Hmmm . . . seems we’re into rotating weeks of activity right now. Two weeks ago, no activity. Last week – tons of activity. This week  . . . quiet again, with only one sale, no new contracts, seven new listings and seven price changes.  However, I’ve been super-busy this week having written a number of offers, have two closings scheduled for Friday, and several colleagues have reported similar action, so I’m expecting to see another jump in activity to report here next Saturday. This week our inventory nudged up by five, closing the week at 348, with 137 homes and 211 lots listed for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market.

Our one sale was this 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,248 square foot interior home on the south side of the Cape in San Blas Plantation. It last sold inDecember 2002 for $210,000 which is real close to the $220,500 it sold for this week. The sellers had it listed for $259,000 so it sounds like everyone did well on this one. Everyone except the county property appraiser who turned out to be way off, having it at a way low estimate of value of $145,809.  The home has been very well maintained and offers a glimpse of the beach from its deck and from the south-facing bedroom windows.

I will be showing property all day in Apalach on Saturday and so am writing this Friday night after a very long and productive day filled with showing property, writing  several offers, tracking seven others, and keeping everything on track to get those other two contracts to closing. I haven’t had enough time to properly analyze properties for Picks of the Week, so rather than just select something for the sake of doing so, which I will never do, I suggest just taking a look at our  seven new listings  and  seven price changes and if something catches your eye, let me know and we’ll take a closer look together. I’ll be on my cell this weekend, 850-227-5197, or send a message to sherri@sherridodsworth.com .

We’re supposed to be sunny and pushing 70 degrees this weekend and I am SO ready for it! I hope you’re warm and sunny where you are, but if you’re snowed in or just plain cold, you can always escape to the Cape for relief, and I’ll be glad to help you plan your get away.  Hope to hear from you soon. Take care, and thanks for stopping by today.

What a difference a week makes. After flat-lining with zero sales and zero new contracts last week, this week we hit the mother lode, with two sales and nine new contracts, five new listings, and seven price changes. Even so, our inventory remains unchanged from last week closing once again with 343 properties listed for sale in the MLS for Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, and the C-30 Corridor market, with 134 homes and 209 lots.  We have a lot of territorty to cover today so let’s get right at it.

I absolutely love cottage style and southern history, so this next home works for me on both levels.  The first of our two sales is 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 kitchen captures the flair of the home.

The home was only on the market a few weeks when it went under contract in early December for a modest $249,900, and the sellers got very near that list price when it closed this week for $235,500. This is one the county’s assessment was way off on their having it at a questionably low value of $128,197.

Our second sale is a true comp killer, a quarter-acre first tier lot in The Cottages at Indian Summer which last sold in mid-2005 for $525,000, and sold this week for less than 10 cents on the dollar for $45,000. This was not listed as a short sale nor was it bank-owned so this one’s a stunner. That’s also less than half of the $100,000 county assessed value.

Let’s see what people were buying this week and look at our nine new contracts.  We’ll start at the north end of the Cape in Peninsula Estates where this bank-owned bay front, 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,344 square foot home with a list price of $277,200 went under contract with no contingencies.  It sits on a lovely 100′ wide lot with a gorgeous view of the bay, and already has a good dock in place.  The house needs a fair amount of work but even so this was a steal at this list price with the last similar lot just up the street having sold not too long ago for $199,000.

 There’s a little bit of everything in this week’s mix and our next contract is on a pre-construction package which we see every now and then. It’s on a 4-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath, 2000 square foot home on a first tier lot in the San Dunes Subdivision about three miles south of the state park. The package was listed for $319,000; the county’s assessment on the lot alone is $150,000, which seems a bit high at this point, but when you subtract a reasonable value for the land and estimate the square footage construction costs, this is till an attractively priced offer.

 Our fourth contract is on a bank-owned first tier 4-bedroom, 3-bath, 1,508 square for home built in 1999 currently listed for $495,000. It last sold in October 2004 for roughly twice that, $880,000, and when the bank got it back earlier this year they originally listed it for $599,000.  When you look at this home it appears to be gulf front but there is another lot platted seaward of it which in all likelihood will not have anything built on it for quite some time.

