Welcome to 2020 and our new “Norm” for the housing markets here in Sunny South Florida. As always I speak with different agents covering various different housing markets to see what their take is on in their areas. I then gather this information and pass it on to my clients and let them use this as they see fit.

Single family Jupiter ranch homes still are our strongest market segment. First we just don’t have many one story homes due to the limited lot sizes here in the area. Most of the homes built after 2000 were small lots and large homes. This includes many areas such as Abacoa, Paseos and Rialto. Many of our home buyers are late 50’s or early 60’s and want one story living with homes at least 2,000 sq. ft or larger. A standard Abacoa lot is 6,250 sq. ft. so once you add a two car garage, porches and setbacks their isn’t much room for a yard or a home much larger.

This week I saw two Jupiter Bluffs homes hit the market and were both under contract in less than 7 days. I sent an Abacoa home (457 Caravelle Dr) to a customer yesterday that came on the market as soon as I saw it and it was sold today. All of the homes were under $575,000.

Jupiter Single Family Homes Statistics

Out of the homes for sale how many need a minor renovation? Look at the different homes and you quickly will see how many need some renovation work. Once you decide you want an updated single story home you can see that the numbers are quite low and they sell quickly.

20 Year old homes are due for renovations and we have a lot more homes that were built mid 80’s here in Jupiter especially near the beach. In Xanadu this year we saw about 6 homes sell and 4 of the 6 probably have spent $200,000 + on renovations and the last two were just torn down to build a new home.

I’m going to continue to emphasis the importance of watching new listings and be ready to act quickly if you see that right home.

Once again we are seeing another problematic obstacle with obtaining home insurance. I received this from my local insurance agent just the other day.

Asphalt / Composition: 13 – 15 years

Tile: 20 – 25 years

Metal: 25 – 30 years

If you are buying a Jupiter home and your roof is older than the years above you may not be able to get homeowners insurance or it may be quite costly. Before it was just the wind mitigation but now most homes require a 4 point inspection as well for insurance quotes.

I spoke to a seller the other day and his Asphalt roof is 20 years old and the insurance company will not cover his home now. He needs to put on a new roof to get insurance. Just one more caveat you have to think about when purchasing a home. It’s important to get a homeowners insurance quote during that inspection period.

Another issue I have seen is older wood frame Jupiter townhomes that are in an HOA and not a condo. The HOA master policy covers the building. In normal instances you would require an HO6 policy to cover your interior contents only. Due to recent issues they may require you to have an HO3 policy like an ordinary single family home which of course is more expensive and you are now duplicating the coverage provided by the HOA which you pay for each month in your HOA dues. It is a constantly changing requirement that even dealing with this daily throws us some curves.

I hope this information provides you some greater knowledge no matter if you are buying or selling a home. Sellers, imagine after you have your home under contract and the buyer comes back to you and tells you they can’t get homeowners insurance without a new roof. That could easily be a $20,000 to $35,000 unexpected selling expense you weren’t thinking about. Not a great scenario for either party.

Interesting Article from a Colorado Agent that I’ve been speaking with that I thought may interest you.

Where are all the new or updated homes and condos for sale? It is true our local real estate market continues to perform in an impressive manner but the story line from 2019 is all about the rising yet unmet demand for “new” and “updated”. Today’s Crested Butte home buyers are shopping but not exactly finding what they are looking for. What is missing from our marketplace? Newly built or expertly remodeled homes and condos with fresh interior designs, modern materials and layouts.

Yes, there is plenty of construction going on around the valley. But much of the build activity today involves custom homes for individuals. Demand for New Jupiter custom homes is so strong that local contractors are breaking ground during winter, pouring foundations and framing buildings in sub-freezing conditions in order to keep pace.

However, most of our market’s would be investors are not interested in searching for a homesite and embarking on a potentially years long home design and build process. Buying a homesite is still our market’s best value proposition. Land values (with the exception of the Town of Crested Butte) are still lagging but most buyers are shying away. Why? It takes a tremendous amount of thought work, time and motion to get a new home out of the ground in Crested Butte particularly if you don’t live here full time. If you ask a local architect or general contractor today about timing they’ll likely tell you it’ll be 2 or more years before you’ll be able to move in.

What led us to this day? The spec building industry in our valley was dormant for many years after the market crash in 2008. It didn’t make sense for developers to attempt a speculative build and sell when the market opportunity for purchasing homes and condos below replacement cost from banks was so robust. Now our market is at a crossroads. Demand is up but quality supply is down.

Now, when a newly built or updated property hits the market it doesn’t take long for it to sell. A good example of this is my recent sale at 63 Wapiti Way at Skyland. This beautiful spec home sold quickly and at a record setting price for a golf course location.

The outlook for 2020? Savvy spec home builders are listening to the market and responding with a variety of exciting new projects in our valley.