Cape San Blas Real Estate Blog

CONGRATULATIONS – YOU DID IT!  Thanks to your avalanche of emails and phone calls to commissioners yesterday, what looked like a done deal on Tuesday went down in defeat Thursday when the board voted 4 to 1 to deny Ashwood Development’s request to add nearly 100 lots to Ovation for construction of duplexes.

Commissioner Jerry Barnes said in all his time on the board no issue has ever elicited this type of response – by last night he had had received over 150 calls, and they were still pouring in this morning. Commissioner Bill Williams had pretty much the same experience.

Thank you so much for taking the time to get involved – you made a difference, and our Cape is so much the better for it.

Here is a detailed account of what transpired at the meeting:

County Commissioners Veto Ovation’s Density Increase
Marie Logan – 2008-02-28 12:15:00

Faced with a packed meeting room Thursday morning, the Gulf County Commissioners voted 4-1 to deny a density increase to the developer of Ovations subdivision on St. Joseph Peninsula.

Voting to deny the request were Commissioners Bill Williams, Nathan Peters, Jerry Barnes and Carmen McLemore. Voting for the density change was commission chair Billy Traylor.

During Tuesday night’s regular county commission meeting, commissioners scheduled the Thursday morning meeting because they could not come to a decision on the density issue for the development.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, William Harrison, attorney for the Ashwood Development Company out of Atlanta, asked the board to increase the density of the project by adding the acreage of the submerged lands attached to the development to the total acreage in the project to obtain the necessary amount of buildable land in order to affect the change.

It was pointed out Tuesday night and again this morning that the submerged lands had already been figured into the original equation when the Ovations project was approved by the board in 2005.

Numerous people addressed the board, expressing opposition or approval of the density change. While everyone was cordial, feelings obviously ran high on both sides.

Primary objections cited to the increased density in the development included:

• increased problems for an already overtaxed local volunteer fire department;
• non-notification to property owners in and around the development of the proposed changes;
• radical changes to the original development plans, which property owners had not agreed to;
• violation of the county comprehensive land use plan, which could open the door for more requests to change the plan;
• punitive action against the county by the state Department of Community Affairs, which regulates the comprehensive plan;
• judgment against the county by the state Department of Environmental Protection regarding the upcoming decision to move the 30-year erosion line on the Peninsula;
• setting a dangerous precedent for uncontrolled growth in south Gulf County;

Those in favor talked about the critical economic situation in Gulf County and argued that the work generated by the density increase would provide immediate relief in the form of construction jobs.

Although the developer promised to use local labor and local materials in building more houses in the development, he said he could not guarantee that local materials and labor would be used because of “time constraints and quality control.”

Please take a minute today to address the following – by Thursday morning it will be too late!

Yesterday, Tuesday, the Planning Development Review Board met and reviewed Ashwood’s request to increase their density in Ovation by roughly 100 lots and building duplexes rather than the single family homes originally approved.  The vote was deadlocked 2 to 2.  It then went to the Commissioners last night and they tabled it to gather additional information and, will vote again tomorrow Thursday morning in a meeting scheduled to begin at 9 a.m..  They need to hear from the land/homeowners on the Cape.

The argument their attorneys from Atlanta are using is even though they stated in the first round that the 42 acres underwater were wetlands in order to get the density they have today, they are now saying they are not wetlands, but uplands.  You can’t have it both ways…..it is the Bay and should be neither and not able to be used as property for density purposes.  They wish to put duplexes on 40 foot lots.

Secondly, I am told for every call they receive from a land owner, they receive two from contractors needing business.  This argument does not hold water as Ashwood has not used any local contractors in Ovation so far.  Steve Neuman, one of the largest contractors in our area, owns property in both of their neighborhoods and stated he did not want the zoning changed.  The Ovation property owners purchased land in a single family subdivision of high quality and now they are going to change it to duplexes?  If you know any Ovation property owners please share this with them.

And third, local landowners and constituents are foreclosing on their homes due to the horrible market today.  Do we really want a corporation from out of town to increase the already overloaded inventory on the Cape and get the sales instead of the individuals?  Ashwood has a wonderful product and has done a great job, and it is not their product that is causing the lack of sales, it is the marketplace.

Commissioner Peters is firmly against this increased density.  In order to receive the 3 votes needed for this not to happen, Jerry Barnes and Bill Williams need to hear from YOU today.  Jerry is our Commissioner and he is running for re-election this year.  His vote should firmly hands down support his constituents and future constituents, current landowners.  Even if you don’t have a vote today, this will affect you – please call.  Bill Williams will support the proper position based on the facts.  The points above should be enough to logically have this motion voted down.

