Hello readers and thanks for checking in with the Cape San Blas weekly real estate blog. Unlike the blistering temperatures across the panhandle and southeast, our new activity has cooled off a bit this week relative to previous weeks. Meanwhile mortgage rates have continued to surge and are now past 6% for most loans, with the average rate for a 30 yr fixed home loan being the highest we’ve seen since 2008. We’re still seeing plenty of cash buyers in our market, so it’s easy to feel like we’re a little more insulated as a popular, second home destination with expected continued growth. Most local real estate agents and title companies will admit, however, that things have slowed down a bit in the past few weeks, so we’ll continue to watch and take note of our inventory levels and new activity every week. Let’s start this week’s review by taking a closer look at the 13 recorded sales (7 residential, 6 lots) from Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and the CR/SR 30-A corridor from the past 7 days:
- 6002 Anchor Lane – We’re on the north Cape where this charming bayfront home sits on a 100′ wide, high elevation, 0.56 acre lot in the Paradise Bay subdivision. The 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2204 sq ft full-time residence was built in 2002 several years after the owners purchased the vacant bayfront lot in 1996 for $55,000. The mostly furnished home with a dock on St. Joe Bay was on the market for 53 days asking $1,450,000, and it just sold for $1,400,000 cash.
- 159 Echo Lane – Here’s a 2015 home on the bay side of the Ovation neighborhood on the north Cape which features both bay and Gulf views from the 55′ wide, 0.12 acre property. This home has 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, 2178 sq ft living space and access to all the nice amenities in the HOA, including 2 pools, clubhouses, tennis courts, boardwalks to the beach and docks on the bay. This fully furnished, well-appointed home was on the market for 44 days asking $1,200,000, and it just changed hands for $1,125,000 cash. The sellers originally purchased this home in 2017 for $540,000.
- 118 Sabal Circle – Staying on the north Cape and moving closer to the state park in the Barrier Dunes community, this 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1196 sq ft, fully furnished townhome was built in 1999 and generated $34K gross rental income in 2021. The attached unit hit the market in late April and only lasted 2 days before selling for the full asking price of $499,000 with conventional financing. These sellers also originally purchased in 2017 for $265,000.
- 373 Rhonda Del Sol Circle – Keeping it residential and moving from the north Cape to the south Cape, we’re now in the fast-growing Villa Del Sol neighborhood which will feature a community pool, clubhouse and pickleball courts, along with beach and bay access points. This property was a new construction spec home built by Truland Homes with 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and 1792 sq ft living space. This unfurnished, Gulf view home just sold for the full asking price of $699,900 cash after being on the market for only 2 days.
- 347 Rhonda Del Sol – Another new construction Truland Home sale to report in Villa Del Sol, this one is the same houseplan as the previous home mentioned with a similar location in the community and a Gulf view. The new, unfurnished home sold for the full asking price of $689,900 with assumed financing after 23 days on the market. Both of these matching homes were built on 0.12 acre lots which were part of a multiple parcel package deal purchased by Truland Homes from the most recent developer in spring of 2021.
- 264 Rhonda Del Sol Circle – And one more Truland Home new construction sale to report for the week in Villa Del Sol, this one is a little closer to the beach with a Gulf view and 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 1808 sq ft living space. This property also sold for the full asking price of $774,900 with assumed financing after 7 days on the market, and Truland Homes purchased the 0.12 acre vacant lot in 2021 for $75,200.
- 130 Griffin Avenue – We’re off the Cape and onto the CR 30-A corridor where this 2001 Gulf front home sits on a 50′ wide, 0.49 acre lot in the Money Bayou neighborhood. This 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom, 1903 sq ft, fully furnished turnkey rental home generated $100K in gross rental income last year, and it just sold for $1,550,000 with conventional financing after 11 days on the market asking $1,675,000. The sellers purchased the vacant Gulf front lot in 2000 for $159,000 before building the house 1 year later.
- 5435 Cape San Blas Road – Transitioning to vacant lots, this vacant lot is located on the north Cape in the Ocean Haven subdivision, and it’s second tier to the beach (2 behind Gulf front) with Gulf and bay views. The lot features deeded Gulf access and measures ~66′ wide and 0.33 acres. It was on the market for 61 days asking $279,000 before selling for $240,000 with conventional financing. The seller owned this property for just over one year, as it was purchased in spring of 2021 for $187,500.
- 117 Cabana Lane – Another sale from the north Cape, this vacant first tier (one behind Gulf front) lot measures 0.11 acres, 67′ wide, and boasts an X flood zone location. The Gulf view property is located in the San Dunes HOA which features a community pool and a beach access boardwalk. The lot was on the market for 14 days before selling for the full asking price of $379,900 cash. The sellers bought the parcel from the subdivision developer back in 2005 for $575,000.
- Lot 40 Mercury Lane – We’re back on the south Cape for this 0.27 acre, 51′ wide lot sale in the Surfside Estates Phase II neighborhood which features deeded beach access via community boardwalk. This property spent 98 days on the market asking $215,000 before selling for $200,000 with conventional financing, which is up from the $95,700 the sellers paid for the vacant lot in early 2020.
- 2580 SR 30-A – This is a larger, 2 acre parcel located just off the SR 30-A corridor near Presnell’s Marina, just past the Country Club Road turnoff next to the Shallow Reed neighborhood. This vacant, mostly cleared property was on the market for 140 days asking $335,000 before selling for $285,000 cash, which is up quite a bit from the $75,000 the sellers paid just over 1 year ago.
- 24 Shallow Reed Drive – Speaking of the Shallow Reed neighborhood, this is an interior lot from the subdivision off Country Club Road which measures 110′ wide and 0.25 acres with deeded bay access. This lot sale was entered into our MLS as a comp, as it was never an active listing on the market. It just sold for $55,000 with conventional financing, which is $5,000 more than the sellers paid for the property in 2019.
- 9645 CR 30-A – Last but not least, here’s an RV-friendly lot on the north side of CR 30-A past the Indian Pass turnoff towards Apalachicola. This 0.83 acre lot in the Palmetto Creek subdivision has some wetlands on the property, and also features a raised pad with all utilities in place with a new 30′ x 48′ pole barn being installed at seller’s expense. This lot sold for the full asking price of $139,000 cash after only 1 day on the market. This was one of 7 lots in Palmetto Creek purchased in bulk by the seller in spring of 2021 for $315,000.
It was a busy week for recorded sales, but the new contracts in our comparative market are down this week with only 2 new residential contracts and 2 new vacant land contracts executed by buyers and sellers. There were also 3 cancelled contracts in the past 7 days, all 3 residential properties which were previously under contract and are now back on the active market. We can report 4 price reductions this week, along with 1 expired vacant land listing.
This brings us to our new listings for Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and the CR/SR 30-A corridor since the previous blog update. In the past week, we’ve seen 15 new listings, which consists of 7 new residential listings coming on the active market and 8 new vacant lot listings joining suit. There are currently 48 residential properties listed for sale in our comparative market, to go along with 93 vacant lots listed for sale. That’s all we have for this week’s real estate update, thanks again for checking in and let me know anytime I can be of service – [email protected] or (850)899-8765.
It’s the third weekend of the month, so the Salt Air Farmers’ Market is happening at the Port St. Joe City Commons on Saturday the 18th. Also the Sea Urchin Roundup was rescheduled from last month due to weather, this Saturday is the new date at the boat ramp at Frank Pate Park from 8-5 pm EST. I hope all the dads out there have a great Father’s Day weekend!