One missing piece is that any contract, on that property, at that price would still need to be approved by the lender. ie- $599K may not really mean $599K, though it could. In most cases, the lender will not inform the listing agent of an acceptable price, when determining the list price. Fannie Mae is about to change that in two test markets, one in Orlando, to see if they can get more sales sooner, by informing the listing agent of their acceptable price, at the time of the listing. If it works well in those test markets, they will expand, and other lenders may follow suit.
Assuming the the bank is willing to take the $599,000; this seems like a good price. I would have to think that a comparable lot would sale somewhere around $180,000-195,000, and a comparable house would sale for about $185 sq/ft or $410,000 ? although this is a BIG guess on my part. That puts it right at the listed price without having to carry the cost during the building process.
This situation is a perfect example of our market. The seller of this house is making a late attempt to avoid a foreclosure that is very close to being reality. If you are selling real estate in this market, this is the competition. Selling in the current enviroment unless you are in a must sell situation is simply crazy in my opinion. I think people that are selling today are making the same mistake those made in purchasing real estate in 05" or even 04'. There is more demand for WaterColor than most people realize, quite a few buyers on the edge of the fence...this is not going down forever...the opportunities to purchase real estate on 30-A at these prices will not last.