How a fully renovated canal-front home on Ono Island sold for a new record
By KD Edenfield, Broker, Wellhouse Real Estate
The sellers, full-time owners from Mississippi, had gutted and renovated their canal-front home on Harbour Drive on Ono Island, then decided to downsize. No canal-front home on the island had ever sold near the price they needed. After about five months, one price reduction and more than 20 showings, it sold for $2,725,000, the highest canal-front sale ever recorded on Ono Island, according to Gulf Coast Media.
Who were the sellers, and why did they sell?
They were full-time owners originally from Mississippi who love taking on projects. They gutted this house and renovated it inside and out, roughly a $1 million renovation. Once it was done, the project was finished for them, and they wanted something smaller.
What made this sale hard?
The price. When we listed it, no canal-front home on Ono Island had sold for anything close to what this one needed to bring. There also hadn't been a large, fully updated canal home like it to compare against. And the high end of the market wasn't moving quickly at the time. We knew going in that it would take longer, because the pool of buyers for a home like this is small.
How did we price a home with no real comparable sales?
We dug deep into both open-water and canal-front sales, not just the canal homes. We backed the price with the renovation itself and with appraisals the sellers had from when they did the work. We listed it at $2,825,000.
How did we market it?
We built the marketing around the buyer we were looking for, not around a big crowd. The videos and posts drew more than 200,000 views and more than 1,000 shares. We held two exclusive open houses, one invite-only and one for agents only. I was at every one of the more than 20 showings, and between 10 and 15 of the buyers who toured it told me they first saw it on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok.
What happened during those five months?
An early offer came in, but we couldn't agree on terms. We made one price reduction. By the time we accepted the offer that closed, a few other buyers had been close to making offers too.
Who bought it, and why?
The buyers were also from Mississippi. They wanted a waterfront home with room for their whole family to come stay, the place everyone gathers. This one checked every box: the pool, the protected canal, a boat slip that fit their boat, and a house that was move-in ready, so they didn't have to renovate anything.
What was the result?
It sold for $2,725,000, about 96.5% of the original list price, after roughly five months on the market. Gulf Coast Media reported it as the highest canal-front sale ever recorded on Ono Island. When we listed it, nothing on a canal had sold anywhere close to that price. A different canal-front home closed at $2.6 million just a couple of weeks before ours did, and Harbour Drive went past it.
What would I tell a seller trying to set a new high?
Your home has to clearly stand out from everything that's sold near it. That means high-end finishes in the flooring, countertops and appliances, down to solid-core doors and good hardware on every cabinet and door. It means something buyers can't get next door, like a great pool and outdoor space or a strong boat dock and lift. It has to be fully move-in ready, with nothing for the buyer to fix. And it needs real curb appeal. Then plan for it to take longer, because you're waiting for the right buyer, not just any buyer.
Thinking about selling a waterfront home?
Book a callSee how I sell luxury waterfront homesSale prices from public records.