PLEASE call Commissioner Barnes and Commissioner Williams today at the cell numbers listed below.  If you can’t reach them, please leave a message.  Tomorrow will be too late.  Let’s not set a precedent for increased density on the Cape.

Jerry Barnes              850-227-1647 or  850-340-0220

Bill Williams             850-227-6422

 UPDATE: 

Thanks to everyone for jumping on this. I’ve been hearing from a lot of people that they’re having trouble getting through to Jerry and Bill’s numbers as the boxes appear to be full by this afternoon. We’re having an impact!.  I just talked to Jerry and he said he has received over 50 calls today, not a single one in support of this variance. If you want to e-mail your thoughts to him via Don Butler’s e-mail, that address is:
gulfcoadmn@gtcom.net

Bill Williams’ e-mail address is:
Gericarealf@aol.com;

You can also send your thoughts to David Richardson of the building department at to have them entered into the public record
Gulf1@gtcom.net

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Like roadweary vacationers anxious for the ride to be over and finally reach the destination where the fun begins, we’ve all been wanting to know when this market will finally reach its bottom and begin to turn around. Encouraging news heard this morning from a guy with a good track record for recognizing and calling economic trends and earning gazillions by doing so. I found the following on CNBC’s website:

  According to billionaire investor Sam Zell, chairman of Equity Investments Group and owner of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and other companies the US economy will avoid recession as the housing market begins to recover this spring.

Speaking on “Squawk Box” . . . , Zell attributed much of the current economic troubles to fear-mongering and politicking by Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

“Obviously what we have going on is an attempt to create a self-fulfilling prophecy,” said Zell, . “We have two Democratic candidates who are vying with each other to describe the economic situation worse.

“The reality is that if you live on Wall Street and you’re in the credit markets the world couldn’t be worse. If you’re a farmer and you’re getting $25 for your wheat, you’re having a great time. If you’re a CEO and you’ve got a balance sheet that’s bullet-proof, you’re in a great position. This whole thing is way out of control, way out of hand.”

Zell said that although he doesn’t try to pick bottoms in markets he believes housing has hit its nadir and will turn around this spring as inventory clears out (emphasis added).

As for the credit situation, he projected that once markdowns are out of the way banks will begin to regain their footing.

In the wide-ranging interview, Zell also voiced support for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

“I think Bernanke’s reduction in interest rates has been spot-on, because basically we’re going to fix the credit markets by creating a big enough spread between the risk-free cost of capital and what’s available so that greed overtakes fear and the game begins again.”

Lots of activity around the Cape this week: construction on phase two of the bike path is underway, road crews are just about finished widening the road and shoulder between the Tradin’ Post and Stumphole, the beach renourishment equipment has been moved into place up in the state park, and we continue to see a small but hopefully steady trickle of buyers coming back into the marketplace.

Our inventory continues its healthy “weight loss” trend, slimming down another 1 1/2% to a trim 458 from last week’s 465, with 170 homes (vs. 172) and 288 lots (vs. 293). We had one new contract this week, eight price changes, thirteen expired unsold, eleven newbies, and four just taken off the market. 

  Once again our new contract of the week is on a gulf front home, this time at Sunrise Sunset, those yellow townhouses (currently being repainted light blue) just north of Stumphole. Just two weeks ago the Seller priced the property to move quickly at $350,000, and it paid off with an offer almost immediately. This 1500 square foot, 3-bedroom, 2-bath end unit townhome was priced at a low $233 per square foot. Because there are contingencies to be met, the projected closing date is not yet available.

Do we have any enticingly low new bargain prices amongst our eight price changes? You bet. Biggest slash of the week is this 31% reduction on a half-acre, bay view lot near Rish Park on the Cape, from $159,000 to $109,000, making it the lowest priced lot on the Cape. The same seller also dropped the price on his adjacent 50′ wide, 0.8 acre bay front lot with DEP dock permit from $359,000 to $259,000. Great price for a waterfront lot. The last undeveloped bay front lot sold was in August 2006 (hard to believe) when a 100′ lot with completed dock sold for $565,000, or $5,650 per waterfront foot.  This new price of $259K comes in at only $5,180 per waterfront foot so that ought to get snapped up pretty quick.

