Real Estate – Page 18 – West Boca News

Boca Falls Home Sales for Early 2017

Compared to Boca Winds, homes in Boca Falls seem to be selling slower but still for good prices.

21431 Gosier Way in Majestic Pointe sold for $665K in late January. Image by Google.

Three homes in Boca Falls have sold for over $600,000 since the start of the year. 21431 Gosier Way (above) sold for the most at $665K after over 3 months on the market. The house has 5 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths in almost 3400 square feet, with a number of significant upgrades inside and out. While it looks good, it’s still well below the market peak as the home’s previous transaction was for $785K in 2006.
At $605K, 12299 Riverfalls Court just closed a few days ago. It was on the market for over 7 months. The 5 bedroom, 3 bath model, 3200 square foot model on 2 floors is one of the most popular in Victoria Falls. The home has a larger lot and is on the edge of the cul de sac.

Thinking of buying or selling a house in West Boca?
Call Warren at 888-733-5299.

Another transaction for the same model is pending several houses down, for roughly the same price and a long time waiting for a buyer. That one hasn’t closed yet but the inspection carried out by the home inspector appears to be complete. By the way, if you’re looking to buy any of these properties, make sure to check a list of the best home inspectors in your area. It pays to be diligent now rather than have issues later.
12361 Rockledge Circle sold for $604K at the end of March, unusually fast in only 10 days. It’s a 5 bedroom on one floor in 2800 square feet (the kid closets are small). The model is widely seen in its Mystic Cove subdivision.
All of the $600K homes have water views and private pools.
Moving into the $500K range, 12215 Kenton Way sold for $570K after 7 months on the market. The house has 5 bedrooms and 3 baths in 3100 square feet on one floor. This was a short sale and the house has no waterfront.
21426 Gosier Way sold for $560K in 4 months. It has 4 bedrooms and 3 baths in 2700 square feet on one floor, with a pool but no waterfront.

12307 Rockledge Circle sold for $550K; image by Google

12307 Rockledge Circle sold more quickly, in just over one month. At 4 bedrooms and 3 baths in 2400 square feet it sold for $550K. It’s small for Boca Falls but has an extended lake view, screened-in pool and significant upgrades.
Selling for $545K after 4 1/2 months was 21480 Halstead Drive in Majestic Pointe. It has 5 bedrooms and 3 baths in 3300 square feet, and a pool but no waterfront. And nearby on Gosier Way, the same model at 21329 Gosier Way sold for just $500 less, with waterfront but no pool. This looks like the buyer got a good deal and the sellers could gotten significantly more if they had been more patient, selling in only 40 days.
Further down in price, 12646 Torbay Drive sold for $510K after 3 months on the market. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 baths in 2700 square feet on one floor, a pool and a waterfront view. It’s also one of the shorter walks to the nearby top-rated Waters Edge Elementary School. While the house could use some upgrades (dated appliances), this price seems well below market value. The sellers used a “flat fee” broker and their listing photos were cheap with poor lighting.
21407 Gosier sold for just under $500K. The seller was a bank which acquired it out of foreclosure, which typically means a much lower price due to problems in the house. The 5 bedroom, 3 bath home has almost 3400 square feet.
Last and also least, 12730 Yardley Drive sold for $445K in a month and a half. This is one of the smallest homes in Boca Falls with 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths in 2500 square feet and only 2 garage spaces.

Homes in Boca Winds Move Quickly

Boca Winds is a large community west of 441 on Palmetto Park Road. Community amenities include a clubhouse, basketball and tennis courts, a pool and sidewalks. Students attend Waters Edge Elementary School, Loggers’ Run Middle School and West Boca Raton High School.

Boca Winds map; image and map data by Google

The home at 21846 Philmont Court sold for $435,000 in only 13 days on the market. Located in the Monterey Bay subdivision, it has 4 bedrooms and 2.1 bathrooms in 2280 sq. feet of living space.

This home boasts panoramic lake views and Brazilian Cherry floors. The remodeled kitchen has quartz counter tops and Mexican Talavera accent tiles as well as stainless steel appliances and a wine cooler. The master bath has a beautiful stand alone tub and a frameless shower. Built in 1994, it sold for $322,000 in 2015. Two smaller homes nearby on Philmont, a 3-bedroom for $315K in only 3 days, and a 4 bedroom for $360K in 36 days.

The ranch at 22167 Appleton Drive sold for $381,000 in only 19 days. It has 4 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms in 2022 sq. feet of living space. The home features soaring ceilings and porcelain floors. The master bath has a frameless shower and large separate tub. There is an open floor plan which overlooks an in ground pool and private backyard. Previously purchased for $220,000 in 2001, its original sale price was $147,500 in 1989.

The contemporary ranch at 22633 Middletown Drive sold for $310,000. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms in 1924 sq. feet of living space. There is an open and spacious split floor plan.

The covered screen patio overlooks a tropical fenced in backyard. Built in 1988 for $124,000. This listing did take over 3 months to sell, possibly because of the less desirable lot location and the listing’s indication that the home needed upgrades (dated kitchen and bathrooms).

The two story home at 12689 Tucano Circle sold for $522,500. Typically for more expensive homes, it sat on the market for longer – over 3 months. This waterfront home is located in the Waterways subdivision and has 5 bedrooms with 2.1 bathrooms.