We’ll head to the south end of the Cape to Cape Dunes for our fifth contract, which is on a great gulf view home with 2-bedrooms, one a large master suite with french doors opening to an adjoining large room which opens onto a spacious deck with terrific views of the gulf.  Because it’s in the X zone, insurance costs are minimal since flood insurance is not required. This is a good value at its current list price of just $249,000.  The sellers have owned it since 1995 when they bought it for $84,500. They have done a good bit of renovations over the years so the home is in good shape and shows well.

  Remember this bay front home over on C-30?  If it looks familiar that may be because it was my New Listing Pick of the Week just before Christmas. It’s bank-owned and 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, and with the assessed value of the lot being at $50,000, the list price equates to roughly $52 per square foot so this is aggressivley priced and that strategy paid off quickly with a no-contingencies contract on Monday.

Our seventh contract illustrates just how far land prices are correcting. It’s a 75′ x  217′, 0.37 acre lot in Treasure Bay out on C-30 which sold back in 2005 for $200,000.  It eventually ended back in the hands of the bank who had it listed all the way down to $17,000 when it went under contract this week, exactly half the $34,000 of the county’s current assessed value. It’ll be interesting to see what it actually closes for as it previously sold in late 2002 for $40,000 and prior to that in 1998 for $8,200.

Up next is this first tier lot over in The Cottages at Indian Summer which went under contract on Monday as a short sale with a list price of just $59,900. However, it’s adjacent to the other first tier lot that we looked at today that just sold for $45,000 so I’m curious to see what this one actually goes for. The quarter-acre lot measures 50′ by 220′, has easy proximity to the beach with a view somewhat obstructed by a number of pines, but all in all a very peaceful and pretty setting. It last sold in April 2004, and is currently assessed at $100,000.

  We’ve made it to our ninth and final new contract which takes us over to Indian Pass Beach Subdivision where yet another classic beach cottage has gone under contract, this one a 1,200 square foot, 2-bedroom, 2-bath listed for $229,900. It has an interesting sales history, having sold in October 2003 for $330,000, then again a year later in December 2004 for $400,000. Fast forward to today and the county has it valued at $180, 488.

There are several really interesting offerings among our five new listings so rather than pick just one take a look at them all. I especially like the gulf front lots in Money Bayou since we just sold one there in December for $190,000 which gives us a nice fresh comp on which to base an offer. I’m not seeing one property that shines ahead of all the other seven price changes so I’m not going with a Price Change Pick of the Week.

Man, what a marathon! Thanks for hanging in there til the end. The amount of activity we’ve explored here today mirrors my experience perfetly as I’ve been working seemingly non-stop since early December. Not complaining one bit – love having so much going on. Have had the pleasure of working with a lot of my readers helping them buy great properties.  I’d love to help you with your shopping, too, if you’re in the market for some coastal property, too, give me a call on my cell at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com . I’m looking forward to hearing from you. Take care, keep warm, and thanks so much for stopping my today.

I guess it was just too darn cold for anyone to venture out in search of great real estate deals this week as the mercury hovered around freezing because for the first time since I can’t remember when we had no closings and no new contracts.  The only action at all was eight new listings and seven price changes. As you’d expect, our inventory jumped up a notch, closing up thirteen from last week at 343, with 137 homes and 206 lots listed for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor markets. So, like eating dessert first, we’ll head straight to our Picks of the Week.

From our crop of eight new listings my Pick of the Week goes to this 5-bedroom, 4-bath, 2,275 square foot gulf front home on Shoreline Drive in Peninsula Estates which enters the competition with a very attractive asking price of just $569,000, almost dollar for dollar to the county’s assessed value of $564,017.  It’s not listed as a short sale even though, according to the property appraiser’s record, the sellers bought it for $1.06M in early 2008.

Known as “Mango Sunset, it’s on a rental program and this past year grossed a little over $29,000 in a summer season significantly impacted by the media madness concerning the oil spill. I suspect it could perform a lot better without every pundit on radio and tv implying we’re sloshing through a foot of oil to get to our beach chairs. With all those bedrooms coupled with a large loft, it’s capable of sleeping 17, a number few homes can boast, so that, too, should generate a good flow of traffic. Currently it’s renting for $3,980 per week during the summer season and $1,800 per week in the winter so that confirms it only managed a few weeks this past summer. With good aggressive marketing and management I think this could cash flow pretty nicely.

