May is here, and our comparative real estate market seems to be warming up like the weather with an encouraging amount of new activity to report from the past 7 days. The Federal Reserve also met this past week and held rates steady for the 6th consecutive meeting. While we probably shouldn’t expect much of an uptick in interest rates, it doesn’t sound like we should expect much improvement in rates in the near term either. It was a busy week with a lot to catch up on, so here we go with links and summaries of the 9 recorded sales (2 residences and 7 vacant lots) this week on all of Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, and the CR/SR 30-A corridor:
- 4819 SR 30-A – The first recorded sale of the week is a new construction bayfront residential property located just off the SR 30-A corridor, north of the Cape San Blas turnoff and Treasure Bay neighborhood. This 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, partially furnished cottage has 1,225 sq ft of living space on a 103′ wide, 0.58 acre lot with RV hookups and unobstructed St. Joe Bay views. The listing was active on our MLS with an asking price of $729,900 for 16 days before going under contract, and it recently sold for $670,000 with conventional financing. The seller purchased the vacant lot for $50,000 in 2020 before building the residence which was completed in late 2023.
- 163 Turtle Walk – The next residential sale of the week comes from the Seacliffs townhomes on the north Cape just before the St. Joseph Peninsula State Park. This is a Gulf front, end unit with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, and 1,670 sq ft of fully furnished living space. The attached unit was built in 1986 with lots of recent improvements and interior upgrades, and the turnkey vacation rental generated $57K of GRI in 2022. The Seacliffs HOA also offers a community pool, playground area, and boardwalk over the dunes to the beach. This condo was on the market for 126 days asking $799,000 before selling for $790,000 cash, which is up from the $440,000 the sellers paid in early 2021.
- 2282 SR 30-A – On to the vacant land sales for the week, this one is an RV-approved parcel in the Simmons Bayou neighborhood just off SR 30-A near Presnell’s Marina. The property measures 70′ wide and 0.32 acres with peek-a-boo bay views possible from the lot and water/sewer taps already paid. The listing was on the market for 149 days asking $224,900 before selling this week for $207,000 with conventional financing. This parcel is the result of a minor replat the seller performed after purchasing the larger parent tract in late 2022 for $259,800.
- Lot 2 McCosh Mill Road – Moving on to the south Cape, this vacant lot is located in the Piney Woods subdivision with a community pool and deeded beach access. The lot measures 55′ wide and 0.17 acres with Gulf views possible from a future elevated home site. This property was on the market for 185 days asking $179,000 before selling for $155,000 cash, which is a gain for the sellers who paid $90,000 in 2009.
- Lot 9 McCosh Mill Road – Here’s another south Cape, Piney Woods vacant lot sale for this week. This lot is slightly larger with a higher elevation, measuring 70′ wide and 0.18 acres, also conveniently located close to the community pool and beach access boardwalk. This property lasted 21 days on the active market with a price tag of $189,000 before going under contract and selling for $175,000 cash, which is another gain for the sellers who paid $41,600 in 2015.
- 110 Lakeshore Drive – This smaller, interior vacant lot is located in the Barrier Dunes HOA on the north Cape close to the St. Joseph Peninsula State Park. The gated HOA offers community pools, tennis courts, fishing ponds, playground and a Gulf front clubhouse with beach access boardwalk. The lot measures 40′ wide and 0.04 acres, and after 64 days on the market asking $120,000 the parcel sold for $100,000 cash, another gain for the seller who paid $46,000 in 2021.
- TBD Cape San Blas Road – Still on the north Cape, here are 6+ acres of bayfront property a few lots north of the Scallop Cove convenience store and gas station. This vacant property is already subdivided into 3 separate lots, and there are some significant wetlands on the eastern bay side of the lots, with plenty of upland mixed-use, commercial/residential zoned property close to Cape San Blas Road. This property had been on the market for 372 total days with an initial asking price of $1,400,000 which was reduced down to $1,250,000 before going under contract. The combined bayfront lots just sold for $1,100,000 with conventional financing, not a bad return for the seller who had owned the property since 1988 when he paid $80,000.
- 404 Indian Pass Road – We’re on Indian Pass for this recent Gulf front lot sale. This waterfront property measures 60′ wide and 1.23 acres, which includes some non-buildable marsh and wetland area across Indian Pass Rd on the canal leading to Indian Lagoon. There is also a shared access to the property with the neighbor to navigate around an isolated wetland pocket on the beach side of Indian Pass Road. The beachfront lot was on the market for 106 total days with an initial asking price of $679,900 which was reduced to $649,900. The sale was just recorded at $600,000 cash, which is up from the $279,000 the sellers paid in 2020.
- TBD Indian Pass Road – One more Gulf front vacant land sale from Indian Pass, this is a larger tract of land measuring 300′ wide on the beach and 3.23 acres. This property is closer to the eastern end of the peninsula on the beach, with views across the Pass towards St. Vincent Island National Wildlife Refuge. This development opportunity advertised the possibility of subdividing into 9 smaller lots, and the property only lasted 3 days on the active market before selling for the full asking price of $2,250,000 cash. The property had been owned by the selling family since 1995 when they paid $300,000 for the parcel.
9 new contracts were penned this past week in our comparative market (7 residential and 2 vacant lots), which is the most new contracts we’ve seen in a weekly update since the beginning of March. We saw a combined 17 new contracts in all of April, so this is a promising start to May as we approach the more crowded summer season. One previously executed contract from early April was cancelled this week (this north Cape residence is active again), while 3 active listings expired and 2 more were withdrawn from our active MLS inventory. More sellers continue to adjust expectations these days with 12 more price reductions in our relevant market this week, while 1 seller went the opposite direction with a price increase on an Indian Pass Gulf front lot.
5 new residential listings and 4 new vacant lot offerings were added to our comparative market inventory in the past 7 days. As a result of this week’s activity, our residential inventory is down 4 to 113 homes for sale, while our vacant land inventory level remains unchanged at 120 lots available on all of Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, and the CR/SR 30-A corridor. Stay tuned for next week’s update to see if our market can maintain this momentum. The Salt Air Farmers’ Market is back in town this first Saturday of the month, and the annual Bayou Bash inshore fishing tournament takes place this Saturday the 4th in Gulf County waters. Enjoy the weekend, and let me know anytime I can help, (850)899-8765 or [email protected].
Bay access from Pig Island Bayou, SW section of St. Joseph’s Bay