I had a great time in Orlando last week and returned to work on Monday rested and ready to get back to work, which is a good thing as it has been busy as can be. As promised, I’ll review the past two weeks today so you won’t miss out on anything that happened since we last met here. Buyers continued their shopping spree, closing seventeen sales, wrote fourteen contracts (eight of which were cash and have already closed), listed a dozen new properties, and changed twenty-four prices. With all those sales and contracts, our inventory took a healthy little dip closing down by 12 to 391, with 106 homes and 285 lots listed for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market. We have a whole lot of territory to cover today so let’s get to it.
We’ll start our review of seventeen sales on Cape San Blas up in Peninsula Estates where our first sale is on this 5-bedroom, 4-bath, 2,275 square foot circa-1986 gulf front home situated on 86′ of waterfront overlooking some beautiful dune formations. It’s not listed as a short sale at $539,000, even with it having sold in early 2008 for $1.06M. The list price is below the county”s assessed value of $564,017, and about a hundred-grand above the $450,000 it actually closed for on the 28th.
About three miles down the road near The Tradin’ Post, our next sale is one which may look familiar to long-time readers as it’s been here several times before having been under contract a couple of times. This 4-bedroom, 4 1/2-bath, 2,258 square foot gulf view home sold in May 2004 for $670,000. The owners have been trying to sell it since March of 2006 when they listed it for $1,249,000 but never succeeded in attracting a buyer. It went under contract with a far more modest list price of just $475,000, and on Friday it closed for $401,000. The county had it valued unrealistically low at $270,282.
We’ll travel about 4 miles south down Cape San Blas Road to Silent Sands for our next sale, this one a neat and tidy 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,064 square foot gulf view cottage listed for $279,000. This home packs a lot of charm into a compact space inside and out. The owners have done a terrific job with their tasteful and inviting landscaping. Built in 1993, it last sold in 2000 for $190,000, well above the current assessed value of $161,257. On the 21st, some lucky buyer picked up the keys at closing for just $220,000.
Our next three sales are somewhat related in that they’re three of five bank-owned stucco homes just south of Scallop Cove built in 1999 as rental units. In late 2004, two of them sold for an average price of $880,000 each, and eventually all five ended up with one owner. In January 2010 that owner issued a deed in lieu of foreclosure for all five of the houses on a mortgage then valued at $2,626,1000, or roughly $525,000 each. The stucco exteriors have proven to be problematic and each of the homes is in varying needs of repair work. Several of the homes went under contract last week with cash offers and closed this week. The first is a 4-bedroom, 3-bath, 1,474 with a list price of $309,900, below the county’s assessed value of $313,078. On Wednesday, the bank accepted $295,000 cash.
The second home is the same size and configuration as the last home, and also has a list of $309,900 and sale price of $295,000.
The third of these stucco homes is also a 4/3 layout, but somewhat larger, coming in at 2,064 square feet. As a result it was listed slightly higher for $349,900 and closed for $323,000.
A little further south near Stumphole, five gulf front lots went under contract with list prices of $84,500 each, about half the assessed value of $150,000. I am reluctant to recommend this area because of the past history of erosion and potential wetland issues in this stretch of beach which is why I have not pushed these. They all closed for cash this week with sales prices of $55,000, $84,000, and three for $65,333.
Our next sale is on this remodeled home in Boardwalk on the south side of the Cape which went under contract as a short sale with list price of just $200,000. If you’re a regular reader you may recognize this as one of my Picks of the Week a few weeks back. It’s a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,656 square foot home built in 1990 and extensively remodeled in 2005. The MLS notes describe it well:
SHORT SALE! Beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 bath home located in The Boardwalk subdivision on Cape San Blas. This lovely home was completely remodeled inside and out in 2005. The floor plan is open, spacious and inviting. The cathedral ceiling is dramatic and the hardwoood floors complement the living dining and kitchen areas. A wood-burning fireplace is featured in the living area. Two bedrooms and a bath are also on the living level. The master bedroom and bath are on the 3rd level providing privacy and seclusion for the owner. Outside, a wrap-around deck offers ample room for relaxing and entertaining. A storage room on the lower level provides a space for all of your beach toys. At the end of the street, enjoy the community gulf front pool and hot tub with a great view of the ocean as well as a private beach walk and beach access.
Last Friday it sold for full list of $200,000, the price the bank had already pre-approved on an earlier offer which didn’t work out, so that is why this one was able to close so quickly.
Just a few blocks away from The Boardwalk, our next sale was in Cape Dunes, one of the original subdivisions on the Cape, with many of the homes built in the early ’80s as was the case with this home. This is a 3-bedroom, 4-bath, 2,324 square foot gulf front home which shares a common breeze way with the home next door. Since the building permit was pulled prior to October 1982, when the Cape was designated a CBRA area, it was grandfathered in to remain eligible for FEMA flood insurance. The sellers are the original owners and have had it on the market for quite some time. They had it listed for $349,000, which is a good stretch above the assessed value of $201,440, and on Friday they closed right near that, accepting $220,000 cash, with the buyer paying all closing costs.
