Daytona Beach Shores, FL

Bella Vista Condominiums in Daytona Beach Shores.

Bella Vista is one of not many condos built after the Hurricanes of 2004. By the time it was complete in 2007, the market was already softening, and they had quite a few scared buyers, who opted to lose their 15% deposit and not close.

But the developer – Cook Development – were still lucky, they were able to sell the remaining unsold unit at minimum discount and get out of there before the market hit the bottom (if we assume that it already hit the bottom).

All these newer condos are beautiful, and there is no comparison to older condominium buildings in the area. If the market would have stayed high for another 3 years, we would have one of the most beautiful condos dotting the shoreline. I have seen the designs, and they were so nice.

Now it is gone, some of the land was lost to foreclosure, and until the money start flowing back, there will not be much in terms of any new development on the Beachside.

Look at availability of units in Bella Vista. 8 units only and average price is higher than the average price for units sold in Bella Vista in 2011. Of course, asking price and selling prices are not the same, but you can still notice the trend, that prices are stabilizing and even inching up.

Check all units sold in Bella Vista in 2011.

Call me for information about condos on Daytona's beachside.

Quiet "Winter" morning on the Intracoastal in Daytona Beach Shores

We are getting just days away from February, but the temperature is more like in March, and in the last week even the water in the ocean went up from 66F to 68F. It is really comfortably warm, and in the car you need AC. It was 76F on the beach at 6 PM. Absolutely not bad.

Of course, we have another month – February – which is considered second coldest month, and the weather can change practically instantly, so the winter is not over yet, but there isn’t much time for “cold” winter left anyway.

Interestingly, I start feeling that our seasonal slowdown in real estate is also ending, and the level of activity is going up after the New Year.

Which is welcome. We are always ready for that.

Come visit Daytona area. It is warm, enjoy the beauty of the ocean, which is very calm now, the beach will take your breath away.

See how calm were the waters of the Intracoastal in the morning today. In the background you see The Oceans Condos buildings in Daytona Beach Shores.

You can check listings in Daytona Beach Shores here.

Once upon a time there was a listing. Price for this 3 bdr /3 bath oceanview condo in Daytona Beach Shores was very good, and I rushed to call the listing office for the showing instructions.

There was a slight hesitation, and then I got the listing agent on the other line. And we know each other.

- Jon, it is actually not for sale at this particular moment…

I was puzzled. It is on MLS as active, so what is the deal? Well, the seller has a much more expensive piece of property in South Florida, and he is trying to short sell this way over a million-dollar beauty, and until he sells it, this one is not going to go anywhere.

- Then why have it active on MLS?

- The Seller wants it this way…

I did not want to argue that it does not matter what the Seller wants, and that we have our rules on MLS and this was, obviously, wrong.

I figured that they wanted to show to the bank that they had it at a very low price, but still cold not sell it.

I now treated the condo building as if this unit was not even there. And I was not the only one. Every agent, who tried to show, learned that it was there…but it wasn’t.

And then we saw it on the list of foreclosure going on the chopping block. Ouch, how come? Why not to do a short sale?

Too late. It was sold at the auction.

How coud it happen? I think, when the time came to realluy sell this unit, we all “knew” that it was not for sale, so nobody was calling the agent, there were no requests for showings… and a beautiful unit priced well was left unnoticed. And ended in foreclosure.

Crying wolf...

Palma Bella Condominiums in Daytona Beach Shores. January 2012. 7 condo units for sale as of January 22, 2012 in Palma Bella Condominiums starting from $495K to $699K.

There were 5 units sold in 2011, and the prices held pretty steady.

Palma Bella is the crème of the crop of Costa Bella Collection of fine condominiums by Cook Development. Out of 3 buildings of 5 planned: Marbella, Bella Vista, and Palma Bella, the latter is a clear winner, even though it is very close in overall ambiance and features to Bella Vista, with which was completed only 6 moths before Palma Bella in 2007.

It was fascinating what a difference in a slipping market those 6 month had. Palma Bella really had hard time selling off the units. They had their more than fair share of Buyers walking away from their 15% deposits on $700K to over $1 Mil units. But they did it and there are no unsold units in any of these buildings.

Palma Bella is an 11-story condominium with 8 units per floor. Units range in size from 3/2 with 2,200 sq. ft. to 3/3 with 2,564 sq. ft. Beautiful Mediterranean styled large units with high ceilings, granite countertops, built-in electric grills on the balcony, gorgeous views, 100’ long pool.

But start from the entrance. The lobby takes you to an art gallery with excellent paintings on the walls behind the columns. You can buy the paintings, they exposition changes. I do not know with whom they have the arrangement, but the paintings are wonderful, and they add such a flavor rarely found in condominiums.

There are 80 units in Palma Bella, there are 80 lucky owners owning the best place to feel like you are in paradise.

See for yourself.

Call me 386-405-4408 to find out about any condo on Daytona's beachside.

Daytona Beach Shores 3 bedroom condos on the ocean start at $190,000. There are only two 3 bdr condos for sale for less than $200K. Not a big number by any stretch.

Lowest priced 3 bedroom unit sold in Daytona Beach Shores in 2011 was a unit in Sea Fern ($114,500), but still only 3 units were sold for under $200K.

In 2010 there were fewer units sold, but the lowest priced oceanfront unit was $200K.

This is not surprising that we see more activity in the 2 bedroom segment, than in 3 bedroom, but the gap is not wide and usually 3 bedroom units are next to start going up.

Looking for a condo in Daytona Beach Shores? Call me at 386-405-4408, or shoot me an e-mail.