St. George Wired Blog of St. George Wired http://www.stgeorgewired.com {ts '2010-03-17 16:55:02'} {ts '2010-03-17 16:55:02'} Bluewater RSS http://www.bluewateri.net http://www.stgeorgewired.com St. George Wired http://www.stgeorgewired.com Blog of St. George Wired <![CDATA[What is selling in Three Hundred Ocean Mile on St. George Island?]]> The plat map of St. George Island is largely one of "single family residence" entries, with a small commercial district in the middle of the island and a big state park on the eastern tip of the island.  In between, we're largely a well-established collection of 1/3rd to 1 acre lots, each zoned for a single residence. 

We don't have highrises, or high density anything.

But, on the eastern end of the island, we do have a nice collection of 99 townhomes clustered around 2 pools, with gulf views from every unit - called Three Hundred Ocean Mile or 300 OM for those of us who are St. George real estate geeks.

We never have many of these units for sale at one time - people tend to hang on to them for a long time - some are even still in the hands of the original buyers from when they were built and offered for sale in the mid-80's.   The complex has been nicely maintained, and most of the owners have renovated their units, with many upgrades to tile or wood floors, granite countertops, etc.  There are 1, 2, and a few 3 bedroom units, and owners tend to keep them for personal use as second homes, or put them on the vacation rental market - they are popular rentals.

In 2009, 5 units in 300 OM have sold, and I'm pleased to report that our team has been involved in 4 of the 5 transactions - representing either the buyer, the seller, or both.   Three of the units were 2 bedroom, and the sales prices were from  $248,200 to $293,000 while the two 3 bedroom units sold for $310,000 and $320,000.

Currently, there are 7 units for sale in this complex, 1-, 2-, and 3- bedroom units.

The part of this picture that needs filling in the most are beachfront units for sale, and we're on the look-out, as we have several buyers interested in buying a beachfront unit at 300 OM.  None have sold so far this year, and only one is on the active market now.  If by chance you own one of the 30 beachfront units and are interested in selling, please do contact me!

And, if you are in the market to buy in 300 OM, and would like to be on our watchlist to get automatic notices of any new listings, price reductions, or sales, let me know.  Thanks! 

]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=150 11/21/09 <![CDATA[Tropical Storm Ida NOT]]> Well, the Weather Channel folks were out on St. George Island this morning at dawn to shoot their spot on Ida in front of the waves, but it was pretty lame.  The rain started this afternoon around 3PM, but we probably had more wind late yesterday with the front that came through - moreso than the wind from Ida.  It is supposed to pick up some tonight, but we've had nothing but some gentle rain so far - the surf is still high, as it was yesterday with that front, but nothing to write home about.

 I know those hurricane reporters on the weather stations just have to look for something to talk about, and it's been a slow couple of years for them around here, but St. George Island's interaction with Ida is tame at best.

Which we are all thankful for!

]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=148 11/09/09 <![CDATA[Commercial property in Apalachicola, for developers]]> Heads up to the developers out there....

A very nice 7.8 +/- acre tract is being offered for sale at about 20% of the original developer's costs - wow.  This parcel contains 300 feet on Apalachicola Bay on one side of US 98, with about 7.5 acres of the tract in uplands on the other side of US 98.

Possibilities for development make for a very interesting discussion - and there are no other parcels like this for sale in this area.  To seriously consider this location, you do have to be ready to be part of the fabric of the outskirts of Apalach.  Those of us who live here largely find the waterfront collection of small commercial seafood houses, boat launches, abandoned establishments and open spaces eclectic and authentic - others might think it looks patchy and messy - but that is what makes Apalach Apalach.

And we love it.

One can argue whether now is the right time to start a development in Apalach, but there's no question that one day it will be the right time, and whoever ends up with this parcel will be sitting pretty - no doubt.

Let me know if you are interested, and I can send you all the details.

235359 - Details: 531 HWY 98, APALACHICOLA, FL - $850,000

 

]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=147 10/21/09 <![CDATA[Last turtle nest of the season for me]]> turtle nest on st george islandWell, the last sea turtle nest of the season on my stretch of beach was due for evaluation this week, so I rolled my bike out to ride down to the beach late Wednesday after work.

