It has been a busy week around here but this morning things are pretty much getting back to normal.  Ike didn't interfere much with business, and real estate activity carried on. We end the week with a really nice 6% reduction in our overall inventory, coming in at 404 total active listings in the MLS for Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and the C-30 Corridor, down 27 from last week's 431 total. The big drop is with lots, down 24 to 236, primarily the result of an entire subdivision of lots listed for Cape Isle Preserve (just north of Stumphole) expiring and not renewing.  Our home inventory is down 3, to 168 (vs. 171). In other activity, we had no closings (it's nearly impossible to close anytime there is a named storm within a 5-day range since companies will not issue insurance policies du... 09/13/2008

Stumphole Closed Again This Morning Published by sdodsworth under Beach Renourishment, Cape San Blas, FEMA, Forgotten Coast, Indian Pass, Port St. Joe Edit This 7:40 a.m. - The Sheriff has re-closed Stumphole this morning as waves continue to break over the rocks. High tide is at 8:30 and there is hope they can reopen Cape San Blas Road to traffic after the tide subsides later on this morning. I will let you know as soon as I hear anything new. 09/12/2008

Luckily it's a lot quieter around here than it was last week, which is a good thing since this is the last weekend of scallop season for 2008, with Wednesday, the 10th, being the final day, so if you're wanting to stock your freezer you need to get moving. Lots of movement in the real estate numbers this week with the single largest one week decrease in our inventory since I began this blog in August of last year (happy birthday to us), down 17 from 449 to 431, a 4% decrease. We end the week with 171 homes (vs. 178) and 260 lots (vs. 271).  I wish this were the result of a lot of sales but sadly that's not the case, as there was only one closing this week and no new contracts, most of the shift coming from a whopping 22 listings expiring. There are only seven new listings and fourteen p... 09/06/2008

It's Labor Day Weekend, the last hurrah of the busy tourist season here and by the looks of the parking lot at Scallop Cove this morning there are a lot of folks hoping to catch a few more rays and a few more fish and scallops before heading back to school for the year. Snagging a piece of real estate doesn't seem to have been on many minds, though, as our inventory is only down by one this week, stalled out at 449, with 178 homes and 271 lots listed in the MLS for Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and the C-30 Corridor. Luckily we had three closings, one new contract, eight new listings, fifteen price changes, and only six expired unsold.  Let's see who went to closing. All three closings were homes, two townhouses on the Cape and one detached over in Money Bayou along the C-30 Corridor, whic... 08/30/2008

Fay has dominated the scene for more than a week now as she's made her agonizingly slow and meandering path to the panhandle. We're all just ready for her to be gone. As I'm writing this on Saturday morning we've only had about 3 inches of, rain so far, but the heavy stuff is supposed to hit us late this afternoon or this evening. Fay didn't slow down the real estate market all that much as we managed to come up with one sale and one new contract. We end the week with our inventory down by six to 450, with two fewer homes than last week (177 vs. 179), and four fewer lots (273 vs. 277). In other activity we have seven new listings, fourteen new price tags, almost half of which are price increases, and twelve expired unsold.   Our one sale is the lot we saw go under contract only last wee... 08/23/2008

  The kids started heading back to school this week in North Florida and Georgia so it was a bit quieter around here with a noticeable dip in the amount of visitors out and about. Quieter on the market side as well, with only one sale and no new contracts, twelve new listings, nine new price tags, and eleven expired unsold. Small up-tick in the inventory, coming in with three more lots this week, 277 lots and 178 homes, for a total inventory of 455 MLS active listings between Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and the C-30 Corridor.   Our solo sale of the week is this first tier home over on Haven Road on the Cape which was moved onto it's current location when it sold just a few weeks ago as a gulf-front home on a lot subsequently subdivided into four lots.  It was listed at $745,000 on April ... 08/09/2008