One more price change I like the looks of is on this 1,886 square foot, 3-bedroom, 3-bath gulf-front home on Treasure Drive reduced to $875,000. Treasure Shores is a well-established, well-maintained neighborhood on C-30 with a stable beach and eligible for FEMA flood insurance. Here’s the listing agent’s description:

Lovely home with a great layout for lots of company. Each bedroom has a private bathroom, and all rooms face the beach. On the first level the kitchen, dining and living space enjoy ample beach front views; this area extends to the front deck with equally breathtaking views and roomy space for gatherings. On the west side of this floor is a king size bedroom with bath. On the top level are two bedrooms, a den-sitting area, and the master bedroom. All these three rooms open to a large screened porch. Storm shutters, tile roof, great rental with a loyal follow up, and mostly in excellent condition with new carpet installed in 2007.

With no closings that about wraps it up for another week.  If you’d like more information on any of these listings or would like an estimate of value on your own property, please shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com or give me a call on my cell at 850-227-5197. Thanks for stopping by today.

I’ve been hearing a lot of different things about the status of the beach renourishment program so I decided to stop by the the offices of Manson Construction this afternoon to get the facts straight from the contractor. I met with the project manager, Billy House, who told me they expect to start pumping sand sometime in the first week of March. The dredging equipment has been delivered to the State Park which is where the process will begin, and they plan to submerge the first length of pipe this Sunday.

In a meeting I had with Paula Pickett of the Tourist Development Council, she said that once Manson gets underway teams will work 24/7 until the job is finished, and will typically move 300 to 500 feet per day.  The plan is to do frequent, even daily, updates to the Beach Advisory Committee’s website, SaveTheCape.com, posting where the workers anticipate being on any given day so that owners and property managers can plan accordingly.  At the speed with which they’ll be moving, it seems they won’t be by any one property for very long.

On January 29, Floridians went to the polls and voted for a Constitutional Amendment which significantly impacts both homestead and non-homestead properties. I’ve received a lot of questions about these changes, and with the homestead exemption application deadline fast approaching on March 1, I’m reprinting here a well-written set of FAQs on the Amendment compiled by the Florida Association of Realtors to address concerns you may have. For ongoing, up-to-date info, check out the Amendment info page on the Florida Department of Revenue’s website.

Q: When will the changes from Amendment 1 show up on tax bills?

A: For those who are eligible, benefits from portability, the additional homestead exemption and the $25,000 exemption for tangible personal property will show up on 2008 tax bills.

Q: How does a person apply for portability?

A: The homesteaded property owner should turn in a completed application to the office of the property appraiser in the county where the new homestead is located. The application from the Department of Revenue.

http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/appraisers.html

Q: Who’s eligible for portability this year?

A: A person who establishes a new Florida homestead for 2008 and filed to give up the previous homestead sometime after Jan. 1, 2007. In other words, a person who relocated from a homestead last year and is claiming a new homestead for 2008 is eligible. The deadline for 2008 homestead and portability applications is March 1. The portability benefit would show up on the 2008 tax bill.

Q: Who’s eligible for portability after that?

A: Any Florida homesteaded property owner who establishes a new homestead for 2009 or any subsequent year as long as the person had another valid homestead within two years of establishing the new one.

Q: How much is the portability benefit worth?

A: A homesteaded property owner can transfer up to $500,000 of portability benefit to a new homestead. A person moving to a more expensive home transfers the dollar amount. A person moving to a less expensive home transfers the percentage value.

Q: I don’t plan to move. What happens to the 3 percent cap on property tax assessments I got every year under Save Our Homes?

A: You’re still protected. Save Our Homes doesn’t go away.

Q: Is there an application for the additional homestead exemption?

A: No. The additional exemption will be granted automatically to anyone qualifying for a base $25,000 homestead exemption. It applies only if a property’s assessed value exceeds $50,000.

Q: How much is the additional exemption?

A: The exemption is $25,000, but it does not apply to property taxes assessed for local schools. In other words, no additional exemption will be applied to a property’s assessed value for the purposes of levying school taxes.

Q: Do business owners and mobile-home owners with tangible personal property have to apply for the exemption?

A: To receive the exemption, they must file their 2008 returns. If the value of tangible personal property is under $25,000, they will not have to file again the following year.

Q: When does the 10 percent cap on annual assessment increases for most non-homesteaded properties go into effect?

A: It goes into effect in 2009. There will also be an application. Keep checking the Department of Revenue web site [http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/appraisers.html ]for details.

© Copyright 2008 Florida Association of Realtors®

Another beautiful week on the Cape, cool, crisp, sunny days, tailor-made for strolling our beautiful deserted winter beaches. Our real estate market was a little bit warmer with one new contract and one sold.  Sixteen Sellers dropped their prices (some significantly – we’ll take a closer look in just a minute), two raised them (that’s a switch!), sixteen expired unsold, one seller pulled four of his properties off altogether, and ten new listings came on the market.

