Cape San Blas Real Estate Blog

Just another gorgeous week in paradise with warm sunny weather nudging the azaleas, wisteria and wild flowers of spring into full bloom. Our real estate market continues blossoming as well, with one sale and three new contracts, ten new listings and two price changes. As you would expect, our inventory remains virtually unchanged, moving up just five to close the week at an even 350, with 131 homes and 219 lots listed in our MLS in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 market.

We begin today’s review with our solo sale, a bank-owned bay-front fixer-upper home in Peninsula estates located about a mile south of the entrance to the state park. The value in this property is its location on a 100′ wide lot in the best area of bay front on all of St. Joe Bay. If you’re into boating and enjoying all the fun living on the bay has to offer, you want to be in this north-west quadrant of it. Here the water is deeper and there are stretches of firm white sandy beaches. The shot above is the sizzle that sold this property.

This is the home itself. She needs a good bit of TLC but she’ll be an awesome coastal retreat when she’s fixed up. The bank had her listed for just $277,200 and some lucky buyer snatched her up this week for just $265,000, not too far above the county’s assessed value of $231,395. This home last sold in 1996 for $125,000; those owners listed it in 2007 for $950,000.

The first of our three contracts is on a bargain-priced townhouse at Barrier Dunes. It’s a 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,172 square foot interior unit built in 2003 when it sold for $180,000. Those folks more than doubled their money just two years later selling it in late 2005 for $389,500. This week it went under contract with a list price of just $125,900. There are several other townhouses around this price if you’re interested in a weekend getaway on the coast for a super reasonable price.

Our second new contract is just next door in Ovation where this bank-owned lot on the crescent overlooking the bay went under contact with a list price of $99,000, less than a third of its 2005 sale price of $375,000. The last lot along here to sell went for Ashwood’s full list price of $125,000 and since they still own several others it’ll be interesting to see if they stay at $125K or drop them to meet this new comp.

If you’ve read this blog for awhile, you have no doubt noticed I’ve been a big fan of Ovation, but I have to tell you I learned something disturbing about it this week that has me cooling off a bit. It seems the DEP leaned on the developer to amend their covenants to prohibit cats anywhere on Ovation, even inside homes. Their purported purpose is to “protect” St. Andrews beach mice, which no one aound here has ever actually seen on the Cape, but according to DEP the habitat is right and they could live here. So we have eagles, coyotes, bobcats, foxes, alligators, etc., etc., but little Fluffy perched on a sunny window sill is a greater threat than any of them. If the government wants to stop development, they should just come out and say so, not try to hide their true intent behind the guise of “saving” vermin.

OK, I’ll climb down off my soap box and get on with our third and final new contract which takes us all the way over to Indian Pass Beach Subdivision where this 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 940 square foot classic circa-1930′s Florida cottage went under contract with a list price of just $199,900. That’s less than a third of the $635,000 it sold for in 2005, and also below the $515,000 it sold for in 2003.

This primitive cottage was completely restored inside and out in 2001 to keep with the originality of it’s time. It has all natural heart pine walls and floors, and has updated heat/air, septic, wiring, plumbing, appliances and paint.

What a beautiful little piece of Florida’s past.

It’s Pick of the Week time, and this week I’m going with this bank-owned lagoon front lot at Indian Pass as the best of the crop of our ten new listings. It’s a little over half an acre, with 69′ of water frontage and 350′ deep. Plenty of room in the “X” zone for building your home high and dry. In 2004 it sold for $325,000, but you can have it now for just $149,000. Such a deal! If you’re familiar with Indian Pass, this lot’s located just a couple of hundrd feet west of the stately large blue and white home locally referred to affectionately as “Tara”.

That’s a wrap for this week. If you’re in the area this weekend there’s lots to do. This afternoon there’s a nature tour of St. Vincent Island wildlife preserve, the annual air show is at Tyndall both Saturday and Sunday, and there’s the Florida Realtors Tour of Homes. Whatever your plans for the weekend, I’m glad you stopped by here today. If you’re interested in finding out more about picking up some coastal property while the market is at the bottom, let’s talk. Give me a call on my cell phone, 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com.

It has been a tumultuous news week, but the headlines didn’t deter buyers, as we had another strong showing, closing six sales and writing three new contracts. We also added eight new listings, and eight price changes. Not much impact on our inventory, though, up by one, closing at 345, with 133 homes and 212 lots in our MLS in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor markets. Lots to look at today so let’s jump right in.

