Cape San Blas Real Estate Blog

Santa visited the Forgotten Coast while making his rounds this week and brought two lucky people a place at the beach to call their own. One savvy shopper put a contract on a prime gulf front lot,  three people listed their properties for sale, and seven sellers went for a pre-Christmas mark-down.  With all that, our inventory remains virtually unchanged, down only one from last week at 341, with 124 homes and 207 lots listed for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market.

The first of our two sales is this gorgeous gulf front lot up at Secluded Dunes in the northern part of the Cape by the state park.  I’m surprised this one wasn’t listed as a short sale since the sellers paid$1,362,500 for it in early 2005 and had it listed for just $259,000. Sadly (for them) all they could get for it at closing this week was $225,000, but that’s at least better than the $177,000 the county thought it was worth. Strange times.

Our second sale is far less dramatic and has a happier ending for the sellers. It’s an interior  2-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 1,369 square foot townhouse at Barrier dunes listed for $223,900.  The sellers have owned it since 2001 when they bought it for $181,500, which is above the county’s current assessed value of $154,943.  I’ve shown this home a number of times and it’s in excellent condition with a floorplan that’s a bit wider than other Barrier Dunes units. It’s located on a pond, and despite its being located back from the beach, it offers a surprisingly good view of the gulf from the upstairs master suite.  Somebody got a good deal on Monday when they picked up the keys at closing for an even $200,000.

Our solo new contract is this gulf front lot on Sweetwater Drive in Money Bayou which went under contract before it was even put in the MLS.  I had a buyer who had wanted a good deal on a gulf front lot here  so when I heard it was about to go on the market I called my buyer, we put an offer together, and the bank signed off on it. We’re scheduled to close by New Years Eve. The bank was asking $250,000 for it.

  If you’re looking for a comfortable home on the coast at a reasonable price you might want to consider my New Listing Pick of the Week,  a bank-owned bay front home on C-30 which they’ve just listed for the very attractive price of just $168,300, way below the county’s asessed value of $246,840. It’s a 3-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 2,283 square foot home built in 2002.  With the assessed value of the lot being at $50,000, the list price equates to roughly $52 per square foot so this is being aggressivley priced.

That does it for his week.  If you’re toying with the idea of buying or selling real estate in the coming year, give me a call on my cell at 850-227-5197 ar send me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com and I’ll be glad to help you out. I hope you’re enjoying a celebration with family and friends. I appreciate your taking time out of your busy holiday schedule to stop by today. Have a very Merry Christmas.

There was no let-up in Christmas shopping  along the coast this week as we rang up two sales and three new contracts, opened just two new listings and lowered the prices on three properties. Our inventory remains unchanged, closing the week at 342, with 133 homes and 209 lots listed for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market.

The first of our two sales is one I’ve been anxious to see as I knew it was going to be a serious comp-killer and it turns out I was right. This was a short sale on a lovely 3-bedroom, 3-bath, 1,706 square foot first tier home on Rachel Beach Lane just a little north of Scallop Cove. Back in mid-2004 the sellers bought it for $769,000 and tried to make a quick profit by putting it back on the market the following summer sporting a $1.2M price tag. No takers. It went under contract a few weeks ago with a far more modest asking price of $375,000 and this week the bank approved a sale price of $310,000. That’s even well below the county’s assessed value of $394,202.

We’ll head to the north end of the Cape for our second sale to one of my favorite neighborhoods, Sunset Pointe, where this 70′ wide bank-owned gulf front lot listed for $399,900 sold for $300,000.  That’s 75% of list for a premium property which last sold at the absolute peak of the market in August 2004 for $850,000. Those buyers tried flipping it the following winter, listing it in December 2005 for $1.395M.  The county thinks this week’s sale price is a good deal as they have it assessed at $246,610.

