Cape San Blas Real Estate Blog

I hope you had a terrrific Thanksgiving with family and friends. It was a gorgeous day here on the Cape, warm and clear. Lots of people here for the holiday, with this traditionally being when our many absentee owners who rent their homes block this week out for them and their families to use. Seems as if everybody had turkey, football and fishing on their minds rather than real estate as there was very little activity, with no sales though we did manage to serve up two new contracts, four price changes, and one new listing. Accordingly, virtually no change in our inventory, moving down by only one to 387, ending the week with107 homes and 280 lots listed for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Summer, and the C-30 Corridor market.

  Both of our two new contracts are on lots, the first being this one-third acre first tier  lot on the Cape listed for $109,000. The sellers bought this “X” zone lot in May 2000 for $96,000, and have been trying to sell it since August 2005 when they initally listed it for $750,000. The county has it pegged at $120,000. There are no contingencies to be met so it should close relatively quickly.

  Our second new contract is on this quarter-acre second tier lot nestled among the pines and palms at the Cottages at Indian Summer near Indian Pass along the C-30 Corridor. It goes under contract with a list price of $27,500. The owners have had it since late 2003 when they pcked it up for $50,000. Theystarted tyring to sell it in early 2008 when they listed it for $229,000.  The county’s assessment is way above list at $73,600, but they describe it as a first tier rather than a second tier, so that error may be causing the discrepency.

Can’t really have a “New Listing Pick of the Week” when there’s only one new listing, but from our four price changes I do have a Price Change Pick of the Week. I’m going with this 1.25 acre gulf front lot in Jubilation on the south side of the Cape which was reduced in price from $265,000 to $225,000 as a short sale; that’s well below the county’s assessed value of $315,000. The sellers paid $900,000 for it in late 2004.

That does it for this week. Since this weekend offically kicks off the Christmas shopping season, if you’re considering a place at the beach for that special someone on your list, by all means let me know and I’ll gladly play the part of Santa’s helper to help you find it. You can call me on my cell at 850-227-5197 or text me or send me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.  Have a great week, and thanks so much for stopping by today.

Everyone’s heard of spring fever, but I swear I’ve had a touch of Fall Fever this week as the weather has been so gorgeous I’ve just wanted to get out of the office and stay outside enjoying the warm sunshine and steady breezes. Luckily, I’ve had a lot of appointments to show property so I’ve been able to indulge that urge and be out and about the Cape and Indian Pass with nice folks looking for coastal places to call their own. We had a good week, with three sales, four new contracts, three new listings and five price changes. The inventory held steady, closing at 388,  down only one from last week, with 107 homes and 281 lots listed for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market.

The first of our three sales is this corner lot on Tobago Drive near the Tradin’ Post on Cape San Blas that sold in June of 2005 for $365,000. It now belongs to the bank who listed for $62,000, which, low as that sounds, is actually above current comps for this property. It’s a one-third acre “X” zone lot measuring 102′ by 160′ with an assessed value of $80,000, and on Tuesday it closed for exactly half that, $40,000 cash.

We’ll head off the Cape, turn right onto C-30 and go about a quarter mile to the first sub-division on our left, Waters Edge, for our second sale, a bank-owned interior lot that they decided to sell at auction. Last sold in August 2002 for $297,500, and when the bank acquired it earlier this year, they listed it for less than 10 cents on the dollar at $27,900. The highest bid was $13,000, the buyer paid an additional $1500 premium, bringing the total price paid to $14,500 or lest than a nickel on the dollar from 2002. Whoa . . .

Our third and final sale is on this 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,248 square foot first tier home on Deepwater Drive near the east end of the Indian Pass peninsula.  It’s a good ways off the beach so even though it’s first tier, I consider it more of a beach-glimpse than a beach-view home. Last sold in md-2004 for $500,000, this circa-1997 home went under contract on September 16 as a short sale with a list price of $239,000, a good bit above its assessed value of $187,665. The sellers have had it on the market since January 2010 with an intial list price of $449,000, and on Tuesday they accepted $210,000.

Back to the north end of the Cape to begin reviewing our four new contracts, beginning as we frequently do in Barrier Dunes with a 3-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath, 1,845 square foot interior townhouse. The sellers bought it in May 2004 for $460,000, started trying to sell it three years later when they listed it for $617,500.  By the time it went under contract this week that list price had been whittled all the way down to $369,000. The county has it assessed at $254,723, which is pretty close to what it sold previously for in March 2000,  $264,500.

On the south side of the Cape in Piney Woods subdivision our second contract is on a bank-owned interior lot which they acquired from the developer who tried to sell it as far back as early 2006 when he marketed it with a $375,000 price tag.  The current list price is $40,000, below the county’s assessed value of $45,000.

Only a few blocks past Piney Woods is The Boardwalk and that’s where our third new contract was written. This one’s a lot measuring 77′ by 102′, or 0.18 of an acre listed for $99,000, above the assessed value of $85,000.  These sellers should do ok at closing, having purchased the property back in 1992 for $52,000.

Our fourth and final contract is on an unusual lot in that it appears to actually be in Indian Pass Lagoon, and according to the MLS is accessible only by a trail and recommends buyer to obtain a survey to determine both accessibility and dimensions. Identified as Lot 13 of  The Cottages at Indian Summer, it is one the developer was never able to sell (imagine that) so now the bank is tyring to find a taker. They have it listed for $30,000, below the county’s assessment of $36,000. This one has me scratching my head and I’m real curious to see what it closes for.

That does it for this week. If you’re interested in finding our more about property here on the coast or ifyou’re considering selling, I’ll be glad to help. Please call or text me at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com.  I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends, thank you so much for stopping by today.

