Housing permits surged 15.7% nationally in July and our market definitely followed that trend with new homes going up all over the Cape. Property is seeing strong demand and we had another robust showing this week with four sales and five new contracts. Sellers added two new listings, and changed prices on seven others, two of which are price increases. Our inventory took a nice dip, closing down by five at 273, with 85 houses and 188 lots listed for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market. Let’s take a look at what’s been going on.
The first of our four sales is an eye-opener that’s sure to shake up waterfront comps. Up on the beach in Secluded Dunes, a buyer working with an agent expressed an interest in owning this 115′ wide gulf front lot though it wasn’t listed for sale. The agent negotiated with the owners who said they would take $750,000 for it, the buyer agreed, and the parties closed on Friday.
Over on Lakeshore Drive, the detached single-family houses area of Barrier Dunes, we have a bank-owned 37′ by 41′ interior lot that went under contract in mid-July with a list price of $44,100 which is exactly what it sold for. The bank acquired the property from the developer last October.
Just south of Rish Park in Paradise Bay on the bay side of Cape San Blas Road our next sale is a roughly half-acre lot measuring 100′ by 200′ that went under contract last month with a list price of $52,000. Paradise Bay is a sister subdivision of Paradise Gulf located directly across the street. There is no HOA, and every owner enjoys deeded gulf and bay access. The sellers owned this “X” zone lot for some time, and had it listed for $52,000. On Friday the new owners took title for $46,000.
Down near the rocks at Stumphole our fourth and final sale is a 60′ wide bank-owned gulf front lot listed and sold for $165,000. This is a prime example of the cardinal rule of Real Estate 101: it’s all about location.
Now on to our crop of five new contracts beginning with this charming second-tier, gulf view beach cottage that just came on the market last week with a list price of $295,500. It is a 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,280 square foot home built in 1999. The sellers bought the third-acre lot in 1998 for $33,500.
Next up is a 137′ by 90′ “X” zone lot on the corner of Cancun and Cape San Blas Road listed for $64,000. The seller is Mediacom who purchased the property in 1998 for $31,000 and used it to place their gigantic satellite dishes on.
We’ll head a just a few blocks further south down the beach to Jamaica Drive where if you wander down the road next to the Tradin’ Post you’ll come to this cozy little 2-bedroom, single-bath, 520 square foot beach bungalow listed for $174,900. The sellers picked it up in 2003 for $145,000.
A few hundred feet north of Scallop Cove on Pilot Drive this next contract is on a bank-owned 50′ wide bay front lot listed for $177,500. It features a shared dock, and deeded gulf access through nearby Silent Sands.
We’ll leave the Cape for the first time today for our fifth and final contract which is on another bank-owned lot, this one a 50′ by 200′ FEMA-eligible first tier lot in the Cottages at Indian Summer listed for $50,000.
That does it for this week. We’re ready for a busy Labor Day as we have a lot of visitors here to take advantage of the 3-day holiday and celebrate one last hurrah of Summer 2014. If your plans include looking for a coastal treasure to stake your place in paradise, call or text me at 850-227-5197 or write me at [email protected]. Have a fun-filled and safe weekend, and I hope to see you back here soon.