I walked in a little over a mile to where the nest was located, and snapped a shot before I started the evaluation.  This nest had taken on some high surf during the 2 months it was incubating, so the poles were leaning, and the wind had snatched the yellow caution tape away from where I had tied it and re-tied it. 

But, it turned out to be a pretty good hatch-out - 60 eggs hatched, and 33 were unhatched - all of them located toward the bottom of the nest chamber, probably drowned in one of the high surf events.   I pile up the eggshells in groups of 5 to count them a little easier, and line up the unhatched eggs in 2s, as you can see.

Then, once everything is measured and recorded, all the eggs and eggshells go back into the nest chamber, and are covered up to finish decomposing and nourishing the beach, just as would have happened naturally.

shells on st george islandAs I headed back, I snapped a few photos - the shells were fantastic that afternoon, and the sunset was beautiful, no matter which direction you looked.

This person came out to try their hand at a little late afternoon fishing.  Even though I don't fish, this looked pretty darn tempting.

What a way to end the day.

And, there was my trusty rusty bike waiting for me at the end of my walk - I strapped on the poles and got ready to head back home.  I always hate to see the end of turtle nesting season - but it's only 7 months before they begin to nest again!!

sunset on st george island

]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=145 10/16/09 <![CDATA[Does THREE make a trend?]]> After several unusually quiet years in the real estate market on St. George, our sales have finally picked up, and now we are just all waiting to see what "shape" this next cycle will take.  Will it be a long flat trough before prices head up again?  Probably not a "V" - I think we're all past looking for "V"'s.

But, we now have 3 recorded sales of one acre beachfront lots in the Plantation, which traditionally are the trendsetters for real estate prices on St. George Island.  The first went under contract in July and closed in August for $640K, the second also went under contractin July and closed in August for $685K, and the third went under contract in October and closed in October for $725K.  And, we have another that has been wending its way through the short sale process since August, with a list price of $650K.

The one acre beachfront lots still listed for sale in the Plantation start at $795K and go up.

So, can we consider this a trend???  Bowing to my training 2 lifetimes ago in statistics, I'd have to say it's a little early to tell, but it sure does look like we may at least know generally where the settling point is for the lower end of this market cycle.... 

 So....everybody off the bench.

If you're going to get in the game, this might be the time to do it (or last month was the time you should have done it...!!)...

]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=146 10/16/09 <![CDATA[What's selling on St. George Island]]>
What's selling?

Well, homes mostly, but vacant lots are finally getting some action. Cash purchases rule the day, as has been the case for the last few years, but particularly this one, and particularly with lots.

From a high of over $2M, we have seen several beachfront lots on St. George Island sell this summer, including 3 in the Plantation at $500K, $640K, and $685K, with one under contract with a list price of $650K.

The list prices of the remaining vacant beachfront lots on St. George Island in the Plantation are priced at $950K and up, but none of those have gone under contract yet.

Will they? And at what price? That all depends on the match-up of buyer and seller...a buyer who makes a good solid offer, and a seller who is ready to sell.

In the Gulf Beaches section of St. George Island, we haven't had any beachfront lot sales in 2009 and we've only had one beachfront lot sell on the East End, at $500K.

So, we're still waiting to see where those market prices are going to settle out.
Stay tuned. ]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=142 09/11/09 <![CDATA[What's selling on St. George Island, continued]]> Single family residences make up the majority of the property on St. George Island, and also the majority of what has sold in 2009 so far.

47 single family homes have sold this year, and our team has been involved in 14 of these trasactions, either on the seller side, the buyer side, or both.

Condos and townhomes make up the remaining small sector of our market here. 5 have sold this year, and our team has been involved with 3 of those sales.

A sampling of the properties sold this year are shown at right.

At the top is a beachview townhome unit on the east end of the island, which sold for $293K. We represented both the buyer and the seller in this transaction.

In the middle is a gorgeous beachview home that sold freo $800K with us representing the seller in a short sale. The transaction was complex, but we made it through with flying colors.

At the bottom is a bank-owned home that went for auction earlier this year. Our buyer had the winning bid of $764,500!

We are proud of all the properties we have listed for sale for our sellers, and all the buyers we work with to find the best deals. We are truly match-makers, looking for the best fit between buyers who want to buy and sellers who want to sell.

