GulfCoastHomeseekers April 09

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February Stats

Here are the February 2009 real estate sales facts for our MSA's - Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach. First, Ft Walton Beach sales of existing homes were 146 units, an increase over the 118 units sold last month. In Pensacola, single family sales were 186 units, up from 162 units last month. Compared to last year at this time, however, single family home sales were -8% for FWB and -23% for Pensacola. Median prices were $187,500 for FWB and $132,200 for Pensacola. Moving to condo sales, Ft Walton Beach sold 42 units, an increase from the 25 units sold in January. In Pensacola, condo unit sales were 26, up from 11 in January. Condo sales are up 2% in Ft Walton Beach when compared to this time last year and the median price is $237,500. Pensacola condo sales were down 28% as compared to last year at this time. The median condo price in Pensacola is $237,500, a significant 48% increase compared to January last year.

That's all folks & thanks for tuning in!
gchmama

Let's Be Optimists!

Doesn't the Florida sunshine always make you smile? Every day, waking up to beautiful, sunny, warm days, makes me happy to be alive. And I'm noticing a trend - more of the "locals" are doing simple things like planting vegetable gardens or planting flowers, getting back to basics as it were. The awesome thing about living here is that you can hop in your car (or on your bike) and find a beautiful, free beach. There are parks galore in northwest Florida and plenty of ways to entertain on the cheap.

Above all, everyone I speak with who is involved in the business of real estate are being surprisingly optimistic. Why not? We are still a mecca of military might and we still have many beautiful sights to see. Yes, we did see some craziness in the markets but we're not letting go of the simple truth - this is an amazing place to live and work and that, hopefully, will never change.

Still smiling,
gchmama

Spring has Sprung

Spring fever is upon us - and spring break for many - hallelujah! Anyone who lives in Florida knows that we absolutely adore being outside, that's why most of us live here. Maybe we all have SADD - I know I probably do. I get downright gloomy to match gloomy days in winter. Anyway, to continue on a personal vein, we have planted our first garden. It is a garden by the square foot originally conceptualized by Mel Bartholomew a couple decades ago. His book "Square Foot Gardening" has been invaluable to me and I highly recommend it as a starting point for any amateur gardener such as I.

On a professional note, planting flowers and cleaning up the yard can do wonders for selling your home. Many of us still like to "drive-by" shop when looking for our dream house and exterior charm can go a long way toward selling your property. Ages ago, when I was a realtor in Kansas, I recommended to all of my sellers a quick sprucing up of the yard. Pruning hedges, planting grass in bare spots, a few potted flowers placed near the front door always serve to appeal. It is a lot of work but the cost is small and the reward great.

Feeling green,
gchmama

January Stats

Existing home sales dropped 10% in January 2009 as compared to January 2008 in the Pensacola MSA. The Ft Walton Beach MSA existing home sales dropped 16% using the same comparison. Median price - $188,300 in FWB, $141,200 in Pensacola for existing homes. Condo sales were up in Ft Walton Beach MSA by 4% as compared to last January and down 58% in the Pensacola MSA. Median price in Penascola condo market $262,500, FWB Condo market $268,800. (The Pensacola number seems skewed, interested to see the February results). In the state, Ft Myers/Cape Coral lead the way in existing home sales up 124% with a 59% drop in median price. In Orlando, condo sales were up 88% with a median price of $62,200. However, Florida sales overall are on the upswing by 24%. Notes of caution: one, you can't base sound decisions on one month's data; two, these numbers are not seasonally adjusted; three, would like to see how this compares to reality before the bubble. Pensacola MSA includes all of Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties. Ft. Walton Beach MSA includes all of Okaloosa County. Did not report Panama City (Bay county) because the beach area we cover are non-exclusive and data would be useless since I can't separate beach areas from Panama City, Lynn Haven, etc. & we don't cover Panama City.

These figures were summarized from data on Florida Association of Realtors Media.Living.net
gchmama

The Best Advice

Our youngest child turns 21 today. He has stayed home the longest and been the most cautious about venturing into the world. He plans to buy a house someday, maybe soon, maybe not. My best advice to him: save at least 10% to put down on a house. He currently believes I'm nuts because saving $10,000 seems like a formidable task. Then, my daughter, who is the oldest and has been renting for years tells us she is also looking for a house. She has 4 kids, there's no way she'll save enough to put 10% down on a house. I suggested to her that she look into the new Obama plan so she could get help with a down payment. In her case, I think that is the only way she'll ever be able to buy a house.

It is people like these two who will help turn our market around. Let's hope our best advice is good enough to keep them from making the mistakes of our generation.

Live and learn,
gchmama