Palm Bay House Prices?? (Melbourne, Titusville: transplants, foreclosures, rentals)

[drydswyd]

Hi Folks,

What's the story with the discrepancy in house prices in Palm Bay, vs Melbourne or further north? I've read anecdotally some whispers of Palm Bay not being as nice of an area in general, but the houses I'm browsing on Zillow to the southwest of 95 are stunning, and a -lot- cheaper than Melbourne or Viera. Is this a bad area? Does it flood a lot or have some other problem that's not immediately obvious?

Thanks -

[Nypafl4u]

Houses tend to be newer in many parts of Palm Bay, so of course they will look nice. But you also are sometimes more remote from conveniences. Also roads in some areas of Palm Bay are not updated. Schools in some parts are not that highly rated. All of these reasons can bring values down when compared to Melbourne. But Melbourne has its bad spots too, so you really need to look around. No place is perfect for everyone.
I generally use school ratings as an initial indicator of an area I want to consider. This is not 100% accurate, but it tells me a lot about what is going on there. I also look at crime statistics and general upkeep of the surrounding houses. This is what you will be living with and if acceptable, then go where you are comfortable. But you need to visit, day and night, week days and weekends, to really see what an area is all about, no matter where you consider moving too.

[annagurl333]

I grew up in Palm Bay, but have lived all over the Space Coast (from Melbourne to Titusville).
Here are my two cents anyways.
Palm Bay is not really worse in most spots than anywhere else. But the commutes can get heavier, and your more likely to have some redneck neighbors. Plus, as Nypafl4u said, the homes are generally older. Many 60s and 70s homes out there. PB has more of a locals and redneck vibe to it. Melbourne has more of a elderly and northern transplants vibe imo.

PB houses a lot of blue collar works, as well as hospitality employees. PB is cheaper, and in general your more likely to run into a family making a little less than Melbourne. This isn't always the case though. More or less people living in PB commute to Melb. for work. However if I ever moved back to Florida I would live in PB. Why? Cost. Especially due to low Florida salaries. You never know what the future could bring. That, and PB has way more home options without HOA's. Some people love them, but you couldn't physically give me a free house in an HOA!

Flooding? Yes, but this isn't just PB. It would be better if you visit, but if you cannot go to Googlemaps and go down any street you'd be thinking of moving to. Does the street have drainage ditches on the sides of the road under the sidewalks? Is the road slightly inclined up from the main road? If not, flooding is an absolute possibility during tropical systems. In fact, I remember a rather not-so-upscale apt complex I lived in years ago flooding so bad during a tropical storm that the water was waste deep for 5+ days and everyone was trapped as the water was over the exhaust pipes in the cars. We ran out of food a few days in and trudged through the black murky water a block down the road to a Seven-11 that was open and on a hill... that and ate Little Debbies for the other 2 days.

Oh, and if your thinking of buying a home in far south PB, you definitely want to know what the roads are like, if you get cell reception, and if the water is city or well. If you go far enough in PB services start becoming less and less. It's a draw for country lovers, but I visit my friend out on Wisteria Ave and I get almost no signal, from Tmobile!


Good luck!

[BrevardREALTOR]

When we were researching moving to Florida, people told us to not even consider Palm Bay.
I've lived here for 9 years now, and I can say I would consider living in Palm Bay. There are some very nice subdivisions and amenities in the area.
Palm Bay does have one of the higher millage rates for municipalities in Brevard County though. They implemented a stormwater assessment for all homes to use towards improving drainage, so that adds some to the taxes as well.

When considering an area check crime demographics, and school ratings to get an idea what it's like. I would sometimes even call the local police to get their take on an area if I wasn't sure based on the demographics.
As well, you can look at the area using google earth. It's not always up to date, but can give you a decent idea what an area looks like.

Good luck!

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by BrevardREALTOR

When we were researching moving to Florida, people told us to not even consider Palm Bay.
I've lived here for 9 years now, and I can say I would consider living in Palm Bay. There are some very nice subdivisions and amenities in the area.
Palm Bay does have one of the higher millage rates for municipalities in Brevard County though. They implemented a stormwater assessment for all homes to use towards improving drainage, so that adds some to the taxes as well.

When considering an area check crime demographics, and school ratings to get an idea what it's like. I would sometimes even call the local police to get their take on an area if I wasn't sure based on the demographics.
As well, you can look at the area using google earth. It's not always up to date, but can give you a decent idea what an area looks like.

Good luck!

I can tell you that my yard and house and basically the entire street I live on looks nothing like the google or even zillow or any of the other on line realty sites. The Google map is from 2007 so way behind on all the improvements. There are actually 5 new houses on the street and most of the other ones have been remodeled in the last couple of years.

One thing Palm Bay lacks is city water and sewer in all area. Another is the lack of sidewalks and no streets wide enough to park cars on the pavement without blocking the road except for on major streets. Another is that a lot of speculators bought up foreclosures to rent and national rental companies like American Homes or whatever they call themselves now are here. Lots of rentals in areas that used to be privately owned neighborhoods. We have ended up with some pretty weird neighbors in the rentals that don't seem to want to be part of a neighborhood. Our PB government has done some pretty shady stuff and lots of indictments in the last year.

They are also allowing builders from other states to come in and build wood frame homes that get horrid reviews from every state they have built homes in. So if you choose Palm Bay, choose wisely. House prices are still rising. New build being built next to us price went up $10,000 when I checked the builder's web page this week. .