On to our six sales, the first two of which are adjacent interior lots in Park Pointe subdivision on the north end of the Cape, siding the state park. They have no water view, and both sold on Wednesday for $25,000 each having last sold in 2005 for $449,000 and $379,000 respectively. So lessee . . . 2005, combined value $828,000, 2011 combined value $50,000, or about 6 cents on the dollar. As I said when these two recently went under contract, it’s either carnage or carnival, depending on which side of the table you’re sitting. Unbelievable. The county thought they were each worth $50,000.

Our third sale takes us about 3 miles south to Cape Shoals, where this 2-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 926 square foot bank-owned one-half of a duplex listed for $133,000 sold on Thursday for $125,000. That’s not too far off from the $117,551 the county has it assessed for. Built in 1986, it last sold in 1997 for $80,000. Those owners first started trying to sell it nine years later putting it on the market in March 2006 for $565,000.

We’ll head a little over a mile further south for our fourth sale, one we’ve seen on the market for a long, long time waiting for someone to call her home. It’s a lovely 4-bedroom, 4 bath, 2,525 square foot home on 50′ of bay front complete with shared dock on St. Joe Bay and deeded gulf access. The owners built it in 2003 and started trying to sell it shortly after the market tanked in 2005. They eventually lowered the list price to $399,900 as a short sale and that did the trick, selling this week for $385,000, somewhat above the county’s assessed value of $339,925.

This may look like a non-descript lot, but the views from this first tier, quarter-acre, x-zone lot in the micro-subdivision of the Curve at the Cape are awesome. Located on C-30 just a couple hundred yards east of the turn off from Cape San Blas Road, it’s actually a beautiful piece of land with a commanding gulf vista. It last sold in November 2002 for $200,000, and the sellers tried to re-sell it three years later, listing it in late 2005 for $610,000. Unfortunately, there were no takers until they got that list price all the way down to $140,000 which did the trick, and they closed this week for $132,000. Drastic as that may be, that’s still more than twice the county’s assessed value of $60,000., which seems unrealistically low even under current conditions, so I’m not sure what they’re factoring in to arrive at that.

Our sixth and final sale takes us all the way over to near the far end of the Indian Pass peninsula where this 3-bedroom, 1 1/1 bath, 1,578 square foot circa 1980 home on Indian Pass Road sold on Friday for $145,000, not too far off its $157,900 list price. The sellers have owned it since 1992 when they purchased it for just $44,500. My, how times change.

Now for our three new contracts the first of which is my New Listing Pick of the Week from four weeks ago, an outstanding value at Ovation where this awesome 3,100 square foot, 3-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath Florida style home went under contract as a bank-owned listing for an unbelievable price of just $479,900. This home is top-end throughout, with such details as Brazilian teak floors, African granite counter tops, solid pine interior doors, Anderson windows and doors throughout, and custom cabinetry of the finest quality. It’s located on the bay crescent, so the views are magnificent. My buyers are absolutely thilled and anxious to close so they can move right in. Can’t blame them.

More action at Ovation where our second contract is on this first tier beauty under contract as a short sale with a list price of $185,000, having last sold in the summer of ’05 for $775,000. These numbers are just staggering. The county has it valued at $150,000, so it will be interesting to see what it eventually closes for, which may take some time since the bank has final approval on the offer.

Our third and final contract takes us off the Cape and over onto C-30 to Treasure Bay where someone snapped up another terrific short sale value, this one a first tier half-acre bay view lot with a mighty attractive price tag of just $29,900. That’s about 10 cents on the dollar for the $225,000 it sold for in 2004, and just half of the ocunty’s $60,000 assessment. This buyer’s getting a heck of a deal on a terrific building site as Treasure Bay is a nice quiet residential area with attractive homes and deeded bay accesss for all owners. Also, not being on the Cape in the CBRA area, federal flood insurance is available.

I am out of time as I have to show property this afternoon in just a short while – as gorgeous as the weather and gulf are this weekend it hardly seems fair to show people real estate as they just don’t stand a chance! We are having Florida postcard picture-perfect weather right now. Lots going on – great values to be had so if you’re thinking it’s time to make your move, give me a call on my my cell, 850-227-5197 or send me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com . I hope your weekend is good – I appreciate your taking time out of it to stop by here and check out the market.

Our pace slowed a bit compared to last week’s marathon sales activity, but we still had respectable activity, logging five sales, two new contracts, five new listings and six price changes. Unfortunately, our inventory edged up by six, closing the week at 344, with 134 homes and 210 lots listed in our MLS in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, and Co-3 Corridor market.

