Cape San Blas Real Estate Blog

I said yesterday in my year end review that I believe 2009 is going to be a better year than ‘08, and if the first week is any indication we’re in for a great year. We definitely started off with fireworks, with four sales, one new contract, five new listings and five price changes. Our inventory of MLS listings in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, C-30 Corridor took a healthy 4% dip, too, starting off the year at 353, down 14 from 367, with 147 homes (vs. 150) and 206 lots (vs. 217). Lots to cover so let’s get rolling by taking a look at what sold.

The year started off with a bargain hunters bonanza with two homes and two lots all sporting SOLD signs at bargain basement prices. The first home is this 520 square foot 2-bedroom, 1-bath cottage tucked away behind The Tradin’ Post which went under contract back on December 11.

  The sellers picked it up in mid 2005 for $185,000 and put it back on the market just 2 years later in mid-2007 for $199,000 and have been lowering the list price ever since in hopes of attracting a buyer. Finally offering it at $149,000 did the trick; they got an offer and closed this week with a cash deal for $130,000, which is not only a heck of a lot less than they paid for it, but also substantially less than the county’s assessed value of $140,927 which is something we never used to see.

Our second home sale was a foreclosure on a 2-bedroom, 1 1/2 bath 1224 square foot first tier home in Money Bayou with gorgeous views throughout of both the gulf and Money Bayou that we looked at back on the 13th of December.  Listed for $375,250, it closed on Tuesday for $311,000, 35% below the county’s assessed value of $480,336.  This was the only sale this week with conventional financing; the other three were all cash deals.

  Some savvy buyer started the new year off by stealing ths first tier lot on the Cape for only $80,000! This bank-owned property was my October 18 pick-of-the-week when it was listed for a mind-numbing $99,000, almost half of the county’s assessed value of $192,000.  Looks like Kes, our property appraiser, has his work cut out for him this spring. The previous owners paid $380,000 for it just three years ago in January 2005.

Our fourth and final sale of the week came on the market and went under contract the first week of December. It’s a lagoon front property in Mystic Palms subdivision near the point of Indian Pass which was listed for $225,000 and closed on Tuesday for an even $200,000 cash. Just like our other three sales, this, too, is well beneath the county’s assessed value of $250,000.

Our one new contract this week is on a lot that is a rare breed any more, a 200′ wide gulf front parcel on Cape San Blas listed in July for $1.59M, still below the county’s assessed value of $1.7M. The seller has owned it for nearly 25 years so this will be pure profit at almost any price. The annual taxes of $27,737 are probably more than the fellow paid for it back in the early ’80s.  There are contingencies to be met on this contract so no closing date disclosed yet.

So what bargains are lurking among our five new listings this week? My pick of the week among them goes to this 1,396 square foot, 3-bedroom, 2-bath gulf front home in Treasures Shores which enters the competition with an attractive price tag of $799,000. Until recently that would have been tantamount to offering the 75′ wide gulf front lot at a mouth watering price and then throwing the house in for free. Wouldn’t you love to call this your back yard?

Here’s what the listing agent has to say:

Just walk into this open, comfortable and very functionally designed home and experience the true feeling of beachfront living on the C-30 and Indian Pass unspoiled shoreline. Exceptional views with an open floor plan and high, 10 foot ceilings designed for the full panoramic experience. Three bedrooms, 2 full baths (both with jacuzzi tubs), wood-burning fireplace, beautiful oak hardwood floors accented with an ocean blue creamic tile in the kitchen and around the fireplace. Partially screened porch highlights the great location, views, natural setting and surroundings. Outdoor shower and boardwalk to the never crowded, wide beach. Large 75′ wide lot with federal flood insurance available. Owner occupied, never rented, house is in great condition.

  We’ve seen a lot of great bargains already this week and we’re just now getting to the five new price changes, where my pick of the week for this category goes to a lot at Ovation on Cape San Blas which comes down 25% (how’s that for an after Christmas sale?) from $199,900 to $149,900. This is in keeping with the spirit of things as that’s well below the tax assessed value of $192,000, and the $235,000 the sellers gave for it in September 2005. At this rate old Kes is going to have to hire a few folks just to keep up with all these changes. According to the MLS, this price includes architectural houseplans by Donofro Architects, the architectural firm who designed Ovation itself.

I think the lesson we’ve learned this week is that if you price it right the buyers will come. As we saw in the year end review yesterday, lots may still be looking for a bottom, but housing just may be on the rebound locally. If you’re thinking of selling or buying, let’s talk. My direct line is 850-227-5197 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com. As the owner selling his gulf front parcel purchased in the early ’80s proves, real estate is still your best long term investment.  Thanks for stopping by today. Looking forward to hearing from you.

