Florida experienced a historical week. From the northernmost regions of our state in deluged Jacksonville to our southernmost points in devastated Key West, to the hard-hit southwest Naples/Fort Myers region, so many areas are reeling in the destruction left in Irma’s wake. The sheer geographical magnitude of the storm was unprecedented as she wreaked some degree of havoc in virtually all parts of our state. As she drifted slightly to the west early Saturday morning, Gulf County local officials were justifiably concerned about the possible impact to our area if the storm spun back out into the Gulf, regained strength and very possibly might have hit our area as a minimal Cat 3 storm. Accordingly, on Saturday morning, they issued a mandatory evacuation for everyone north of the rocks at Stumphole. Visitors were required to leave; residents strongly encouraged to do so. Our area dodged a bullet when the storm eventually drifted back eastward mid-day on Saturday for which we are eternally grateful, though our community would never wish this storm on anyone.
When there are named storms in the Gulf, insurance companies can’t issue policies on homes, so it’s not surprising that we only had one closing this week and that was on a lot. With a large portion of our visitors forced to leave last Saturday, there weren’t a lot of folks out shopping for property either, but even so, we did manage to have one new contract. Owners listed nine new properties, but held firm on prices with no changes. With all those listings and so little other action, it’s no surprise that our inventory swelled by four, with 87 homes and 208 lots for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, and C-30 Corridor market.
Both of this week’s transactions were over on Indian Pass. The only folks who went to closing were the parties with the contract on this quarter-acre first tier lot carved out from a 75′ by 562′ gulf front parcel the sellers bought in early 2015 for $285,000. They did the minor re-plat, and listed the first tier portion for $150,000. On Thursday, the new owners took title for $140,00.
Our one and only new contract is on a gulf front lot on Indian Pass Road. We saw this property not too long ago when the seller bought the 100′ wide parent parcel in mid-June for $481,000. He did a minor re-plat shortly thereafter subdividing it into two 50′ lots and now has one under contract with a list price of $279,000. Do the math. Nice profit.
I hope you and your loved ones escaped Irma’s wrath and are safe and sound. These events remind us never to take the comforts and abundance in our lives for granted and to live each day with a grateful spirit. Our community pulled together in preparation for the storm caring for one another like the family that we are. For us, everything is back to normal. If you’d like to join us, please call or text me at 850-227-5197 or send a note to [email protected] and we’ll get started. Take care, and thank you so much for taking time to stop by today.