Let’s begin touring our five sales starting on the north end of the Cape at Barrier Dunes, where this 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,172 square foot end-unit was listed as a short sale for just $158,000. The sellers bought it brand new in 2001 for $142,500, impressively close to its current assessment of $144,943. My buyers lucked out on this one as the offer they submitted was approved by the bank in less than two weeks which is amazingfor a short sale, as they typically take several months for approval. Their luck wasn’t just in their timing, either – they were lucky to pick up the keys at closing for this super townhouse for a mere $125,000. Nicely done. This was a cash deal, as is, unfurnished except for major appliances.

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, too, is bank-owned and was 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 equated to roughly $52 per square foot so this was aggressively priced and that strategy paid off quickly as it sold in just 27 days of being listed, selling on Friday for full list price of $168,300.

Our third sale takes us east on C-30 towards Indian Pass to Money Bayou, one of my favorite areas, to this Key-West-style 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 942 square foot gulf view home which went under contract with a list price of just $249,000. It wasn’t listed as a short sale even though the sellers bought it in April 2007 for $459,000. The county has it assessed at $154K which I think is too low. The gulf views from homes on this street are surprisingly good, it’s a cool neighborhood, and eligible for federal flood insurance, so the area has a lot of positive selling points. On Monday, our company’s savvy buyer picked it up for just $195,000. I have a similar home listed on this same street over closer to the bayou and it has great views of both the gulf and the bayou, is well-maintained and furnished very nicely.

Our fourth sale takes us out onto Indian Pass Road to this 58′ by 560′, 3/4 acre lagoon front lot which sold on Thursday for an even $150,000, which is about half way between its list price of $169,900 and assessed value of $141,760. This has a curious sales history having last sold just a little over a year ago in February of 2010 for $165,000, having previously sold in early 2004 for $385,000. It’s a great waterfront lot with a dock in place so I’m curious as to why it resold again so quickly essentially as a wash.

Our fifth and final sale takes us over to Indian Pass Beach Subdivision where this classic 1,200 square foot, 2-bedroom, 2-bath beach cottage listed for $229,900 sold on Friday for just $179,000. Such a deal! This one has an interesting sales history, too, having sold in October 2003 for $330,000, then again a year later in December 2004 for $400,000. Fast forward to today when the county has it valued at $180, 488, impressively close to that new sale price.

Both of our two new contracts are shorts sales, the first being this 3-bedroom, 3 bath, 1,728 square foot gulf view home on Acklins Island Drive in the vicinity of the Cape Tradin’ Post. Here’s another property whose sales history illustrates the run-up in the market; in May 2004 it sold for $507,400, then one year later they flipped it for $859,000, a nice 40% annual return. By the time those buyers tried to sell it in early 2009, they knew they had to list it for less than what they’d paid for it, starting at $749,900, but there were no buyers left willing to pay anywhere near that, and it took them slashing their price all the way down to its current list of $349,000 to finally get someone to make an offer.

Here’s yet another sobering snapshot of our market melt-down. Over in The Cottages at Indian Summer off of C-30 just west of the Indian Pass Raw Bar our second contract is on a second tier lot which last sold in mid-2005 for $390,000, is currently listed for $46,900, and is competing with an identical bank-owned lot adjacent to it which is under contract with a list price of $25,000, a third of the county’s current assessed value of $75,000. Scary stuff.

Only five new listings, but they do include a Pick of the Week winner, a FEMA eligible gulf front lot between Treasure Shores and Money Bayou with an enticing $249,000 price tag. It last sold in mid-2003 for $450,00, and the county currently has it assessed at $215,000. Here’s the MLS description:

This Gulf front parcel measures ~54.16′ wide on the north side of the property and ~61.85′ wide on the south Gulf side of the lot. Gulf front lot has a 10′ wide ingress/egress access from C-30 to the Gulf front buildable portion of the property. Beautiful high and dry lot with nice trees and foliage for an Old Florda setting with a beautiful, unspoiled beach directly in front of the homesite. Excellent location, just down the road from the Cape turnoff and the Indian Pass Raw Bar with Gulf front views of both St. Vincent Island and the southern portion of Cape San Blas.

There are several super attractive price chanages in this week’s crop of six price changes, so I encourage you to puruse them all, but my Pick of the Week goes to this gulf front home in Cape Dunes which makes a dramatic move from $495,000 to $349,000 so it sounds as if the sellers are serious about moving on. This is one side of two single family homes attached by a common breezeway between them. Built in 1984, it has 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, and has 2,34 square feet under heat and air. Currently used as a rental property, it advertises that it sleeps 13, so there is impressive rental potential if properly outfitted and managed. With some TLC and upgrades I think she could be a very strong performer.