Now on to our three new contracts, beginning at Barrier Dunes where this 2-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 1, 369 square foot townhouse went under contract with a list price of $223,900. This very well-maintained end unit is located fairly far back from the water but has a surprisingly good gulf view from the master suite on the second floor.

Our second contract is over in another one of my favorite areas, Money Bayou.  If you’ve been reading my blog for some time, this house might look familiar to you as she’s been hanging around the MLS for a long time. With its current list price of $295,000, it’s a short sale having last sold in December 2004 for $675,000. That list price is well above the county’s assessed value of $254,708. The gulf view from this 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,251 square foot home is fantastic and would seem a great value,  but it’s been sitting vacant for so long now it needs a fair amount of work. The last time I was in there a couple months ago a large section of one of the bedroom ceilings had collapsed on the floor from water damage.

Neither of the two new listings nor three price changes merits Pick of the Week status so we’ll wait to see if Santa beings us a couple of goodies next week. Only six more shopping days ’til Christmas, so if you have coastal paradise properties on your shopping list be sure to get in touch with me this week. Call me on my cell at 850-227-5197, or send me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com. In all the hustle and bustle this week, with last minute shopping, decorating and wrapping gifts, be sure to take time to take note of the gifts you already have, your family, pets, and friends, and give them the gift of letting them know just how much they mean to you.  Have fun, keep warm, and thanks so much for stopping by today.

If this week’s activity is any indicator, Santa has plans for a number of good boys and girls to find a place at the beach on their Christmas gift list this season. In a traditionally slow real estate month, we managed one sale and three new contracts, four new listings and five price changes. The inventory remains unchanged,  closing once again at 342, with 133 houses and 209 lots for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market.  

 Our solo sale is this handsome 4-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath, 2,400 square foot home up in Barrier Dunes listed for a very attractive $359,900, almost exactly to the dollar the county’s assessed value of $354,835.  Built in 2006 as a spec home, it never sold and eventually went to the bank. The current sellers snapped it up from the bank back in July for a mere $116,000 and have now sold it just six months later for $350,000, pocketing a really sweet profit of $234,000.   Great work if you can get it.

The first of our three new contracts is this lovely 3-bedroom, 4-bath, 2,830 square foot bay front home in Treasure Bay over on the C-30 Corridor. It has 100′ of waterfront overlooking the southern end of the bay. The sellers currently have it listed for exactly what they paid for it in 2000, $395,000. That’s a good bit above the county’s assessed value of $312,339. This home has been on the market since late 2004 when they originally listed it for $889,500.

I absolutely love cottage style and southern history, so this next home works for me on both levels.  Located over on the Pass in Indian Pass Beach Subdivision,  it’s a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1900 square foot Cracker-style home which was relocated onto this site sometime after 1998 when the sellers bought the unimproved lot for just $30,000.   The home has  only been on the market a few weeks and is listed for a modest $249,900. The kitchen captures the flair of the home.

 Our third and final new contract takes us over to the Cape where one side of  this gulf-view, 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,565 square-foot duplex on Aruba Drive at Cape Sands Landing went under contract with a list price of just $165,000.  It’s not listed as a short sale even though the sellers paid $310,000 for it in early 2005.  That list is well below the county’s assessed value of $225,583. I’ve shown this place a number of times and with some sprucing up and new furniture it has the potential to be a terrific rental property. It has surprisingly good gulf views from its screened in porch off the living area.

Only four new listings this week but I like one enough for it to qualify for the coveted title of New Listing Pick of the Week. Check out this 1-acre, 103′ wide bay front lot over in Treasure Bay just a few lots away from the home we looked at earlier. The seller bought it in mid-2004 for $275,000 but has decided to let it go for just $165,0000 which is about where the county has it, their assessed value being $140,000. This is on the mainland there are no problems with federal flood insurance. Since the view of the bay is towards the west, you’d be enjoying views like this each evening as the sun sets over St. Joe Bay.