There is 2890 sq. feet of living space. Located on a quiet cul de sac, this pool home has lots of upgrades. There is a new kitchen with granite counter tops, wood cabinets and top of the line stainless steel appliances. The bathrooms have also been remodeled. A large pool and deck is screened in. Built in 1995, it was sold for $390,000 in 2016.
The large home at 12680 Little Palm Lane sold for $500,000. It has 4 bedrooms and 3.1 bathrooms in 3253 sq. feet of living space. This remodeled home has a large foyer entry and solid hardwood floors.

12680 Little Palm Lane; image by Google Maps

The kitchen has a large island and top of the line appliances. All the bathrooms have been remodeled. A unique feature is a home theater with recliners, though you still need to figure out how to how to choose the right TV for the space. The pool and yard overlook the canal and the front has views of the lake. There is also a 3 car garage. Built in 1999, it was last purchased for $300,000 in 2010.
This one was on the market for over 6 months. A similar model on Little Palm sold for $512K in just 60 days.
Other sales of note include:

12304 Saint Simon Drive, $480K, 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths in just under 3300 square feet.
12180 Quilting Lane, $445K, 4 beds, 2 1/2 baths, 2700 square feet.
12141 Quilting Lane, $330K, 4 beds, 2 1/2 baths, 2300 square feet.
22554 Blue Marlin Drive, $358K, 4 beds, 2 1/2 baths, 2400 square feet.

Home Sales Struggle in The Bridges

Looking at first quarter transactions in The Bridges (Lyons Road north of Clint Moore), we are seeing home sales struggle at best. Nearly new homes sold for little increase and in some cases at a substantial loss. Meanwhile the builder sold three homes at relatively low prices, undercutting existing homes.
Our data show 11 transactions in The Bridges in the first three months of the year. At the low end, 16903 Bridge Crossing Circle sold for just under $640K, barely over the original purchase price of $639K in August of 2014. The house has 3 bedrooms and 3 baths in 2600 square feet of space, one of the smallest homes in the neighborhood. It took 8 months to sell.

8159 Hutchinson Court sold at a loss, $714K down from $750K in 2015. The house has 4 bedrooms and 4 baths in 3500 sqft. This one took over a year to sell.
Some homes did show price increases. 8190 Banpo Bridge Way sold for $955K, up from $850K in 2015, though the house was marketed as “loaded with costly upgrades”. It has 4 bedrooms and 5 baths in 3800 sqft.
16659 Ambassador Bridge Road went up to $976K from $849K in 2014. The house has 4 bedrooms and 5 baths in 3900 square feet
Three homes next to each other on Lewis River Road were sold by the builder. 8526 Lewis River Road sold for $899K with 4 bedrooms, 4.1 baths in 4200 sqft.
8520 Lewis River Road sold for $988K with 5200 square feet. And 8532 Lewis River Road sold for only $899K at roughly the same size – that’s only $173 per square foot and seems well below market value.
These may have been the among the last new homes sold. The satellite image shows two of them (8520 and 8526) as a parking lot, and perhaps 8532 was a model home.
Only one home sold for over $1M. 8776 Sydney Harbor Circle sold for $1.135M. The house has 5 bedrooms and 7 1/2 baths in 5300 square feet. The lot doesn’t appear to have anything special about it. The buyer is the CFO of a “small cap” publicly traded technology company and may have paid for substantial upgrades.
With new large homes in The Bridges selling this low, we expect continued pressure on home prices in the low seven figures in nearby neighborhoods like The Oaks and that may filter down to neighborhoods with homes in the high six figures like Saturnia.

Venezuelan Fugitive Arrested in Boca Chase

Update: Boca Raton Police advise that the arrest began with a routine traffic stop, during which the officer discovered the warrant.

Marcos A. Da Silva Castro booking photo from PBSO

A Venezuelan man was arrested Wednesday morning in Boca Chase on a Puerto Rican warrant for a multi-million dollar fraud.
The short version of the underlying criminal case is available in English from the Associated Press, but there is much greater detail in Spanish from the Puerto Rico Department of Justice.
Da Silva Castro and a Venezuelan associate allegedly defrauded Betteroads Asphalt Corp. (subsidiary of Empresas Díaz) of $7.8 million in 2011. The DoJ indicates they formed a fake corporation and set up a false sale of 100,000 barrels of liquid asphalt (at $78/barrel) that never existed. The funds were transferred to Swiss bank accounts.
It’s not clear why it took five years but a warrant was issued for their arrest in 2016. The associate was in custody in Venezuela at the time and Da Silva Castro’s location was unknown.
The address listed on the blotter entry appears to have been rented around the time the warrants were issued. We have reached out to the police and to the Realtors associated with the rental to see if we can find out more details.
The arrest was reported in Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Dia.

2016 Home Price Summary – 33428 and 33498

Summarizing our real estate analysis for 2016, we have created a couple of “infographics” to show the average prices in various neighborhoods in the two West Boca zip codes that are mostly west of US-441.
Boca Falls and Boca Winds are two of the larger neighborhoods at the far west end of zip code 33428. Loggers’ Run and Mission Bay cross over Glades Road into zip code 33498 to the north. Other prominent neighborhoods include Boca Woods Country Club, Lexington Estates, Palma Vista & Avalon, and the somewhat notorious Watergate Estates mobile homes at the low end.

Zip code 33498 has only middle to higher end communities including Saturnia, Boca Isles (North and South), The Shores at Boca Raton, Boca Greens, Lakes at Boca Raton, and Stonebridge Country Club.

Are you thinking of buying or selling a home in West Boca?
Call Warren at 888-733-5299, e-mail him, or fill in the form below:
[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]