I’m hard pressed to believe I was in the Sunshine State this week with all the cold and rain (9 inches on Wednesday alone), but even that wasn’t enough to dampen or chill our red hot market, as we had what is our best week in the past two and a half years, closing eight sales since last Saturday. Even more encouraging is that six of them were lots so land is moving again. I’m also proud to say our office participated in five of the eight sales. Our only new contract is one of those sales, and we have three new listings and nine new price tags. Our inventory is back on the right track again inching downward, coming in at 386, down 2, with 137 houses and 249 lots in the MLS in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor. We have a lot of territory to cover today so let’s get started.
We’ll start at the north end of the Cape and work our way southward. First stop is up at Park Point Subdivision alongside the entrance to the state park, where this quarter-acre bank-owned lot listed for $120,000 sold for a Christmas blue-light special of $40,700. Even the county thought it would bring at least $78,500, probably since it sold in late 2003 for $264,000.
A few blocks south at Barrier Dunes we have our one new contract and second sale, one of the handful of cottages in the back by the park. A couple of my loyal readers decided it was time for them to have a coastal retreat and so we went shopping for their ideal place. This 3-bedroom, 3-bath, 1,876 square foot cottage with porches upstairs and down wrapping three sides perfectly suited them. Don’t you love the Hemingway-esque Key West look of the white picket fence and palms? The sellers put it on the market only a few weeks ago for $309,000, but soon thereafter wisely moved it below the $300K mark to $299,000. We went under contract last Saturday and closed Friday for $265,000, super close to the assessed value of $239,597. The sellers purchased the home in 1995 for $220,000.
Lots of action this week in Cape Breezes, about a mile south of the state park entrance where we had two sales on side by side bank-owned properties. The first is a nearly half acre lot measuring 100′ by 180′ which will afford both gulf and bay views when built upon. All the lots in this subdivision also come with deeded gulf and bay access. This s a good building site, high and dry even with all the rain we’ve had recently and it’s in the “X” zone. The property last sold in early 2004 for $200,000 and went back on the market two years later with a list price of $425,000. It never sold and eventually went back to the bank who listed it for $64,900, considerably below the county’s assessment of $100,800. Another one of my readers picked it up on Thursday for $58,500.
Our fourth sale next door was a 2-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 1,644 square foot spec home built in 2005 which the builder was unable to sell. it was listed sale in late 2007 for $549,000, but it, too, eventually went back to the bank. The house went on the auction block a few months ago with a list price of $299,000, well above the county’s assessment of $246,724, but even Kes mis-judged what the market would bear on this one as the winning bid turned out to be a mere $215,050.
Our very own Mr. $50,000 Lot Guy was a busy man this week as our next two sales clearly show. The first is this corner property on the bay side at Paradise Bay not far from Cape Palms Park. Measuring 96′ by 200′, and also in the “X”zone, it puts you within an easy stroll to either the gulf or bay, and our very popular bike path runs right in front of it. Last sold in August 2006 for $230,000, it was currently listed for $74,000 but not as a short sale, and sold on Wednesday for a cool $50,000. Kes pretty much nailed this one, having it at $56,000.
His next successful $50,000 lot sale was this commercial one on the corner of Aruba and Cape San Blas Road about half a mile north of Scallop Cove which was listed for $79,000. Because this parcel was replatted from a larger parcel with a house on it I don’t have any pertinent sales or assessment values to cite.
Our seventh sale is the second of our two homes sold this week and it’s a lovely gulf front place located on Clipper Way in Feather Sound Subdivision on the Cape not far from the Tradin’ Post. These buyers got a great buy, too, as they picked up this steal of a deal for only $460,000. This home last sold in early 2004 for $775,000 and was put back on the market in April 2007 for $1.2M. The sellers tweaked it down to its contract list price of $480,000 and that did the trick. Once again, the assessed value was real close, coming in at $455,762.
Our eighth and final sale of the week takes us off the Cape and over to Indian Pass for what I think is the most jaw-dropping deal of all. What a beautiful property this is. It runs from the gulf to the lagoon, roughly a hundred feet wide by 1,089 feet deep, for a total of about 2 1/2 acres. Kes totally missed the call on this one, having it assessed at $601,000. The sellers bought it in ’98 for $200,000, listed it this past September for $495,000, reduced it down to $330,000 and took $200,000 for it on Monday.
Only two new listings and no real excitement, so I’ll go straight to the Price Change Pick of the Week which goes to this 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,172 square foot Barrier Dunes townhouse which was reduced from $184,500 to $159,900. That’s below both it’s current assessment of $222,007 and the $185,000 it sold for in mid-2003. This is located by the park in a natural, peaceful setting.
Lots of good deals out there, folks. I love helping my readers find great properties, so if you’re in the mood for adding some coastal real estate to your Christmas shopping list, give me a call at 850-227-7891 or write me at [email protected] . Have a terrific weekend, and thanks for stopping by today.