I think I may have figured out what has sparked this recent surge in interest in our market. I had two calls recently from folks who say they aren’t real familiar with the Forgotten Coast but they’ve been receiving postcards regarding auctions and when they’ve gone online to check out the area they’re intrigued by the properties they’re seeing and the prices they’re going for. As a result, once again there’s been a lot of activity this week, with one sale, five new contracts, two new listings, and ten price changes. Our inventory took a nice little dip, too, ending the week down fourteen at 402, with 146 homes and 256 lots listed for sale in the MLS between Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and the C-30 Corridor market. (NOTE: The MLS has decided to lock me out this afternoon for some reason, so when it decides I can play again, I’ll go in and post the links for you.)
Our solo sale is this bank-owned, 4-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath, 1,723 square foot gulf front Cape San Blas home located about a quarter mile north of Stumphole, next door to the Sunrise Sunset townhouses. The property was listed for $445,625, is assessed by the county at $377,740, and sold on Monday for $423,250. This is a home which has greatly benefited from the beach restoration program as prior to that it had suffered a fair amount of storm damage during the tropical storms we had summer before last when the surf washed up under the foundation and eroded under the house. It last sold in early 2005 for $989,000.
On to our five new contracts. Let’s start at the north end of the Cape and work our way southward and westward from there. First up is the bank-owned Sunset Pointe interior lot I told you about just a couple weeks ago when the bank lowered its price to a ja- dropping $40,900. Even the county thinks this is low, as they have it at $78,500. What has gotten my attention is that it took this long to finally get a contract on it. This one last sold in August 2005 for $440,000, so we’re talking resale of less than ten cents on the dollar.
Our second new contract is in the adjacent subdivision up there by the park in Park Pointe, where yet another bank-owned, interior lot also assessed at $78,500 caught someone’s eye, even though it is listed considerably higher at $120,000. This is an auction contract so I’m real curious to see what it actually goes for when it closes.
Our third new contract is also bank-owned, a spec home in Cape Breezes about a mile south of the state park which also went under contract on the auction block on Wednesday. This photo shows how nice the view is from the main living area on the second level. This is a 2-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 1,644 square foot home on Cape San Blas Road with deeded gulf and bay access.
For our fourth contract we finally get to head off the Cape and on over to Indian Pass where this 100′ by 1,089′ , 2 1/2 acre gulf front lot went under contract with a list price of $330,000, just half its assessed value of $601,000. This is the only one of our five contracts this week which isn’t bank-owned. The sellers have had this parcel since 1998 when they bought it for $200,000 so hopefully they’ll make a nice little profit at closing, something we haven’t seen much of lately as we’ve been working our way through this backlog of foreclosures and short sales.
Our fifth and final new contract is also on Indian Pass, and it’s a bank-owned first tier lot on the auction block with a $179,900 price tag, just a little below its assessed value of $360,000 and way below its sale price of $500,000 in December 2004.
Nothing eye-popping in our two new listings, but here’s a great deal among our ten new price tags.
Here’s a first tier lot in Ovation on the Cape reduced from an already attractive list of $225,000 to a tantalizing $199,000. Even though this last sold in September 2005 this is not listed as a short sale so you would be able to close pretty quickly. Even sweeter that it’s “X” zone as well.
That about does it for this week’s review. Even thought here’s been so much going on this week, I’ve had a hard time focusing on real estate as my all-time favorite cat-friend of 18 years was claimed by cancer on Monday afternoon. I’m very grateful to all the people I’ve been working with, customers, clients, and colleagues who have been so patient, supportive, and understanding while I’ve taken a few days off to deal with this. I’m blessed to work with such a great team.
If you’re interested in finding out more about properties for sale, or if you’re considering selling, pleae give me a call on my cell at 850-227-5197 or send me an email to [email protected] . I love hearing from my readers and especially enjoy working with them and helping them find their perfect property. Have a great week and hope to hear from you soon. Thanks for stopping by.