Call or email me if you'd like to engage us - we're happy to help.

]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=143 09/11/09 <![CDATA[Snow sand from Claudette]]>
So, I'll now try to catch you up on what has been happening these last few months on the beach on St. George Island.

Well, Claudette popped up on a Sunday afternoon and skipped her way along up our coast to give us some nice rain and high tides. The weather channel people apparently were bored out of their minds, so had a field day reporting how Cladette "slammed" the coastline here. We never even lost power or internet, is all I can tell you.

We did lose a few low-lying turtle nests, but even that loss was much less than in most years - high surf from storms passing by typically take out a good number of nests every year.

What it did give us was a very interesting phenomenon I've not seen before here - it blew the heck out of the sand and deposited it on the non-windward side of the dunes in several places. It was very humid, so I guess the sand was sticky.

That's my simplistic explanation for these rather strange photos at right.

The way this boardwalk looked brought back living in Santa Fe so strongly to me - I've seen many many stair rails and steps covered in just this way by snow, but never by sand.

The boardwalk shown in the photos at right traverses a dune, with steps leading up from the beach (all of which were clear) crosses the top of the dune (top photo) and then goes back down over the backside of the dune and on out to the street where I had left my bike for a check on a turtle nest.

So, what you are looking at is the steps on the *backside* of the dune, away from the beach, and the walkway leading away from the beach.

Cool, don't you think?   ]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=136 09/01/09 <![CDATA[Bottle on the beach]]>
But this plastic bottle at right is the most exotic of my finds.

Does anyone know what it says?

Or where it might have come from? ]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=137 09/01/09 <![CDATA[Terns on St. George Island]]>
They are good beach companions - don't spook too easily as I walk by, but patiently let me snap a picture or two as I come up beside them. They have a funny way of primping up their little black top-knots when they are agitated, I guess, or maybe it's just the wind kicking them up. Anyway, they are comical to me. And restful.

I've probably taken 100 pictures of them with my non-snappy little camera this summer while I was on my turtle walks.

These are 3 of my favorites. ]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=138 09/01/09 <![CDATA[Turtle nest do's and don't's on St. George Island]]>
Stuff left out on the beach overnight is a problem during nesting season. So are large holes dug on the beach and left overnight. You'd think with all that empty beach, the chances of them getting in people's stuff would be minimal, but that just isn't so.

Here are several examples of turtles nesting just this summer, just in my little stretch of beach that I monitor(1.5 miles).

At top, the mama turtle walked nose in to a fire pit that someone had dug and filled with scrap wood. It's illegal to have fires on the beach, of course, particularly so in the Plantation, but nonetheless, it sure looks like these folks were planning one. This mama turtle turned directly around when she hit the scrap wood, and layed her nest right there, way closer to the surf than we would have expected her to do.

In the middle and bottom picture, these folks left out their tent, chairs, and various beach stuff, and the mama turtle crawled right through it all, turned back towards the gulf to leave, then seemed to change her mind and turn around. The egg clutch she layed was about 6 inches from that beach chair you see in the photo. The folks did have room to get their stuff away from the nest, and they did move it up to the boardwalks the following nights, as they were asked to do. ]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=139 09/01/09 <![CDATA[Turtle nest do's and don't's on St. George Island, continued]]>
At top, she went all the way across the beach to the foot of the dune, climbed the dune between two sand fences, layed her nest, and ended up bushwhacking her way back to the beach via a line of scrub brush on the other side of this high dune. She wanted that nest up high, I guess.

In the middle, she left a very long track that led up to the dune, showing where she tried to top the dune and could not, but continued to travel sideways along the dune until she hit this kayak and canoe that were correctly pulled all the way up and under the boardwalk. She actually had to scrape out sand from under the kayak to finish throwing sand at the end of her nesting process.

At bottom is how we love to see it - a nice open, clear beach, a nest layed well up on the beach, but with no evidence that the mama turtle had any problems beyond the struggle inherent in walking on sand with flippers when you weigh 100 pounds or more.

They are amazing creatures.]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=140 09/01/09 <![CDATA[Sea turtle visit at dawn]]>
Then I looked further up the beach towards the dune, and there was a low dark mound, but at first I couldn't tell what it was - it didn't seem to be moving at all.

