Cape San Blas Real Estate Blog

February is typically one of our slowest months on the Cape, but if what we’ve been seeing here this month is “slow”, we’re really going to be smokin’ once the busy summer season rolls around. I went to the office this morning to write this post and ended up instead writing a contract, meeting with several walk-ins and showing property. Loving every minute of it.  We have a lot to cover today, as we have four sales, five new contracts (two of which are mine, I’m happy to report) seven new listings and three price changes. Our inventory of active MLS listings in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 market inches down slightly by two to 357, with 131 homes and 226 lots currently listed. Let’s see what’s moving, starting our caravan at the north end of the Cape by the park and working our way southward.

First stop in our tour of sales is this modest little interior home off Driftwood Avenue in Peninsula Estates. It’s a 3-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath, 1,056 place built in 1988 which the seller bought in September 2005 for $325,000, and put back on the market five months later for $425,000 but no joy. It went to closing on Friday with a list price of $189,900, and the buyer stroked a check for $121,000 to make it his own, a pretty good deal as even the county had it assessed at $140,491,

Here’s a little change of pace from what we normally see. The Cape San Blas landmark The Tradin’ Post changed hands on Tuesday. The new owners are members of the family who also own the Gulf Foods grocery store in Mexico Beach, and they have been busily working at getting it ready to reopen all week, working late into the night. Doc MacKay had it listed for some time at $849,000, but took $599,000 for it on Tuesday, a price which included the business name, goodwill, inventory, actual real estate, supplies and liquor license. The building itself is roughly 3300 square feet and it’s situated on 200′ of prime commercial roadfront.

Down the road a bit to Turtle Dunes where this well-appointed 4-bedroom, 4 1/2-bath, 3,120 square foot gulf front home with a list price of $899,900 sold on Monday for an even $800,000.  The home was just completed last year and has been on a rental program since then.  

Our fourth and final sale is also our lone lot located over near Indian Pass at the Cottages of Indian Summer. This sale was entered into the MLS for comp purposes, meaning it was not one listed for sale, but the agent who facilitated the sale entered the pertinent data so we can have it readily available for market analysis. It’s a 50′ by 200′ roughly quarter acre first tier lot which last sold in August 2006 for $274,100 and is currently assessed for $126,000. On Thursday it sold for $100,000.

The first of our five new contracts is a short sale on a lot in Sunset Pointe adjacent to the state park listed for $69,000, below the county’s assessment of $75,000. It last sold in January of 2006 for $359,000.

A few blocks further south we’re back in Peninsula Estates, this time on the gulf side of the subdivision, where this first tier half acre lot went under contract with a list price of $145,000 and an assessed value of $135,000. The seller has owned it for nearly thirty years, having bought it in 1982 for $19,500. I ran that price through an inflation calculator and learned that what cost $19,500 in 1982 would cost $42,782.25 today, so depending on what we find it actually closes for, this property grew at roughly $3,500 per year, or $290 per month.  That’s a nice little ‘annuity’.

Our third new contract is on this corner second tier lot in the high end neighborhood of Ovation which last sold in September 2005 for an even $500,000, and goes under contract with a list of $199,000. It’s not a short sale, but  the sellers are highly motivated to sell. No contingencies, and we’re scheduled to close next Friday, March 5.

Our fourth contract is on this 2-bedroom, 1-bath, 585 square foot bay front cottage at Scallop Cove Villas located behind the Scallop Cove BP.  This cottage last sold in June 2006 for $200,000 and was listed last February for $249,000. The seller dropped the price to $199,000 around the first of the year and that did the trick. No contingencies on this one either, and we’re scheduled to go to closing by March 21st.

Our fifth and final contract this week is on a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,468 square foot first tier home in Treasure Shores which dropped its list price to a feeding-frenzy-inducing $250,000 which was all it needed to attract a buyer with an offer. It’s a short sale at this price so they’re off to the bank to see what the lender will have to say about it. The sellers bought it for $275,000 in May 2001, and listed it in May 2008 for $695,000.

There is a clear winner for New Listing Pick of the Week among our seven new listings.

If you’re looking for a gorgeous, quality gulf front lot on the Cape for a fantastic price, this is it. It’s located at Sunset Pointe, just outside the state park, and it’s entering the fray as a bank-owned foreclosure at only $250,000. If you want this you need to call or email me pronto because this is going to go fast.  It’s 77′ wide and 209′ deep, roughly a third of an acre, and it last sold in January 2004 for $836,000. That owner listed it the following spring for $1.55M. Right now the county has it assessed for $463,240.

What would have been my Price Change Pick of the Week from our three price changes, the $250,000 first tier home on Treasure Drive for $250,000, is already under contract. One of the other two is a price increase, and the remaining one still needs to move a bit.

Well, we finally made it, later than hoped for but complete at last. If you’re ready to buy or sell, get in touch with me. My cell phone is 850-227-5197 and my email address is sherri@sherridodsworth.com.  Thanks so much for checking back – I’ll do my best to be back on track next Saturday.  Have a terrific week. Hope to hear from you soon.

I have back-to-back showing appointments today (the buyers are back!)  and there was just too much going on this past week (did I mention the buyers are back??) to cover it all in time to have my weekly update done by the time I started showing property this morning. My calendar is clear tomorrow (so far . . . ) and I hope to have the update completed and posted by noon.  I apologize for the inconvenience and sure hope you’ll stop back by tomorrow afternoon.

I hope everyone had a nice Valentines Day last Sunday.  The romance lingered here in our area as a number of buyers fell in love with coastal properties and bought them for their sweeties.   One went to closing, three others went under contract, and we had six new listings and three new price tags.  We end the week with our inventory down just one to 359 active MLS listings in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 market, with 132 houses and 227 lots.