Another 3% drop in our inventory is a good way to start, coming in at 465 total, down from 479 last week, with 172 homes (vs. 175) and 293 lots (vs. 304).  When we first started tracking back in September we were at 575 total, so in roughly six months we’ve watched it come down a healthy 19%; let’s hope that trend continues.

Our solo sale this week was this 1040 square foot, 2-bedroom, 2-bath bay view home with a loft which was listed at $299,000 in mid-October, and which closed on Friday for $260,000, 87% of list. Built in 2002, the home is situated on a half-acre lot (104′ x 205) only a few hundred feet south of the state park (behind Coneheads and where The Entrance used to be).

So how’d our Seller do having to shave 13% off his list in order to get to the closing table? Well, he bought it in November of 2002 for only $179,000, so he’s up $81,000, roughly 45% in a little over five years, for an average 9% yearly return. That’s about 3 times what the banks are currently paying, so it would work for me.

 Demand for gulf front continues to rule and this week is no exception, with our one new contract being this 3-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath, 2383 square foot gulf front home with a loft which went under contract on Tuesday. Listed at $999,999, it is being sold by the developer and is located off C-30 not far from Indian Pass. It features panoramic views from the 4 decks and top balcony, hardwood floor living area, cultured marble used through out bathrooms, garden and Jacuzzi tubs, custom cabinets, custom book shelves, wood burning fireplace, renni hot water system, granite and marble counter tops throughout, elevator and is eligible for FEMA flood. Since there are contingencies in the contract to be met, no scheduled closing date is noted.

With sixteen price reductions, let’s see if there are any hot deals to be had. At first glance, that would be . . .oh, yeah.  The biggest slash is by far the 43% reduction on this interior lot at Waters Edge, going from $210,000 down to $120,000. Whoa! The Seller bought this lot back in 2002 as part of a package deal on 8 lots for a combined price of $399,200 or $49,900 each, so he has a good amount of room to play with and still turn a nice profit. Can you say, “Let’s Make a Deal”?

 Other noteworthy price reductions are these two lots on the Cape (the areas shaded in red on the map) each of which has been listed at $449,000, but dropped on Friday to $299K and $349K. The road front lot is zoned both commercial and residential, and is located only a few lots north of the old Anchor office.

 Next up is this 3-bedroom, 3-bath 1172 square foot Barrier Dunes townhome, originally listed last February for $425,000, now reduced 30% to $299,000, an excellent price for a home this size in this very popular townhome community.

That about wraps it up for this week’s review. As always, if you’d like additional info on these or any other properties, or if you’d like to know what your own property might bring in the current market, shoot me an e-mail to sherri@sherridodsworth.com or give me a call at 850-227-5197. Thanks for stopping by today.

It’s been an absolutely beautiful week on the Cape weatherwise: clear and sunny, highs in the upper 60s/lower 70s, with cool, clear nights in the 50s. It’s been a decent week for the real estate market, too; not as red hot as last week, but decent, with one new contract and one closing.

Our inventory remains virtually unchanged, with 479 active listings in the MLS (175 homes and 304 lots), down only one from last week. Ten listings expired, ten sellers tried dropping their prices, and six new properties came on the market. 

 Our single sale of the week was a bay front home located in Peninsula Estates on the Cape, less than a mile south of the state park entrance. This 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1800 square foot home with a dock is situated on a .6 acre lot with 100 feet of bayfront. Peninsula Estates property owners all have deeded bay and gulf access.

Our Sellers tried for some time to sell this on their own, but back in March decided to hire a Realtor and listed the home for $795,000. In December they dropped the price to $675,000, and in less than four weeks they went under contract. On Friday they closed for $600,000. The county records offer no sales data on the property, but I know they’ve owned it for at least ten years if not more, so I’m sure they did all right.

 Our new contract this week is on a brand new gulf front home on Indian Pass.  This 3,076 square foot, 4-bedroom, 3-bath home sits on a .26 acre lot with 50 feet of gulf frontage.  It was originally listed back in July for $1.395M, but they dropped the price to $950,000 in early December. There are contigencies in the contract so until those are met, we won’t know when it’s scheduled to close.

Six new listings this week, four houses and two lots, all but one located on the Cape. The one exception is a Treasure Bay lot on C-30 listed at an enticingly low $109,000; the agent says the seller is motivated and that price proves it. That’s about half the price of what similar lots were selling for just two years ago.