Well, it was, just slowly, turtle speed. It was a mother loggerhead turtle who was just finishing up covering up her nest. She was in the process of pushing sand under and behind her, then pounding it down with her big body to pack the sand over the nest chamber she had just finished with.

I looked both ways, up and down the beach, not a soul in sight. I looked all up on the decks of the houses nearby. No one.

My cell phone was on the last dregs of its battery - I had forgotten to charge it that night.

So I quietly watched, took a few photos, and finally way in the distance I saw a figure walking my way - it was a woman I had met the previous morning on dawn patrol who was here on vacation, and happened to be an early riser and beach walker. So, she got to share the last 15 minutes or so of this remarkable sight.

The mama turtle threw sand for probably 10 minutes, flipping it up high up behind her and over her shell with her flippers - this is the last stage of the nesting process, when they throw sand, presumably to disguise the nest. We of course have no real idea of why they do anything, but they always seem to follow this same pattern of flipping sand as they are finishing up.

When she was through, she turned and started back towards the water, and we quickly took some measurements of her shell and checked her over carefully for any tags or defining scars - she had neither. Her shell was 37 inches from notch (right behind her head) to tail, and 34 inches over the highest dome of her back from side to side.

For a big animal, walking by pushing her way through the sand with flippers, not feet, she moved pretty quickly. And, when she hit the water, she was gone - flying, back in her natural element and full glory.

More pictures in the next entry...
]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=134 06/29/09 <![CDATA[Sea turtle visit at dawn, more pictures]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=135 06/29/09 <![CDATA[Dawn with the birds on St. George Island]]>
Last Thursday was the morning of the birds, though. Pre-dawn, I was trudging along west, and had a small cadre of sandpipers (I think) skittering along about 10 feet in front of me, as they do - running along right at the edge of the surf, stopping to peck at something then putting on a little burst of speed to stay well ahead of me.

Anyway, when their little white breast feathers started turning pink, from the light bouncing up off the sand and surf, I knew I had to turn around. This pre-sunrise at right is what was happening. It was such a brilliant orangey pink - for just about a minute.

There must have been some type of fish nursery action happening just beyond where the waves were breaking too - first I noticed all the royal terns diving and fishing - just dozens of them, all divebombing the water, moving along with me, in front of me, and behind me - they were so intent they didn't spook at all around me.

There were also two black skimmers who flew by dragging their lower beaks in that same part of the surf. The picture at right is from yesterday morning - much closer to the edge of the surf than the ones were on Thursday, but a better photo.

And then, 3 different ospreys were fishing, doing their high-flying pause, plummet, and flight back up, shuddering to shake off the water from their wings. One came up with a very good sized fish, too, right in front of me.

And no, of course none of the pictures I took of the ospreys came out - I am just not that good....

A breakfast feast for everyone that morning. ]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=132 06/01/09 <![CDATA[Short Sales on St. George Island]]>
But, we got TWO short sales approved last week! They should both be closing this month.

The top one at right had been under contract last year and failed during the short sale process, but this time it made it. The asking price is $599,000, and we'll let you know the selling price once it closes. It is on the East End, has a great gulf view, and a little slice of a bay view as well, pool, on one acre. Beautiful home, almost new.

The second one at right was listed for $845,000, and the bank was working closely with the seller to close this one out at a better price. It is bay front, with a community pool and dock.

Both sets of buyers are very pleased with their contracts, and are looking forward to a successful and speedy closing from here out.

We are just thrilled to have two short sales approved by their respective banks, so that we can move these nice homes on to new owners who will enjoy them this summer.

Let me know if you have questions about buying property on St. George Island. Short sales or not, we can make it happen for you....!]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=133 06/01/09 <![CDATA[What is selling on St. George Island?]]>
Well, it's good to finally be able to report that we're selling vacant lots again - a very healthy sign of our market beginning to find its feet.

Vacant lots have been hard to find financing for, and the prices have finally gotten to the point that buyers are ready to pay cash - the ultimate vote of confidence in this market.