 No evidence of global warming around the Cape this morning - IT’S COLD OUTSIDE! It was 40 out here on the peninsula when I woke up, and according to weather.com it was 35 in town. There’s been a bit of a chill on our local real estate market this week as well, as for the first time since I started this column fifteen months ago, we had no sales and no new contracts. Even our inventory remains unchanged with a total of 391 active listings in the MLS within Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and the C-30 Corridor, with 164 homes and 227 lots. What little activity there was consisted of four new listings, eight price changes, and six expired unsold.

There’s an absolute clear winner for my pick of the week in this week’s four new new listings - just in time for Christmas, how about a half acre, 50′ gulf front lot at Indian Pass for only $299,000? I’ll save a few thousand words of copy and just show you some photos. This is a gorgeous piece of property.

At 0.57 acres, there is plenty of room to build your dream get-away beach home.

I’ll bet this one goes under contract and closes by Christmas at a price like this.

There is an equally clear winner among this week’s eight price changes, this one a 76′ wide lagoon front lot on C-30 fronting the Indian Pass lagoon, slashed from $149,000 to $78,000.

The sellers are highly motivated; according to the county records, they paid $259,000 for it in January 2005.  This large 0.6 acre lot is partially cleared and in a FEMA eligible area. Some lucky person is going to get themselves a very picturesque setting for their weekend getaway.

Call me and let me know if you’d like more detailed info on any of these attractive properties. You can always reach me on my cell at 850-227-5197 or send me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com since I check it throught the day and evening.  Thanks for stopping by today. Keep warm and have a great weekend.

The two major news stories sharing the headlines this week have been the wildly undulating international financial markets and the rescue and recovery efforts in Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. The one glimmer of sunshine in the news comes out of California where housing sales soared upward 13.6 percent in August fueled by a flood of foreclosures. According to MDA DataQuick who released the report on Thursday, 46.9 percent of the 37,988 homes sold last month were foreclosed properties.  This is encouraging because Florida’s market typically mirrors California’s.

In spite of all the somber headlines, there was still activity in our local real estate market, albeit no closings for the second week in a row. Our active inventory of MLS listings remains unchanged at 404, with 170 homes and 234 lots for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor market. We have one new contract, six new listings, nine price changes, and ten expired unsold.

Our one new contract is on a 1600 square foot, 3-bedroom, 2- bath classic Florida cottage on C-30 not far from Waters Edge subdivision. This beautifully built home overlooking a lush savanna is listed for $285,000, and the sellers have owned it since mid-2001 when they purchased it for $220,000. The contract is scheduled to close on or before October 31, so we’ll have to wait awhile to find out what the final price is.

My pick of the week from our six new listings is easily this gorgeous 3388 square foot, 6-bedroom, 4-bath gulf front home for only $899,000. That’s like buying the lot and having the house thrown in for free, and this beautiful home is brand new construction. Check out the view.

Here’s the MLS description:

Huge, brand new, beautiful gulf front home with elevator and FEMA flood insurance, priced aggressively to sell. Many custom appointments including hardwood floors throughout main, granite countertops, beautifully tiled bathrooms and showers. Home is completely finished inside. Would make an awesome rental home that could easily sleep 14 or more people, excluding living room. Gulf front homes with 6 bedrooms, plus game room or additional sitting room and an elevator are rare and in high demand as rental accomodations. Large 300 sq ft deck on all 3 floors with expansive views of the beach and gulf. The entire 3rd floor is the master suite with elevator access, separate shower, Jacuzzi tub, tile and a huge walk-in closet. Beach walkway in place.

According to the tax rolls, in February 2007 the sellers paid $926,500 for just the unimproved lot, so we’re looking at a short sale here.

  My pick of the week from the nine new price tags is this picture-postcard perfect gulf front lot at Secluded Dunes on Cape San Blas just south of the State Park, which was listed for $999,000 and is now reduced to only $599,000. This 61′ wide lot last sold in September 2004 for $910,000.

That about wraps it up for this week’s review. If you’re interested in finding out more about these or any other properties, give me a call toll free to 877-512-9366, ext. 109, or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com . As always, thanks so much for stopping by today.

I have to admit being several hundred miles from New Orleans we weren’t expecting all that much action from Gustav, but the wind has been blowing hard and steady since late Friday afternoon and waves continue to pound away at our beaches even at mid-day on Labor Day.

The combination of high tide, and bit of storm surge, and wind just blasting out of south-east washed away enough rocks at Stumphole that the Sheriff closed it this morning around 10 a.m. At that point they were letting people leave, but only property owners were being allowed back in. I’m hearing now that it is closed period while they work on repairs. I’ll let you know when I hear it has reopened.  (I apologize for the poor quality of these photos but my camera is at the office which of course I can’t get to this afternoon, so I had to shoot these using my cell phone).

The good news is that beach renourishment did its job and saved homes. Although the surf has eaten away at the beach the water is no where near homes where renourishment has been completed. I stopped by Cape Palms Park to see how the folks at Cape Shoals fared and was thrilled to see the beach in such good shape.

