Cape San Blas Real Estate Blog

Lots going on this week in addition to all the visiting spring breakers. We had another five sales and six new contracts, nine new listings and nine price changes. With the number of sales and contracts roughly equally the new listings, our inventory remains stubbornly stalled, paring down by just two from last week, closing at 384 with 101 homes and 285 lots listed for sale in in the MLS in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market.

The first of our five sales is located on the north end of the Cape in Barrier Dunes. It is a 2-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 1,369 square foot townhouse built in 2002 when it sold for $168,100. This week it sold for $160,000, pretty close to its list price of $169,500. This is a homesteaded property.

Our next sale is a few blocks southward in Peninsula Estates where a half-acre first tier bank-owned lot with awesome gulf views which went under contract two weeks ago with a list price $121,900 and closed on Wednesday for $104,000 cash. I did a double check on this one’s recorded sale price of $760,000 in July 2005, but according to court records that is indeed what it last sold for. This X-zone lot includes deeded gulf and bay access making it just that much more attractive. On Tuesday my lucky buyers picked up the title at closing for an equally attractive $104,000.

Up next, a nicely renovated gulf front home in Surfside Estates about three miles south along the beach. It’s a 4-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath, 1,752 square foot home on a 50′ swath of shoreline. Built in 1991, the sellers did a number of nice upgrades, including a kitchen make-over. They purchased the home in late 1994, and had it on the market since February 2005 when they listed it for $950,000. Adapting to the changing market, it went under contract at the end of January with a list price of $455,000, and on Wednesday it closed for $391,500. This is another one the county has too low, pegging it at just $287,405.

Next up we have a commercial property on the south side of the Cape, a 2,384-square foot, bank-owned office building listed for $245,000. The bank closed this one quickly, as it has only been under contract since mid-February, and on Friday it sold for $221,000 cash, very near the assessed value of $223,550.

Our fifth and final sale is a gulf front spec home on Indian Pass, a beautiful 3,076 square foot, 4-bedroom, 3-bath home situated on a .26 acre lot with 50 feet of gulf frontage. It was originally listed in July of 2007 for $1.395M, but became a short sale when that list price got down to $599,000. For a short sale, this one closed in record time as it went under contract on the 31st of January, and closed on Friday for $533,000, well above the county’s assessed value of $484,483.

Now on to our six new contracts returning to the Cape just north of Peninusla Estates to this rare 4-acre gulf front parcel with 219′ of waterfront footage. The sellers purchased this in 2002 for $250,000 and have it listed for $1.1M. The county has it valued at $693,000. Recently this appeared in the MLS as listings for two gulf front lots pending completion of a minor replat, but a single buyer has apparently come forward for the full parcel. Curious to see what this one goes for as it stretches from the gulf to Cape San Blas Road, an increasingly rare find these days.

Our next contract is 2-bedroom bay front cottage at Scallop Cove listed for just $156,000. Sweet. It’s one of six cotttages on 2oo feet of waterfront which includes shared pier on the bay and deeded beach access directly across the street. Originally built in the mid-80′s, the cottages were totally refurbished in 2003 and outfitted with new metal roofs, tile floors, granite countertops, new front decks, and all new appliances and furnishings. After the renovations were completed, the owner sold this one for $160,000. The county’s assessed value on this also one seems way too low, coming in at just $97,772, with the last recorded sale of one of the other cottages having been $150,000.

We’ll travel down to the south side of the Cape for our next contract. It’s on Moonrise which is the road that runs next to Loggerhead Grill (“Beachcombers” for you old-timers). This 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,296 square foot home on a third acre “X” zone lot was built in 1999, and last sold in July 2003 for $285,000. On Monday its list price of just $209,900 caught a buyer’s attention and it went under contract. That list is significantly below the county’s assessment of $260,473.

A couple of hundred yards down the beach is where we find our fifth contract, a 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,200 square foot condo listed as a short sale for $230,000, just shy of the $233,600 it sold for in September 2006 the year it was built. The county’s got this one pretty close at $220,850.

We’ll head off the Cape for our first time today for the sixth new contract. It’s a terrific first tier lot over in Money Bayou on Griffin Ave., conveniently located just two lots off of the Lee Street beach access. This FEMA eligible lot measures 53′ by 209” and has a nicely wooded buffer zone of sorts on the back end fronting C-30. The seller bought it in 1997 for $25,000 and had it listed for $119,900, so my buyers shouldn’t have to wait long to close.