That does it for this week. The weather’s warming up and our spring flowers are beginning to bloom so it’s a lovely time to visit. If you are planning a visit and want to check out some real estate while you’re here, let me know. Call me on my direct line at 850-227-2124, or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com . I love hearing from my readers. Have a terrific week, and thanks so much for stopping by today.

What a wild week! Real estate was moving at break neck speed with what may have been a record since I started this blog in August 2007. We had seven sales and six new contracts, nine new listings, and nine price changes. Another really encouraging indicator is our inventory took a nice plunge, dropping by nine to 338, with 133 homes and 205 lots listed in our MLS in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market. We have a tremendous amount of territory to cover, so settle back with your beverage of choice, and let’s get rolling.

We’ll start our review of this week’s seven sales at the north end of the Cape on White Sands Drive in San BlasShores located adjacent to the north side of Ovation where this bank-owned gulf front lot sold for the give-away price of just $115,000. I think this price proves the adage, “if it seems too good too be true, it probably is” – although it measures a respectable 62′ wide, it’s the property’s depth that is a looming question mark as it is very, very shallow, and when the front and back setbacks are met, I’m not sure how much of a building foot-print will remain. The seller bought this property in August 2004 for $650,000, and put it on the market the following spring with a $1,399,500 price tag but unfortunately by then that bus was long gone. Three weeks ago it went under contract as a bank-approved short sale with a list price of just $150,000, well below the county’s assessed value of $250,000.

Five of our seven sales this week are bank-owned foreclosures (the other two are short sales, such being the nature of our current market) beginning with this spec home in Ovation. It’s a handsome 4-bedroom, 4-bath, 3,158 square foot coastal-style home built in 2006 listed as a short sale for $490,000, well above its current assessed value of $366,078, but way below its last list price of $990,000. This and the home overlooking the bay I featured last week as my Pick of the Week were built as spec homes but the timing was wrong and they’ve sat vacant ever since. Well, somebody snapped up a gem of a home on Friday by stroking a check for the below-market value full list price of $490,000.

Lots of action this week in Ovation, with our second sale being this bank-owned lot on the bay side of the neighborhood which sold in October 2005 for $355,000, then again the following October for $450,000. There was nobody waiting in line to buy for that buyer and it went back to the bank who ended up eventually slashing the price all the way down to $42,500, and on Tuesday, someone took it off Wells Fargo’s hands for a mere $38,000.

Centennial Bank listed this lovely 3-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath, 2,648 square foot gulf view home in Seagrass for just $425,000, and one lucky buyer took them up on it this week by offering them $400,000 cash and off to closing they went. That sale price is essentially dead-on with the county’s assessed value of $399,599. This home last sold in April 2005 for $895,000. The owners started trying to sell it in early 2009 for a loss listing it for$595,000 but just couldn’t attract a buyer even at that price.

Just a few hundred yards down the beach at Beach to Bay Subdivision, our next bank-owned sale is a quarter acre+ gulf view lot measuring 100′ by 120′ which Centennial Bank had listed for $110,000 and sold on Monday for an even $100,000 cash. This is a pretty lot with good elevation and lush vegetation, pleasant view, and an easy stroll to the beach. A couple I showed this to once who had grown up on Cape Cod said the beach community reminded them of home. It last sold in March 2005 for $442,000, and those owners put it back on the market eight months later for $589,000. Drop the five in that price and fast forward to today when the county has it valued at $85,000.

We’ll wander about a mile south to Cancun Drive Drive for our sixth sale, a gulf-glimpse home on a quarter acre lot that the bank had listed for $235,000. It was built in 1994, has two bedrooms and 2 baths, measures 1,840 square feet under heat and air, and last sold in May 2002 for $240,500. Those owners started trying to sell it in August 2005 listing it for $695,000. On Thursday this home also sold for nearly dollar-for-dollar to the county’s assessed value of $199,556, closing at an even $200,000.

We’ll travel all the way over to Indian Pass, almost all the way out to the tip for our seventh and final sale where this lot fronting Indian Pass Road, measuring just 75′ by 105′ (roughly 0.18 of an acre,) sold on Monday for full list price of $49,900. That’s a good bit below the county’s assessment of $60,000. This isn’t a gulf view lot, but it is eligible for FEMA flood insurance. The sellers have owned this so long there is no historic sales data on the county property appraiser’s page so I’m assuming the sellers did ok here on this one.

