The rest of the country may be wrapped up in March Madness but around here the name of the game has been Market Madness, with visitors busy buying up real estate. A truly banner week, closing eight sales and writing up thirteen new contracts (one of which has already closed!), adding seventeen new listings (one of which someone has already put under contract), and changing the prices on four others. With all of that, I was surprised to see our inventory basically unchanged from last week, shedding just one closing out the week at 258 with 85 homes and 173 lots listed for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market. Lots to see today so let’s get right to it.
Our review of this week’s eight closings takes us first up to the north end of the Cape to Sunset Point where we have a 79′ wide gulf front lot that went under contract in mid-February with a list price of $259,000, but not as a short sale despite the sellers having paid $836,000 for it in mid-2004. The county has it assessed for $250,000, and on Thursday it sold for $240,000.
Our next two sales are in nearby Barrier Dunes, beginning with this two bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 1377 square foot townhouse that went under contract last October as a short sale with a list price of $249,000. This home is one of only about a dozen or so at Barrier Dunes situated in an X flood zone. The sellers purchased it in June 2007 for $375,000, and sold it on Thursday for $193,000. The county has it assessed just a bit low at $157,863.
Our other Barrier Dunes sale is a bank-owned 2-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath, 1,377 square foot unit overlooking a pond on Parkside Circle, listed for $134,500 and the new owners picked up the keys at closing this week for very near that, $133,000, not far from the $129,000 it sold for in 2001. This same unit sold in 2004 for $325,000.
We’re doing things by twos this week, with our next two sale both being in Seagrass, a very nice subdivision down the road about two miles from Barrier Dunes. The first one is an irregularly shaped first tier “X” zone lot that sold in February 2004 it sold for $215,00, and then resold a little over a year later in May 2005 for $345,000. They put it back on the market the following year for $589,000 and had it listed as a short sale for $77,000 when it went under contract the first week of February, and that’s exactly what it sold for this week. The county has it assessed at $90,000.
Our second Seagrass sale is also one of our new contracts – this one went under contract on Monday with a list price of $89,000 and closed on Friday for $78,500. That price pales in comparison to the $215,000 it sold for in January 2004 or the $335,000 it sold for in October 2007.
Our next sale is a bank-owned gulf front lot just south of Scallop Cove. This third-acre lot sold for $529,000 in June 2004, and then resold one year later in September 2005 for $815,000. It went to the bank in January 2012 who listed it for $250,000, exactly double the county’s assessed value of $125,000, and on Monday it sold for $175,000.
We’ll head on down to the south side of the Cape for our next sale, a bank-owned corner lot in Surfside Estates listed for $25,900, well below the county’s assessed value of $45,000. The previous owners purchased it as part of a package deal of 9 lots in the subdivision for $108,000. The bank acquired it this past November, and on Thursday they accepted $22,000 for it.
We’ll wrap up our eight sales with this bank-owned lagoon front lot on C-30 down the road from the Indian Pass Raw Bar listed for an unbelievably low $21,500. No typo there. $21,500. Consider that in 2003 it sold for $155,000. On Friday they sold it for $19,000, actually less than the $19,500 it fetched all the way back in 1998.
Now on to our marathon review of this week’s crop of thirteen new contracts, beginning with this gulf front lot up in Secluded Dunes, the northernmost subdivision on the Cape and which adjoins the state park. It’s a beautiful area, one of the earliest subdivisions out here having been a project of Langdon Flowers (of the Flowers Bakeries family fame) who also developed Barrier Dunes, both projects done in the early ’80′s. This lot has 58′ feet on the water and is just shy of half an acre. It was listed for just $285,000, a bit above the $250,000 the sellers paid for it in late 2010, and well above the county’s assessment of $200,000.
In nearby Seacliffs, our next contract is on this 4-bedroom, 5-bath, 2,007 square foot townhouse listed for $225,000. The sellers bought it in the summer of 2002 for $336,900, and listed it in early 2010 for $355,000. The county has this one priced above recent comps at $284,960.
Lots of activity in Barrier Dunes this week as we return there for or next contract which is on this 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,216 square foot townhouse listed for $225,000. The sellers bought it in August of 2000 for $128,700 so they should come out ok. They have it priced to sell, as the only listed it last week on the 16th. The county has it assessed at $284,900.
We’ll head about a half mile down the road to Peninsula Estates where someone penned a contract on this pleasant little 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,058 square foot gulf view beach cottage on Cape San Blas Road. The seller has owned it since the 80’s so no county prior sales info on it. Peninsula Estates properties all have deeded gulf and bay access.
Another two miles down the road just north of Scallop Cove is this 3-bedroom, 3-bath, 1,680 square foot gulf view home listed as a short sale for $278,000. The lot alone sold in mid-2005 for $350,000.
We’re doing things in twos again, this time with two back-to-back bay front lot contracts, beginning with this 101′ wide by 494′ deep, 1.14 acre beauty located a few blocks north of Scallop Cove. It was listed this week for $129,000 and it was snapped up just three days later. The seller bought it in 1999 for $120,000.
The other bay front beauty is on the south side of the Cape, roughly across the street from Villa del Sol. It’s bank-owned 75′ wide by 300′ deep, half-acre lot listed for $80,000, which is exactly what it sold for back in 2000. That price doubled by 2003 when it went for $160,000, and those sellers flipped it in 2005 for $500,000. That buyer lost it tot he bank at the end of 2011.
We’re heading back off the Cape onto C-30, turning left and driving just a short way until we reach this little bungalow on the right side of the road that went under contact last Sunday with a list price of $197,500. It’s a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,380 square foot home with a lot of character inside. The home has a secluded boardwalk that leads to a private screened-in gazebo under the trees and room for a hot tub!! Inside there are 75 yr old wood floors in the living area and 2 of the bedrooms. The seller bought it in early 2007 for $185,000.
Now for something a little different. Heading east on C-30 we’ll stop at the lot on the corner of Gulf Pines Drive for our next contract. This piece is mixed commercial and residential. It’s bank-owned and listed for $50,000, just a smidgen below the county’s assessed value of $60,000. It last sold in mid-2004 for $239,900.
We’ll head on down Gulf Pines Drive for our next contract which is on this beautiful 100′ wide, three-quarter-acre bank-owned gulf front lot listed for $400,000. In February 2005 it sold for $1,225,000, and today the county has it assessed at $300,000.
Next stop is Indian Pass where at the first big curve to the left this next contract is on the lot on the right hand side at the corner of Indian Pass Toad and Painted Pony Road. It’s an irregularly shaped piece fronting what’s called a canal. I couldn’t find any recorded sales data on it but from what I can gather the seller has been trying to move it since late 2004 when he listed it for $250,000. It went under contact last weekend with a far more modest list price of just $20,000, which is well below the county’s assessed value of $63,000.
Last but certainly not least, we’ll wrap things up with a gulf front lot on Indian Pass in The Reservation. It’s a 51′ wide bank-owned property listed for $136,000, quite a far cry from the $830,000 it went for in September of 2003, and even below the county’s $160,000 assessment.
As you can see the pace is picking up significantly, so if you’re ready to get in the game let’s get started. Call or text me at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to [email protected]. I hope you have a pleasant Easter weekend with family and friends, and I appreciate your taking time out to stop by today.