Old Man Winter may have made a token appearance this week with temps dipping down into the 40’s for a couple of days, but it certainly wasn’t enough to cool our market off as we managed to close another four sales and buyers penned four new contracts. Sellers added seven new listings and changed prices on five others. Our inventory inched up by four, closing at 268, with 81 homes and 187 lots listed for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor MLS market. We have a fair amount to see today so let’s get rolling.
The first of our four sales is a 64′ by 212′, one-third-acre first tier gulf view lot on Haven Road in Ocean Haven that went under contract two weeks ago with a list price $169,900. This photo shows the view from the lot. I didn’t find any county sales records for this one on file, but the county has it assessed at $90,000, well below the $131,000 it sold for on Wednesday.
Most of the action today is off the Cape, and for our next three sales we’ll head out to the C-30 Corridor, beginning by travelling north towards Port. St. Joe. On the left hand side of the road this 200′ by 200′ half -acre bay view lot was listed for $19,500 but not as a short sale even though the sellers paid $120,000 for it in early 2004. The county’s $18,000 assessment is in line with actual comps at $18,000, and pretty close to the actual $19,000 it went for on Thursday.
We’ll circle around and head out the other direction on C-30 this time pulling in to Gulf Pines and stopping at the second house on the left. This was a for sale by owner transaction entered into the MLS for comp purposes. The sellers bought the property in late 2002 for $295,900, and sold it on Friday for just $275,000.
Our fourth and final sale takes us over to Treasure Shores to this 3-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath, 1,496 square foot home nestled on 75′ of sugar white sandy beach front for which went under contract in late September sporting a $599,900 price tag. The home features exceptional views with an open floor plan and high, 10′ ceilings designed for the full panoramic experience. It has three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, wood burning fireplace, oak hardwood floors, accented with ocean blue ceramic tile in the kitchen and around the fireplace. This neighborhood is also eligible for FEMA flood insurance coverage. The seller purchased this lovely wide gulf front lot way back in ’91 for a mere $45,000. Those were the days! On Thursday the buyers picked up the keys at closing for $555,000.
Our review of this week’s crop of four new contracts begins in Ovation on the Cape with this bank-owned 45′ by 175′ bay front lot listed for $81,900, right in line with current comps. In October 2005 the developer sold it for $625,000, roughly 10 cents on the dollar of today’s $67,000 county assessment.
This next contract is in the far reaches of the territory we typically cover, over on Easy Street in the Simmons Bayou area of C-30. If you’re familiar with the locale, Easy Street is located across the street from the St. Joe Shrimp Company. It’s a modest 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,232 square foot circa 1978 rancher situated on a third of an acre lot and listed for $110,000.
Gulf Pines was a happening place this week with buyers closing one sale and writing two new contracts there, the first of which is a large first tier corner lot. The seller has owned it since the 80’s and has it listed for $147,000. It has been on and off the market since late 2006 when it first appeared with a $650,000 price tag, quite a far cry from the county’s assessed value today of $75,000.
At the other end of the street, this neat and trim first tier 3-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath, 1,712 square foot beach cottage went under contract on Monday with a list price of$459,000. The sellers picked it up in January 2012 for $310,000.
That does it for today. It’s good to see activity and interest continue despite the stretch of cold rainy weather we’ve had the past week. There are still good values out there but deep discounted, “screamin’ hot deals” are becoming increasingly scarce, so you need to move if you’re looking for serious bargains. Call or text me at 850-227-5197 and we’ll see what we can find, or shoot me an email to [email protected] and we’ll get started. Until then, have a great week, keep warm, and know how much I appreciate your taking time to stop by today.