….or $969,000. Zillow tells us that they estimate the value of the property to be $1,221,500.
So now you see the problem with Zillow. They do not know the local market which is the most ESSENTIAL piece of the puzzle to have.
So, what IS Zillow good for? It’s a great place to see cool maps (like the bird’s eye view) of your neighborhood, to get an APPROXIMATION of value (although we’ve seen how far off this can be), to see the prices that some of your neighbors houses have sold for and to look at available properties for sale.
In my book, Zillow can be fun — but I’d leave it at FUN.
Buying or selling a house is serious business. If you’re thinking of buying or selling, call a realtor who knows the local market and leave the funny business to Zillow.
Thanks for reading. Please join me for my next discussion of real estate in the Ortega, Avondale and Riverside Neighborhoods!
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