Cape San Blas Real Estate Blog

.What a difference a week makes – much quieter this week, with somewhat slower sales activity compared with what we’ve been seeing recently, with only one sale and one new contract, and just four new listings and three price changes. As a result, our inventory is virtually unchanged, up just three to 407 with 158 homes and 249 lots for sale  in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market. Before we get started,  I know the first thing everyone wants to know is how are the beaches?  I’m happy to report our beaches are still clean and gorgeous and open for fun in the sun.  Here’s a shot from my neighborhod yesterday afternoon.

And that’s where you’ll find me later this afternoon. OK, now down to business.

Our solo sale of the week was the quartershare 3-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath townhouse at Barrier Dunes that went under contract just last week. With this ownership, the four owners rotate weeks where each has one week to use the home every four weeks. This owner had their share listed for $60,000 and it was just what my buyers were in the market for, and on Monday they picked it up for just $50,000.

Our one new contract is on this bank-owned fixer-upper over in Indian Summer near Turtle Beach Inn at Indian Pass. It’s a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,583 square foot first tier home in real need of some TLC. The bank has it listed for $225,000 which is pretty close to the $210,856 county assessment. There are contingencies to be met so don’t know yet when they hope to close.

Quick week this week as I’m not seeing anything knock-my-socks-off exceptional among our four new listings to merit Pick of the Week Status. There may be a gem among the three price changes, but before I recommend this gulf front lot reduced from $279,000 to $150,000 as a Price Change Pick of the Week, I want to do some more research and make sure it’s a lot you can actually do something worthwhile with. If it is, I’ll write it up and feature it as a mid-week special. Here’s a photo.

If you have plans to come to the beach right now there doesn’t seem to be any reason to change those plans at least for the next couple weeks. I will keep you posted as I hear updates, and don’t hesitate to call or write for the latest info. My cell phone is 850-227-5197 and my email is sherri@sherridodsworth.com . Have a wonderful summer weekend and thanks so much for stopping by today.

OK – by Cape standards, summer officially began, Saturday, June 19, because it was the first day of the 2010 Scallop Season. The governor decided to move the date up by nearly two weeks to encourage visitors to come down early. Our beaches are still beautiful and open for business, and several visitors this were so impressed with our waterfront properties they bought some for themselves.  Sales remained strong with three closings, and two new contracts, while three new listings entered the competition and eight sellers opted for new price tags.  Our inventory remains unchanged from last week, at 404, with 155 homes and 249 lots for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor markets. Let’s see who went to closing.

I owe my readers an apology for not posting my weekly update on Saturday as I have since August 2007.   I have had a few rare Sunday posts since then, but never missed my deadline entirely as I have this week. Truth is, I hope to have my weekly post completed by Tuesday – I have been CRAZY busy but good busy working with buyers, inquiries, showing property, getting new listings entered and responding to email requests for info.  I have scheduled time on my Tuesday AM schedule to get my weekly update posted so please check back!

As for the oil spill, our beaches are still clear and beautiful and I will let you know if that changes.

The headlines haven’t scared off buyers but seem to actually be fueling increased interest in real estate around here as sales remain strong. We had a better than average week, with three sales and three new contracts, eight each new listings and new price tags. Not much change in our inventory, closing down just two from last week, to 404, with 155 homes and 249 lots for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor markets. Let’s see what caught buyers’ attention.

We’ll head out along the C-30 Corridor where the first of our three sales is this Key West-style second tier gulf view home in Money Bayou. It’s a cozy 758 square foot 2-bedroom, 2-bath beach retreat which last sold in May 2004 for $340,000.  It’s not listed as a short sale even though it went under contract with a list price of $259,900. It closed for $237,000, way above the county’s assessment of $157,655.

  Here’s the steal of the week. Our second sale is this 50′ wide gorgeous gulf front lot on Indian Pass overlooking St. Vincent Island Wildlife Reserve which sold for full list price of only $125,000, way below the county’s assessment of $200,000.  Amazingly this wasn’t a short sale despite the fact it last sold in March 2005 for $700,000.  This is proof that now is a good time to pick up some great investments.

Our third and final sale takes us to the Cape, where this interior lot in Surfside Estates on the south side of the Cape listed for $55,000 sold for $45,000. That’s just about right on the money as far as the county is concerned as they have it pegged at $40,000. The sellers bought it as one in a bundle of lots (I believe six in all) for which they paid a total of $108,000 back in June of 1995, so even at $45,000 they should be ok.

On to our three new contracts, two of which, coincidentally enough, are homes in Peninsula Estates located about a half mile south of the state park entrance.  The first is this handsome 3-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 1,352 square foot beach cottage on the gulf side of Cape San Blas Road which went under contract last Saturday with an attractive list price of $279,900.  It was built by Piergiovanni back in ’94 and has been well maintained over the years. No contingencies on the contract, and the parties plan to close by the 22nd of June.