Folks, property is moving again. My Realtor colleagues, lenders and insurance agents are all commenting on how busy we’ve been lately, a welcome relief to be sure after the lean years we’ve been going through. If you are interested in buying it’s time to start looking. I’ll be glad to help you buy or sell – simply call or text me at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth and we can get started. Have a great week, and thanks so much for taking time to stop by today.

Spring has sprung in all its glory and real estate sales are blooming all over the place along the coast. The first official week of Spring was a fruitful one for us, with two sales and four new contracts, five new listings and four price changes. With all that our inventory still closes down by only one at 386, with 101 homes and 285 lots listed for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market.

The first of our two sales is in a subdivision on the Cape up by the state park, Park Point, where this bank-owned corner lot went under contract just last week with a list price of $38,900. It sold in October 2003 for $145,000, and then resold the following October for $230,000. The county has it valued at $50,000, almost twice the $30,000 it sold for this week.

Our next sale is one of my Price Change Picks of the Week from way back, a bay front home on the Cape which went under contract with a list price of $699,000, and sold quite near that on Monday for $685,000 cash. The sellers owned it since 2004 when they purchased it for $750,000, and since then have renovated and added many upgrades. First listed in early 2006 for $1.295M, it has been on and off the market since tweaking that price downward along the way. This 4-bedroom, 3 bath, 3,376 square foot beauty is a treasure trove of bells and whistles.

Check out the view from the deck:

Here’s the description from the MLS:

Beautiful bay front home with private boat dock including two boat lifts and a private inground screen-enclosed swimming pool.

The spacious open floor plan features a large, entertainer kitchen and large living room and dining room. There is a full apartment on the lower level with full kitchen, living room, bedroom and bath and private entrance and walkout to pool area. The sunrise view from the porch was featured in Atlantic Southeast Airlines travel magazine. The privacy, decks, porches and views galore make this a truly special home.

If an in-ground pool isn’t enough, enjoy a dip in the hot tub instead.

And here’s the view from the living area:

We’ll begin our review of the four new contracts with a gulf view lot located in Hibiscus Beach to Bay, a pretty subdivision adjacent to Rish Park on Cape San Blas Road. It’s an irregularly shaped property of roughly one-third an acre conveniently located right next to the community pool. Hibiscus Beach to Bay includes deeded gulf and bay access for all owners. This is a short sale at its list price of $80,000 (well below the currrent assessed value of $120,000) with the sellers having paid $490,000 for it back in December 2004.

Our next two contracts are both over in Gulf Pines, one of the original subdivisions out along the C-30 Corridor. This 3-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath, 1,700 square foot home located on a first tier lot is listed as a short sale for $399,900, having last sold in early 2006 for $875,000. Just 10 months earlier it had sold in April ’05 for $711,000. For our area, this is an older home, built in 1983. The county currently has it valued at $232,612.

At the eastern end of the same street, our next contract is another short sale, this one a first tier lot listed for $79,000, below the assessed value of $85,000, and way below the $499,000 the sellers paid for it in July 2005. This one had sold just five months earlier in February ’05 for $435,000.

Our fourth and final new contract is on a secluded peaceful wooded country setting in the small subdivision of Stillwater tucked away off C-30 just 2.4 miles east of Indian Pass Raw Bar. In April 2006 it sold for $113,000 but was eventually foreclosed on by RBC who sold it in October 2010 for $6,500. That buyer put it back on the market late last year and it went under contract on Monday with a list price of $19,995. Here’s a snapshot of how the adjusting market is impacting taxable values. When this sold in 2010 the county’s assessed value was $55,000; today it is at $15,000. There are no contingencies to be met with this contract so it should close pretty quickly.

There are indications the overall market is improving, with single family home sales up and our overall housing inventory down 27% over last year. If you’re interested in buying or selling, let me know and I’ll be glad to help. Call or text me at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com. Have a wonderful week and thanks so much for taking time out to stop by today.

Well, I truly intended to post my review last Sunday but our MLS system was down for the day while the company was relocating servers, and by Monday the cold I had been fighting declared itself the victor and down I went for the better part of the rest of the week. Feeling a good bit better now and glad to be back at it. It has been a busy fortnight, too, with five closings and twelve new contracts, twelve new listings (two of which are already under contract), and fourteen price changes. Our inventory closes at 387, with 99 homes and 288 lots listed for sale in the the MLS in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, C-30 Corridor market. We have a whole lotta territory to cover today so let’s get right to it.

