After two back-to-back weeks with no sales we finally had a closing this week. The new contracts kept rolling in at a good pace with three news ones being penned. Five each new listings and new price tags. Our inventory remains basically unchanged, down only one since last Saturday, to 401, with 151 houses and 250 lots for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor MLS.
Our solo sale was this 5-bedroom, 4 1/2 bath, 2100 square foot gulf view in Seagrass on Cape San Blas. The seller paid $225,000 for the lot alone in early 2004, built the house, and put it up for sale in mid-2005 with an asking price of $849,000. He’s been ratcheting that price down ever since, finally landing at $409,000, and on Friday he took $360,000 for it. I was surprised to see the county has it assessed even lower, for $263,593.
The first of our three new contractsis also in Seagrass only a few lots away and this one’s a 4-bedroom, 4 1/2 bath, 3,789 home built in 2005 and currently listed as a short sale for $449,900. What I don’t understand is the county has this one assessed at $498,852 which I don’t get at all after looking at the last one. It appears the sellers gave $385,000 for the lot alone in October 2004.
We’re heading on over to Money Bayou for our second new contract which is also on a house, this one a 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 758 square foot second-tier Key-West style shotgun house. The views of the gulf are amazingly good from inside. It’s not listed as a short sale at its list price of $259,900 even though the owners paid $340,000 for it in mid-2004. Interesting to note that it previously sold in February 2002 for $155,000 which is almost exactly where the county has it assessed today at $157,655.
No, this isn’t Stonehenge on the Gulf – it’s a gulf front lot on the Cape with pilings in place and it’s also our third and final new contract of the week. This is a 50′ wide lot which sold back in January as a bank-owned lot for $75,000. Back in January 2004 when it was still part of a 100′ wide lot, that whole lot sold for $1,035,000. My how times change. It went under contract on Tuesday with a list price of $219,000, well below the current assessed value of $304,400.
My Pick of the Week from our five new listings is this comfy coastal cottage with great views of the gulf from its decks. It’s 1740 square feet, with 2 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. The 400+ square foot deck off the living area is big enough for outdoor cooking, eating and entertaining. This is the view:
The home is located in the “X” zone so flood insurance is not required. There is deeded gulf access and the walkway to the beach is a short stroll away. All this with an attractive asking price of just $269,000.
There are a couple of interesting items in our crop of five new price tags, but for my Price Change Pick of the Week my fave is this gulf front lot at Indian Pass which goes from $299,000 to $274,900. According to the MLS notes, it’s 50′ by 538′, so it’s a good size lot, about 0.6 of an acre. This is just such a pretty area and would make a great gulf front building site for your coastal retreat. Though the sellers paid $410,000 for it in March of 2003 it is not listed as a short sale. The county has it at $200,000, but I think that’s a bit low.
That about does it for this week. We’re all keeping our eyes on the spill in the gulf and praying for a miracle. I am checking to see what impact it will have on our area and will post updates and photos as I get them so be sure to check back over the next several days for the latest info. I hope life’s good in your neck of the woods, and I’d love to hear from you if you’re interested in buying or selling. Just give me a call on my cell at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to [email protected] Have a terrific week – thanks for stopping by.