Prices Down 12% in The Oaks for 2018

The average price in The Oaks fell to $1.11 million in the first half of 2018, down from $1.26 million in 2017. On a dollars per square foot basis prices also fell from $244 per square foot to $221 per square foot, a 9.4% drop. What this really reflects is that 2017 was a good year for sellers and this year appears to be returning to similar numbers we saw in 2016.

Twenty three homes sold so far this year. On the bright side this is a faster pace than 2017 where a total of 36 homes closed in the full year. There are currently 39 listings, down significantly from the 50 we reported earlier in the year. The reduced saturation may help sellers going forward.

More listings failed than closed, with 23 listings canceled and another 6 expired. The average transaction took over five months, but that doesn’t account for previous failed listings of those houses.

The top price so far this year is $2.05 million for 17738 Middlebrook Way. Built in 2004, this genuine mansion has seven bedrooms in nearly 10,000 square feet on a 1/3 acre cul de sac lot. The seller was Kenneth Hudson, CEO of a prominent South Florida advertising firm. All other sales were 6500 square feet or less.

The biggest deal in dollars per square foot was 17519 Cadena Drive selling for $1,745,000. At just under 3450 square feet it works out to $320 per square foot. Built in 2015, it just sold at the end of June and the property appraiser records have not updated yet. The only other home selling for over $300 per square foot, and just barely, was 9082 Pintura Way at $1.63 million for 5400 square feet.

The best bargain was 17541 Circle Pond Court selling for $1.09 million for this 6500 square foot house with six bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and three half baths. It’s loaded with features including an 11-seat media room.

The seller was Benzion Abboud, a noted entrepreneur, investor and an interesting guy. You can see an interview with him here:

The house was on and off the market a few times dating as far back as 2008 with list prices as high as $2.7 million.

The two lowest prices were foreclosed, bank-owned homes. 17874 Lake Azure Way sold for just $500,000. Short sale attempts failed in 2010 and 2011, and the foreclosure was completed in 2013. JP Morgan Chase Bank sat on it for a few years until they listed it in 2017. It foundered on the market until an investor finally bought it and even then the transaction took another six months to close. With a price this low it could have been a house with defective drywall but we can’t see any evidence of that. It otherwise seems to have great bones with five bedrooms in 4700 square feet. The other distressed sale was 17585 Middlebrook Way, another five bedroom house with 4300 square feet that sold for $695,100.

Overall ten of the homes sold for over $1 million and fourteen sold for less than a million. Most homes sold for $880,000 or more and the average home had five bedrooms in just over 5000 square feet.