What a wild week! Real estate was moving at break neck speed with what may have been a record since I started this blog in August 2007. We had seven sales and six new contracts, nine new listings, and nine price changes. Another really encouraging indicator is our inventory took a nice plunge, dropping by nine to 338, with 133 homes and 205 lots listed in our MLS in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market. We have a tremendous amount of territory to cover, so settle back with your beverage of choice, and let’s get rolling.
We’ll start our review of this week’s seven sales at the north end of the Cape on White Sands Drive in San BlasShores located adjacent to the north side of Ovation where this bank-owned gulf front lot sold for the give-away price of just $115,000. I think this price proves the adage, “if it seems too good too be true, it probably is” – although it measures a respectable 62′ wide, it’s the property’s depth that is a looming question mark as it is very, very shallow, and when the front and back setbacks are met, I’m not sure how much of a building foot-print will remain. The seller bought this property in August 2004 for $650,000, and put it on the market the following spring with a $1,399,500 price tag but unfortunately by then that bus was long gone. Three weeks ago it went under contract as a bank-approved short sale with a list price of just $150,000, well below the county’s assessed value of $250,000.
Five of our seven sales this week are bank-owned foreclosures (the other two are short sales, such being the nature of our current market) beginning with this spec home in Ovation. It’s a handsome 4-bedroom, 4-bath, 3,158 square foot coastal-style home built in 2006 listed as a short sale for $490,000, well above its current assessed value of $366,078, but way below its last list price of $990,000. This and the home overlooking the bay I featured last week as my Pick of the Week were built as spec homes but the timing was wrong and they’ve sat vacant ever since. Well, somebody snapped up a gem of a home on Friday by stroking a check for the below-market value full list price of $490,000.
Lots of action this week in Ovation, with our second sale being this bank-owned lot on the bay side of the neighborhood which sold in October 2005 for $355,000, then again the following October for $450,000. There was nobody waiting in line to buy for that buyer and it went back to the bank who ended up eventually slashing the price all the way down to $42,500, and on Tuesday, someone took it off Wells Fargo’s hands for a mere $38,000.
Centennial Bank listed this lovely 3-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath, 2,648 square foot gulf view home in Seagrass for just $425,000, and one lucky buyer took them up on it this week by offering them $400,000 cash and off to closing they went. That sale price is essentially dead-on with the county’s assessed value of $399,599. This home last sold in April 2005 for $895,000. The owners started trying to sell it in early 2009 for a loss listing it for$595,000 but just couldn’t attract a buyer even at that price.
Just a few hundred yards down the beach at Beach to Bay Subdivision, our next bank-owned sale is a quarter acre+ gulf view lot measuring 100′ by 120′ which Centennial Bank had listed for $110,000 and sold on Monday for an even $100,000 cash. This is a pretty lot with good elevation and lush vegetation, pleasant view, and an easy stroll to the beach. A couple I showed this to once who had grown up on Cape Cod said the beach community reminded them of home. It last sold in March 2005 for $442,000, and those owners put it back on the market eight months later for $589,000. Drop the five in that price and fast forward to today when the county has it valued at $85,000.
We’ll wander about a mile south to Cancun Drive Drive for our sixth sale, a gulf-glimpse home on a quarter acre lot that the bank had listed for $235,000. It was built in 1994, has two bedrooms and 2 baths, measures 1,840 square feet under heat and air, and last sold in May 2002 for $240,500. Those owners started trying to sell it in August 2005 listing it for $695,000. On Thursday this home also sold for nearly dollar-for-dollar to the county’s assessed value of $199,556, closing at an even $200,000.
We’ll travel all the way over to Indian Pass, almost all the way out to the tip for our seventh and final sale where this lot fronting Indian Pass Road, measuring just 75′ by 105′ (roughly 0.18 of an acre,) sold on Monday for full list price of $49,900. That’s a good bit below the county’s assessment of $60,000. This isn’t a gulf view lot, but it is eligible for FEMA flood insurance. The sellers have owned this so long there is no historic sales data on the county property appraiser’s page so I’m assuming the sellers did ok here on this one.