In the last couple of months our office has been involved in all three of the lot sales, with Jerry and me bringing the buyer on two of them and representing the seller on one as well:

208 Brown Street sold for $53,000 - interior, 1/3 acre
1752 Kumquat Court sold for $120,000 - interior, 1 acre
2160 Sea Fern Way sold for $241,000 - gulf view, 1/2 acre

These are all great prices for lots, back to 2001/2002 prices.

And, we've got plenty on the market for sale, still, so let me know if you want to take a closer look.

St. George also has had nine houses sell on since the beginning of April, from $90,000 (an older travel trailer on a lot on West Pine) to $765,000 (a first tier house on East Gorrie that sold via an online auction). We represented the seller on one of the sales, and the buyer for the auction house, so we were well-represented for the sales in this category as well.

If you are interested in participating in an online auction, we would be happy to show you the ropes - we have represented the successful bidder on two of the most recent auctions, with most of our service focussed on helping you get prepared with the market information you need to bid with confidence, and then carrying through all the inspections, insurance issues, etc., all the way through closing, once you land the successful bid. If you are interested in learning more, just let me know, and I'll be happy to fill you in.

Looking ahead, St. George has 28 homes and 4 lots currently under contract, many of them short sales that could take a while to get through the system, so stay tuned.

To summarize, ....how's the market? What can I say, other than... come on in, the water's fine... :)

--Susan]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=130 05/24/09 <![CDATA[What's selling in Apalachicola?]]>
Well, our market in Apalachicola has been a lot quieter than on St. George, but we do have sales.

And there are nine homes and two commercial properties currently under contract, so activity looks to be picking up.

Since the beginning of 2009, six homes have sold:

300 Smith Road sold for $95,000
245 Cornelius Rizer sold for $95,000
110 Jim Davis Lane sold for $109,000
101 21st Avenue sold for $139,000
50 5th Street sold for $275,000
1130 Durham Drive sold for $457,000

The house on 50 5th Street is the only home in the south historic district that has sold this year, although we have had *lots* of people looking. A lot of buyers are still waiting for the asking prices to come down, but the way it usually works is that it's up to the buyers to make the offers, at whatever level they see the market being, and let the sellers respond.   

There is a good selection of nice entry-level homes, getaway/second homes, and early retirement homes available in Apalachicola. Vacant building lots are also available in Apalachicola, although none have sold so far this year. So, if you are in the market, talk to me, and let's see what's there for the savvy buyer... ]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=131 05/24/09 <![CDATA[beach find demystified on St. George Island]]>
Here are some photos that Marcia (see last post) sent - thanks, Marcia! Yours are really spectacular - it looks like something you would see at Spencer Gifts or something...

]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=127 05/21/09 <![CDATA[First turtle nest on St. George Island]]>
What a morning.

It has been blowing like a sustained tropical storm for about 3 days now. Rain the first day, then just wind with a little spattering of rain up here - just enough to make your hair curly.

I was chugging along (in jacket and long pants - unheard of for May) on my 1.5 mile stretch that I've been assigned this year, arguing with myself about walking the whole way. Since the wind was blowing so hard from my back, I knew darn well it was going to be a tough walk back into the wind.

And then, there were the tracks. Already blown over pretty well, but definitely tracks. And yes, there was the nest site, perfectly executed, just windblown.

I didn't have my poles and GPS with me, so marked the site with red flags to come back to.

I finished on down to the end of my stretch, turned around, and when I got back to the nest site, it had already deteriorated, so I went ahead and located the egg clutch and marked the corners. The sand was damp and really cool, but the eggs were easy to locate, right there towards the back of the nest site, where she had thrown the sand behind her as she was finishing up.

Those are the eggs in the egg clutch in the bottom picture - we just uncover them enough to verify that it is really a nest, and to pinpoint the exact location of the egg clutch in the much larger nest site the mother turtle leaves, so that we can mark it precisely with the poles and the yellow signs. After we find the tops of the eggs, we cover the egg clutch back up quickly, and keep the sand level around it as close to that left by the mother turtle as possible.

It was a good thing I went ahead and located the egg clutch when I did - by the time I got back home, and back down there in my car with all the poles, etc., (7:45AM by this time) the tracks were gone completely.

Anyway, YAY first turtle nest of the season - it begins again!!]]> http://www.stgeorgewired.com/blog.cfm?id=128 05/21/09