Gulf County schools are back in session, and the August temperatures and humidity levels feel higher than ever. We had a slower week in our comparative real estate market of Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, and the CR/SR 30-A corridor, with fewer new transactions than we’ve seen in our recent updates. We also saw 5 sales recorded through our MLS in the past 7 days, below is a brief summary of each:
- 221 Sandlewood Blvd – Our first residential sale from the past 7 days comes from the Peninsula Estates neighborhood on the north Cape, which offers deeded beach and bay access. This home was built in 2003 with lots of recent upgrades, and it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 2,072 sq ft of living space. The interior parcel measures 75′ wide and 0.34 acres, and the property has an estimated annual gross rental income of around $60K. This listing hit the market in early March asking $799,900 before being incrementally reduced down to $699,000. After 129 total days on the market, the property went under contract and just sold for $650,000 with conventional financing, which is a nice gain for the sellers who purchased for $160,000 in 2015 before making significant improvements.
- Lot 14 Pinnacle Drive – This vacant bayfront lot is located in the Ovation Subdivision on the north Cape. The property is right on St Joe Bay with waterfront views, measuring 45′ wide and 0.2 acres, and the recorded sale also included an approved permit for a private dock. Ovation is a Gulf and bay front community with high-end amenities available to all property owners including tennis courts, swimming pools, community dock on St. Joe Bay, beach access boardwalks, club houses and exercise room. This property was on the market for 67 days asking $349,900 before selling for $342,500 cash, which is slightly up from the $325,000 the sellers paid in spring of 2022.
- 5205 Cape San Blas Road – One more north Cape vacant lot sale for the week, this once comes from the Dolphin Bay to Beach subdivision. This lot offers Gulf and bay views, is located in the X flood zone, has a deeded beach and bay access, and measures 55′ wide and 0.19 acres. The property was on the market for 139 days asking $239,000 before selling for $210,000 with conventional financing. The sellers purchased this lot for $178,500 in late 2021.
- Lot 17 Mariner Lane – Transitioning from the north Cape to the south Cape, this vacant lot is located in the South Beach gated subdivision. The lot measures 100′ in width, 0.28 acres, and is a short walk away from the deeded beach access and community boardwalk. This property was on the market for 108 total days with an original asking price of $220,000 which was eventually reduced down to $139,000. The sale was recorded this week at $123,000 cash, another gain for the sellers who paid $87,000 in summer of 2021.
- Lot 4 Shallow Reed Drive – Here’s another lot sale located in the Shallow Reed subdivision off the SR 30-A corridor near Presnell’s Marina and the St. Joe Bay Golf Club. This interior vacant lot is an irregular shape measuring 0.25 acres with deeded bay access, and it was on the active market for 67 days asking $59,900. The property just sold for $54,000 cash which is up from the $35,000 the sellers paid in spring of 2021.
4 new contracts were executed in our comparative market this week, all 4 of which were vacant land contracts. We can also report another cancelled contract, as this fixer-upper is back on the active market after going under contract last week. Two more sellers decided to lower their asking prices on both of these homes, and another active residential listing expired.
An even split of 3 new residential listings and 3 new vacant lot listings were added to our relevant inventory in the past 7 days. This brings our total residential inventory up 3 from last week to 63 properties for sale, while our vacant land inventory is down 1 to 99 listings available on all of Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, and the CR/SR 30-A corridor. That does it for this week’s real estate blog, let me know anytime I can help, (850)899-8765 or [email protected].
And now for some more news we can use – it’s been a record-breaking turtle nesting season on our Gulf County beaches. So far to date there have been 114 sea turtle nests laid on the Indian Pass, CR-30A and south Cape beaches this turtle season (that’s from the eastern end of the Indian Pass peninsula at the boat ramp all the way to the Eglin Air Force base property fence on the south Cape). To put this in perspective, an average turtle nesting season usually sees about 54 nests on this same stretch of beach, and the highest recorded count before this year was 83. Many thanks to our local volunteer turtle patrol who checks our beaches for new nests and hatches every morning, and marks each nest with appropriate signage and protection. It sounds like the entire state of Florida is having a banner turtle season – here’s a link to the FWC Facebook page for some more impressive statewide 2023 turtle nesting numbers. Have a nice weekend!
An Indian Pass turtle nest from earlier this summer