On to our six new contracts, the first two of which are adjacent interior lots in Park Pointe subdivision on the north end of the Cape, siding the state park. They have no water view, and both sold on Monday for $30,0000 each having last sold in 2005 for $449,000 and $379,000 respectively. So lessee . . 2005, combined value $828,000, 2011 combined value $60,000, or about 7 cents on the dollar. It’s either carnage or carnival, depending on which side of the table you’re sitting. Unbelievable.
We’ll travel about 3 miles south for our next sale to Cape Shoals townhouses where this bank-owned 2-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 976 square foot gulf front townhome circa 1986 went under contract with a list price of $159,500. Before you start screaming in utter disbelief that you didn’t know about this gulf front opportunity, just know that as nice as the layouts of these townhomes are, they suffer from not adhering to Real Estate 101, location, location, location. I really like the design and construction of the homes themselves, but sadly their proximity to the gulf and their long history of dealing with damage caused by the surf washing out the sand under their foundations is major. This one last sold in mid-2005 for $295,000. It ended up with the bank who listed it in November for $206,750; it went under contract this week with a list price for a far more modest $159,500, pretty much on the money with the county’s assessment of $161,785.
Our next contract takes us back off the Cape and over onto C-30 this time heading north towards Port St. Joe, to a bay view 864 square foot, 2-bedroom, 2-bath cottage listed as a short sale for just $159,000, just a smidgen below the county’s assessed value of $161,536. The state owns the land between the home and the bay so it should always have unobstructed views. The sellers bought it in November 2007 for $430,000, which was quite a bit of an increase over what it had sold for just two years earlier in 2005 when it sold for $250,000.
Just a little bit down the road our next contract is on a bay front lot in the micro-subivision of Heron Bay, just south of the St. Joseph Bay Buffer Preserve Center. This 1 1/2+ acre lot measures 100′ by 700′ and it, too, is listed below assessed value, with list $139,000 vs. $140,000. It originally sold in 1998 for $49,500, and last sold in early 2003 for $245,000. There are no contingencies to be met so we should know the sale price fairly soon.
For our sixth and final new contract, we’ll head back all the way to the far end of Indian Pass to this 3-bedroom, 1 1/2 bath, 1,578 square foot circa 1980 home on Indian Pass Road which went under contract with a list price of $157,900. The sellers have owned this since 1992 when they bought it for $44,500 so they should do just fine. They’ve had it listed since mid-2006 when they put it on the market with an asking price of $475,000. The county has it at $116,836. Here, too, there are no contingencies to be met so it should go to closing soon.
Well, if you’ve hung in there this long you deserve a reward so My Pick of the Week from among our nine new listings is this first tier lot in Jubilation on the south side of the Cape. Jubilation is an Ashwood Development community who also did Ovation, and they are the two premier communities on the Cape. This corner lot measures 63′ by 104′ feet and although it last sold in late 2004 for $525,000 it is not listed as a short sale despite its attractive price tag of just $160,000. Even the county thinks this one should command $252,000. Jubilation has a lovely gulf front pool, and easy access walkovers to the beach.
I have a Price Change Pick of the Week from our batch of nine price changes – a gorgeous craftsman-quality gulf front stucco home in Money Bayou listed as a short sale which was listed for $699,900 and was reduced to a very tempting $649,900. This is so much home for the money, especially considering it sits on a wide stretch of stable beach front, is FEMA eligible and has no HOA fees.
Situated on a 50′ wide gulf front lot, it has 2,172 square feet under heat and air with spacious decks on both levels for a total of 4,300 square feet.
The home is tastefully decorated and being sold furnished.
The spacious kitchen features custom-crafted cabinetry throughout, gleaming granite counter tops, and high end appliances.
You’ll be proud to entertain in this lovely setting overlooking the beach.
The spacious master suite opens up to an ample covered deck overlooking the gulf. On clear nights, slide open the doors and fall asleep to the sound of the surf and fresh air sea breezes.
That’s a wrap for this week. Can you believe how property is moving again? The buyers are back in force and having a field day going through all the great bargains to be had. If you’re thinking of getting in on the action either by buying or selling, give me a call and let’s see what we can put together for you. I have a new direct line, 850-227-2124, or my trusty standy-by email, [email protected]. Thanks so much for stopping back by today, and I look forward to hearing from you. Have a great week and hope to get together with you again next Saturday.