Here’s the view of the beach from the walkover leading from the home. How’s that for a front yard?

Even with a house full of family and friends, with the open, spacious layout there’s room for everyone to relax without being packed on top of one another. I expect this home will quickly generate a good bit of interest and I’ll be covering it again soon as a new contract. If you’re intrested, don’t dawdle.

That same advice goes for my two Price Change Picks of the Week, two lots on the Cape at San Dunes which were slashed this week from $149,000 to $69,000 and $79,000. I’m talking about lots 14 and 17 in the photo, not lot 5. You’d have a view of the water from either of these lots from a home built on pilings. When the listing agent says “Bring an offer and your buyer can have this one” you know these are going to get snapped up in no time.  These new list prices are roughly half of their current assessed values of $115,000 each. The seller is serious about selling these two lots.  JANUARY 18, 2011 CORRECTION:  On Saturday I mistakenly identified these properties as being bank-owned, but today realized that according to county records that is not the case and they are privately owned. I apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

San Dunes is a pretty little subdivision with this welcoming pool area lined with palms, brick pavers at the entrance, and a number of very nice homes already in place. Once again, if you’re interested, let me know quickly.

That does it for this week. The forecast is for warmer weather in the coming week so hopefully our buyers will thaw out and our real estate activity will heat up again as well. I hope its sunny and warm where you are and if you’d like to join us here on the Cape where no matter how cool it gets the only white drifting stuff we ever have to worry about is the sugar white sand on our beaches, give me a call at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com .  Let’s put some SOLD signs on some of these great deals!  Thanks for stopping by today – I look forward to hearing from you.

2011 got off to a good start this week with no sign of the real estate market slowing down; we managed three sales, two new contracts,   two new listings, and nine price changes.  Our inventory begins the year at 330, down nine from last week, with 131 homes and an even 199 lots for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market.

    The first of our three sales takes us up to the northern end of the Cape to Barrier Dunes, where this 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,209 square foot bank-owned townhouse sold for a jaw-dropping $117,000.  That’s less than the $131,000 it sold for in 2000, and well below the current assessed value of $159,805. It last sold in mid 2005 for $435,000. Banks are killing the market with fire sales like this. The selling agent entered this into the MLS for comp purposes only as it went under contract before the bank actually listed it for sale.

We’ll travel to the south end of the Cape for our second sale, a gulf front lot featuring 54′ of waterfront and approximately 535′ of depth for a total acreage of about 0.66 acres. The seller has been trying to attract a buyer since early 2005 when he listed it for $1.2M, but he had to take it all the way down to $249,900 over the course of five years to finallly get someone to step up to the plate. This week he went to closing and picked up a check for $215,000 which is right on target with the county’s assessed value of $200,000.

  Our third and final sale is also on the south end of the Cape, this one an interior lot with a bay view in Surfside Estates. It’s a quarter-acre lot measuring 92′ by 122′ located in the “X” flood zone, and it last sold in February 2000 for a modest $19,800. The owners started tryingto turn it in September 2007 with an asking price of $210,000, but had to ride it down to a list price of about a third of that to $64,900, to attract a buyer who took it off their hands this week at closing with a check for $50K even.  The county thought it should have brought at least $60,000.

The first of our two new contracts takes us back up to the northern end of the Cape, this time to Secluded Dunes where this 3-bedroom, 4 1/2 bath, 1,800 square foot gulf front home built in 2001 went under contract on Tuesday with an attractive list price of $569,000. The sellers picked it up in mid-1999 for $290,100. In early 200 they decided to try their hand at a little profit taking and listed it for $1.285 but that never went anywhere.  Their current list isn’t too far above the county’s assessed value of $490,378.