UPDATE: After posting this on Saturday, I learned later in the week that this sale was only for the one interior, land-locked lot, and did not include the lot fronting Sandlewood Blvd. as depicted in the county’s aerial photo. I apologize for any confusion this may have caused. We’ll begin our review of this week’s five sales up on Sandlewood Blvd. in Peninsula Estates, about a half mile south of the state park where we have a “twofer”, two lots being sold as one parcel with a combined list price of $69,000, attractively below the combined assessed value of $95,000. The two lots measure roughly 1 1/3 acres. They last sold in 1999 for $35,800. In what may be the Steal Deal of the Quarter, some lucky buyer was in the right place at the right time and picked up the title this week for $20,000.

This next sale is also in Peninsula Estates, on the gulf side, and is one entered into the MLS for comp purposes as it was not an MLS listing but a direct sale of a bank-owned fixer-upper. This is a photo of the house from her better days. She has set vacant now for several years and is in need of a fair amount of work. It’s a 3-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath, 1,058 square foot modular home built in the ’80′s up on Blue Heron Drive by the state park, and relocated onto this lot in the md-90′s. The bank sold it for $150,000, which means they basically sold it for little more than the rough value of the land. The county has it assessed at $160,309.

Our next sale is a classic short sale as it has been under contract since April 2010. It’s a 100′ wide gulf front lot in Cape Breezes about a mile south of the state park entrance and went under contract two years ago with a list price of $279,500. This is just amazing as this same lot sold in April 2005 for $1.2M. Ouch ouch ouch and ouch. When it went under contract it was assessed at $640,000; now the county has it at $300,000. The parties finally made it to closing on Thursday when a check for $275,000 sealed the deal.

Next up is another bank-owned gulf front bona fide fixer upper located on the Cape in the vicinity of Scallop Cove. One family had owned this 4-bedroom, 4- bath, 2,400 square foot beach house for about twenty years but sadly lost it to the bank this past fall. She has definitely seen better days; the decks and rails are rotting, the roof needs a lot of work, etc. and the bank has it priced at an “As Is” price of just $289,298, which means they’re putting most of the value in the 50′ waterfront lot. The county’s more generous than that, having it valued at $349,298. This week it sold for $258,900 cash.

We finally head off of the Cape for our fifth and final sale, a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,362 square foot home nestled away on a half acre lot in Treasure Bay out along the C-30 Corridor. Built in 1993, it last sold in February 2004 for $180,000. They put it back on the market two years late in November 2006 asking $264,900, but had to get that price all the way down to $199,000 to finally attract a buyer, and this week they went to closing for $175,000.

We’ll begin our marathon review of twelve new contracts in a subdivision on the Cape up by the state park, Park Point, where this bank-owned corner lot went under contract on Wednesday with a list price of $38,900. It sold in October 2003 for $145,000, and then resold the following October for $230,000. Fast forward to today and the county has it valued at $50,000.

We’ll head a couple blocks down the road to Barrier Dunes for our next two contracts, starting with this 2-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 1,369 square foot townhouse which is one of the two new listings this week already under contract I mentioned earlier. When it was first built in 2002 it sold for $168,100, pretty close to its current list of $169,500. This is a homesteaded property.

Just around the corner the other contract is on a 3-bedroom, 3-bath, 1,172 square foot unit listed as a short sale for $177,812, the sellers having paid $370,000 for it in August 2004, even though it had sold just two months prior to that in June for $207,000. The owners listed it the following summer in July 2005 for $485,000. If this one looks familiar it may be because it has now been under contract five times without ever making it to closing.

Over on the bay side of Cape San Blas road up adjacent to the south side of the state park on Blue Heron Drive our next contract is on a 104′ by 208′ lot listed as a short sale for $42,000. This one sold in December 2004 for $260,000, then again in early 2006 for $329,000. Today the county has it at $55,000. This little subdivision includes deeded bay access but not gulf.

Back to Peninsula Estates where our next contract is on a half-acre first tier bank-owned lot with awesome gulf views listed for $121,900. I did a double check on this one’s recorded sale price of $760,000 in July 2005, but according to court records that is indeed what it last sold for. This X-zone lot also comes with deeded gulf and bay access making it just that much more attractive. About three miles further south, we have another bay side lot under contract, this one a road front third-acre parcel measuring roughly 79′ by 193′. It’s in the X zone, and comes with the use of a shared dock on the bay. This isn’t a recorded subdivision so there are no HOA fees.

