It’s Friday the 13th, Christmas is less than 2 weeks away, and there are some nice options available in our real estate market for last-minute shoppers. Mortgage rates appear to be stabilizing after a month of volatility, and expectations for significantly lower rates in 2025 are being tempered. The average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.69% in the first week of December, and a year ago at this time the average was 7.03%. Not long ago financial experts were forecasting rates to be around 6% by the end of 2024, but better-than-expected economic data and sticky inflation changed the course. Consumer confidence is higher than it’s been in over 1 year, which is also unfriendly for rates. Realtor.com’s housing forecast for 2025 is predicting average mortgage rates in the 6.3% range, edging down to 6.2% by the end of next year. The forecasts for next year look pretty decent for real estate on a national level, and I believe our local market should improve as well. On to this week, there were 3 recorded sales on all of Indian Pass, Cape San Blas, and the CR/SR 30-A corridor in the past 7 days, and zero new contracts to report, details below:
- 1532 Indian Pass Road – The first residential sale of the week is this 1992-built restored home which was moved to Indian Pass over 10 years ago by the previous property owner. The home has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 1,344 sq ft of fully furnished living space, and a deeded beach access from the property which is second tier to the beach (2 behind Gulf front). Recent improvements include a new roof and a private pool addition, and the turnkey vacation rental home sits on a 57′ wide, 0.48 acre lot. After 131 days on the market asking $699,000, the property sold for $610,000 cash. This house and lot were subdivided from a parent 4 acre parcel with a separate beachfront house which the seller purchased for $1,100,000 back in 2020.
- 171 Cord Grass Way – Here’s a vacant lot just sold on the south Cape in the gated Jubilation subdivision. The interior lot lies in the X flood zone and measures 0.13 acres with an irregular shape. The already cleared property has access to the HOA amenities which include a nice community pool and clubhouse and a deeded beach access boardwalk, and it was originally listed for sale asking $174,500. After 219 days on the market and several price reductions down to $128,000, the lot sold for $117,500 cash, which is up from the $105,000 the seller paid in 2022.
- Lot 29 Plover Drive – One more vacant lot sale from the south Cape, this one is located in the San Blas Plantation subdivision. The interior lot measures 106′ wide and 0.28 acres with a deeded neighborhood beach access a short walk away. This listing was on the market for 79 days asking $128,900 before selling for $120,000 cash, another gain for the sellers who purchased for $40,000 in 2016.
It was an uneventful week for new contracts on the Cape, Indian Pass and 30-A corridor, and 7 more sellers lowered asking prices since our last update. Since the beginning of November there have been only 10 new contracts to report in our comparative market. As previously mentioned, it’s typically slow around the holidays, so we’ll see how many more new contracts and sales are recorded before the end of the year.
On the subject of our comparative market inventory, 2 residential listings and a couple new vacant lots were added to our local MLS this week. After a few more listings expired, our residential inventory is down 1 from last week to 109 homes for sale, and our land inventory up 2 to 103 lots for sale on all of Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, and the CR/SR 30-A corridor. That’s a wrap for this weekly update, let me know anytime I can help and have a great weekend. If you’re in town, don’t miss the Christmas On The Coast annual parade down Reid Avenue on Saturday evening.
