Cape San Blas Real Estate Blog

The question I’m hearing from nearly everyone I come in contact with lately is, “Well, is anything selling?” and I tell them absolutely, things are picking up again noticeably, as evidenced by the fact that this is the second week in a row we’ve had four new contracts.  In other activity we added only four new listings, nine price changes, two properties were withdrawn, and eleven expired unsold. There were no closings. After all that, we end the week with three fewer active listings in our MLS inventory for Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and the C-30 Corridor, coming in at 412, with 159 homes and 253 lots. We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s get started.

Houses dominate three-to-one in our four new contracts, with two on Cape San Blas Road and one in the C-30 Corridor in Treasure Shores; our lone lot is the lagoon front lot on C-30 listed for $49,900, and that is where we’ll start. (All four of our contracts have contingencies to be met so we don’t know the projected closing dates on any of them).

This ought to look familiar since we last saw it just two weeks ago when it was my pick of the week for best priced new listing.  It is the 83′ wide lagoon front lot on C-30 for only $49,900, which is a bank-owned sale with Suntrust having foreclosed on it in January. The lot last sold in June 2004 for $220,000, exactly twice the $110,000 it had sold for just ten months earlier in August 2003.  

This pretty gulf view 2,052 square-foot, 3-bedroom, 3-bath home at 4747 Cape San Blas Road has been on the market since March 2007 when it was originally listed for $589,000. It finally got down to $464,000 and on Friday it went under contract.  The seller purchased the lot alone in October 2004 for $265,000 and then built and furnished the house and put it on a rental program.   The property appraiser’s office has its assessed value as $326,135.

Next up is a bank-owned 2,957 square-foot, 4-bedroom, 3-bath gulf and bay view spec home located at 5447 Cape San Blas Road in Ocean Haven, just south of Seagrass. The developer first put this home on the market in January 2007 with a list price of $1.25M, but by April 2008 even at an eventual list of $745,000 it just wasn’t selling, and it was withdrawn. According to county records, it was turned over to Capital City Bank in December 2008, and they put it back on the market in March for $540,000, which is still well above the county’s assessed value of $461,691. It will be interesting to see what it actually goes for.

  Let’s head on over to Treasure Shores out along the C-30 Corridor for our fourth and final new contract of the week, which is this modest 1,468 square foot, 3-bedroom, 2-bath, first tier home listed for $398,775, a bit above the county’s assessed value of $308,500.  According to the MLS notes, this is a short sale, even though the county records indicate the seller paid just $275,000 for it in May 2001. This is a nice home with an attractively landscaped yard.

My pick of the week from our four new listings is easily this first tier lot in Jubilaton which comes out of the gate at a very attractive $150,ooo, below the county’s assessed value of $157,000. This lot last sold in October 2004 for $525,000. I love its location; here’s an aerial view:

  You would have awesome views from this property when you build, and the homes aready in Jubilation are some of the nicest on the Cape. I also love their gulf front community pool which has just an unbelievable view.  Check this out:

Another easy choice from among our nine new price changes; how about a gulf front lot for $224,900? 

  This 59′ wide gulf front beauty is located at Curve at the Cape, off C-30 just east of the turn off onto Cape San Blas Road. Curve at the Cape is a small gated community of just eleven lots, with a landscaped entrance with pavers. Please note that although this is not on the actual Cape, it is none the less still in the COBRA zone, and therefore ineligible for FEMA flood insurance when you build.  At this type of a deep discount, though, you’re saving enough money to cover years and years of private flood insurance.  According to the MLS notes, this is a short sale so offers will have to be approved by the lender. The county has it assessed at $356,700, and it last sold in April 2004 for $640,000.

That’s a wrap for this week. I’m hearing from  more and more of you each week and I just love meeting you, so please keep those cards and emails coming. Whether you’re interested in buying or selling I’ll be glad to help you with any questions you may have so don’t hesitate to contact me. My cell phone number is 850-227-5197, toll free office number is 877-512-9366 and of course you can always shoot me an email to Sherri@SherriDodsworth.com .  Have a terrific holiday weekend, and as you’re out and about with family and friends, I hope you’ll take a moment to reflect on the brave men and women all the way from Valley Forge to the Kabul Gorge who have given their all to give us the freedoms we enjoy every day. God Bless them all.

Unfortunately, the MLS links gremlin is back - the work-around solution I had figured out last week is no longer working. I think it may be an Internet Explorer 8 issue. I apologize for the inconvenience; it will let me email links but not post them online. Go figure. I have people looking into it and hope to have it resolved ASAP. 