We’ll head directly across the street to Sea Grass for our next deal, a 4-bedroom, 4 1/2-bath, 2,304 square foot home listed as a short sale for $450,000, a price that induced an offer within three days of its being listed last week. The X zone lot alone sold in the summer of ’05 for $580,000, and after this house was finished, sold again the following summer for $880,000. The list price is above the county’s assessment of $407,867.

It’s all happening on the Cape this week and our next contract is no exception as we head a mile further south to Aruba Drive in Cape Sands Landing where this beautifully renovated 4-bedroom 3-bath, gulf front duplex went under contract with a list price of $359,000. When this home was built in 1985 there were at least two other home seaward of it, one of which was relocated to a nearby lot and another lost to Hurricane Opal in 1995.

Up next, a nicely renovated gulf front home in Surfside Estates about another half mile south along the beach. It’s a 4-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath, 1,752 square foot home on a 50′ swath of beach. Built in 1991, the owners have done a number of nice upgrades, including a made-over kitchen. They purchased the home in late 1994, and have had it on the market since February 2005 when they listed it for $950,000. Adapting to the changing market, it went under contract last Monday with a list price of $455,000. This is another one the county has too low, pegging it at just $287,405.

Down near the rocks at Stumphole, our next contract is on a 45′ wide gulf front lot listed for $159,000, pretty much in line with the county’s assessment of $150,000. It’s in a VE flood plane in an area of historically high erosion. Those of you who have sat through my History of Cape San Blas Erosion lecture understand why I’m not too jazzed about lots such as this. We’ll just move on.

Here we are on the south side of the Cape in The Club at Cape San Blas for our eleventh contract which is on an attractive 3-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath, 1,620 square foot townhouse style condo listed as a short sale for $219,900. Built in 2004, it last sold for $499,900. This is a beautiful home with gorgeous heart of pine floors, granite counter tops throughout, and 10 foot ceilings

We have finally made it to our twelfth and final contract, a bank-owned 75′ by 359′ lagoon front lot on Indian Pass listed for $75,000, well below its assessed value of $104,500. This little piece of paradise last sold in the summer of ’04 for $325,000.

We made it! Great to see so much activity and worth noting once again the two homes that went under contract the same week they were listed. Our inventory of homes has come down to a point where buyers are having to move more quickly to get the best selections. If you’re thinking of buying or selling, I’d love to help. Let’s talk – call or text me at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com. I also want to thank all of you who sent such kind notes of concern this week – greatly appreciated more than you know. Thanks so much for stopping back by today.

The weather may be warm and the azaleas in bloom, but I’ve been snowed under showing property. I hope to carve out some time to write up our weekly review on Sunday afternoon so please check back – lots of new contracts penned. Have a super weekend!

Your calendar may still say winter but mine says today is the official first day of Spring as my beloved Atlanta Braves take to the field for the first time in Spring Training Grapefruit League play in sunny Central Florida. We also had a good number of players step up to the plate locally as we scored two sales and penned one new contract, entered seven new listings and shaved nine prices. The week ends up 7 from last week closing at 387, with 94 homes and 293 lots listed for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market.

Both of our sales are homes on the south side of the Cape, beginning with this 4-bedroom home in Jubilation. It’s a 2,574 square foot Florida cracker-style home built in 2006 which went under contract as a short sale with a list price of $449,000, the sellers having paid $750,300 for it in late 2008. The county has it valued at $306,964, way below the $429,000 it closed for this week.

We’ll head just a few blocks down Cape San Blas Road to The Club at Cape San Blas for our other sale, a bank-owned 3-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath, 1,620 square foot condo which last sold in April 2005 for $469,900. Currently assessed at $240,876, it went under contract with a list price of $210,900, and closed this week for $190,000.

Our one new contract is also on the Cape, this one about a half mile north of Scallop Cove on Davies Drive. It’s a 3-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 1,680 square foot gulf view home listed for $319,000, pretty close to the $350,000 the sellers paid for the lot alone in June 2005. Even so, it’s not listed as a short sale. The county has it pegged at $240,347. Curious to see what this one closes for.

That does it for this week. Homes seem to be where the action has been lately as that inventory has been decining quickly while the number of available lots grows. So if you’re in the market for a good deal on a home, you need to consider getting into the game. A lot of the super-steal deals have already closed so don’t miss out on some of the remaining values. If you’d like info on buying or selling, call or text me at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com . Have a terrific week, and thanks so much for taking time to stop by today.