On to our six new contracts, the first two of which are adjacent interior lots in Park Pointe subdivision on the north end of the Cape, siding the state park. They have no water view, and both sold on Monday for $30,0000 each having last sold in 2005 for $449,000 and $379,000 respectively. So lessee . . 2005, combined value $828,000, 2011 combined value $60,000, or about 7 cents on the dollar. It’s either carnage or carnival, depending on which side of the table you’re sitting. Unbelievable.

We’ll travel about 3 miles south for our next sale to Cape Shoals townhouses where this bank-owned 2-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 976 square foot gulf front townhome circa 1986 went under contract with a list price of $159,500. Before you start screaming in utter disbelief that you didn’t know about this gulf front opportunity, just know that as nice as the layouts of these townhomes are, they suffer from not adhering to Real Estate 101, location, location, location. I really like the design and construction of the homes themselves, but sadly their proximity to the gulf and their long history of dealing with damage caused by the surf washing out the sand under their foundations is major. This one last sold in mid-2005 for $295,000. It ended up with the bank who listed it in November for $206,750; it went under contract this week with a list price for a far more modest $159,500, pretty much on the money with the county’s assessment of $161,785.

Our next contract takes us back off the Cape and over onto C-30 this time heading north towards Port St. Joe, to a bay view 864 square foot, 2-bedroom, 2-bath cottage listed as a short sale for just $159,000, just a smidgen below the county’s assessed value of $161,536. The state owns the land between the home and the bay so it should always have unobstructed views. The sellers bought it in November 2007 for $430,000, which was quite a bit of an increase over what it had sold for just two years earlier in 2005 when it sold for $250,000.

Just a little bit down the road our next contract is on a bay front lot in the micro-subivision of Heron Bay, just south of the St. Joseph Bay Buffer Preserve Center. This 1 1/2+ acre lot measures 100′ by 700′ and it, too, is listed below assessed value, with list $139,000 vs. $140,000. It originally sold in 1998 for $49,500, and last sold in early 2003 for $245,000. There are no contingencies to be met so we should know the sale price fairly soon.

For our sixth and final new contract, we’ll head back all the way to the far end of Indian Pass to this 3-bedroom, 1 1/2 bath, 1,578 square foot circa 1980 home on Indian Pass Road which went under contract with a list price of $157,900. The sellers have owned this since 1992 when they bought it for $44,500 so they should do just fine. They’ve had it listed since mid-2006 when they put it on the market with an asking price of $475,000. The county has it at $116,836. Here, too, there are no contingencies to be met so it should go to closing soon.

Well, if you’ve hung in there this long you deserve a reward so My Pick of the Week from among our nine new listings is this first tier lot in Jubilation on the south side of the Cape. Jubilation is an Ashwood Development community who also did Ovation, and they are the two premier communities on the Cape. This corner lot measures 63′ by 104′ feet and although it last sold in late 2004 for $525,000 it is not listed as a short sale despite its attractive price tag of just $160,000. Even the county thinks this one should command $252,000. Jubilation has a lovely gulf front pool, and easy access walkovers to the beach.

I have a Price Change Pick of the Week from our batch of nine price changes – a gorgeous craftsman-quality gulf front stucco home in Money Bayou listed as a short sale which was listed for $699,900 and was reduced to a very tempting $649,900. This is so much home for the money, especially considering it sits on a wide stretch of stable beach front, is FEMA eligible and has no HOA fees.

Situated on a 50′ wide gulf front lot, it has 2,172 square feet under heat and air with spacious decks on both levels for a total of 4,300 square feet.

The home is tastefully decorated and being sold furnished.

The spacious kitchen features custom-crafted cabinetry throughout, gleaming granite counter tops, and high end appliances.

You’ll be proud to entertain in this lovely setting overlooking the beach.

The spacious master suite opens up to an ample covered deck overlooking the gulf. On clear nights, slide open the doors and fall asleep to the sound of the surf and fresh air sea breezes.

That’s a wrap for this week. Can you believe how property is moving again? The buyers are back in force and having a field day going through all the great bargains to be had. If you’re thinking of getting in on the action either by buying or selling, give me a call and let’s see what we can put together for you. I have a new direct line, 850-227-2124, or my trusty standy-by email, sherri@sherridodsworth.com. Thanks so much for stopping back by today, and I look forward to hearing from you. Have a great week and hope to get together with you again next Saturday.

What a wild week! No, not because it’s the first week of spring break, but because the real estate market partied like it was 2004 with manic activity. We had seven sales and six new contracts, and I’ve been showing property and keeping offers and contracts moving along seemingly non-stop since we met here last week. Anyway, showing property back to back again on Saturday so I’ll be posting my weekly recap on Sunday, probably mid to late afternoon. You won’t believe some of the sales this week so be sure to check back.