It's been the busiest week in real estate we've had since I started this blog almost a full year ago so we're just going to jump right in and get started, because there's a lot of territory to cover. Yes!  'bout time.  The total inventory of active listings in the MLS is down 3 to 452 in all, with 178 homes and 274 lots.  The big news is we have a one-week record six new contracts, two sales, thirteen new listings, eighteen listings sporting new price tags, and seven expired unsold. Our two sales have a lot in common: both are interior lots, under $95,000 and with gulf access. One was in Peninsula Estates on the Cape, the other in Waters Edge out on C-30.  The Peninsula Estates lot was listed in May for $99,000 and touted itself as the lowest priced lot on the Cape. It quickly went unde... 08/02/2008

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% drop. 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 town... 07/27/2008

Yes - you read that right. This just showed up on the MLS hot sheet minutes ago. Bank of America, which owns this lagoon front lot at Indian Pass, slashed the price today from $99,500 to only $50,000.  This property last sold in December 2004 for $259,000 and the Gulf County Clerk of the Court transferred the Certificate of Title Deed over to Bank of America in August 2007. Measuring 75′ x 370′, or roughly 0.64 acres, it's located roughly 1 1/2 miles east of the Indian Pass Raw Bar, not too mention only minutes away from several boat launches, the white sandy beaches of Cape San Blas, and restaurants and shopping in Apalachicola and Port St. Joe. Need I mention the world's finest oysters are pulled from this very lagoon? Someone's going to steal this waterfront homesite for a great pric... 07/19/2008

 This has been the hottest week of the summer so far with daily forays into the 90's and only making it into the mid-80's at night - just like Florida in July.  Fairly hot week in real estate, too, with two more sold,  five new listings, thirteen new price tags and eight expired unsold. Virtually no change in the overall inventory, though, up two this week to 482, with 187 homes and 295 lots listed for sale between Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and the C-30 Scenic Corridor.  As always, we'll start with dessert and look at our two sales first. Good news/bad news if you're trying to sell a lot right now: both sales were lots but wow, the sellers sure had to slash their list prices to make it happen. First up is one I encouraged you to jump on several weeks ago, the 75′ x 550′, 1+ acre gulf f... 07/19/2008

 Another busy week on the Cape with visitors out and about enjoying being on the beach and bay in the hot summer sunshine. The real estate market wasn't nearly as hot, though, with only one closing, one new contract, three new listings, an even dozen price changes and three expired unsold. None of this did much to alter the overall inventory which is up one this week to a total of 480,  with 186 homes and 294 lots listed for sale in the MLS. Let's start with our lucky seller.   This was a short sale on the 103′ by 400+/-' gulf front lot up in Secluded Dunes (just outside the state park) that went under contract on June 17 at a list price of $1.349M, which is a good bit less than the $1.6M the sellers paid for it back in March 2005.  It has been on the market since mid-October and finall... 07/12/2008

 Lots of visitors here this week as you'd expect for the long holiday weekend and the first weekend of scallop season. The weather has been great and everyone has been out on the beach or out on the water. If market activity is any indication, no one gave a thought to real estate, as there were no new contracts written.  Our inventory inched up three to 479, with 184 homes and 295 lots (one less home and four more lots than last week). Only one sale this week, and we have nine new listings, twelve price changes, and thirteen expired unsold. Let's start with our one lucky winner.  This is a 1500 square foot, 2-bedroom, 2-bath, first-tier gulf home in Indian Pass which went under contract on June 6. On the market since February, it was listed for $449,000 and sold on Thursday for $409,000... 07/05/2008

Big weekend shaping up as the 4th of July visitors begin pouring in. Big day on Tuesday, July 1, too, my birthday, which Gulf County always celebrates by officially opening Scallop Season for the summer. I'm hearing it should be another good year so I hope you'll be able to get out on the bay at some point and enjoy gathering some for yourself.  You might just want to wait a few weeks for them to grow a bit more, though. Big week this past week in real estate, too, as we had a record five closings, the biggest one-week total in over 10 months. Unfortunately, even that many sales wasn't enough to help halt the upward trend of our inventory as we're up to 476 houses and lots for sale in the MLS vs. last week's 469,  with 185 homes (vs. 181) and 291 lots (vs. 288).  We have fifteen new lis... 06/28/2008

