Seasonal Condo Activity

CONDO REPORT
Gary & Sandy Elliott
www.marcoislandcondoguy.net
www.SandyElliottInteriors.com

During season, owners and renters push condo occupancy rates on the island to the maximum. Friends and relatives come for a week or two, and visitors vacation at local hotels and enjoy the superb weather and activities in January, February, March and April. During season, a favorite leisurely pastime between beaching, boating and fishing is checking out open houses. Condo and home owners may be looking to downsize, upsize, change location or to compare their condo’s value for a future resale. Renters check out open houses looking for next year’s rental possibilities or perhaps decide to buy a condo of their own. Friends, relatives and visitors satisfy their curiosity and imagine living here. It’s a happy and busy time for all.

About 575 Marco Island condos will change hands in 2015. This year 36% of all condo closings happened in

the second quarter. The first quarter had 26%, followed by the third quarter with 21%, and finally the fourth quarter had 17% of all the closings. The top months for condo closings in 2015 were June, when 77 condos sold and April, when 71 condos sold. The slowest months were November and December with 30 closings each month.

Many potential buyers look this year and buy a condo next year or the year after that. However, once a potential buyer decides the time is right to buy they may shop in earnest for a month or two with a realtor before making an offer. It takes another month or two from the time a sales contract is accepted until the transaction closes. Cash transactions can take 30 days or less from acceptance of offer to closing, and about 70% of the condo sales

on the island are for cash.

So the overall elapsed time from beginning of earnest searching to closing may take two or three months or longer. With this time frame in mind, the busiest earnest shopping months appear to be December, January, February, March and April. The slowest shopping months are August and September. However, even the slowest months for closings still represent about 40% of the busiest month of the year, so closings happen all year long.

If you are a seller you may want to have your condo listed for sale before the season starts to get the most exposure and offers. If you are a buyer you may find some motivated sellers during August and September. If you just want to see what is available or get decorating ideas then open houses any time of year are a fun way to see Marco Island’s condos.