The housing market is on fire in Sebastian.
That’s not surprising, since the entire county is in the midst of an extraordinary increase in home sales and values.
But, in one sense, anyway, the low-key, riverside city of 27,000 surpassed all other towns and cities in the county and the county itself last year, with taxable property values up 5 percent year over year, according to an estimate released this month by Property Appraiser Wesley Davis.
That compares to a 3 percent increase in value in for Indian River Shores, 3.25 percent for Orchid, and 4 percent for Vero Beach.
“Why did Sebastian see the greatest increase?” asks Jim Goldsmith, regional manager for Dale Sorensen Real Estate, which has an office in Sebastian and has sold approximately 150 homes there this year. “It is simple – Sebastian had the most room for improvement in value. It was very, very reasonable for a long time.
For many years, if you couldn’t find something in Vero that you liked and could afford, you could find something in Sebastian.”
That historic affordability is, no surprise, fading somewhat in the heat of the current market.
The median sales price of a home in the 32958 ZIP code area, which encompasses the city, was up a whopping 40 percent in May compared to May 2019, according to figures provided by Zac Coletti, of the Zachary Coletti Team, part of cloud based EXP Realty.
The average sales price is up about the same percentage, from $223,496 in May 2019 to $306,993 last month.
“I just sold a house where the buyer paid $25,000 over list,” says Coletti, who specializes in Sebastian real estate and has sold approximately 100 homes in the city since launching his business with his wife and partner Tonya Coletti in 2015.
“Sebastian starts at $250,000 now,” says Berkshire Hathaway agent Chip Landers, another Sebastian expert who also sells many homes in Vero Beach. “Of the 26 homes currently for sale in Sebastian, there are only 19 under $400,000.”
Even as prices rise, though, Sebastian remains a magnet for homebuyers from the northeast and elsewhere.
“The lifestyle continues to make it very appealing,” says Coletti, who has 1,200 buyer inquiries in his database. “It’s quiet and uncrowded with a low crime rate. It is close to the Indian River and Sebastian Inlet, with great boating and fishing.
“There is a word-of-mouth aspect to its popularity, too. A lot of retiring veterans and police officers come down here from New York and New Jersey and they tell their friends about how nice it is with the small-town feel and they come too.
“They buy a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, concrete block house with an open plan near their friends and get a boat, or a motorcycle or RV, and really love it.”
“All the waterfront definitely adds to the appeal,” says Goldsmith.
“You are only 15 minutes from the beach and just minutes from the river. If you have a boat, you can quickly shoot up to the Sebastian Inlet and the ocean. Vero is much further from an inlet than Sebastian.”
Landers says the lack of HOA fees and regulations is another selling point with retires and other buyers. “There are only a few gated communities with HOAs,” he says. “So, if you want to park your RV by your house, there is no one to stop you.”
Sebastian also has the advantage of being close to everything Vero Beach and Melbourne have to offer in terms of dining, shopping, entertainment and other amenities, in their beachfront areas and downtown districts.
“We live in Sebastian, and we love it here,” says Coletti.
Founded in 1882, Sebastian was a sleepy fishing and trading village well into the 20th century. Today, it is the biggest city in the county, surpassing Vero’s population by about 10,000 residents.
There are approximately 10,800 houses, condos and apartments in the city and, despite the scarcity of active listing, sales continue at a brisk pace as new homes come on the market and are quickly sold.
“If something stays on the market more than two weeks, there is something wrong,” says Landers. “Most homes sell in a few days.”