Daytona Beach Shores, FL

Palma Bella is one of the newest and finest condominiums in Daytona Beach Shores. Developer - Doug Cook - brought the sense of luxury that simply was not there. Not in the name, as we call luxury any Oceanfront Condo, and though the Ocean is definitely a luxury, the condos very often not.

Palma Bella is one of the five oceanfront condominium buildings comprising the Costa Bella collection in Daytona Beach Area. Out of 5 planned 3 have been completed: Marbella, Bella Vista and Palma Bella.

Palma Bella is a gorgeous building with very spacious three-bedroom and 3 baths units. Developer used best materials and the lobby is very impressive. You find yourself in the art gallery with pictures on the walls, nice tiled common areas with a social room with full kitchen facing 100' pool and the ocean. The U shaped building has a bridge on the 9^th floor making it resemble the Atlantis on the Paradise Island in the Bahamas.

The bridge is facing west, and it is gorgeous place to watch sunsets over the city. Developer was lucky that he had all units reserved, but by the time they got to Closings, the market was not in great shape and some of the buyers/speculators walked away. That became a common challenge for condo developers getting caught in the declining market.

Palma Bella features include underground reserved parking, sundeck w/oceanfront heated pool & spa, oceanfront fitness room.

All units are 9'4" ceilings, crown molding, 5 1/4" baseboards, built-in electric fireplace, European style cabinetry in Kitchens, imported granite countertops, Jenn-Air electric grills on balconies.

Of course, everything is up to new toughest codes with impact-resistant windows and doors with saltwater protection.

Check the available units today. Everything that is under $500K is a terrific price, but look at $398,500. This is an incredible price at $164.33 per sq. ft. What an incredible market.

Call me if you want a million-dollar luxury oceanfront unit for less than 50 cents on a dollar. Call 386-405-4408 or drop me a line in the e-mail.

* The photo of the ocean is taken from unit 202. The least expensive unit 302 is just above it.

Time to update on the Condo Deals in the Oceans - Daytona Beach Shores, a popular Oceans complex. In the last months the market has changed: there are fewer units remaining for sale, the prices are somewhat higher, and multiple offers can happen...

I have clients who are still waiting to see how it changes. Well, just 5-6 months ago there were quite a few units in the 140K-$170K range. Look at the table below. There are now only 3 units for under $170K. 4-5 months ago there were 3 units for under $170K just in Oceans One, and now there are 3 in all 11 oceanfront Oceans buildings. "Real' price is over $190K.

The table below includes all 9 units for sale in all of the Oceans buildings for under $200K, 9 out of 22 total units for sale.

It is also good to remember that at the height of the market these units (remodeled) were sold for close to $500,000. (I would rather concentrate on that number, than wait to see if it falls another $10K-$20K.)

So, which of these is the best buy? Well, the best one is not on that list. But it is for sale. We had it under contract for our buyer. It was a short sale, and then the Seller declared bankruptcy, thus effectively killing the Short sale. We asked whether our client could buy a note, never got the answer, and the buyer bought a property in another area.

Now somehow the judge got it out of bankruptcy and told them to sell it, at least that's what the Listing agent told me. She called me because we had it under contract. It is not yet on the MLS, and I might be the only one who knows about it.

Because it is not my listing, and I did not ask the Listing agent for permission to disclose the address, I can only say that it is in Oceans One, it is a 2 bdr/2 bath DIRECT OCEANFRONT unit. Not only that, this unit was practically fully remodeled and now has granite countertops, beautifully done Master Bath, tiled floors. It could benefit from replacing the windows and the sliding balcony door. Living room has the view of the ocean and the city, both bedrooms face the ocean. We had it under contract for $155,500, same as unit 2005 in the same building, which is an REO, with no remodeling except for the kitchen, and not direct oceanfront (but a unit with a great views of both the ocean and the Intracoatal).

You want it? Maybe you could get it for the same price, which would be as close to a miracle as it gets. Call me at 386-405-4408.

Considering the changing market, of course, in a couple of years this would sound more than a miracle...

The government passed the extension of the 1^st Time Home Buyers Tax Credit last week. This was a long anticipated move and will certainly help more people buy homes in the months ahead. The interesting part of the extension was the inclusion of a $6500 tax credit for move up buyers that purchase a new primary residence. To qualify, a buyer would need to have lived in their current residence for 5 of the last 8 years. They are not required to sell their existing home, but must declare the new home as their primary residence. It will be interesting to see how many people take advantage of this. It may help break the sales slump of homes in the higher price points. Click Here to see The Florida Realtors issued this press release.

There are many people that feel the economy will benefit in 2010 from the stimulus packages set forth in 2009. Unemployment and inflation appear to be two issues that are not quite at the forefront of most agendas, but may ultimately have the greatest say in the viability and sustainability of any recovery. The full force of economic growth will not be felt until the jobless rate decreases. The risk of inflation may not be as great during the early phases of the recovery as policy makers are typically hesitant to raise interest rates significantly or sharply during any initial economic improvement. While I am not suggesting that interest rates will be low indefinitely, it does appear that the increases will be gradual. It's Good News for consumers if this theory holds true. Click here to see an Interesting article on CNBC.

Well, it's that time again. It's time for a "Wordless Wednesday" photo. And as usual... my post is not wordless. lol. BUT, I'm not going to tell you about the photo ;-) The photo is just a bonus, to show you a little something from the city of Daytona Beach Shores. The rest of this post is a Daytona Beach Shores real estate update, for anyone who's interested in buying real estate in beautiful Daytona Beach Shores... (or selling real estate in beautifu Daytona Beach Shores!)

And now for the recent list of available Daytona Beach Shores MLS condos, houses and duplexes/townhouses (from the Daytona Beach area Multiple Listing Service-MLS).

For each type of Daytona Beach Shores listing on the market, you'll find the number of properties on the market, and the price range from lowest to highest.

If you're interested in buying (or selling) real estate in Daytona Beach Shores, I'd love to help! Call or e-mail me for a list of condos, houses or multi-family homes in Daytona Beach Shores, that will meet your specific needs.

And don't forget to ask me about our automated MLS system that will allow me to save your profile and needs, and have listings, details and photo updates sent directly to you each morning, as soon as new MLS listings come on the market.

Make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill, Daytona Beach Shores REALTOR®, for all your real estate needs. <

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

Welcome Home!Welcome to Oceanside Inn - Daytona Beach Shores

I had a closing today. One that was traditional and that we now do not have very often. Sitting at the table with the Closing agent and the Buyer felt like a thing from the past. We still did not have the Seller and seller's agent at the table, but this was REO and I did not expect the agent to come.

The unit is direct oceanfront. It is the south east corner, so in addition to all the view directly to the ocean, it also has panoramic vistas south up to New Smyrna Beach. This is the largest studio floor plan in the resort and at 543 sf thee is enough room for my client. This is the only unit on that stack with full standard kitchen. I do not know who the original owner was, as they have put it there initially, instead of small kitchenettes in other units.

The buyer is from Boston. She came here twice and both times stopped in Oceanside Inn to get the feel of the property. Stayed in different units.

After the closing we went to the condo-hotel resort and when we walked into the lobby, she smiled and greeted everyone she saw there at the front desk by name:

"Hi Nick, hi James". And they smiled and greeted her by name. And when I told them that I wanted to introduce the new owner to them, they said: "Welcome Home!"

And it was beautiful.

I love Oceanside Inn - the best condo-hotel resort in Daytona Beach Shores. They can make you feel at home.

P.S. If you are looking for inexpensive oceanfront to call your second home, just drop me a line in the e-mail or call 386-405-4408.