August has arrived, meaning Scallop Season will be underway in a couple more weeks here in Gulf County (August 16 – September 24). The vacation rentals are starting to slow down now that many schools are scheduled to be back in session next week, and the new activity level in our comparative real estate market has also tapered off a bit in comparison to the strong July finish. In national news the Federal Reserve wrapped up July with their monthly meeting announcing the decision to keep the federal funds rate unchanged yet again, while still not yet committing to a rate cut next month as many are predicting. Mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest levels since early February with expectations of a September federal rate cut and recent cooling inflation data. Meanwhile here on Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, and the 30-A corridor there was only 1 recorded sale since our last update, details below followed by a summary of the new activity this week:
- 196 Sweetwater Shores Drive – The one and only recorded sale of the week is this beachfront vacation rental house which is located in the Money Bayou neighborhood just off the CR 30-A corridor. This 2019-built home has 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, and 1,985 sq ft of fully furnished living space on a 50′ wide beachfront lot measuring 0.57 acres. The turnkey vacation home grossed over $162K in rental revenue last year, and the listing was on the market for 165 total days with an asking price starting at $1,764,000 and reduced down to $1,599,000. The property just sold for $1,500,000 cash, which is down from the $1,606,000 the seller paid in the 2022 extreme sellers’ market.
After a couple of promising weeks with encouraging numbers of new contracts, our comparative market returned to a slower pace of new activity this week with only 2 new contracts, both were on vacant lots. Price adjustments and cancelled contracts have become a common theme for sellers and buyers in 2024, and this week is no different in our relevant market. Another cancelled residential contract from last week put this Indian Pass vacation rental home back on the active market, and 14 more sellers reduced asking prices while 3 vacant lot listings showed price increases since our last update.
The end of July delivered quite a few expired listings, but as usual, several more new listings were added to our MLS this week. 6 unfamiliar home listings brought our residential inventory up to 143 homes for sale (up 2 from last week), while only 1 new lot listing resulted in our vacant land inventory falling to 113 lots for sale (down 4 from last week) on all of Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, and the CR/SR 30-A corridor. That’s all for the first August weekly update, let me know anytime I can help at [email protected] or (850)899-8765. The Salt Air Farmers’ Market is back in Port St. Joe this weekend, and stay tuned for some great festivals and live music in the next month. Hoping for the best case scenario and minimal impact for everyone with the developing tropical system in the meantime – take care!
