“The Space Shuttle program has retired, everyone is leaving Brevard County and real estate prices are dropping fast,” – I can’t tell everyone how much I heard that a few years ago from misinformed prospective property buyers looking for a Big Bargain in Brevard.

Yes, in July of 2011 the Space Shuttle program did retire, but prices were not dropping fast in most parts of Brevard. Although a local newspaper kept reporting “Doom & Gloom,” I saw opportunity – especially in the right locations.

Sales prices were about 50 percent discount from the peak of the market, and it was hard to believe they would go any lower even with the Shuttle retiring. However, many buyers sat on the fence waiting for that Big Bargain to happen as sales prices kept inching up.

STATEWIDE MEDIAN SALES ROSE

In fact, for the last 33 months in a row, the statewide median sales prices rose year-over-year for both single-family homes and townhouse-condo properties in August.

The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $180,000, up 2.9 percent from the previous year, according to data from Florida Realtors Industry Data and Analysis (IDA) department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations.

The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in August was $136,000, up 4.6 percent over the year-ago figure. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

In Brevard County our inventory is down, closed sales and the median sales prices are up as well. It’s now a seller’s market. Demand is up and I am seeing a lot of cash money flowing in everyday. About half of Brevard County real estate sales are all cash.