Finally, we had a little more action this week than we have recently, managing two sales, five new contracts, four new listings and seven price changes. For the third week in a row the week ends with our inventory unchanged, closing at 389, with 107 houses and 282 lots listed for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor markets.

Down on the south side of the Cape our two sales are two adjacent bank-owned bay front lots in Eventide, where we saw another adjacent lot sell last month for just $12,000. These two are also listed as that one was at the ridiculously low price of $20,000 each, and this week they beat that recent comp by closing for $9,000 each. That’s just hard to fathom. The county’s going to have a lot of adjusting to do with these sales as they’ve had them valued at $40,000.

We’ll begin our review of this week’s five new contracts on the north end of Cape San Blas at Barrier Dunes where this 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,172 square foot townhouse located back by the park went under contract on Thursday with a list price of $129,000. This home was built in 2003 when it sold for $180,000. The owner has been trying to sell it since September 2005 when he initially listed it for $389,500. Today the county has it assessed for $152,131. This isn’t a short sale so it shouldn’t take long to close.

We’ll travel down to the south side of the Cape to Jubilation for our second new contract which is on this teeny 0.08 acre lot measuring just 79′ by 46′. The sellers bought it in October 2004 for $410,000 and on Wednesday it went under contract with a list price of $99,000, 10 per cent above the county’s assessed value of $90,000.

In nearby Piney Woods subdivision, our third contract is on another tiny lot, this one a 0.16 acres first tier property. The sellers paid $450,000 for it in mid-2005 and put it under contract Wednesday as a short sale with a list price of $79,000, significantly below the county’s assessed value of $120,000.

We’ll leave the Cape and head over to Indian Pass where our fourth contract is on one of my recent Picks of the Week, a bank-owned magnificent gulf front home at Indian Pass, originally offered in 2007 for $1.999M, listed at fire-sale pricing of only $629,900. When only the finest will do, this 5-bedroom, 5-bath home with 3,861 square feet of living space should fill the bill. Wide outdoor decks span the gulf front side of each of the living areas, expanding the total footage to 6,140. If the surf’s a bit rough, cool off in the in-ground pool overlooking the beach. Ease of access to each level of the home via elevator. You could not recreate this fine home today on a comparable gulf front lot at this price. People often tell me they’re looking for a “steal of a deal”. This IS  that deal.

Our fifth and final new contract is on a gulf front lot near the tip of Indian Pass, a one-third acre lot in St. Vincent Point which the sellers bought in November 2001 for $670,000.  They started trying to sell it in early 2006 when they listed it for $799,000, but were never able to find a taker. On Saturday it went under contract as a short sale with a list price of $149,900 and county assessed value of $112,500.  

That does it for this week. Can you believe how low some of these lot prices have gotten? It’s staggering. If you’re interested in picking up some coastal real estate here along the Forgotten Coast, I’d love to work with you. Text or call me at 850-227-5197, or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com.

Halloween goblins seemed to have scared off buyers as we had one of the quietest weeks I can remember in quite some time. We managed just two sales, no new contracts, only four new listings, and repriced two properties. The week ends with inventory unchanged, closing at 389, with 107 houses and 282 lots listed in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor markets.

The first of our two sales  is up at Barrier Dunes on the north end of Cape San Blas where with this 2-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 1,377 square foot townhouse which went under contract just last Sunday. It was listed for $199,000 and closed on Friday for $185,000, well above the county’s assessed value of $160,925. The seller bought it in late 2002 when he picked it up for $212,900. 

Our second sale is over in Treasure Bay out along the C-30 Corridor.  It’s a first tier, bay view corner lot listed as a short sale for $29,900. This is a nice size half-acre property measuring 103′ by 220′.  The sellers paid $225,000 for it in October 2004, and sold it this week for $25,000 cash, well below the county’s assessment of $34,000.

For my Pick of the Week from our four new listings, I’m going with the lowest priced “X” zone lot at Ovation, number 74, on the bay side of Cape San Blas Road.  At only $43,000, below the county’s assessed value of $45,000, it’s definitely worthy of a closer look.

  I also have a Pick of the Week from our two price changes.  I think this 3-bedroom, 3-bath, 1,618 square foot gulf view “X” zone home in Two Palms is an attractive offer since the sellers slashed the price this week from $399,000 to $299,000. 

It has pretty gulf views from the spacious decks and porches, and even has a screened in-ground pool.

Here are the MLS details:

Spacious and airy 3 bedroom 3 bath fully furnished home located in the X flood zone. The home was designed with an open floor plan to take advantage of the beautiful Gulf views. The living areas open onto the covered porches creating a large entertaining space. The upgraded kitchen features ceramic tile countertops and floors, with stainless steel appliances. Enjoy breathtaking sunsets from the porches on both upper levels that span the entire length of the home. As an added bonus, the home also includes its own swimming pool, covered by screened enclosure! The natural setting of Two Palms creates a feeling of seclusion and privacy. This home is currently on a rental program. Rental income for 2008 was $40,000, and for 2009, $49,500. Owner is willing to sell Half Interest in property.

So that officially wraps us up for another week. I’m off now to Apalachicola for the afternoon to enjoy the Florida Seafood Festival which as always should be a lot of fun, especially as nice as the weather is today; cool, clear and breezy, with an afternoon high of around 71 forecast. Planning on enjoying some great seafood and good times with old friends. If you’re in the area, hope to see you there.  If you’re interested in info on joining us here on the coast as either a full-time or part-time “Caper”, give me a call on my cell at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com . Looking forward to hearing from you. Have a great week and thanks so much for taking time to stop by today.