Summer may be officially over but luckily our buyers apparently didn’t get that memo as they were still here snapping up great real estate deals. It’s been another good week, with three closings and three new contracts. Only four new listings and eight new price tags. Unfortunately, though, our inventory’s inching back up, adding nine more than last week, ending at 402, with 146 houses and 256 lots listed for sale in the MLS for the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market.
It is a healthy indicator for our market when all three of our sales are lots. They’re all on the Cape, and the first is a gulf front property in Dolphin Beach to Bay subdivision, located about three miles south of the state park. This is 54′ on the gulf, a little over half an acre, and last sold in early 2002 for $390,000. The sellers listed it in January for $549,000, had it down to $439,000 by the time it went under contract, and picked up a check at closing this week for $400,000.
Our second sale is just a few blocks away on Sea Horse Lane not far from The Tradin’ Post. It’s a really nice gulf view lot, good elevation and with awesome views of the beach. It was listed just a few weeks ago for $139,000 and that’s what it closed for on Friday. The sellers had owned it for quite some time so there’s no pertinent sales data on file, just the assessed value of $180,000. Again, price it right and it will sell.
Our final sale was an interior lot in San Blas Plantation on the south side of the Cape. This roughly quarter acre lot last sold in December 2004 for $240,000 and was put back on the market in early 2006 for $349,000 but never had any takers, and was eventually foreclosed on by the bank. They listed it for $89,900 this past January, have been whittling the price down since then, finally reaching $44,000 in early August, and it closed this week for $37,500. Talk about a comp killer – even the county had it assessed for $124,000. Ouch.
Our three new contracts include one house and two lots. Let’s start with the house, which is a bank-owned single family fixer upper gulf front home just north of Stumphole. This listing showed up on the MLS late Wednesday for the give-away price of $225,000 and was under contract with no contingencies by Thursday morning with a projected closing date of September 25. This one’s going to be yet another comp killer at this price. It last sold in 2005 for $1.5M so the bank is taking a huge soaking here. Kudos to Kes, though, as the county already had it assessed at $247,630. Real curious to see what it actually closes for.
Our first lot is also a gulf front, this one over at Indian Pass. It’s not a short sale or foreclosure but you’d think so with a list price of only $269,000 for 61′ on the gulf. It has been in the family for some time so no pertinent sales data is available; I guess they just really want to sell. Since it’s part of a larger parcel the county doesn’t have an assessed value on just this piece.
Our third and final new contract is on an interior lot up in Sunset Pointe at Cape San Blas, adjacent to the state park with a list price of $89,000. This property last sold at the height of the market in mid 2004 for $195,000. They tried to flip it a year later putting it back on the market for $435,000 but by then buyers had disappeared. According to the MLS this is not a short sale requiring lender approval; the sellers are taking the sacrifice here. They have it priced very close to the county’s assessed value of $78,500.
My pick of the week I had lined up from this week’s four new listings has already gone under contract, the gulf front house mentioned above listed for $225,000. I do have a winner, though, among our eight price changes.
This comfy cottage at Cape Dunes on the south side of the Cape is priced to sell quickly, with the sellers dropping the price this week from $279,000 to $229,000, real close to the county’s assessed value of $191,286. This is a good deal for a great weekend get away or vacation rental. Here’s of snapshot the beach at Cape Dunes which is only a short stroll out the front door:
This 3-bedroom, 1,259 square foot home built in 2001 has a custom interior by Tiffins Interiors and is being sold completely furnished. It has a large deck overlooking the bay, and an open deck off the living area for sunning. Plenty of parking for several cars and boats, plus a large storage room/workshop space, too.
That does it for this week. I’m working this weekend so if you’d like more info on these or other properties pick up the phone and give me a call: 850-227-7891, or send me an email to [email protected] . I also got a stack of brand new For Sale signs in this week so if you’re interested in selling, I’m ready. Just let me know. I’d love to be your listing agent.