All the action this week was exclusively on the Cape, as our second new contract is also on the south end of the Cape in San Blas Platation where this 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,248 square foot interior home built in 1996 went under contract with a list price of $259,000.  The sellers bought it in December 2002 for $210,000, and started trying to sell it in September 2010 with an initial list price of $329,000.  They quicky made some serious price adustments downward, and were rewarded onTuesday with a contract. The county has this one pegged way low at $145,809.

Only two new listings this week, so I’m not going with a pick there, but among our crop of nine price changes  I definitely have a Pick of the Week.  

If you’re looking for a great home on the bay with both a dock and deeded gulf access, this place could be the answer. Located just a couple hundred feet north of Scallop Cove on the Cape, this spacious 2,525, 4-bedroom, 4-bath bay front home built in 2003  with 50′ of waterfront includes a dock shared with the home next door. Here are the detailed remarks from the listing notes:

SHORT SALE – APPROVED PRICE! Great buy on a beautiful bay front home in an X flood zone. Gorgeous views from every room in the house. This home was custom built by the current owner with upgrades throughout and storage galore, including a large bonus room over the garage. This is the perfect home for family gatherings and entertaining. You get the best of both worlds with the calming waters of St Joseph Bay, plus “deeded beach access” to the white sand beaches of the Gulf of Mexico at Rachel Beach. A shared dock allows you the convenience of pulling your boat right up to your back yard.

The owner has been trying to sell it since 2006 starting out over $700,000 and most recently has had it down to $411,000. This week he dropped it to $399,900 which prices it below what you could buy a similar lot for and build a new house.  I don’t imagine this will stay on the market very long at this price, especially if the bank has already pre-approved it at $399,900. Call me if you’re interested.

That does it for our first review of the new year. If your list of New Year Resolutions includes buying or selling coastal real estate, let’s get together and talk. Call me on my cell at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com. I’m enjoying hearing from so many of you.  Have a good week, and thanks for taking time out of your schedule to stop by today.

©Sherri Dodsworth, PA – 2011

I love New Year’s Day. It’s one of my favorite holidays, in part because it’s such a nice neat closing of one chapter and opening of the next. I enjoy taking a look at where we’ve just been and reflecting on what lies ahead. Oh, and the champagne toasts at midnight are fun, too.  Let’s explore how 2010 compared with 2009, and see if the numbers can provide us any clues as to what may be in store for us in 2011.

When we look at the sales data for the past three years, it’s obvious we are still in a correcting market. Except for the total number of lot sales, our 2010 market was down from 2009 in all other aspects: dollar volume, average sales price and median sales price. Home sales numbers are down across the board from 2009. 

Let’s begin with lots. While 2010 average and median lot sale prices were both down roughly 60% from their 2008 levels, when compared to 2009 the average price was down 29% and the median price “just”  11.5%, indicating a flattening trend in downward pressure in land values. I believe the most telling figure here is in the dramatic increase in demand for lots in 2010: up 24% over 2009 and a very healthy 221% increase over 2008.

The housing figures vividly reflect the flip side of those falling land prices. Whereas land sales in 2010 were up 24%  vs. 2009, area home sales for the same period fell over 9%.  This shows how existing homes are somewhat of a lagging market indicator as the median price of a home has dropped 22% from 2008 while the median lot price is down nearly triple that at over 59%. The numbers illustrate pretty clearly why the  demand for lots in 2010 increased 221% over ’08 while demand for houses rose only one-tenth of that at 22%.

I freely admit my rear-view mirror offers up a far clearer picture than the image in my crystal ball, but when I look at these numbers in my crystal ball I’m sensing that for 2011 the name of the game will likely be continued increasing demand for land resulting in a stabilization of prices, while existing home prices continue to correct downward at a faster rate.  Buyers looking at existing homes are running the numbers while they’re shopping, constantly comparing the price of a home vs. buying a deeply discounted lot and building while constructon prices are once again low. More often then not these buyers are switching from house shopping to lot shopping. My sense is that we won’t see a stabilizaiton of housing rates until they reach that equilibrium where their prices are once again competitive with the pricing of the inventory of land.

And what has happened to our inventory over the course of the year? We began 2010 with a total inventory of 354, with 125 homes and 229 lots for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market. We end the year down just 4.24.% at 339, with 136 homes (up 8.8%) and with 203 lots (down 11.35%). Once again, illustrating the greater demand for land than houses.