Lots of interest in gulf front properties at current prices and our next sale is on a gulf front lot at Two Palms, the first subdivision on your left as you drive onto the Cape, just past Salinas Park. Two Palms is an attractive subdivision with an invitingly landscaped entrance. There are a number of handsome homes, and it is situated on the stable and wide south-facing beach. This particular 51′ wide waterfront lot last sold in 2001 for $240,ooo. Those owners put it on the market in early 2006 with a list price of $1.285M. It never sold, despite numerous price reductions. This past June it went back to Capital City Bank who listed it for $225,000, and on Friday it closed for $195,000 cash, below the county’s assessed value of $200,000.
We’ll head about a mile west for our next sale, which is on this immaculate bay front home on Sandbar Drive in Treasure Bay, out along the C-30 Corridor. It’s a 3-bedroom, 3-bath, 1,953 square foot home on 100′ of waterfront in a FEMA flood insurance eligible community. Built in 1996, the sellers have owned it since December 2002 when they purchased it for $295,000. They’ve had it on the market since May when they listed it for $309,000, but didn’t really generate a lot of interest until they reduced to price recently to $286,000, which attracted a good number of people scheduling to see it, and on Wednesday they went to closing and picked up a check for $265,000. Price it right and they will come.
Several sales along the C-30 Corridor today, and our thirteenth sale is on the lagoon, one-half mile past the World Famous Indian Pass Raw Bar. This one was listed not too long ago, but then withdrawn when it went to the bank in early August. They listed it this week at $99,900 and the following day it went under contract. It’s a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,200 square foot home built in 2008 currently assessed at $88,923, and it last sold in late 2008 for $425,000. This place has awesome views overlooking its 100′ of waterfront. Last Tuesday it closed for full list of $99,900.
Our next sale is on a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,143 square foot beach cottage at Indian Pass which went under contract Friday with a list price of $199,900, pretty close to the $192,000 it sold for in May 2002. Those buyers flipped it the following Feburary to the current owners who paid $240,000 for it. The county has it pegged at $160,612, and last Monday it sold real close to that for $165,000. This home is in a FEMA flood insurance eligible neighborhood. 
Now onto our fourteen new contracts, eight of which have already closed and covered above, leaving us with six to review, beginning with this 2-bedroom, 1-bath, 1120 square foot circa-1993 bay front cottage on St. Joe Bay about a half mile south of the state park entrance. It’s built on a 70’by 227′ one-third acre lot and goes under contract with a list price of $249,000, way above the assessed value of $162,534.
Our second contract is on this quarter-acre lot in San Dunes on the Cape. This “X” zone lot last sold at the market’s peak in September 2004 for $385,000 but goes under contract with a list price of just $69,000 though it’s not listed as a short sale. The county thinks it should bring $85,000.
List prices are all over the place as illustrated by our next contract. It’s on a half-acre gulf front lot close to Stumphole. It’s in the VE flood plain, entirely seaward of the CCCL, and in an area of historically severe erosion. Even so, it’s listed for $200,000 in the same vicinity of the five gulf front lots we looked at earlier listed for $85,000.
We’ll go down to the south side of the Cape to Jubilation for our next contract, which is on an “X” zone corner lot listed for $79,900. This is another one that last sold at the height of the market in September 2004 for $280,000, but is not being listed as a short sale. The county has it pegged pretty close to list at $70,000.
We’ll head off the Cape back out onto C-30 to Waters Edge for our next contract, this one a bank-owned 60′ by 240′ one-third acre lot listed for a low $27,900. That’s less than 10 cents on the dollar for the $297,500 it sold for in August 2002, and also below the county’s assessed value of $32,000.
The final new contract we’ll look at today is on a beautiful gulf front home in Indian Summer at Indian Pass listed for $790,000. This 4-bedroom, 4-bath, 3,042 square foot home has many attractive attributes, as described in the MLS notes:
Beautiful home on Indian Pass in one of the nicest settings in Indian Summer. This upscale, meticulously maintained homes has it all – exceptional Gulf front views framed by St. Vincent Island to the SE and the southern Cape to the SW with plenty of pines and palms to keep the Old Florida feel, surrounded by nature. Professionally landscaped with irrigation system and herb gardens, x-large parking spaced provided under house due to custom design piling set, extra-wide boardwalk to provide golf cart/handicapped beach access, full service elevator, along with ground level utility room and workshop area. Gourmet French country kitchen with upscale ammenities throughout, master bedroom on each floor, 9′ ceilings on 1st floor, sunroom, morning kitchen on 2nd floor, expansive trex decking.
That’s a lot of real estate to digest! Prices are reaching levels buyers can’t seem to resist so if you’ve had your eye on a particular property you should step up to the table before someone else beats you to it. I’m ready to help you negotiate, just call or text me on my cell at 850-227-5197, or shoot me an email to [email protected] . I appreciate your stopping by today and hope to hear from you soon.