Charlie Crist's beach house sells for just over $1 million

ST. PETE BEACH -- U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist has sold his beach house for $1.030 million.

According to the Multiple Listing Service, the sale closed Friday for $260,000 less than what Crist, Florida's former governor, and his wife, Carole, asked in July when the house first hit the market. Yet, they still made a $123,750 gross profit on a small, 77-year-old house they owned for barely a year and a half.

In July 2015, while Crist was considering his run for Congress, the couple paid $906,250 for the house on Gulf Way across the street from the beach. That was at a time when Crist — a Republican turned independent turned Democrat — didn't know how congressional boundaries would be redrawn and whether his main residence in downtown St. Petersburg would be in a predominantly Democratic district.

"I want to make sure my home is in it,'' Crist said at the time, referring to a district that would favor a Democratic candidate.

Previous coverage: Charlie Crist's house on St. Pete Beach is on the market for $1.29 million

As it turned out, both downtown and St. Pete Beach were included in the largely Democratic 13th Congressional District. Even before he defeated incumbent David Jolly last fall, Crist and his wife put the 1,616- square- foot beach house up for sale.

As of today, the deed had not been recorded so the buyer's name is unknown.

The Crists still own a 2,736-square-foot condo in Parkshore Plaza on Beach Drive in downtown St. Petersburg. They paid $1.037 million for the condo in the same month they bought the house.

Contact Susan Taylor Martin at smartin@ tampabay.com or 727-893-8642. Follow @susanskate