As of this writing, I am still doing the research and crunching the numbers for the whole coast, Ft. Morgan area, and Plantation in 2012. However, here are some preliminary numbers from some of my first passes at the data (these sales data reflect only condominium sales on the Alabama Gulf Coast as reported on the Baldwin County Multiple Listing Service)
There were a total of 697 sales in calendar year 2012, compared with 561 sales in 2011. The median price per square foot for 2012 sales was $256.12 as compared with $238.65 in 2011. However, there were a significant number of initial (“closeout”) sales at one of the last new condos built out during the “boom.” At that complex, there were 105 new-unit sales in 2012, as compared to only 50 in 2011. More importantly, these “conversion” sales were at prices ranging up to $1.9+ million. It is likely these sales may have artificially skewed the price per square foot upward. That is, the median price per square foot may be inflated inappropriately by including the “glut” of these close-out sales in a new condominium. Not including those sales, the 2012 median price per square foot came in at $246.00 as compared to $227.00 in 2011 using the same methodology.
The good news? Whether you include those close-out sales or not, there seems to have been a notable increase in both number of beach condos sold in 2012 when compared to 2011, and prices didn’t have to suffer to get that increase in transactions. In fact, prices went up. These are all good indicators that we may be returning to an appreciating market which with luck will continue into 2013 and beyond!