This is something I didn’t think we’d see again: a brand new gulf-front home on the Cape for only $799,000.

  Here’s what the builder has to say:

“This is your chance to get a X-Flood Gulf Front Home on Cape San Blas for the cost of a vacant lot. This is a Pre-Construction Opportunity where you build your dream vacation home on Cape San Blas or put on the rental program and have this home paying for itself. There are 3 Gulf Front lots to choose from. The lots are 50′ wide and in X-Flood Zone which means no flood insurance required. Also, the homes will be built behind the CCC Line which means no extra permitting time and money going through the DEP. There will be a community pool for the lots located by the first tier home. Pricing example for a 2000 sq. ft. home like the one shown in the picture would be in the $800K range. (Contingent on homeplans and finishes). Builder has many plans to choose and pull ideas from.

With waterfront properties being what we’ve seen the most sales and contracts on recently, at this price I’ll bet it won’t take long for a buyer to step up to the plate.  Also, with the tremendous slow-down in construction in the past year or so, most builders are hungry for work to keep their crews going, so they’re more likely to be willing to negotiate.

 This 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1288 square foot home with in-ground pool and elevator caught my attention at $399,000. Located in the same subdivision as this week’s bay front sale, Peninsula Estates, it comes with both bay and gulf deeded access. The pool appears to offer privacy and is attractively landscaped.  This is what Florida living is all about!

Let’s take a look at those ten listings which dropped their prices to see if there are any potential hot investments to be had.  It turns out that six of them are all the same seller and located in Sea Grass on the Cape. It’s a very nicely done gulf front subdivision with lovely homes and a club house with pool. With this many properties I think we’re looking at another situation where a buyer will be in a position to negotiate.

That about does it for this week. If you’d like more info on these or any other properties, or if you’d like to get an idea of what your property might bring in the current market, shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com or call me on my cell at 850-227-5197. Thanks for stopping by today.

What a difference a week makes!  Lots of good news to report as this week was as bristling with real estate activity around the Cape San Blas market as last week was quiet, so let’s get right to it and see what all’s been going on.

First good news: we had a 4% drop in inventory, down to 480 from 502, with 172 homes (down 6) and 308 lots, down from 324. That’s the lowest inventory of homes since July of 2005, and down 40% from the inventory peak of 286 in June 2006.

Even better news: we had a whopping six properties go under contract this week, (five homes and 1 lot), one of which has already closed (cash offer, close in five days), and four of which were gulf front.  These contracts also broke another trend we’ve been seeing: none of them were in Barrier Dunes!

The best news: we had two closings this week as well, both of them gulf-front homes.

 The first sale was this gulf front 792 sq. ft. 2-bedroom/s bath cottage on Haven Road on the Cape which was listed at $550,000 and sold for $490,000 (89% of list) after only  106 days on the market. (This was the 5-day cash deal mentioned earlier). With 42 feet of gulf front, that’s a healthy $11,666 per waterfront foot.  The Sellers purchased the cottage in mid 1999 for $215,000, so in eight years they more than doubled their money. Well done.

The second sale was this 5-bedroom, 3-bath, 2,128 square foot gulf front home in Treasure Shores, which was listed at $889,000 and sold for $860,000, a very healthy 97% of list price after only 117 days on the market. What I find really interesting about this sale is the price paid per waterfront foot is almost identical to our other sale; with 74′ of waterfront, the price paid for this home was $11,621 per waterfront foot, only a $45 dollar difference. Of course we need to take into account the vast differences in size of the respective homes on each lot (792 sf vs. 2182) but it’s an interesting coincidence. 

Here our Sellers unfortunately did not fare so well, having purchased the home in October 2005 for $1,150,000, they let it go for 75 cents on the dollar. They will not be alone, I fear, as in 2005 there were 282 sales (compared with 55 last year) and we can clearly see now in the rear view mirror that the market had already peaked in late 2004. Hopefully, with interest rates coming back down, sellers will find some relief  and buyers will move back into the market to pick up some of these discounted properties at reasonable rates.

So if it’s bargains you’re looking for, you’ll be interested in taking a look at the seven properties which lowered their prices this week in hopes of luring a buyer. Two of them are reduced roughly 30% each  (from $2.5M to $1.75M and $950K to $700K respectively), so you might want to check them out, both of them lots on the Cape.

We could do with a few more weeks like this!  If you’d like info on these or other properties around the Forgotten Coast, shoot me an e-mail to Sherri@SherriDodsworth.com of give me a call at 850-227-5197.  Thanks for stopping by today.