What a wonderfully busy Memorial Day Weekend – great to see so many families here enjoying our gorgeous beaches, and the weather couldn’t be more perfect for the traditional launch of summer. Our sales took a bit of a summer vacation this week, closing only one home, but we did manage to write three new contracts, list ten new properties and change prices on eight others. Our inventory remains stubbornly stuck around 350, with 121 homes and 230 lots listed in our MLS in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market.
Our one sale was an interior home at Indian Pass Beach Subdivision; a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,440 square foot beach house built in 1986. The sellers bought it a few years later in 1989 paying just $65,000 for it. In the summer of 2005 they decided to put it on the market asking $699,000 but the market had already peaked by that time and they have been whittling that list price down ever since, finally reaching $299,000 in January, which was low enough to attract a buyer. On Thursday it sold for $237,000, exactly double the county’s assessed value of $118,211.
Of our three new contracts, two of them are homes belonging to the same family, so they’ve had a good week. The first one is a beautiful gulf front home on a 116” wide stretch of beach up in Secluded Dunes by the state park. Featuring 4-bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths, this 3,281 square foot home was built in 1990. The current owners have had it since 2000 when they picked it up for $642,000, which is above the county’s current assessed value of $561,266. They’ve put a lot of work into the home and have been trying to sell it ever since early 2005 when they listed it for $2.975M. Needless to say, those days are gone, and it went under contract Friday as a short sale with a far more modest price tag of $799,000.
Their second home is this stately 5-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath, 3,439 square foot beauty on 50′ of beach front located in San Dunes, a pretty little subdivision about 3-miles south of the state park. In April 2005 the couple paid $1M for the lot alone, and then built this magnificent home which is finely appointed in every detail. Sadly, with the economy being what it is, they have to let it go, and have been trying to sell it since 2007 when they listed it for $1.899M. On Thursday it went under contract as a short sale with its final list price of just $949,000. The county is way off on this one having it valued at just $537,211. The current market value of the lot alone would be about $250,000, resulting in a square foot price of a mere $83.51. No way.
Our third and final new contract is on the south side of the Cape in Surfside, where this 90′ by 125′, quarter-acre gulf view lot went under contract on Tuesday with a list price of just $54,900, which is what it was originally listed it for back in January. That price is well below the county’s assessment of $85,000. The sellers paid $145,000 for it in early 2003 so once again another indication that our prices have fallen back to about 1999, 2000 price levels.
For my New Listing Pick of the Week from our ten new listings, I’m going with this bank-owned lagoon front lot on Indian Pass which enters the market with a very attractive list price of just $79,000. In early 2004, this third-acre lot with 116′ of waterfront located in the Mystic Palms subdivision sold for $350,000. The county has it pegged at $61,000 which I think is unrealistically low for a waterfront lot in a quality subdivision.
In this plat, the lot is Lot 23 in the upper left hand corner.
For my Price Change Pick of the Week from our eight new price tags, I going with a gulf front home on Acklins Island Drive on Cape San Blas – how can you not love that view? It’s a million dollar view but this week the sellers reduced the price from $699,000 to a very tempting $674,000. That’s less than what the lot alone sold for in late 2004 when the sellers paid $700,000.
This lovely 3-bedroom, 3-bath, 2,260 square foot home features a lot of outdoor living space, too, with porches on each level that span the width of the home for maximum enjoyment of living at the beach. Since it’s located in the coveted “X” flood zone, you won’t have to pay for pricey private flood insurance.
It’s spacious open living area offers an inviting setting for good times with family and friends.
When it’s time to cook up all that fresh local seafood you caught, you’ll enjoy whipping up great meals in its beautiful well-appointed kitchen.
Don’t you think everything would just have to taste better when you’re surrounded by these panoramic gulf views while you’re eating?
Well, that does it for this week. I hope you’ve had a terrific holiday weekend. It’s been a busy one around here with lots of people looking at property. If you have questions about these or any other properties, or if you’re considering selling, I’d love to talk with you. Please call me on my cell at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to [email protected]. Thanks so much for taking time out to stop by today.