Facts About Cocoa Beach Real Estate Values / Buyer – Seller Tips


Cocoa Beach Real Estate Cycles


One problem with attempting to time your purchase to the business cycle is that even experts have problems accurately predicting the future economy. Even when they can, the Cocoa Beach market does not necessarily move in tandem with the stock market or the economy as a whole. Cocoa Beach is a unique situation.

When the economy is doing well, interest rates are generally higher. The result is that fewer people can afford houses, and Cocoa Beach is no exception. When the economy slows down, interest rates fall, the "affordability index" moves up and more people can afford houses. The Cocoa Beach market will take the lead.


Building Cocoa Beach Home Equity


A popular question from prospective Cocoa Beach homebuyers relates to building home equity. Buyers like to estimate how much a home may increase in value based upon past appreciation. One of the many advantages of home ownership is that appreciation is based on the home’s market value rather than on the actual dollar amount invested or the down payment so that a $100,000.00 home that appreciates 5% is now worth $105,000.00, especially in Cocoa Beach.

With a typical 30-year loan, most of your monthly payment goes toward interest payments with only small amounts going to the principle in the early years. Only half the principle is repaid in the first 23 years of the loan. You can build Cocoa Beach home equity faster by choosing a 15-year loan instead of a 30-year loan.

Buying a Cocoa Beach Fixer-Upper


This, of course, depends on the condition of the Cocoa Beach home and the estimated cost of the repairs you must make. Cocoa Beach real estate in a good neighborhood that is priced about 25% lower than others that are in good shape may be a good deal if it simply needs cosmetic or minor structural repairs. If the house is a gut job, that is the entire inside will be torn out and rebuilt the 25% rule may work and may not so estimate your costs as closely as possible.

Shopping by neighborhood makes good sense when considering the purchase of a fixer upper. As a buyer, the more you know about the Cocoa Beach homes in a particular area the better able you are when it comes time to judge whether or not a home your are considering meets the financial parameters you are looking for.


Buying Cocoa Beach Below Market


On most real estate Websites you can enter the parameters you want for your Cocoa Beach. Include the price, size, features and location and the technology will notify you automatically the moment a property that meets your needs comes on the market. Now if what you are looking for is a particular type of property for a price that is significantly under market, you’d better be prepared to act quickly because you aren’t the only one who’s looking for a bargain.

Often times, when a home comes on the market priced under the market there are extenuating circumstances. Maybe the house needs maintenance. Maybe the yard needs work. If you are prepared with a certain amount of knowledge about the costs of roofing, painting, landscaping and other types of deferred maintenance, you will be in a position to evaluate whether or not the Cocoa Beach is priced well enough that it truly is a bargain and not a fixer-upper nightmare.


The Benefits of Selling Cocoa Beach


In order to sell Cocoa Beach as your personal residence, you must have lived in it for two out of the five-year period ending on the date of the sale of the property. This means that you can buy a second home and live in it as your personal residence while renting out your first home. If, in a couple years you decide to sell your first Cocoa Beach personal residence you can sell it and still benefit from the $250,000 to $500,000 Capital Gain tax exclusion. The law says that the home must be your personal residence for at least two out of the past five years.



Tips for Buying or Selling Cocoa Beach


Most experienced real estate agents and brokers already have Websites that showcase their local MLS data so your Cocoa Beach can show up online as soon as it is listed. On the other hand, if you are selling on your own it will take time or a considerable advertising budget to get your individual Cocoa Beach property to show up on the major search engines where prospective buyers will find it. You could tap into one of the several For Sale by Owner Websites but that would limit your market of buyers.

Buying real estate in Cocoa Beach is also much easier when you work with a real estate agent who knows the area and the market. While there is a great deal of information online about real estate asking prices, it is not always so easy to find out what a property actually sold for. And even then, specific terms of a sale often make a difference in how to interpret the sales price.

Robin Taylor Ritchie
Broker Associate
GRI, ABR, e-Pro

Licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Florida

Titusville, FL 32780
321-698-8731