On Sandlewood Blvd. on the bay side of Peninsula Estates our second new contract is a short sale on a 5-bedroom, 3-bath, 1,368 square foot home circa 1990 in need of a good bit of TLC at this point. Originally listed in March for $285,000, the sellers dropped that to a far more realistic $185,000 on May 9 at which price it didn’t take too long to attract a buyer.  The county has it valued at $154,579 so it will be interesting to see what the bank finally accepts.

Our third and final new contract takes us back out along the C-30 Corridor for yet another short sale, this one a steal of a deal at its current list price of just $300,000. This is a very nice first tier home, a spacious 1,884 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths built as a spec home in 2008 with an original price tag of $729,900.  The market has obviously changed since then to the point where the county now has it valued at just $240,349.  Check out the view from this home:

In a week where we had a sale on a 50′ wide gulf front lot with a magnificent view go for $125,000 it’s hard to find anything among our new listings and price changes that can compete with that, so we’ll let the Picks of the Week ride this week. Until then, our beaches are clean and clear with no oil forecast to reach us during the upcoming week if current conditions prevail, so if you’ve been planning on coming down, please do. Governor Crist announced yesterday that the state will open scallop season early this year on June 19 instead of July 1 to encourage visitors to come on down. For now, the only oil on our beaches is suntan oil and we’re praying it stays that way. 

Let me know if you’d like to find out more about what’s currently available. Call me on my cell at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com .  Have a great week, hope to hear from you, and thanks so much for taking time out of your day to stop by.

Tourists may be looking elsewhere for their summer vacations but buyer interest has definitely stayed focused on the Cape with temptingly low prices on quality coastal properties.  Only one closing, but we have an impressive  six new contracts. We added five new listings to the mix, and four sellers lowered their prices.  All that activity brought our inventory down by four to 406, with 158 homes and 248 lots listed for sale in the MLS in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market.  Lots to look at today so let’s get started.

The first of our six new contracts is a spacious 3,368 square foot, 6-bedroom, 4-bath first tier home on Cabo San Lucas, about a quarter mile north of Scallop Cove. Since it was built in 2002 it and the two gulf front homes in front of it have been a very popular set of rentals for weddings.  Originally listed in early 2009 for $999,999, the county currently has it assessed at $351,762 and it goes under contract with a list price of $499,000.

Next up is a large corner lot on the bayside of Ovation with a list price of just $75,000, real close to the county’s assessment of $65,000.  This is one of the group of developer lots that were lowered in price back at the end of March.  No contingencies to be met on this one and it’s scheduled to close by August first.

Buyers are loving the new low gulf front prices and they’re snapping them up right and left. Three of our six contracts are gulf front, the first of which is this large one-acre, 51′ wide lot in Piney Wods subdivision on the south side of the beach which last sold in mid-2004 for $675,000. It’s currently assessed at $200,000 and went under contract last Saturday with a list price of $265,000.

Just a few blocks away our fourth contract is on an interior lot in Surfside Estates listed for $55,000.  This one last sold as part of a 9-lot package with a total price of $108,000 or a little over $12,000 each. The county has this one at $40,000.

We’re heading out towards Indian Pass for our last two contracts, stopping first at this 75′ wide gulf front lot in Treasure Shores which went under contract on Sunday with a list price of $399,900. It’s not listed as a short sale even though the sellers paid $675,000 for it in October 2007.  I’m interested in seeing what this finally goes for as it was sold in early 2002 to a previous owner for $380,000 and my sense is that we’re back to roughly 2001/2002 prices so this sale will be a good indicator. The county has it assessed very conservatively at just $300,000.

Our sixth and final contract is over on Canoe Lane at Indian Pass where this 75′ wide gulf front with a list price of $399,000 went under contract on Friday. The seller has been trying to move this property for some time now, having intially listed it in January of 2006 for a cool $1.285M.  He wasn’t trying to flip it either as he’s owned it since 1990 when he bought it for a mere $32,500 which is about $52,674 in today’s money when I run it through my handy inflation calculator.  I’m not sure why the county has this one at $266,000 when it’s the same width as the Treasure Shores lot and they’re both FEMA flood insurance eligible.

I’m not seeing anything among our new listings or price changes worthy of Pick of the Week status so I’ll pass on those this week, even though one of the new listings is a gulf front, bank-owned lot for just $209,000. You’re saying to yourself Whattt?????  No, not going to recommend it as it’s on White Sands Drive and the gulf front homes along this stretch have been fighting a non-stop battle with erosion for the past fifteen years and even with the restoration, I think the lots are too shallow for comfort. The house that was previously located on this lot was moved onto a first tier lot for that very reason.

We’re hoping the oil stays away, but don’t you stay away if you’re looking for terrific values on coastal properties. Whether you’re interested in buying or selling, I’d love to hear from you. Try me on my cell at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com . Have a great week and thanks so much for stopping by today.