First Lot Sale in Nearly Two Years Recorded at Ginn’s Conservatory at Hammock Beach
This lot was one of Toby’s Picks, originally purchased in 2005 for $339,900.
Palm Coast, Florida – July 11, 2008 – Palm Coast’s real estate community celebrates the first lot sale in Bobby Ginn’s Conservatory at Hammock Beach. For the past two years, owners of Conservatory lots have watched the value of their properties decline as buyers disappeared. It was like a game of musical chairs but when the music stopped, all the chairs were gone. One of these lots just sold for $85,000, the first sale in The Conservatory in two years.
The Conservatory has been the poster child for the real estate boom and bust. 337 lots were sold to eager buyers at the peak of the market in 2005 for prices ranging from $329,900 to $529,900. Values quickly dropped, leaving owners with property worth less than their mortgage. (see related story) Sellers were slow to adjust to declining prices, following the market down rather than leading it. Soon foreclosures loomed for many. One lot was deeded to the lender in "lieu of foreclosure." Lenders gained title to 10 others through foreclosure. It was one of these lots that sold.
674 Mahogany Run (lot 92) was originally purchased in April ’05 for $339,900. SunTrust gained title through foreclosure July ’07. Just as Conservatory lot sellers were slow to adjust listing prices to the market, so were the lenders. Lender-owned lots were originally priced above $200,000. As a lender-owned sale, this sale is "Unqualified" as regards comparable sales, meaning it cannot be used for determining "just value" for property tax purposes. However, this sale does establish a base price line to which other sellers, including lenders, will pay close attention.
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