Our solo sale is a short sale on a first floor, 1,290 square foot, 3-bedroom, 2-bath, gulf front condo in a quadplex built in 1983 located about a half mile north of Scallop Cove. The sellers bought it in March 2005 for $315,000 and put it on the market the following spring for $439,000, but it didn’t sell until this week with a final list price of $259,000. It sold for $225,000, pretty close to the county’s assessed value of $231,595.

All three of our new contracts are houses on the Cape, the first of which is this short sale bay-front beauty across the street from the now-defunct Loggerhead Cafe (or Beachcombers for you old timers).   This is a lovely, modern home with breath-taking panoramic views of St. Joe Bay and Black’s Island. It’s a 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,985 square foot home built in 2004 which last sold in October 2005 for $988,000. The bank has it listed for just $425,000 which I thought was low until I checked the county’s assessment and they have it at $370,403. The home is extremely well built on a tropical paradise setting of a lot and includes an in-ground pool overlooking the bay. I’m anxious to see what ths one goes for.

We’ll travel all the way up to Secluded Dunes just outside the State Park for our second contract, which is on this lovely 4-bedroom, 3 2/2 bath (no typo there – “2/2″ for 2 half baths), 3,633 square foot gulf front home with a list price of $875,000, well below the assessed value of $937,957.  Though it last sold in October 2002 for $1.2M, it’s not listed as a short sale, and in fact has no contingencies pending so closing is scheduled on or before March 1, just in time for the new owners to enjoy it during spring break.  

Last but not least, our third and final new contract takes us just a little further south on the Cape to Peninsula Estates where this 3-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 1,056 square foot interior home has finally found a buyer.  The seller purchased it in late 2005 and put it back on the market the following spring for $425,000 but was never able to win out over the competition. Lowering the list price to $189,500 did the trick even though that’s still a good bit above its assessed value of $140,490. There are contingencies to be met so no known closing date yet.

I am writing this column today between appointments and need to leave now for my afternoon showing, so until I can get back later on and write up my Picks of the Week from our six new listings and  three new price tags I’m going to leave you with the links to peruse until then.

Love having these buyers to work with – if you’re interested in selling, let me know. I’m hearing from a lot of people looking for good properties. My cell number is 850-227-5197 and my email is Sherri@SherriDodsworth.com . Here’s to writing another contract this afternoon!  Have a great weekend and thanks so much for stopping by.

Greetings from the frozen south. What a topsy turvy weather week when Atlanta is brought to a standstill because of snow while Vancouver’s having to truck snow in for the Olympics. Locally we’re still running about 15 degrees below normal with day time highs hanging in the 40s.  Our market was the only thing really hot around here, with three sales, two new contracts, a dozen new listings and five price changes.  With all those new listings our inventory of MLS properties for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, and C-30 Corridor market increased by eight to 360, with 136 homes and 224 lots looking for buyers.  Lots to cover so let’s get started. 

Regular readers will surely recognize our first sale of the week as this little Key West style house in Money Bayou has been trying to attract a new owner for some time and has appeared here through various price changes and contingent contracts that didn’t pan out. This 2-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath 900 square foot first tier home has been on and off the market since November 2004 when it debuted with a $675,000 price tag. Looking back we know now that was about two months after local real estate had slammed on the brakes and come to a screeching halt. Last September the sellers finally reached a list price of $315,000 which was low enough to go under contract, and on Wednesday they picked up a check for $297,000 at closing. The current assessed value has it at $205,736.

For our second sale we head over to Indian Pass where this 58′ by 560′ lagoon front lot complete with dock sold on Wedneday for just $165,000. Amazing. It last sold as recently as 2007 for $385,000, was listed at the time of closing for $249,900 and was assessed by the county at $229,112.  Somebody got a great deal here.

 Our second contract is also part of the crop of this week’s new listings, having entered the MLS on Monday. It’s a bay first tier home in Eventide on the south end of the Cape, listed as a short sale for just $199,000, well below the assessed value of $227,291. It went under contract almost immediately. It’s a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,589 square foot home built in 2007. According to the MLS notes it is scheduled to close in early August.

Here’s what I believe is a first in the two and a half years I’ve beeen doing this blog: we have a week with no closings and no new contracts.  I guess everyone’s taking a breather after all the activity of the past few months. All the action was with listings, with thirteen new offerings and seven price changes.  We managed to whittle the inventory a bit, reducing it by four down to 351, with 135 homes and 216 lots listed for sale in the MLS in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 market.

I’m not seeing anything among our thirteen new listings  with that perfect combination of high quality and low pricing to warrant Pick of the Week status, but one of the seven price changes did catch my eye.

I’m liking this gulf front home in Gulf Pines which comes in at $499,000 this week, down from an already low $519,000, and temptingly below the county’s assessment of $538,049. It’s a 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,296 square foot beach bungalow built in 1984, situated on a 75′ wide gulf front lot in a community eligible for federal flood insurance. What’s not to like?  I could get used to living with a view like this . . .

You can’t get much more like living in a Florida postcard than that.

This home is move-in ready – just pick up your keys at closing and head to the beach for vacation.

That’ll do it for today.  I’m looking for new listings so if you’re thinking of selling, let’s talk. My number is 850-227-5197 or send me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com. I hope wherever you are this weekend you’re warm and cozy. If you’re up there in blizzard country shoveling snow, keep in mind our “white drifts” are warm and sunny, and waiting for you here along Florida’s Forgotten Coast.