Sorry about not posting a review last Saturday but I took a much needed week vacation in St. Augustine with friends and left real estate totally behind for a few days. Tanned, rested and ready I'm back at it with renewed vigor. Slight dip in our inventory, with 469 active lisings in the MLS for Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and the C-30 Corridor, down three from our last look Saturday before last, with nine fewer lots (288 vs. 297) and six more homes (181 vs. 175).  No closings this week but there were three new contracts so that's a trend we like. In other activity there are fifteen new listings, nine price changes, thirteen withdrawn and five expired.  Let's see what caught buyers' eyes.   Good news for lot owners - 2 of our 3 new contracts this week are lots and they are polar opposites... 06/21/2008

 Warm and breezy week with beach renourishment progressing rapidly and ahead of schedule. It's amazing to see how wide our beautiful beaches are becoming once again and the sand is every bit as white and powdery as the original. They're working the Cape Breezes area where I live and each night this week I've drifted off to sleep to the sound of heavy equipment and bull dozers on the beach and it has been a soothing lullaby to know that our buffer zone is returning. Not much restoration to the real estate market, though, as our inventory continues inching slowly back upward, up two this week to 472, with houses holding steady at 175 and two more lots at 297.  With no closings and only two new contracts, that's quite a backlog. In other activity, there are fourteen new price tags and six ... 06/07/2008

The lazy, hazy days of summer arrived right on schedule this Memorial Day weekend here on the Cape with gorgeous weather, mid to high 80's but with a steady, cooling breeze and lower than normal humidity at 68%. After taking a play day off yesterday I'm ready to get back to work to see how the local market heated up this week as well. Our inventory remains virtually unchanged up only 1 to 467 (one more house than last week) with 175 homes and 292 lots. Two new contracts  and one sold, so that's always good to see. We have seven new listings, eleven price changes and five expired unsold. Our one sale was the lot in Sunset Pointe that went under contract just a week ago Friday on May 16. I think everyone did well here. The sellers bought it in February 2004 for $309K, listed it for $339K,... 05/25/2008

More indicators we may be near or at the market bottom in the news this week.  A Wall Street Journal article this week reported, "Data released Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors show that in former housing-boom hot spots like Florida, Nevada and California, single-family home prices dropped 20% to nearly 30% in the past year. (See the NAR data.) NAR figures show that nationally, home prices fell 5% in the first quarter from the first quarter of 2007, with drops of more than 10% in places in California, Florida, Tucson, Ariz., and Boston".  Locally, price changes continue to top the list in MLS activity and we're seeing a bit of an uptick in consumer interest as prices become more affordable.  Today's post includes one local home down 40% from its mid-2005 price. Our invent... 05/17/2008

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 the Cape 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 ... 05/10/2008

  Sand So White, You've got to wear shades   I hope that you saw the recent article in Coastal Living that featured three beaches in Northwest Florida.  Two paragraphs from the article about our St. Joseph's Peninsula State Park was on page 107 and is below: Coastal Living, May 2008  Pages 104-107 Sand So White, you've got to wear shades by Todd Keith A 66-mile drive  southeast (from St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach), beautifully remote St. Joseph Peninsula State Park juts out on a narrow strip of land surrounding St. Joseph Bay.   The park's famously towering sand dunes conceal multiple habitats within this wilderness preserve.  The bay side is ideal for kayaking, scalloping and snorkeling, while many visitors flock to the Gulf side for renowned fishing. Marquette, Michigan ... 05/10/2008

Sorry for the delay in getting this week's market wrap up done but the weather was just so fine this weekend that I took two vacation days and spent the entire time outside in the fresh air and sunshine loving being on the Cape. So now it's Monday and back to work totally revitalized and ready to go. Just a smidgen of movement in our inventory last week, up three to 460. Housing units still sit at 170, and we're up three lots to 290. Overall we have eight new listings, seven withdrawn, six expired unsold, and sixteen sellers trying a change of price. No closings, but we do at least have one new contract. So which property was lucky enough to attract an interested buyer this week? Turns out it's one we've seen under contract before back in the first week of March, a 2 bedroom, 2 bath in... 04/16/2008