Spring has arrived here on the Cape just in time for Spring Break, and the weather has been absolutely gorgeous all week with foggy mornings clearing into warm sunny days up in the 70s then into the 60s at night. There's even a glimmer of sunshine in the real estate market, with one sale and three new contracts. Our inventory of active MLS listings in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor barely changed coming in at 390, up only three from last week, with an even 150 homes and 240 lots. In other activity we have eight new listings, sixteen price changes and four expired unsold.
Our one closing is a gulf first tier lot on Cape San Blas which sold on Thursday for $160,000 but don't attach much weight to that price because the MLS notes that this is a pre-development price, assignment of original contract, and shouldn't be used for comp purposes. But we can be encouraged by two things here. 1. We had a sale and 2. Someone's planning on bulding, both things we like to see.
Our three new contracts are all on the Cape, and there's more encouraging news in that two of them are on lots. There hasn't been a whole lot of interest in land for a while, so this is very encouraging. We'll look at the house first.
Our home is this gulf first tier 4-bedroom, 4-bath 2,176 square foot home built in 2001 with a list price of $599,000. It is located in San Blas Shores, one of the original subdivisions out here on the Cape, about 3/4 mile south of the state park entrance (adjacent to the north boundary of Ovation). The owners have been trying to sell since September 2005 when they first put it on the market for $1.15M. They've been adjusting downward ever since finally dropping it below $600K in early February and that did the trick. There are contingencies to be met, so no posted projected closing date.
Now onto our lots, the first of which is also a gulf first tier property, this one located on Bonny Dunes Drive about a mile and a half south of the state park entrance in no named subdivision. According to the MLS notes, it has
73 feet of frontage facing the beach. Direct walkway to beach in place from lot and 10 ft shared dolomite driveway is in place. Faces west for great sunsets. Low density beach - minimal development for 1 mile north. Room for swimming pool.
This property's been on the market since October 2006 when it entered the MLS for $599,000. On March 4, the sellers changed the price one more time to $249,000 and finally a buyer stepped up to the plate. No projected closing date noted.
And lastly, we have a lot in my neighborhood on Leeward Street in Cape Breezes, just one mile south of the state park. This is roughly a half acre lot situated on a cul de sac in a very quiet residential area with a greater number of year round residents than most neighborhoods on the Cape. According to the tax rolls, it sold in 1997 for $20,000, so this seller should hopefully be in good shape. The county has it assessed for $126,500 and it was listed for $99,900 with the MLS noting the seller was negotiable on that price. This lot's been on the market since September 2007 when it was listed for $375,000. The usual downward tweaking and when the price changed on Monday from $125,000 to $99,900, it went under contract the very next day.
No problem selecting a pick of the week from our eight new listings - how can you not like a large bayfront lot on the Cape for only $199,000, well below the county's assessed value of $271,50, and which last sold in 2005 for $595,000? This is a bank-owned foreclosure offering. Here are more details from the MLS notes:
This is a huge lot with 108′ of bay front on the North End of Cape San Blas. This 1.3 acre lot is even has an "X" flood zone building area. This lot has already been filled and elevated. The sewer tap has been paid for and previous MLS remarks state that a dock permit was in place prior to foreclosure. This lot overlooks Pig Bayou and a navigable channel is in front of the lot. A home on this lot will have incredible bay views and should have gulf views as well if elevated.
I'm not seeing anything anywhere near as enticing among our sixteen new price tags, so I'm not going to bestow pick of the week honors this week. Maybe next week . . .
That makes it a wrap for this week. Let's hope the stock market is able to build on its 4-day rally of this past week and maybe start to be the beginning of the road to recovery. There are a lot of highly stressed people among the folks we all come in contact throughout the course of our daily business; never underestimate the tremendous value in offering a warm smile, a kind word, and a bit of encouragement. And if it's real estate values you're looking for, (how's that for a segue?), send me an email or call me at 850-227-7891, ext. 109. Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by today.
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