Our mini market rally continues along the Forgotten Coast with prospective buyers slowly but steadily making inquiries and looking at property. Our inventory dipped ever so slightly this week, which is a good thing, ending with 408 active MLS listings in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, and C-30 Corridor market, down 2 from last week, with 158 homes and 250 lots. We had one sale, two new contracts, and we welcome six new listings (one of which is already umder contract) and six new price tags.

Our one sale was a bank-owned 3400 square foot, 4-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath home on Cape San Blas Road just north of the old Anchor office not listed in the MLS prior to sale, but entered for comp purposes on Monday after it closed last Friday.  According to the property appraiser’s info, the prior owner purchased the home in 2004 for $757,300.  They put it back on the market in March 2006 with a list price of $1.295M but had no takers and lowered the price incrementally down to $950,000 which is where it was when the county records indicate the Clerk of the Court issued a certificate of title deed to the bank. It sold on Friday for  $545,000, 28% less than it’s 2004 selling price, but still slightly above the county’s assessed value of $506,756.  This is a beautiful home; here is an apt description from the MLS notes:

4 BR 3 1/2BA, Spacious Entertainment Home. 3rd level great room/DR/ kitchen has heart pine floors, custom beadboard trim, spectacular gulf/bay views.  Level 2 master suite and 2 bedrooms have private entrances and decks. Ground level includes tile entrance, office, elevator and master suite with private outside entrance. Home has finished garage, in-ground pool, fully irrigated/landscaped/fenced 1/3 acre in the ‘X’ flood zone.

This is a lot of home for the money. Somebody just got themselves a very good deal.

 Buyers were looking for a variety of things, and we ended up with contracts on both a gulf front lot on Indian Pass and a gulf front home on the Cape under constructon. We’ll start with the lot which was a short sale listed for only $199,000. If you’re familiar with Indian Pass, it’s located shortly past where you make the big left curve on the main road.  According to the county records, the seller purchased the propety in March 2005 for $725,000. Since there had been a minor replat done to the parent parcel I checked the clerk’s records to see if maybe this was the price paid for the entire parent parcel, but apparently not as the warranty deed describes just this lot.  So the list price alone is only 27 cents on the dollar of what it last sold for, and even that is above the $174,000 at which the county has it assessed. Amazing. The contract has contingencies so we’ll have to wait and see what the closing date will be and what it actually goes for.

Next up is a mammoth 3,295 square foot,  6-bedroom, 4-bath gulf front bank-owned home under construction on the Cape on Louisiana Lane, in Beachside, the gulf front subdivision seaward of Surfside Estates (next to Loggerhead Grill/Beachcombers Pizza). The tax rolls say the 50′ wide lot itself sold in May 2007 for $867,000; even with the new construction the bank put it up for sale this week with a $449,900 asking price and it went under contract Friday, no contingencies, scheduled to close by the end of the month.  The county has the land valued at an even $300,000.

My pick of the week for best priced new listing is a no-brainer; how can you not go for an 83′ wide lagoon front lot on C-30 for only $49,900? We’re being consistent today in that this, too, is a bank-owned sale with Suntrust having foreclosed on it in January. The lot last sold in June 2004 for $220,000, exactly twice the $110,000 it had sold for just ten months earlier in August 2003.  That was so typical of what the market was doing during that period. Demand was that strong.

I’m not finding anything that can compete with that among our six new price tags. so I’ll hold onto our pick of the week for best new price tag blue ribbon until next week.

The market is definitely starting to move again and I’m hearing it from all areas of the local housing food chain. I had both an insurance agent and home inspector tell me this week they’ve done more business in the past month alone than they have in the previous six.  And it makes sense; when you have gulf front lots back down to $199,000 and lagoon front at $49,900, it’s bound to cause a stir. Now is a good time to buy because the clock is ticking away for inflation to kick into gear with the Treasury presses burning up printing all that money Washington is flooding the market with.  I will be glad to help you locate property that will work well for your particular situation. If you’re interested in an income-producing property, ask me for a cash flow analysis. My direct line to my cell phone is 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com . I sure appreciate your stopping by today, and look forward to hearing from you.

This I hated to see. Gracie O’Malley’s, a restaurant in Simmons Bayou open less than a year, showed up in the MLS for sale after posting a closed sign on the marquee earlier in the week.  This place has unbelievable views overlooking the bay from its more than 300 square feet of quality decks off the dining area. The owner, Doc McKay, who has also owned and run the Tradin’ Post out on the Cape since the ’80s, pulled out all the stops when he built this and it was a lovely place to relax after work, especially just now as the weather’s warming up a bit and the days are getting longer.

