Jupiter Homes & Condos Real Estate Report

   Welcome to our Newsletter

     Home sales have finally slowed down after weeks of strong  sales here in the Jupiter area. We saw  39  homes close last week as we enter our slow season. October and November sales tend to be the slowest for sales as we run 30 to 60 days from contract to close.  Last week, my featured property in Oceanside Terrace was listed at $229,000. A new listing in the same community with an updated kitchen and a few other upgrades came to market at $295,000 this week. The high sale in the community was $325,000 in the peak for an original condition unit. It reinforces what I have been saying about asking prices and upgraded units. 

Prices continue to rise and with season just around the corner sellers are very inflexible off their asking prices. With limited quality inventory and very little competition you can see sellers are confident their homes will sell.  I hope we see more new listings come available for season or we will have some disappointed buyers. Last week, an oceanfront condo in the Beachfront building came up for sale. Very clean, original condition from 1993 sold in a weekend at over asking price. Why, even at $795,000 it was the least expensive oceanfront condo in Juno Beach in a newer building. The condo wasn't even a direct oceanfront unit. Their is a  unit in front of this. If I was to list the unit in front of this unit I would market at $1,200,000 or more depending upon condition and floor. If it has a view, is clean and priced right you will see more of these multiply offer situations happening.

Last week I saw an Abacoa home built by Divosta on the Island come to market at $997,000. Yes, nearly a million dollars for a home in Abacoa. We aren't talking about a  custom built home but a builders home. Sure it had a beautiful pool area and overlooked the golf course but a million dollars is above even what the home was worth in the peak of 2006.

As new homes prices continue to climb and in most cases the new homes have tiny lots, fair locations and a feature list that will add dramatically to the base price.  You can understand why many buyers are looking at older homes. I'm seeing more and more townhouses that are selling for  $300,000 plus. Single family homes are fast breaching  the $500,000 mark here in Jupiter. As far as condos with water views they are starting at $750,000 for Intracoastal and close to a million for oceanfront on lower floors.  

                             Insurance/Mortgage for Homes

The ever changing mortgage and insurance requirements continue to be a challenge in the real estate market today. Unless you are the typical W-2 person I recommend you find a local mortgage broker or a local community bank for your mortgage needs. You will save an enormous amount of headaches and in most cases won't be surprised with bad news. I recently had an incident where the mortgage person couldn't understand depreciation on a rental property was only an accounting loss and not a cash loss. Many condos have different down payment requirements depending upon the number of renters vs owners occupying the community as well as the financials may also effect the required down payment. Many local brokers will know these communities. Let me recommend a mortgage person for your particular financial situation. It will save both of us time and aggravation.

                                        Homeowners Insurance in Jupiter

Insurance can be complicated and rates continue to rise beyond buyers expectations. Unless you are purchasing a home built after 2005 which does not require a wind mitigation or 4 point inspection your insurance rates can vary greatly. A wind mitigation is required by all insurance agents when applying for home insurance. The wind mitigation report is based on several factors, age of roof, type and style of roof, roof attachment,construction type and shutter protection. All wind mitigation reports require photos along with the report.

Here are some problems you may run into with the wind mitigation. All exterior openings, including skylights, doors, garage doors and windows need to be covered to get credit. The requirements are all shuttered devices need to be stamped or stickered with a Miami Dade code. Many times the stickers have fallen off, been painted over or the shutters never had a code on them. Early shutters weren't required to have  a MIami Dade code on them even though they are the exact same shutters you would buy today. Missing one sticker or no codes, No credit!

Roofs redone after 2001 are usually done to Miami Dade specs but not always. The inspector will need to pull the original roof permit to find out. The code required larger and longer nails at a specific distance apart to get credit. A picture is required. The design of your roof, including the amount of the flat roof compared to the entire roof could reduce your credits. Many oldr homes have large flat roofs ovber the patio/pool area, not great for insurance credits. Hip roofs are the best roofs for credit. The biggest caveat is the attachment of the trusses to the walls. There are 4 types of attachments, Toe Nail, Clip, Single and Double wrap. The difference in premium from Toe Nail to Clip can be near 50%. What differentiates a Toe nail vs a clip? The amount of nails in the strap. To get clip credit you need three nails, two on the side of the strap coming out of the wall and one on the opposite side. Missing one nail of the two will double your insurance premium and give you credit for Toe nail and not a clip.

The other day I was getting an insurance quote and I reviewed the wind mitigation report with the agent and asked what would happen if we changed or lowered some of the credits to see how much credit you receive for various situations. To both our surprises with all being equal and no credits the insurance quote was $7000 for a typical 80's style CBS home. We gave the clip credit which requires three nails and the premium was cut in half. They said he insurance rates have risen dramatically in Jupiter over the past year and on average an older home would run $3500-$4000 per year for a $500,000 home and as high as $7,000 per year depending upon your wind mitigation report.                                                                                                 

New Jupiter Construction Projects

We have several new projects coming up for sale here in the area. I just spoke to the on-site staff today for the Juno Beach project on the site of Loggerhead Marina on Donald Ross Rd and Prosperity Farms. There will be approximately 120 condos with a 4 story height limit. The community will feature state of the art clubhouse and fitness center, pool area and similar lifestyles to city condos. The community will be pet friendly with no size limit but breed restrictions will apply. Many of the condos will overlook the marina and have access to the marina. Starting prices will be in the $800's. More info to come!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Water Club in North Palm Beach has started breaking ground. Located next to Old Port Cove with Intracoastal and ocean views. Two 19 story condos and 20 townhouses will be built. There will be 4 different floor plans from 1,800 to 3,300 sq. ft.  They will have a state of the art fitness center along with pool area and lap pool, Yoga/Pilate's studio and private marina. Prices will start in the high $700's. More info to come.

Sellers it is a great time to sell your Jupiter home or condo. With inventory levels so low you may want to see what your home is really worth. Find your community on our website and you can see the recent sales over the past year as well as what is for sale now. To sell a home you need exposure on the Internet and we have some of the top ranking sites on-line. Sure advertising in the paper works but almost anyone you speak with says just Google it. Google Jupiter condos and visit me. You will get some of the best Internet exposure on our websites.

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