Clearwater Beach Florida Real Estate Market Report for 3 Bedroom Condos
Clearwater Beach Florida– The most common request we get from real estate investors as well as people who just want to buy a beachfront condo is for 3 bedroom Clearwater Beach Condos in zipcode 33767. I understand why – most want to invite family and friends to vacation with them however, it’s important to realize that 3 bedroom Clearwate beach condominiums come with a premium because there are not that many available for sale (especially under $500,000 – the cheapest condo on Clearwater Beach / Sand Key right now is $425,000 and it’s on the 2nd floor overlooking the intercoastal (much less desirable) – not the Gulf – beach side for example). You may not know this but most of our beach condo communities were built with 2 bedroom or less.
Buyers and investors find that if the condos are actually on the Gulf of Mexico with our famous “sugar white sand” they are priced more than most buyers are expecting to pay…especially after reading the newspaper who seems to portray that owners and sellers are giving away real estate in Clearwater Beach and Florida in general. Currently there are actually 122 three bedroom condos for sale in the 33767 zip code (which includes Island Estates – which are not on the island/beachfront). In addition, five are Active with Contracts (translated – short sales – praying the banks will come to terms) so today only @5% of all 3 bedrooms on Clearwater Beach and Sand Key are selling right each month. Here’s the latest detailed analysis on 3 bedroom condos are what is really selling in todays Clearwater Beach real estate market…
What’s selling on Clearwater Beach this Month – 3 Bedrooms
In the last 30 days five 3 bedroom condos have sold on Clearwater Beach / Sand Key (I am using the 33767 area on the beach). The three bedroom beach condos have sold for a low of $340,000 and a high of $975,000. Now the range of prices can be deceiving since they vary greatly in size, age of the condominiums, and whether they are “on the beach” or “on the intercoastal”. Three of the sales were for condominiums on the beachside – two were on the intercoastal, one in Sand Key at Garden Side and one was across the street in Belle Harbor Condominums – which is on of the newer JMC Communities that continues to be popular.
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Five 3 Bedroom Condos sold on Clearwater Beach in last 30 days
(1) The lowest priced condo on Clearwater Beach or Sand Key to sell was on the intercoastal – not the beach! It was in the Sand Key Bayside Condo on the 2nd Floor (low floors harder to sell right now) – it sold for $340,000 and at $224/sq ft and sold for 92% of list price in 56 days. This reinforces that with all the properties for sale – people consistently ask us for properties on the beach itself. This was not a short sale or foreclosure sale. While it is one the intercoastal there are no ammenities for boating (ie docks, slips, etc).
(2) The best 3 bedroom Clearwater beach condo bargain in the last 30 days was in the Continental Towers on the 12th floor however it was a short sale and they purchased it for $585,000 in August of 2004 but today owed $975,000 so this 2800 sq foot unit sold for $450,000 which was 90% of list price at an unusually low $161 per sq foot – especially considering this unit was completely updated. However Continental Towers is located between active hotels on Clearwater Pass with a different beach that many find less desirable – all of which is translated in the lower sales price here in my opinion.
(3) The place that is most popular with many of our buyers is The Utopia and in my experience someone got a great buy at $687,000 for over 2300 sq ft for straight on Gulf of Mexico views along with inter-coastal water views for just $292 a square foot.
This condominium is actually assessed by the Pinellas County Property Appraiser on a Just Market Value of $888,700. This condo sold for 89% of the list price in 53 days. This Utopia condo sale was not a short sale or pre-foreclosure sale however it was effected by last sale in building which was $750,000 in January.
(4)The only 3 bedroom that sold on North Clearwater Beach wasn’t on direct beachfront it was on the intercoastal but the beach is across the street. It was the 3 bedroom at Belle Harbor.
This Belle Harbor Condo on the 9th floor sold for $600,000 which came out to $344 a square foot at 92% of asking price in 82 days. It was not a short sale, pre-foreclosure or foreclosure. The sellers had purchased this condo in 2004 for $568,000 which is pretty reflective of where prices have gone back to and why many believe when units reach 2003-2004 prices we are back on the natural line of property values. Ironically on doing some analysis the sold price appears to be higher than I would expect since this community has been effected by several short sales and foreclosures this year. It was sold furnished so that could account for some of the extra – and it was a cash transaction, which is probably good since I don’t believe that price would have passed the appraisers we’ve seen lately. Just another reminder why it’s good to have real estate buyer’s agents like us representing YOU in your beach property purchase – hear what our past real estate buyers and sellers have to say. The information you are getting here is just a sample of the research and analysis we do for our real estate clients everyday.
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(5) The most expensive real estate sold was at The Meridian on the 19th floor – 2700 sq ft of Gulf front views on Sand Key in 2008 the Just Market Value the Pinellas Property Appraiser assessed this property was $1,542,900. After 311 days it sold for $975,000. It was not a short sale or foreclosure property sale however even though it was the highest priced condo- it’s been rare to have 3 bedroom condos sell in the Meridian for under $1,000,000. So again for the size and the community – it’s a sign that buyers are getting deals we haven’t seen in a long time on Clearwater Beach. Just 5 months earlier in April a similar Meridian 2700 sq ft condo unit on the 18th floor sold for $1,507,000 so it appears this buyer definitely bought right!
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It will be interesting to see what happens in the Clearwater Beach real estate market in the next 30 days as we’ve seen traffic and inquiries pick up. Ironically as of tonight there were currently 6 beach condos under contract and “pending” right now. All but one have been on the real estate market over 6 months to almost a year with the average list price at $405 a square foot – which isn’t flying with appraisers and lenders so we’ll see what the actual “sold” prices end up being.
We do know of three Sandpearl Condos Short Sales that are close to closing and excellent values for the buyers – we’ll keep you posted or feel free to call us to get the inside scoop on what’s happening there right now.
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The bottom line is that if you want to buy 3 bedroom Clearwater Beach condos today with views of the Gulf of Mexico in Clearwater Beach or Sand Key, even if it’s a real estate bargain, you are still looking at spending over $500,000 even in this real estate market.
Also notice how ONLY 1 of the 5 properties sold was a distressed sale – we’re finding banks are taking ridiculously long times to respond and the properties ending up in foreclosure and as Bank REOs are typically never reaching the market with the bank because they are often packaged as a portfolio and sold to wholesale investors who then list the property at close to market value to move it and make a return on their investment. If you have cash we are finding some short sales are being flipped – however no lender will lend on them for at least 90 days and still havent’ seen much of a deal when an investor sucks the value out in my opinion.
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Copyright © 2007-2009 Jack and Cyndee Haydon, Clearwater REALTORS and specializing in Clearwater Florida, Clearwater Beach Florida, and Pinellas County Waterfront homes and condos. Information is deemed reliable however it is not guaranteed and subject to change at any time.