The food was great, too, with the chef team in the kitchen from Beachcombers days, Mark and Bill. The seafood platter was easily enough for two, and their she crab soup was reason enough alone to justify stopping in.

According to the MLS, the real estate (roughly 2 1/2 acres on 122 feet of waterfront), business, equipment and licenses are all included for the $895,000 price tag.

Encouraging news from the Florida Association of Realtors.

  For the first time in almost three years, Florida’s existing home sales rose in September, noting a 24 percent increase in activity in the year-to-year comparison; last month’s sales of existing condos statewide increased 11 percent in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR).

A total of 10,817 existing homes sold statewide last month, up 24 percent over the 8,725 homes sold in September 2007, according to FAR. The last time Florida Realtors reported higher statewide existing single-family home sales was for year-end 2005, FAR records found. In July of this year, six more homes sold statewide than in July 2007, but that increase was statistically insignificant.

Fourteen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported increased sales of existing homes in September; nine MSAs also showed gains in condo sales, marking the third month in a row that a number of markets have noted higher sales activity.

“The September sales report from the Florida Association of Realtors shows a 24 percent increase in the sales of existing homes in the state; this represents the sixth month in a row that the sales figure has exceeded its 12-month moving average (average of the previous 12 months),” says Dr. Sean Snaith, economist and director of the University of Central Florida Institute for Economic Competitiveness. “This is a clear sign that the significant price declines that have occurred across the state are leading to a more rapid absorption of the housing inventory.”

Snaith noted that September 2007 was a volatile time for the housing industry. “The large percentage increase of sales this September versus September 2007 is inflated by the sharp decline in sales that took place in September 2007,” he explained. “That was the month following the initial wave of global fallout precipitated by the subprime mortgage meltdown that roiled markets in August 2007.”

Florida’s median sales price for existing homes last month was $175,100; a year ago, it was $224,700 for a 22 percent decrease. But, looking back to September 2003, the statewide median sales price for single-family homes was $158,800 - an increase of 10.3 percent over the five-year-period, according to FAR records. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in August 2008 was $201,900, down 9.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). In California, the statewide median resales price was $350,140 in August; in Massachusetts, it was $325,000; in Maryland, it was $295,283; and in New York, it was $225,000.

My thanks to FAR for their kind permission to bring you this article.

This morning traffic is flowing freely in both lanes on Cape San Blas Road through Stumphole. The surf has finally quieted back down, and except for the few homes on the southern portion of the Cape which were damaged by the storm, a couple quite severely, life is getting back to normal for most of us.

The only damage I have seen has been in areas where beach renourishment has yet to reach. Some of the worst damage was done to the Sunrise Sunset townhouses; several of the pilings on the northernmost set have slipped and the buildings are sloping downward towards the water.

  Have we reached the bottom of the market yet? This article from the Florida Association of Realtors caught my attention today.

Is this the real estate turnaround?

On the heels of an increase in Florida home sales, a spike in new home sales and an upswing in consumer confidence, traffic to Realtor.com went up significantly in July with month-over-month increases in both traffic (29 percent) and time spent on site (26 percent) on Realtor.com, the official consumer Web site of the National Association of Realtors. Year-over-year page views on Realtor.com and the Move Network increased by 22 percent and 11 percent, respectively, as consumers spent more time searching properties in popular and unexpected metro areas than they did this time last year.

Local markets in July experiencing the largest year-over-year percentage increases in consumer searches on Realtor.com included Stockton-Lodi, Calif. (140.9 percent), Las Vegas, Nev. (93.9 percent), Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Fla. (69.5 percent), Detroit, Mich. (51.8 percent) and Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV, VA (49.1 percent).

Lorna Borenstein, president of Move, Inc., the oversight company for Realtor.com, says that year-over-year traffic on Realtor.com increased by 9.5 percent, despite the fact that traffic within the real estate category declined by 1 percent, and consumers spent 24.7 percent more time in July on Realtor.com than on the next closest competitor.

Realtor.com currently offers potential home buyers access to over four million property listings, as well as the most brokers and agents.

© 2008 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

After creeping slowly upward for the past several weeks, the real estate inventory of active MLS listings for the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market finally showed a nice healthy drop this week, coming in at 455 total, down 27 from last week’s 482, a nice 5.6% decrease. The big change is in the number of lots, now at 271 (vs. 295), largely the result of an entire subdivision’s 26 lots being withdrawn without explanation on Thursday (Red Fish Cove near Spinnaker just outside the state park on the Cape). We have three fewer homes competing against one another, with 184 vs. 187 last week. Fairly quiet week otherwise with just one closing and one new contract, four new listings, eleven price changes and five expired unsold.