I said at the beginning of the year I believed we had weathered the worst and that we would likely see an increase in sales this year which turned out to be the case at least with transaction volume, but our market continues to correct from the hyperinflated run-up which peaked locally in 2004.  Land prices have returned to a price point that is once again attractive to buyers, and the buyers I see returning are primarily looking for long-term investments or second homes.    We have moved a lot of bank-owned properties out of the inventory in the past 12 months and that is a good thing.  We still have a good way to go, but all indications are we’re slowly heading towards recovery. I’m increasingly confident that light at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train.

I hope you’re recovering, too, from your New Year’s Eve revelries. Did you make any resolutions? Mine include developing new ways to bring you useful info in this blog. It’s been quite a year, and I appreciate my readers who have helped to make it so. My best wishes to you and your loved ones for good health, much love and prosperity in 2011.  Happy New Year!

©Sherri Dodsworth 2011 – All rights reserved. No portion of this may be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of the author.

There was no slow down in the action around here as 2010 drew to a close. We managed to pull off two more closings, put one under contract, enter eight new listings, and change three prices. Our inventory in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 market dipped down by two, closing at 339, with 136 homes and 203 lots listed for sale.

  The first of our two sales is a steal of a deal on one half of this gulf-view duplex on Aruba which was bargain-priced at $165,000 but the buyers did even better than that, picking up the keys at closing on Wednesday for just $140,000, below the county’s assessed value of $155,669. The place has surprisingly pleasant gulf views from its porch, and is a decent size, 1,565 square foot , 2-bedroom 2-bath layout with a superloft, cathedral ceilings, skylights and flagstone fireplace. Sure, she needs a little TLC but mostly just makeup, no major body work. Even though the sellers paid $310,000 for it in April 2005, it was not listed as a short sale.

Our second sale takes us over to Money Bayou about mid-way between Cape San Blas and Indian Pass to this bank-owned gulf-front lot which sold for $200,000 before it could even make it into the MLS. It last sold in October 2002 for $390,000, and is currently assesssed at $209,475, bringing both of our sales this week in below the county’s estimates.

Our one new contract has graced this column previously as a Price Change Pick of the Week when it was reduced to $39,900, which I believe is a very attractive price for an interior lot at Jubilation on the south side of the Cape. Apparently someone else thought the same and neogitated a contract alebeit with contingencies. Our county Property Appriaser agrees as well, as he believes it’s worth $85,000.  This is a serious short sale, having last sold in January 2005 for $335,000.

I have a New Listing Pick of the Week from our eight new listings.  I like this 4-bedroom, 4 1/2 bath, 2,348 square foot first tier home built in 2004 which enters the market at a very reasonably priced $475,000.  Located on Acklin’s Drive on Cape San Blas not far from Rish Park,  the lot alone has recent comps to support a value of at least $120,000.  Subtract that from the list price, and divide the remaining $355,000 by the total square footage of 3,676 which includes decks, and you’re looking at roughly $96 per square foot which I don’t believe you could reconstruct this place for. It’s also being sold furnished, making the price just that much more attractive.   Speaking of attractive, check out the gorgeous gulf views from the home.

Not too shabby. I imagine this will stir a good bit of interest right out of the gate.

I’m not seeing anything earth-shaking among our three price changes, so no pick of the week there this time around. Maybe next week.

I’m working on my annual Year-End Review which I hope to post shortly, probably Sunday, so be sure to stop back by to look in the rear-view mirror at 2010 and see just what our market did compared to recent years, and to see if we can trend where 2011 might take us.

I don’t know about you but I for one am glad to see the holiday season come to a close so everything can get back to normal.  It’s an exciting real estate market with amazing buying opportunities. If one of your New Year Resolutions is to diversify your portfolio to include some investment property along the coast, or you just want to take advantage of this second chance to buy an affordable coastal getaway for your own use, let’s get together and see what we can find. Call me on my cell at 850-227-5197 or send me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com .   Hope to hear from you soon. As always, thanks so much for taking time to stop by today.