While much of our focus this week has been on keeping an eye on the oil spill, buyers haven’t been deterred from shopping for real estate and we had a good week with two sales, two new contracts, thirteen new listings and six price changes. All that activity added to our inventory which comes in today at 408, up seven from last week with 159 homes and 249 lots listed for sale in the MLS in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market. Let’s get underway by seeing who went to closing.
The first of our two sales is one I was beginning to think I would never see here in the “Sold” section as long as it took to get it closed, but we finally made it to the finish line on Friday. This was a short so we had to get approval from Bank of America who just took forever to do things; we’ve been under contract since mid-December. The home, a favorite of mine, is a 1,724 square foot first tier coastal cottage in Money Bayou with 3-bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths and awesome gulf views. The sellers bought it the year it was built, 2004, for $699,999, and by early 2008 had it back on the market with an asking price of $599,000 but were just never able to attract a buyer despite lowering the price incrementally, finally reaching $365,000. My buyers offered $350,000 and on Friday picked up the keys at closing.
Our second sale is also a first tier property, a lot on Cape San Blas just a little north of Scallop Cove. This bank-owned property last sold in September 2004 for $350,000; RBC put it up for sale with an $89,000 price tag, my buyers made a clean, cash offer with no contingencies and on Monday they took title for $84,000. The county had this one pegged at $100,000.
The first of our two new contracts takes us back off the Cape, over past Money Bayou and near Indian Pass to this 75′ wide gulf front lot with a list price of $485,000 which went under contract last Sunday. Unless the sellers have used it as an ATM over the years, they should make out really well on this one as they’ve owned it since 1990 when they paid just $32,500 for it, which even adjusted for inflation is still only $52,674 in today’s dollars. This is a good size lot , roughly one full acre. There are contingencies to be met so no projected closing date. The county has this one assessed at $262,500.
We’re travelling all over the place today and for our second sale we’re back on the Cape, this time all the way up by the state park where an interior lot at Sunset Pointe with a list price of $69,000 went under contract on Tuesday. This is another bank-owned property and they’re asking $69,000 for it, significantly above the county’s assessment of $40,000, but nowhere near the $205,000 it sold for in mid-2004. My buyers were looking for a peaceful, quiet setting on which to build their Cape escape, and this pretty property fit the bill perfectly.
My New Listing Pick of the Week from our thirteen new listings is this 50′ wide gulf front lot lot at Indian Pass for just $249,000. If you’re familiar with the Pass, it’s about two lots past where the great big blue antebellum-style house is located on the north side of the road. It’s not bank-owned or a short sale so it shouldn’t be any problem getting it to closing.
My Price Change Pick of the Week is also at Indian Pass, this one all the way out nearly to the boat launch at the tip of the peninsula. These sellers apprently just want to sell this thing ASAP and be done with it. They bought it in March of 2005 for $700,000 and put it back on the market the following month with a list price of $1.35M. That bus had already left, though, and it has been on the market ever since with the price drifting further and further downward in search of a buyer, finally landing at $219,900 last month. Even that low price wasn’t enough to do the trick so this week they dropped it to $125,000 just to end it. The lot adjacent to it was bank-owned and sold last June for $135,000. (UPDATE: Saturday, 5:25 p.m. – The listing agent just called and says this just went under contract. I didn’t think this would last very long).
That does it for this week. There are some great buying opportunities right now if you’re looking to get out of the stock market and into tangibles. If Thursday’s roller coaster ride on the Dow was a little too nerve-wracking for your taste, call me and we’ll find you some worry-free investment properties at the beach. Call me on my cell at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to [email protected] . Have a terrific weekend, and thanks so much for stopping by today.