Our one sale was a 3-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath interior townhome with no gulf view at Barrier Dunes. Built in 2000, the sellers bought it in late 2004 for $380,000, listed it for sale over a year ago, originally for $374,500, eventually reducing it to $349,000, and it sold on Tuesday for $317,500. They also offered to pay the first year’s flood insurance premium and a $5,000 bonus to the selling office. Not a pretty ride if you’re sitting in the seller’s seat for this one.

  Our one new contract is on this lovely 2-bedroom, 2 1/2/ bath 739 square foot Key West-style home over in Money Bayou we saw deeply discounted several weeks agao. The seller gave $630,000 for it in mid-2005, listed it back in March of this year for $399,900, but dropped it not long thereafter to the unbelievable price of $299,000. There are contingencies to be met so no way of knowing yet when it might close, but this will be an interesting one to watch. I hate to see this happen to anyone.

The one thing in common about our four new listings this week is that every single one of them is listed for well below what the sellers paid for them. There is a gulf-front lot at Sunset Pointe listed for $795,000 for which the sellers paid $841,000; an interior lot at Waters Edge listed for $110,000 for which the sellers paid $186,800; another gulf-front lot just south of Rish Park listed for $999,000 vs. purchase price of $1.125M; and a water view lot in Ocean Haven listed for $475,000 vs. $500,500 purchase price. With the exception of the Waters Edge lot which last changed hands in 2002, all the other last resales were in ‘04 or ‘05.

 My pick of the week from our eleven price changes is without a doubt a bank-owned Indian Pass lagoon front slashed from the already low list price of $99,500 to the give-away price of $50,000 which you can read about in my earlier post. This property last sold in December 2004 for $259,000.  There is already an offer in on it.

That about wraps it up for this week. If you’d like more info on these or any other properties along the Forgotten Coast, please give me a call at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com . I love hearing from my readers.

Spring is the season of renewal and growth and unfortunately that’s exactly what our inventory did this week after holding steady for the past three. It grew nearly 2% with a total of 466 (up from 458), with 174 houses (vs. 171) and 292 lots (vs. 287).  There was a fair amount of activity; no sales, but we do have three new contracts, thirteen new listings, thirteen new price tags, and five expired unsold.

So what’s selling? Our three new contracts were on two houses on Cape San Blas and the gulf front lot on Indian Pass that was reduced to $335,000 which I sent out an e-blast about last week.

Some savvy hombre celebrated Cinco de Mayo on Monday by putting a contract on this 3-bedroom, 3-bath gulf-view home on Polaris Lane .  Built in 2002, its list price is $399,000 even though the sellers paid $569,000 for it in June 2005. Ouch. Somebody’s going to get a good deal here, just not the Sellers. Sounds like there might be an ARM about to mature next month.  Curious to see what it actually closes for.

Our second home under contract this week is this 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1700 square foot gulf front home in Beach to Bay subdivision on the Cape with a list price of $1,079,000.  The Sellers gave $710,000 for it in early 2003 so they should be ok. That was well before the market peak in late 2004.

Our third contract was on this gulf front lot on Indian Pass and someone is definitely getting a good deal on this.  The seller has been trying to sell this lot since January 2006 when he listed it for $1.285M. No takers, so in February 2007 he slashed the price drastically to $695K thinking no doubt surely that would entice someone to step up to the plate.  Nope. He waits seven months more and still no takers, so he goes firesale deep to $450,000. Still nothing. At the end of April he goes to $330K, gets a flurry of offers but no contract, so on Tuesday he jacked the price back up to $375,500 and goes under contract two days later. Go figure. Can’t wait to see what it actually closes for. He paid $150,000 for it in 1999 so he can still more than double his ROI.

Are there any comparable deals within our thirteen price changes? You bet.

If it’s gulf front you want you can’t go wrong with this lot on Canoe Lane which was $675K and now only $435K.  It’s 75′ wide, not in the CBRA zone so FEMA flood insurance will be available when you build, and it sits well off the highway.

  If you’re more a bay person than gulf, here’s one for you. That bay front home with a dock in Peninsula Estates which was listed only a few weeks ago this week changed the price from $650K to only $575K which is like buying a bay front lot and having the house thrown in for free. If you recall this is a 100′ wide lot with a firm sandy beach. Should sell quickly at this price.

  If you’re into bay front living but would like a bit more room and a few more frills, check out this 3,376 square foot, 4-bedroom, 3-bath beauty with lots of extras, including a brand new in-ground pool, dock with 2 boat lifts, detached garage, fireplace and more.  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. The sunrise view from the porch was recently featured in Atlantic Southeast Airlines travel magazine. The decks, porches and views galore make this a truly special home.