Before renourishment, there would have been waves washing up under the pilings of these homes from a storm like this so this is just wonderful to see.  Here’s a shot looking southward from the same vantage point.

Unfortunately, the renourishment program hasn’t yet reached the folks on the southern end of the Cape down approaching Stumphole and they have once again taken a serious beating. I stopped by the Sunrise Sunset townhouses to take these shots.

Over on the bay side the surf has been extremely rough and high all weekend long, at times with rolling waves breaking on shore. One of the docks at Ovation was half way under water at one point this morning.

The tide has barely receded at all and the next high tide is due around 4. We are still getting bands of strong wind but oddly have had virtually no rain from this system. My rain guage down at the end of our dock was bone dry this morning.

We’re glad to have been spared from heavier damage, and our thoughts and prayers are with our neighbors to the west of us and hope that Gustav spares them from serious damage.

  It’s been a rainy, soggy week along the Forgotten Coast, and with Miss Fay cruising through the Caribean this morning it looks as if we’re in for yet another rainy week. The rain didn’t dampen interest in people looking for coastal real estate, though, as we have three new contracts, one closed sale, seven new listings, thirteen price changes and nine expired unsold.

  Once again our one sale is a Barrier Dunes townhouse, this one a 3-bedroom, 3-bath interior unit back by the state park, built in 2005. The sellers paid $408,000 for it in September 2005, listed it last year originally for $389,900, dropped it incrementally down to $340,000 and sold it this week for $320,000, 78 cents on the dollar of their purchase price.

Next we’ll take a look at our three new contracts to see what caught buyers’ attention this week. 

  No surprise that one is a Barrier Dunes townhouse. This one has a really good gulf view and is an older 2-bedroom with loft. The Sellers have owned it since 2000 when they paid a mere $150,000 for it (remember those days?), and have been trying to sell it since mid-2005 when they put it on the market for $460K. Well, that didn’t work so they’ve been whittling the price down ever since finally ending up at $327,000 which got someone to step up to the plate. There are contingencies to be met so no word as to when the new owner will be picking up the keys.

  Another lot went under contract this week, too, which is definitely encouraging news since lots are the overwhelming majority of our bloated inventory. This one’s about half an acre interior lot over by St. Joe Country Club which should have a good view of the golf course when cleared, however club access does not convey with it. Its list price of $109,000 is below the current assessed value of $115,500, but far above the $23,500 the owners paid for it back in 2000. They should do just fine. At least we all better hope so!

Our third contract is on this 1,000 square foot, 2 bedroom plus a loft gulf view home over in Money Bayou we recently saw when the price was cut to $275,000, which apparently did the trick. This place has been on the market a little over a year with an original price tage of $429,000. According to the tax rolls the sellers bought it in December 2002 for $175,000 so they should come out ok.

No question what my pick of the week is this time around among our thirteen price changes. Hands down it’s this gorgeous 1st tier home in the desirable Seagrass subdivision on Cape San Blas.  The owners paid $1.1M for it in May 2005 so they are absolutely serious about selling with a price like this.  Here’s the MLS description:

Sea for Miles is your best scenario for a Beach House at Cape San Blas! Large and well appointed 1st Tier home on the X flood zone. Home features a great floor plan and remarkable views from all levels. 2 bonus rooms for a total of 5 BEDROOMS. Sleeps 12-14 people. Well built; 2 car garage, screened porch, ample living space. SUPERB RENTAL INCOME  This is priced to sell at $699,000 - Best 1st tier offering at the Cape. Seagrass is a fantastic subdivision with club house, pool, beach and bay access. Patio pool and lush landscaping are other reasons to consider this house!

This place is also being sold as a completely furnished turn-key operation making the deal even sweeter.  Someone is going to get a whole lotta lovely home for a low, low price. Could be you . . .

I even found a tasty tidbit among this week’s seven new listings, this 75′ wide gulf front lot on Canoe Lane over off C-30 near Indian Pass for only $649,000. This area is FEMA flood eligible, too. According to the MLS notes:

This beautiful 75′ GULF FRONT lot is priced to sell quickly at just $649,000! Ideal location is located just off scenic C-30. This area boasts beautiful wide beaches protected by dune vegetation. Eligible for low cost FEMA flood insurance. Known for an abundance of wildlife, hiking, boating, kayaking and fishing - this is an ideal location to build your dream home in a pristine Florida setting on the Gulf of Mexico. THIS IS A GREAT BUY AT JUST $649,000!

At $649,000 that’s only about $8600 per front foot which is getting back down out of the stratosphere, and this area is absolutely breathtaking especially if you’re looking for a quiet secluded setting off the beaten path.  

That about wraps it up for this week.  I hope you saw something you like along the way. If so, give me a call toll free at 877-512-9366 or shoot me an email to sherri@sherridodsworth.com .  With all this liquid sunshine I’m here by the phone and laptop keyboard ready to to talk sand and surf for sale.

 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