A condo unit at 435 E. 20th Ave. in North Wildwood, recently sold. After a rough few years, the Wildwoods condo market is beginning to rebound.

By BRIAN IANIERI, Press of A.C. Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Throughout the Wildwoods, condominiums arose where they could, like dune grass in the sand.

Inside converted motel rooms. Atop an old lumberyard. On lots with ocean views and on others overlooking convenience store parking lots.

As the real estate market exploded at the shore, condominiums in the Wildwoods were relatively affordable, less expensive than a house in Avalon or Stone Harbor or a duplex in Sea Isle City.

Then the bubble burst, as condo prices themselves soared amid a wave of development that would fall hard in the recession.

Now, condominiums throughout the Wildwoods can sell for 30 to 40 percent less than their 2005 prices. They can also come with stricter loan restrictions, local Realtors reported.

Wildwoods Realtors say the market is starting to pick up – or, at least, has finally bottomed out.

“September of 2005, somebody shut the faucets off,” said Don Martin of Don Martin Realty in the Wildwoods. “2006 was horrible. 2007 is when the developers had to slash prices, 2008 was very poor and got weaker as the year went on. We picked up a surge in the last of 2009.”

“I think people are starting to believe this thing is bottoming, and it’s time to make a move,” Martin said. “The thing that’s still hurting is job stability. It’s tough to buy a second home when you don’t know about your job.”

Condominiums are often seen as the ideal vacation homes at the seashore. They’re more hands off than a single family home. Owners don’t have to cut lawns or paint. And, there are more locations closer to the beach, and more to choose from.

Because of this, condominiums remain desirable although they were swept up in the wave of short sales and foreclosures that engulfed the entire real estate market.

“I would anticipate there to be not too much left in a three bedroom, two bath, decent quality, close to the beach under $400,000 for the summer,” said Jeanine Cabrera of Cabrera Realty in the Wildwoods. “Inventory during the bubble was $600,000, $700,000. I don’t think the steals are going to be there much longer.”

Meanwhile, guidelines for buyers to get financing for a condominium have changed since the real estate bubble.

“As the short sale inventory is getting absorbed, we’re seeing the banks are starting to raise the bar,” Cabrera said. “We’ve stopped going backwards, which is a good thing,” Cabrera said.

There have been changes in loan guidelines, including more restrictions dealing with the financial health of condo associations, said Jessica Lees of the Lees Real Estate Agency in the Wildwoods. Condo sales can be challenging at units where condo associations themselves are having trouble as association members are late or delinquent on their condo fees.

Weaker associations could make financing more difficult, and sometimes purchases require cash, said Michelle McCormick-Courtney of Wildwoods Realty.

She said buyers now tend to be those who had taken a step back when the market was at its peak. Now, the lower prices are appealing to them.

“I think that right now the market is an honest market and it’s based on value, it’s not based on a lot of hype,” she said.