Nothing earth-shattering among our five price changes so no pick this week in that category. There’s still time to wrap a nice property up in time to surprise someone this Christmas with a little piece of paradise along the Forgotten Coast. If you’d like more info on these or other opportunities give me a call on my cell, 850-227-5197,  or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com . Have a great week, and don’t forget . . .

GO NAVY – BEAT ARMY!!!!

Hard to believe December is already upon us, but even so we’re heading towards the finish line for the year still racking up sales as we had yet another busy week with four more closings, one new contract, only one new listing and five price changes.  As a result, our inventory takes a healthy dip closing down seven to 342, with 135 houses and 207 lots for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor markets. Let’s see what’s selling.

Once again the action is almost all waterfront, with three of our four sales and our one new contact all being gulf front properties. First up is a beautiful 6-bedroom, 5-bath, 2,659 square foot gulf front home on Cabo San Lucas about a quarter-mile north of Scallop Cove. This is one of a three-home compound built in 2006 and as a set of rental properties have come to be quite popular with rental parties who have booked the trio steadily over the past four years for summer weddings on the beach. This is the second of the three to sell.  The owner put this one on the market this past April for $799,000, recently dropped that to $699,000, and sold it on Tuesday for an even $650,000, significantly above the county’s assessed value of $489,084.

We’ll head less than a mile south for our second sale, this gulf view home on an irregularly shaped lot that includes 10 feet of gulf front. This classic beach cottage is a 1073 square feet, 2-bedroom, 2-bath comfy place to relax and enjoy the beach. Built in 1986, the sellers have owned it since 1999 when they bought it for $205,000.  During the boom, they put it on the market with an $825K price tag, but that was about two years too late to fetch that type of return. By this summer that asking price had come down to $377,000, and this week they went to closing and picked up a check for $330,000, again, well above the county’s assessment of $200,000.

We’re heading off the Cape and over to the Indian Pass peninsula for our third sale, a gorgeous custom 2,435 square foot 3-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath home on a 1.89 acre gulf front lot measuring 75 by 1100′. The sellers bought the lot in 2001 for $375,000 and then built the home. The owner is a Realtor who sold it without listing it and entered the sale intot the MLS for comp purposes after selling it on Tuesday for $877,000.  He did well in the eyes of the county who thought it should fetch only $515,476.

Oddly enough we have a second sale entered into the MLS this week just for comp purposes though this one is far more stale having actually sold back in May. I’m not sure what the circumstances were that prompted the sales agent to finally getting around to entering it in the record now but we’ll take a look at it as it’s at Barrier Dunes, one of the few townhome communities on the beach. This was a bank-owned 2-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath, 1,200 square foot interior home last sold in late 2005 for $385,000.  The bank accepted $185,000 for it in May.

Our one new contract is also gulf front, a 54′ by 535′, 0.66 acre lot on the south side of the Cape in the tucked away mini-subdivision of Pine Bluff. Originally listed in early 2005 for $1.2M, it went under contract this week as a short sale with a far more modest price tag of just $249,900, pretty close to the county’s guesstimate of value of $200K even.

Only one new listing but I’m putting it up for consideration, not quite a Pick of the Week, because I would really like to talk with some other owners of these lots to see how their permitting process with DEP is going. It’s a gulf front lot on the south side of the Cape on Louisiana Lane listed as a short sale at a very tempting $176,000, a price the bank has apparently already approved so closing shouldn’t take very long. It’s a good size property 50′ wide and roughly 450′ deep for a little over half an acre of beach view.

There are several interesting properties among our five price changes so instead of one Price Change Pick of the Week take a moment and look all of them over. So that makes it a wrap for this week. It’s almost a wrap for the year and if your year-end tax planning indicates you could benefit by either buying or selling property there is still time to close by the 31st but we need to get started ASAP, so let me know. Give me a call on my cell at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodworth.com. I’ll be glad to help you make it happen.  Have a great weekend, keep warm, and thanks so much for stopping by today.