INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The price of single-family riverfront homes on the barrier island has hit a hard bottom of value and is rebounding. The median sale price for a house on the river was $800,000 in September, up 17 percent from the same month two years ago, according to www.Terradatum.com.
The average listing price for those homes is $1.34 million, up 13 percent from September 2009. The change in inventory, which is finally beginning to impact prices, is even more dramatic.
“There has been a 72 percent reduction of riverfront inventory over the past two years, which is substantial,” says Dale Sorensen Jr., who tracks Vero Beach real estate statistics and trends with a sophisticated software program that can pinpoint market activity.
In February 2010, an inventory high point, 302 single-family riverfront homes were for sale on the barrier island.
By last month, the number had dwindled to 85.
Dale Sorenson Real Estate Inc. has capitalized on and helped drive the trend of strong riverfront sales, handling 17 of 30 riverfront sales this year with Broker Matilde Sorensen leading the way.
“My mother handled one side or the other or both in 10 of our 17 riverfront transactions,” says Dale Jr.
Matilde Sorensen started in the real estate business in Vero Beach in 1978 when her husband, Dale Sr., opened an agency in what she calls “a teeny tiny office” on Beachland.
“He was working for Gulf & Western and they were moving their office but we didn’t want to move, so we went into the real estate business,” she says. “I love being a hostess for Vero Beach, showing people all the area has to offer. Once they are sold on the area, selling them a house is easy.”
“People who come here looking for waterfront property typically look in other places as well,” says Dale Jr. “We are competing against Naples, Fort Myers, Delray, Jupiter and Ft. Lauderdale, so selling the area first is critical.”
Along with riverfront, oceanfront inventory is way down, but Matilde Sorensen says riverfront and oceanfront buyers are two distinct groups.
“You can sometimes convert a riverfront buyer to oceanfront, but never the other way around,” she says. “People who want a beachfront home have their mind made up. They do not waiver.”
She says European buyers often come to Vero Beach with their hearts set on a beachfront home. “They won’t look at anything on the river,” she says.
Norris & Company co-owner Gena Grove sees the same dynamic at work.
“Oceanfront buyers want to be able to walk down from their house to the beach,” Grove says. “They have their heart set on that experience. They love the look of the ocean and the sound of the waves and have no interest in living on the river.”
Matilde Sorensen says riverfront buyers are more likely to be locals familiar with the river’s recreational opportunities.
“People who want to be on the river are usually boaters,” she says. “They know you see much more bird and sea life on the river, all the manatees and dolphins. Most of the time they have kids and like to fish and water ski.”
Matilde Sorensen says a riverfront home is a great place to raise a family, and she should know. “We always lived on the river until we built our house in Riomar,” she says.
“Everyone we knew lived on the river,” says Dale Sorensen Jr. “All we ever did while we were growing up was go out in our boats and have fun.”
He says he piloted the family Grady White to St. Edward’s School most days from 7th grade on, stopping at docks along the way to pick up friends.
“A lot of us took our boats to school,” he says. “If you live on the river, besides fishing and swimming and water skiing, you can take your boat to any number of restaurants and three of the clubs – the Moorings, Grand Harbor and Quail Valley. It makes it nice.”
“Buzz” MacWilliam, owner of Alex MacWilliam Inc. agrees that ocean and riverfront buyers are distinct but says there can be some crossover when oceanfront buyers tire of the high maintenance and storm danger that comes with being on the beach.
“People who come to Vero Beach with $4 million or $5 million to spend generally want to live on the ocean, but after a couple of years of washing corrosive salt spray off their homes they realize how much wear and tear and upkeep is involved,” he says. “They may decide to move then because the river seems more serene and maybe more scenic. The ocean is a big black hole at night but on the river you see lights of other homes and boats passing by. It has a little more ambiance.”
Waterfront property is at a premium in most places but Dale Sorensen Jr. says Vero’s riverfront is special, even unique, compared to many places in Florida.
“I worked in Palm Beach for several years, and it is completely different,” he says. “You have high rises all along the waterfront and congestion on the water. Here you have large expanses of undeveloped waterfront land. South of the Moorings and north of the Barber Bridge there is a lot of land that is in a beautiful natural state.
“We took Gloria Estefan out on the boat before she bought her property here and she was blown away by how quiet and natural the water is here,” he says. “In South Florida on the weekend there are boats everywhere and accidents are a regular occurrence. Here you maybe see a couple guys fishing. There are no cigarette boats roaring past. It is safe and scenic. We have a lagoon and river system here that is pretty unique.”
MacWilliam says the upsurge in riverfront sales and decline in inventory is driven in part by pent up demand.
“I listed a 7,000-square-foot riverfront house in Seagrove in July for $1.895 million and had it under contract within a week,” he says. “The first week a house is on the market is critical because buyers who have decided to move here are watching and waiting.”
“Prices have come down and this is a wonderful time to buy these properties, which are limited in number” says Grove. “The value is there.”
The 85 riverfront homes currently on the market are listed for $499,000 to $8.8 million, according to Dale Sorensen Jr. Sales prices for single-family riverfront homes listed on MLS so far this year range from $500,000 to $2.8 million.
Matilde Sorensen sold the $2.8 million home and just missed having a $4.5 million riverfront sale in 2011 when she closed the deal on Dec. 29, 2010.
Riverfront generally means any waterfront home not on the ocean, including those on coves, inlets and canals that have access to the Indian River Lagoon.
Inventory for homes directly on the river with an unobstructed view is even tighter than for waterfront overall with a mere 15 houses for sale.
“The market has improved, without a doubt,” said Dale Sorensen Jr.
