What a difference a week makes! We are back in the booming business mode with all kinds of sales activity on the upswing. We had a stellar week, closing seven sales, writing up eight new contracts, listing ten more, changing prices on eleven others (and not all of them are price reductions), and nine listings which had been under contract or expired came back on the market. With all that, our inventory grew by four, ending the week at 286, with 84 homes and 182 lots listed in the MLS in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market. A lot of people are finding great deals, so let’s see what they are.
The first of our seven sales finds us on the Cape about half a mile north of Scallop Cove on Belize Drive where this 4-bedroom, 4-bath, 1,824-square foot first tier home that went under contract in late November with a list price of $399,000, sold this week for $360,000. The sellers bought it in the spring of 2003 for $460,000, and listed it last April initially asking $449,000.
Our next sale is a gulf-front home in Tucker Shores which is that micro-subdivision of six homes down near the rocks at Stumphole. This one’s a bit unusual in that it sold in January 2010 for $433,000, and then again later that same year to the current owners for $550,000, which is what they now have it listed for. It’s a nice home, 2,642 square foot with 5 bedrooms, 5 baths and an in-ground pool. It went under contract in early January and on Tuesday it went for $500,000 even.
Our next sale is down on the south side of the Cape in San Blas Plantation where this irregularly shaped first tier corner lot went under contract just last week with a list price of $79,900. The sellers bought it in 2000 for $64,500, sadly close to the county’s current assessed value of $67,500, and let it go on Monday for $57,500.
We’ll head down to the end of Cape San Blas Road and turn left onto C-30 for our next sale, which is a bank-owned lot located just past that curve in a little subdivision called Marnie’s Island. It was listed as a bay front lot for $26,500 but it’s not waterfront you’d be launching your deep V from as it’s a shallow marshy area better suited for photos than fishing. The seller picked it up as a bank-owned sale in December 2011 for $12,500 and turned a nice profit on Tuesday selling for $22,000, close to the county’s assessed value of $20,000. In 2006 it went for $225,000.
Our next sale is a circa-1983 2-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath, 1,344 home on 100′ of gulf front beach over in Gulf Pines. The sellers bought it in 1991 for $129,000 ($218,600 today in inflation-adjusted dollars), and it went under contract on the first of the year with a list price of $424,900, in line with the county’s assessed value of $435,280. When this home first came on the market in 2005, that list price was $1.8M. The HOA fees for Gulf Pines are only $200 per year, and the neighborhood is eligible for FEMA flood insurance. On Friday the new owners picked up the keys at closing for $390,000.
All the way over to Indian Pass for our next sale which is a first tier lot that also went under contract this week and closed within three days for cash. It’s a bank-owned property listed for $80,000, but on Thursday a buyer with $70,000 cash picked up the title at closing.
For our next sale we’ll leave the Pass and turn right, heading out along the C-30 Corridor in the direction of Apalachicola to this mobile home on a large 1.2 acre lot not far from the Gulf County line. The 2-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath circa 1984 home needs a little TLC but the lot itself is very nice. The last time it sold was in 1994 when it went for $22,000, and on Monday it sold for $45,000.
To begin our review of this week’s crop of eight new contracts, we’re heading back to the north end of the Cape to Seacliffs, where this lovely 4-bedroom, 4 1/2-bath, 2,458 square foot end-unit townhouse went under contract on Thursday with a list price of $259,900, below the county’s assessed value of $287,104. It is being sold completely furnished, and it has terrific gulf views. The sellers bought it for $344,900 in early 2002 and have added many nice upgrades since then, such as granite counter tops and beautifully tiled showers.
In nearby Ovation, our next contract is on a 57′ by 85′ bay view lot listed for $38,500. The county’s assessor hasn’t caught up with all the sales in Ovation from last summer as they still have it at $45,000, even though the developer sold it in May of last year for $22,500.
Down the road about a mile and a half or so our next contract is on an irregularly shaped first tier “X” zone lot in Seagrass. In February 2004 it sold for $215,00, and then resold a little over a year later in May 2005 for $345,000. They put it back on the market the following year for $589,000 and now have it listed as a short sale for $77,000, below the county’s assessed value of $90,000.
We’ll go on down to the south side of the Cape for our next two contracts, stopping first in Jubilation where we have another short sale, this one an irregularly shaped 0.11 acre interior lot listed for $26,000, roughly half the county’s assessed value of $45,000. It has an eerily similar history to the Seagrass lot in that it sold for $260,000 in mid-2004, and then again the following fall in late 2005 for $350,000. The sellers listed it just two months later for $460,000 and now seven years later finally have it under contract.
Only a few blocks away in Surfside Estates our next contract is on yet another short sale, a quarter-acre interior lot on Polaris listed for $23,900, again roughly half the county’s assessed value of $45,000. The sellers picked it up in August 2004 for $225,000 and have had it on and off the market since summer of 2005 when they listed it for $400,00.
We’re back out on the C-30 Corridor for this next one, a Key West style 3-bedroom, 4-bath, 1,702 square foot house on 27′ of gulf front listed for $315,900 in Brighton by the Sea. The sellers have owned the home since 1999 when they purchased it from the developer for $269,900. This little community of eight homes was built in 1998. They share a community pool, and are located in a FEMA-eligible area.
We’ll head over to Money Bayou to wrap up the week with two bank-owned properties, the first of which is a nice 50′ wide by 430′ deep gulf front lot listed for $219,000. I wasn’t able to discern the sales history on this piece, but the bank acquired it in September 2011 for $60,000. There are houses on either side of the lot, and it’s in a VE flood plain, but federal flood insurance is available in this area.
And last but certainly not least, we’ll finish with another bank-owned property, this one a 68′ by 195′, third-acre second tier lot listed for $22,000, less than 10-cents-on-the-dollar of its December 2004 sale price of $225,000. As was not uncommon in that time period, it sold the year prior in early 2003 for $100,000. There are no contingencies to be met with this contract so it should close fairly quickly.
That’s a lot of territory to cover together so I thank you for hanging in there til the end. So many great values to be had and they’re moving quickly again, so if you’ve been thinking about picking up some of these gems, it’s time to get in the game. Call or text me at 850-22-5197 or shoot me an email to [email protected] and we’ll get started. Have a terrific week, and thanks so much for taking time out to stop by today.