More Buyer's Remorse in Crystal Cove

The real estate market picked up during the summer, not really in price appreciation, but in the number of sales. That doesn't mean that buyers don't need to be careful.  Some buyers lost big time.

Take for example 22 Sidney Bay in Crystal Cove, which sold for $2.249 million at the end of June.  Although the listing made a big deal of the "ocean," the dining room and living room at what would be the ocean-facing end of this home have huge sit down views of .....

a brick wall.
Uggg.

That's right. Practically speaking 22 Sidney Bay has no ocean view because of the house located behind it.  The inside is very nice, though, and i suppose that is what sucked the buyers in.

All this is not so bad until you come to know that 27 Atlantis Cove then sold for about the same price -- $2.350 million.  Not so bad?  No, it is bad.   27 Atlantis Cove is a bigger home with a HUGE ocean view. No brick wall view.  A big ocean view from the kitchen and living room in a Crystal Cove home is worth about $500,000.

Did the buyers of 22 Sidney Bay overpay by $500,000?  Probably.  Especially when you consider 11 Secret Cove, which is the same size with practically the same no-ocean view. It sold for $1.892 million.  11 Secret Cove closed about a week before 22 Sidney Bay - did the Sidney Bay buyers know about this comp that was priced more than $350,000 less? I doubt it!!

Buyers need to be careful out there - do your own research and don't assume your real estate agent is keeping you informed.

One Seabourne Home May Sell - Another Seabourn Listing Fails in Crystal Cove

52 Sidney Bay was recently pulled from the market.  Listed at a lofty $2.9 million, it didn't sell and may have been rented for substantially less than the cost of owning at $2.9 million.  I saw a rental listing for this home recently, but cannot find it now.

The owners of 9 Atlantis Cove aggressively reduced their asking price to $2,395,000 and succeeded in drawing an offer from someone who is shopping the Seabourne models in Crystal Cove.  Surprisingly, 9 Atlantis Cove is now listed as pending on Redfin.  If it sells somewhere near the asking price, such a sale price probably would have been what the home would have sold for sometime in 2004, in my opinion.

Will the buyer stick around and close?  Time will tell.

The remaining Seabourne homes for sale have been on and off the market for an average of 688 days.
This is the real time since the homes were first listed, even if they were taken on and off the market.  Real estate agents commonly delist and relist properties so the days on the market (DOM) indicator from the MLS can be a lot less than reality.  I find that my way of looking at DOM a useful indicator of market weakness because it really shows how long the seller has been trying, on and off, to sell a home.

The raw data is:
 
11 Secret Cove - 1731 days - First listed on Jan 31, 2006.
2 Secret Cove - 552 days - First listed in April 2009.
24 Wharfside Drive - 995 days - First listed in February 2008.
62 Sidney Bay - 56 days
5 Atlantis Cove - 106 days