Conservatory Lot Market Tested with $99,000 Listing (updated Jan 20)

Dramatic move will likely break the logjam at Ginn’s Conservatory

January 18, 2008 – Palm Coast, FL – There have been no sales of lots in Ginn’s Conservatory at Hammock Beach in over 16 months. In early December, SunTrust Bank dropped the price of a foreclosure lot to $209.9 thousand. The parcel, now assessed for $295 thousand, was purchased by the original owner for $404.9 thousand in April ’05. Yet it remains unsold. In a dramatic move yesterday, the owners of another Conservatory lot listed their property at $99 thousand, $250.9 thousand less than they paid in April ’05. The lot is assessed currently at $295 thousand.

Listing Flyer (Note short sale comment)

I’ve stated in past articles that the apparent lack of buyers for Conservatory property has less to do with the value of the lots themselves than with the hesitancy of buyers to be the first one in. Nobody wanted to buy at $209.9 so long as they thought the prices might go down further. At $99 thousand, that thinking no longer makes sense. Someone will probably snap this lot up within days (if the lender agrees to a short sale price – see note below).

The timing of the listing corresponds with the approaching three year mark for many loans with pending ARM adjustments or balloon payments. I would not be surprised to see a flurry of re-pricing and more new listings soon. I also expect that there are plenty of buyers on the sidelines waiting for this to happen. What a great opportunity to purchase in a Ginn golfing community with access to his rich amenity pool, including the Hammock Beach Club. And remember, The Conservatory will host a PGA Fall Tour event this year on its Tom Watson designed course. The $15 million clubhouse is set to open in March.

NOTE (added 1/20 p.m.): For clarification, a short sale occurs when the selling price is below the balance of the outstanding loan. Typically, lenders will consider firm offers only. They can accept or reject any offer. There is no guarantee that an offer for the "full listing price" will be accepted by the lender since the listing price is established by the seller. In fact, the lender may be unwilling to accept any offer less than the current loan balance. But what may be accomplished in this case is an awakening of the buyer market. Nothing prevents a potential buyer to make an offer above the asking price. The potential exists for a bidding scenario. From the number of calls and emails I’ve received regarding this property, the offering at $99,000 has stirred the pot. Hopefully, the result will be a transaction that will establish the baseline pricing for Conservatory lots.

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