Historic, Character Home
1939 DeFuniak Springs Cottage, 2,312 Sqft, C-2 Zoning — $149,900
6
out of 10
HousesUnder150K Score
Property Merit 50% · Condition 25% · Price/Sq Ft 15% · Market 10%
| Category | Wt. | Score | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property Merit | 50% | 8 | 1939 character cottage, 2312 sqft, arched frames, T&G throughout, downtown location, mixed-use upside |
| Condition | 25% | 5 | "Covered in vines," renovation needed; solid bones claimed but no system dates given |
| Price / Sq Ft | 15% | 10 | $65/sqft listing vs $159/sqft zip median — 59% below; thin data (4 comps) but directionally strong |
| Price vs. Market | 5% | 8 | $149,900 vs $244,894 median — 39% below zip median; meaningful discount |
| Market Conditions | 5% | 6 | DOM 91 vs 29 here; 29.8% price drops; sale-to-list 97.6% — mild buyer's market |
At $65 a square foot, this is either a problem or an opportunity, and which one depends entirely on how much work you are willing to take on. The zip median is $159 per square foot. This house is 59% below that. The gap exists because the place is covered in vines and needs real renovation. That context matters before anything else.
What you are buying is a 1939 cottage in downtown DeFuniak Springs, 2,312 square feet, four bedrooms, two baths. The tongue-and-groove runs through most of the house, and the arched door frames are the kind of detail that gets built once and then copied for decades in lesser houses. You cannot put those in after the fact. The rooms are described as spacious, the upstairs has enough room to function as a primary suite or as its own floor for kids, and the location is directly across from Harbeson Field.
The condition is the honest part. The agent says it feels solid, but no system dates are given. No roof age, no plumbing or electrical updates, no HVAC information. "Covered in vines" is a real description, not a quaint one. Whatever work this house needs, you are going in without a clear list. Cash or conventional financing only, which tells you lenders have looked at this and passed.
The zoning is worth understanding. C-2 commercial zoning with a low-density residential future land use designation means you can potentially run a business out of this building with city approval. Live-work, a studio, an office, a shop with residence above. That flexibility adds a dimension most houses at this price do not have.
The city also runs a CRA matching grant program for exterior improvements, 50-50 up to $30,000. If you spend $30,000 on the exterior, you could recover half. That is a real number that changes the math on the renovation.
The house has been sitting 91 days in a market where the average is 29. Someone will get here eventually. At $149,900 for this much space and this much original detail, the price is doing real work.
