Some cooler temperatures and a hint of fall were a welcome change this past week here on the Forgotten Coast. The beaches are a little quieter and our real estate market is showing some of the same seasonal slowdown we typically see as we move into fall. The recent climb for mortgage rates continued this week, with average 30-year fixed rates moving above 7%. After spending much of the year hoping we’d see rates continue to settle lower, it may be time to get comfortable with the idea that 7% mortgage rates could be our new normal for a while. Higher rates make things a little tougher for financed buyers, but they haven’t stopped our local market from moving forward. We still had 4 closings and 3 new contracts across Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, and the CR/SR 30-A corridor this week. As usual, the details follow:
- 229 Park Point Circle – The first recorded sale of the week comes from the Park Point gated community near Secluded Dunes and the St. Joseph Peninsula state park on the north Cape. This 2022-built home has 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, and 2,307 sq ft of unfurnished living space with an elevator and boathouse. The irregular-shaped property measures 1/2 acre with bay views, and the HOA offers a community pool and beach access boardwalk. This property came onto our MLS as an already under contract listing asking $1,550,000, and ended up selling for $1,500,000 with conventional financing. This should be a nice gain for the sellers who purchased the vacant lot for $127,500 in 2020.
- 157 Turtle Walk – The next residential sale is also from the north Cape in the gated Seacliffs community. This attached townhome was built in 2024 with 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, and 2,266 sq ft of furnished living space with an elevator. Unit # 66 sits on a 0.03 acre lot with decent Gulf views and access to the community pool, green space, playground, and deeded beach boardwalk. This listing was originally priced at $779,000, reduced to $679,900, and ended up selling for $660,000 with conventional financing after 76 days on the market. The seller purchased the vacant building site for $73,000 in 2021.
- 10431 CR 30-A – Here we have a 5 acre parcel with a 1985-built Florida cottage on the property, located on the north side of CR 30-A past the Indian Pass turnoff towards Franklin County. The cottage has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 1,200 sq ft of unfurnished living space, and there is also a pond and a pole barn on the 450′ wide, 5 acre parcel. This listing hit the market with a $525,000 asking price which was reduced to $450,000 before going under contract and selling for $420,000 after 138 total days on the market. Tax records show the last sale of this property to be in 1983 when the selling family purchased the vacant land for $10,000.
- TBA S Echo Lane – The lone vacant lot sale of the week comes from the gated Ovation HOA on the north Cape. This 0.13 acre lot has unobstructed bay views across the neighborhood bayfront green space, and also features access to HOA amenities including tennis courts, clubhouse, pools, docks, fitness center, and deeded beach and bay access. This lot was on the market for 52 days, initially asking $325,000 and reduced to $299,000 before going under contract and selling for $278,000 cash. This goes down as a loss for the sellers who purchased the parcel for $325,000 in 2024.
MARKET ACTIVITY SNAPSHOT
- 3 new contracts were executed in our comparative market within the past 7 days (2 residential contracts, 1 vacant land contract)
- 1 new contract from 2 weeks ago was canceled this week, resulting in a bayfront lot coming back on the active MLS
- 4 listings expired while another residential listing was withdrawn from the active market
- 14 listings lowered asking prices since our last update
INVENTORY UPDATE
10 new listings were added to our comparative market MLS this past week, which consisted of 7 new residential listings and 3 vacant lots. There weren’t any major changes to our overall inventory levels, which continue to remain pretty steady heading into fall. Here are the updated counts for all of Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, and the CR/SR 30-A corridor:
- 139 homes for sale (up 3 from last week)
- 143 vacant lots available (same as last week)
The summer rush is behind us, activity has cooled a bit like the weather, but that doesn’t mean our market has stalled. Motivated buyers are still around, but are being very selective and value conscious. There is plenty of inventory, and good properties are still selling. That’s all for this week. Thanks again for checking in and let me know anytime I can assist. Enjoy your weekend!
