The headlines haven’t scared off buyers but seem to actually be fueling increased interest in real estate around here as sales remain strong. We had a better than average week, with three sales and three new contracts, eight each new listings and new price tags. Not much change in our inventory, closing down just two from last week, to 404, with 155 homes and 249 lots for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor markets. Let’s see what caught buyers’ attention.
We’ll head out along the C-30 Corridor where the first of our three sales is this Key West-style second tier gulf view home in Money Bayou. It’s a cozy 758 square foot 2-bedroom, 2-bath beach retreat which last sold in May 2004 for $340,000. It’s not listed as a short sale even though it went under contract with a list price of $259,900. It closed for $237,000, way above the county’s assessment of $157,655.
Here’s the steal of the week. Our second sale is this 50′ wide gorgeous gulf front lot on Indian Pass overlooking St. Vincent Island Wildlife Reserve which sold for full list price of only $125,000, way below the county’s assessment of $200,000. Amazingly this wasn’t a short sale despite the fact it last sold in March 2005 for $700,000. This is proof that now is a good time to pick up some great investments.
Our third and final sale takes us to the Cape, where this interior lot in Surfside Estates on the south side of the Cape listed for $55,000 sold for $45,000. That’s just about right on the money as far as the county is concerned as they have it pegged at $40,000. The sellers bought it as one in a bundle of lots (I believe six in all) for which they paid a total of $108,000 back in June of 1995, so even at $45,000 they should be ok.
On to our three new contracts, two of which, coincidentally enough, are homes in Peninsula Estates located about a half mile south of the state park entrance. The first is this handsome 3-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 1,352 square foot beach cottage on the gulf side of Cape San Blas Road which went under contract last Saturday with an attractive list price of $279,900. It was built by Piergiovanni back in ’94 and has been well maintained over the years. No contingencies on the contract, and the parties plan to close by the 22nd of June.
On Sandlewood Blvd. on the bay side of Peninsula Estates our second new contract is a short sale on a 5-bedroom, 3-bath, 1,368 square foot home circa 1990 in need of a good bit of TLC at this point. Originally listed in March for $285,000, the sellers dropped that to a far more realistic $185,000 on May 9 at which price it didn’t take too long to attract a buyer. The county has it valued at $154,579 so it will be interesting to see what the bank finally accepts.
Our third and final new contract takes us back out along the C-30 Corridor for yet another short sale, this one a steal of a deal at its current list price of just $300,000. This is a very nice first tier home, a spacious 1,884 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths built as a spec home in 2008 with an original price tag of $729,900. The market has obviously changed since then to the point where the county now has it valued at just $240,349. Check out the view from this home:
In a week where we had a sale on a 50′ wide gulf front lot with a magnificent view go for $125,000 it’s hard to find anything among our new listings and price changes that can compete with that, so we’ll let the Picks of the Week ride this week. Until then, our beaches are clean and clear with no oil forecast to reach us during the upcoming week if current conditions prevail, so if you’ve been planning on coming down, please do. Governor Crist announced yesterday that the state will open scallop season early this year on June 19 instead of July 1 to encourage visitors to come on down. For now, the only oil on our beaches is suntan oil and we’re praying it stays that way.
Let me know if you’d like to find out more about what’s currently available. Call me on my cell at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to [email protected] . Have a great week, hope to hear from you, and thanks so much for taking time out of your day to stop by.