While the rest of the country shivered in snow and sub-freezing temps we had a warm and balmy week here along the coast with a “cold snap” that took us all the way down to 47 last night here on the Cape, but by 9:30 we were back up to a sunny 58. The real estate market remains cool, though, with little activity. If you need more information on selling your house you can always visit sites like Reali to get the right information that you need. Our inventory of active MLS listings on Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and along the C-30 Corridor is once again inching slowly upward, up three this week for a total of 368, with 145 homes (vs. 141 last week) and 223 lots (vs. 224). This is the second week in a row we had no closings, but we do have one new contract, nine new listings, and fifteen new price tags. We’ll start by taking a look at what went under contract.
Our solo new contract is on a road front, gulf view lot in Water’s Edge, a nice development on C-30 just east of the turn off onto Cape San Blas Road. It has been listed for over two years, starting off with a list price of $225,000 in January ’07, finally dropping to $125,000 this past August and that did the trick. The seller paid $65,000 for it in April 2002 so hopefully he’ll make out ok. Here’s another example, though, of how the tax assessor’s office can’t move fast enough to keep pace with the actual market, as this lot is assessed for $150,000.
I get a lot of requests for info on foreclosures these days and my pick of the week from our nine new listings is a bank foreclosure on a wonderful gulf first tier home in Seagrass on Cape San Blas for only $525,000, roughly 25% below the county’s assessed value of $703,560.
This 3,291 square foot, 6-bedroom custom built home with 4 baths and 2 half baths has never been lived in and is in great condition. The seller bought it as a vacant lot for $625,000 in mid-2005. This quality built home has a number of nice features including granite countertops, stainless appliances, tiled showers, a 2 car garage, garden tub, open kitchen/living area, an outdoor shower, 3 walk-in closets, and tons of deck space. Its location in Seagrass is perfect for great views and to take advantage of the very nice community pool and pool house located just next door.
According to the listing agent, projected gross rental income is $43K-$47K, based on other homes in Seagrass. I ran the numbers using those estimates, and this place has the potential of returning about a 5% cap rate. Sweet! You’re not going to see anywhere near that on CDs right now, and a beach home is a heck of a lot more fun to play with than a stack of bank notes.
Seeing how it’s situated gives you an idea of what spectacular views you’ll have. Here’s a sample view from the deck off the living area.
From our fifteen properties sporting new price tags, my pick of the week goes to this 50′ wide gulf front lot on Cape San Blas for only $399,500. This is not a short sale. This lot will sell itself and probably pretty quickly with its sugar-white sandy beach . . .
. . . its crystal clear emerald green surf . . .
. . . and sunsets like this.
Need I say more??? Didn’t think so.
That about does it for this week. If you’re an owner thinking of putting your property on the market this spring let’s talk now so we can get everything ready to go. For more info on these or other great opportunities out there, call me on my cell at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to [email protected]. Thanks for stopping by today and hope to see you back real soon.