3BR Bungalo at Sandestin just listed
March 5th, 2012
After the market-moving sale we completed in the Bungalos at Sandestin in February, we are pleased to be offering this 3BR for $395,000. The Bungalos are very popular and there simply have not been enough of them available for sale in the last several months. Real Estate in Destin has taken off again.
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Call us at 850.837.1388 for additional Details.
Destin Beaches are Ready!
March 1st, 2012
For Spring Break!! The first round of tourists will be arriving this weekend, all to see our beautiful “sugar white” beaches and shop around for Destin Real Estate. The restaurants are ready with plenty of fresh seafood, the stores are ready with swim suits and boogie boards, the beaches are ready for sunbathing and playing! Join us for fun in the sun!
Sandestin Real Estate Values Increase by 19%
February 29th, 2012
FletcherSales Realty is pleased to announce the successful sale of a Sandestin home in The Bungalos for a 19% increase above the previous sale! This sale signals a return to pre-oil spill price levels and is great news for the entire Sandestin real estate cottage home market. Sellers – if you have been holding on, waiting to sell until the market recovers a bit, this might just be the news you have been waiting for. If so, we would love to work with you in the sale of your property!
Destin Harbor Connection Under Way!
February 24th, 2012
Work is in progress to complete the boardwalk that will connect Destin real estate along the Destin harbor from the Boathouse Oyster Bar to HarborWalk Village! How fun will it be to be able to stroll along the entire strip! This will enhance the beauty of the downtown Destin area and will tie all of the businesses, restaurants and shops together. The majority of the construction should be complete by May. Even more reason to purchase Destin Real Estate!
Yes, it IS nice in Niceville, Florida
November 21st, 2011When people ask where I live and I say “Niceville, Florida” I of course get all of the usual questions, “Is it really a nice place?”, “Are the people there nice?” and of course some snickers of disbelieve. Now everyone knows because Niceville has just been voted the 2012 Best Place to Raise Kids by Businessweek!
The population is 11,874, and it’s right around the corner from the sugar white sand beaches of the Gulf of Mexico along Destin and Fort Walton Beach. Niceville real estate is diverse with everything from studio size vacation condos to magnificent waterfront homes.
Beautiful Indian Trail Townhome new on the market
September 26th, 2011JUST LISTED! One of six town homes tucked along Indian Trail in central Destin. The first floor features an expansive living and dining area (was expanded from original construction) featuring 18″ tile floors with new design in living area, mirrored wall, gas fireplace and plantation shutters. 1650 Sq ft with 2 great balconies and a Bay view & Community pool.
Click Here or call us at 850.837.1388 for more info
Destin, Miramar Beach and Fort Walton Beach Condominium real estate market explodes
September 15th, 2011August real estate numbers have been released by Metro Market Trends and show that the number of single family homes and condominiums sold in the three local counties (Okaloosa, Walton and Santa Rosa) have increased over the last year.
The Emerald Coast area does not always follow the countrywide trends that find their way on national television. Every week we receive calls from potential buyers in other parts of the county that think that our real estate market is stagnant. But just the opposite is true of our market which is very healthy (as evidenced in the graph below). That does not mean that market prices are in any way comparable to the height of the market which means that many of the sales are short sales and foreclosures.
Click graph to view full size
What this does mean is that prices have reached a point where buyers see the value and know they are getting a quality property in a resort area for a value price. Inventories are decreasing as sales surpass the new properties coming available for sale. It is a great time to purchase now for all buyers looking for a good deal!
Don’t let a low appraisal kill your Destin real estate deal
September 12th, 2011Real estate professionals that were surveyed in June reported that many of their cancelled sales were due to low appraisals. You, as the buyer, do have some options if this happens to you. There is a chance that the Destin real estate deal can still be worked out.
A large part of an appraisal is based on prices recently paid for comparable local properties. Recently, finding “comps” that accurately reflect values have been a challenge. If the contract is for a non-distressed or “normal” sale and the only comparable prices are from distressed sales then the value might end up less than contract price that has been agreed to by both the seller and the buyer.
We experienced this in a Miramar Beach neighborhood just a couple of months ago. An appraisal was required and ordered by the buyer’s lender. Due to the fact that the recent comparable sales included properties that were bank owned (foreclosures) the property did not appraise at the contract price. During this time of record low home values, it is no wonder that more and more appraisals are coming in below the prices that buyers and sellers have agreed on. Even if you have a great job, sterling credit, an adequate down payment and money in the bank, the lender will still want a conservative appraisal. The lender is more interested in protecting themselves from a loss than they are in giving out a loan.
Here are 5 steps you can take:
1. Get the seller to loser the price. There is no guarantee that the seller will not receive a low appraisal from the next buyer’s lender.
2. Ask the seller to carry a second mortgage for the difference.
3. Dispute the appraisal – the key to a successful dispute is data. Find out.
4. Ask the lender for a new appraisal – if you have a good case that the appraisal was not accurate, ask the lender for a new appraisal
5. Get your own, independent appraisal – ask your lender for a list of approved appraisers and then request that both appraisals be considered.
If these tactics fail and you can not make up the shortfall in the appraised value, you might have to move on to a different Destin property or wait until the values increase in the neighborhood. Make sure your sales contract states that the sale is contingent on the property appraising at contract price.
Fort Walton Beach makes Top 20 “Geekville” List
August 18th, 2011This area contiunues to grow and attract highly educated workers for the expanding military missions given Eglin AFB following the BRAC commision decisions.
The U.S. National Science Foundation has created a compelling taxonomy of American geeks for gathering the data it includes in its annual “Science and Engineering Indicators” report. 
The most recent version of that report defines “geeks” as any workers with a bachelor’s level of knowledge and education in science or engineering-related fields or workers in occupations that require some degree of technical knowledge or training.
In the “Science and Engineering Indicators 2010,” the NSF ranked the top 20 cities in the United States by percentage of workers in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics occupation.
The Fort Walton Beach / Destin / Crestview area (Okaloosa County) make the list at #20 with 7200 workers (8.8% of the workforce)
Here is the list:
- San Jose, CA
- Boulder, CO
- Framingham, MA
- Huntsville, AL
- Durham, NC
- Lowell, MA
- Washington, D.C.
- Ithaca, NY
- Bethesda, MD
- Seattle-Bellevue, WA
- Kennewick-Pasco, WA
- Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Ames, IA
- Palm Bay-Titusville, FL
- Boston, MA
- Ann Arbor, MI
- Bloomington-Normal, IL
- Olympia, WA
- San Francisco, CA
- Fort Walton Beach, FL
Offshore Investors Snapping up Florida Real Estate
August 17th, 2011From the Miami Herald
Offshore investors are flocking to Florida’s distressed real estate prices as major companies with ties to Hong Kong, Spain, Argentina and Malaysia are snapping up properties sensing the local market has bottomed.
International companies can park their investment and position themselves for the next development cycle, said Tere Blanca. “Acquiring prime properties at discount prices in the height of the market was not achievable. Whomever has deep liquidity and can be nimble and act when opportunities arise can acquire properties at what we consider to be solid pricing,” he said, according to the Daily Business Review.
“With the potential appreciation, if you’re buying at half the price of the bubble, you have the potential to go up 60 to 70 percent in the next five years”, says Stephan Gietl of Austria. “As Americans worry about the economy and debt ceiling, international investors still perceive the U.S. as “the most reliable country in the world”
For information about Emerald Coast Real Estate, Please call us at (850) 837-1388