Beach properties that went for $35K seven years ago now worth $400K
By: CHRISTINE RAPPLEYE, The Beaumont Enterprise
BOLIVAR PENINSULA - Howard and Carolyn Smith, who had lived in California and still have a home in the Florida Keys, headed down Bolivar Peninsula during one of their RV trips and fell in love.
They promptly bought a beach house in the new Audubon Village. "It's wonderful," Carolyn said. "The beaches are gorgeous." "We come here to cool off," Howard said. Florida, he added, is hotter.
Their home, which sits 20 feet above sea level, is in a row of 10 built in the 130-lot development.
Audubon Village is among several developments contributing to Bolivar Peninsulas's residential boom - Seagrass, Laguna Harbor, Biscayne, Rancho Carribe, Surfside, Egret Bay and Avocet, to name a few.
Some have beachfront property, while others are on the bay with canals backing up to the water. Some are gated, others are open.
Vacant lots in other subdivisions also are becoming scarce as more people build beach houses.
"In the last two to three years, people have built like crazy," Tim Byrom, owner of Brint Construction, said in a phone interview. His company is hard at work in Gilchrist on Bolivar and Surfside, west of Galveston in Brazoria County.
For some, the answer is simple. "I still think Bolivar is the best price around for beach properties," said Anne Willis with Swede's Real Estate. "Our market is better than Galveston." Even though it might be less costly than other areas for beach lots, prices are rising.
Four years ago, lots close to the highway went for $3,500, Willis said. Now, they are going for $25,000 to $30,000. Front-row lots going for $35,000 about seven years ago had jumped to $200,000 by 2004.
This year, they're double that, Byrom said, adding they would cost at least $1 million elsewhere along the Gulf of Mexico. After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the market slowed but since has bounced back, Byrom said. The Surfside development originally was intended to be a recreational vehicle park, Byrom said.
Permits were secured and construction was about to start, but property values started rising. Byrom re-thought his plan, and this week he will start on five speculative homes in the 22-home subdivision featuring half-acre lots. However, Byrom is cautious, too. He's keeping an eye on the market and watching which homes are selling. "There's a lot of stuff for sale," he added.
About 60 of the 87 lots at Laguna Harbor have sold, said Jim Hayes, a principal with Crown Team Texas. Lots in Seagrass and Audubon Villages also are selling well.
"Every day people are stopping by," said Alice Donahue, Seagrass marketing manager.
That's what the Smiths did several months ago. Now, they split their time between Bolivar and Florida, using their 38-foot RV to run back and forth. Speaking of running back and forth, Howard Smith has discovered another unexpected benefit of the Bolivar house. "It makes me a young man," he said about climbing the 32 stairs up to the house.