I’m very familiar with this beautiful home and if you love to entertain and relax in style and comfort, this is one you won’t want to miss.  

That about does it for this week. Prices are getting back into the truly attractive range with more and more really good buying opportunities.  If you’d like info on these or any other properties, give me a call at 850-227-7891 or shoot me an e-mail to sherri@sherridodsworth.com.  Thanks for stopping by today.

 We finally have a healthy 5% drop in our inventory size this week after several weeks with little or no change. We end the week with a total of 457 lots and homes listed for sale in the MLS for the Cape, Indian Pass and C-30 corridor market, down from last week’s 480, with a 6% drop in homes, 170 vs. 181,  and with 287 lots, down from 299.  Sure would be nice if that reduction was the result of some 20+ sales, but sadly, no. Let’s take a look at what did happen since last Saturday.

No closings this week, but we did have three new contracts. Ten new listings joined the fray, twenty-one expired unsold, and nine sellers tried dropping their prices  to truly tempting new lows.

Let’s take a look at our three new contracts. Two are adjacent 50′ wide gulf front lots on Indian Pass listed for $400k each. There are contingencies to be met so we don’t know the proposed closing date yet.

 The third contract was on a gorgeous gulf front home on Haven Road on the Cape listed for $1.95M since November. According to the MLS data it’s scheduled for a quick close by April 18, so sounds as if it’s a cash deal. This will be interesting to watch to see how close to list the sellers get with this one as we need some good, current comps for the Cape.

Time for some bargain hunting to see if there’s anything truly tempting in this week’s nine price changes and the answer is a resounding yes. It’s as if we’re having an end-of-season clearance sale with prices slashed to bargain basement lows.

 Remember our bayfront house at Old Saltworks that we’ve seen several price cuts on recently? Well, they’re back again this week down another 100 grand to $499,000! This originally came on the market in late 2006 at $1.25M! This is priced below comps even for the lot alone so somebody needs to step up and grab this great deal.

Seems our Sellers are getting very, very serious about moving some properties if the price reductions this week are any indication. When was the last time you saw a 116′ wide gulf front lot for only $399,000?

And take a look at these two lots in Ovation which the Seller has dropped from $355k to $250k and from $450k to $285k - and get this: in October 2005 he paid $355k and $455k for them respectively.

Those are my picks of the week. Time to start padding your portfolios with some of these offerings. If you’d like more info on these properties or want to find out what else is available, call me at 850-227-5197 or shoot me an e-mail to sherri@sherridodsworth.com . Thanks for checking out my blog today - stop back soon.

 As veteran slugger and baseball philosopher Yogi Berra once said, this week it’s “deja vu all over again”. For the thrid week in a row our inventory remains steady at 480, with a few more homes (181 vs. 178) and a few fewer lots (299 vs. 302).  Just like last week, too, we had two new sales but no new contracts. Eight new listings joined the mix, nine expired unsold, and only six sellers tried tweaking their prices to stir up some action. As always, we’ll start by taking a look at what people bought this week.

Both closings were on Tuesday, one a gulf-front, end-unit townhome at Sunrise Sunset on the Cape, and the other a single family home in Indian Pass.

The 1500 square foot, 3-bedroom, 2-bath townhome was listed on February 7 for $350,000 and went under contract almost immediately, closing on Tuesday for 87% of list at $305,000.  The Sellers bought the place in September 2001 for $189,000, so the’y're looking at a nice 60% return on investment. I just love a story with a happy ending.

But what about our Indian Pass sale? Any smiley faces there? This was a 1300 square foot, 4-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath home built in 1991 which was listed in November for $479,000. The Sellers bought it in September of 2004 for, ouch, $550,000 so they took a pretty good hit since it closed at $459,000 for about a 16% loss. Not good.

Anything tasty in this week’s price changes?  My pick of the week would have to be this 8% price reduction on this 2- bedroom, 2 1/2 bath end unit townhome in Barrier Dunes which was dropped from $379,000 to $349,000. Is this the lowest price in Barrier Dunes? No, but it is the lowest price unit there located in the coveted “X” flood zone so that you can finance this without having to carry private flood. Huge savings right off the bat. Here’s a view from the deck off of the living area:

That’s like sitting in a Florida post card right on your own private deck. Throw in a respectable rental history ($10K+ in 2007) and we’re talking total package. This should move quickly at this price with everything it has going for it.

That about wraps it up for this week’s review. As always, if you’d like additional info on these or any other properties, or if you’d like to know what your own property might bring in the current market, shoot me an e-mail to sherri@sherridodsworth.com or give me a call at 850-227-5197. Thanks for stopping by today