Destin Real Estate News and Blog - Tim Shepard - Broker

Emerald Coast Condo Price Comparison for August

Perhaps you're considering purchasing a condo on the Emerald Coast, maybe for an investment, but you're not sure where. With so many places to choose from, sometimes it's hard to know where to begin. This graph below shows the average condo sale price for August 2016 in these popular areas along the Emerald Coast. It also shows the comparable price from August of 2015, so you can see just how your investment would have fared.

Notice, real estate along 30A West and the Miramar Beach, Sandestin Resort areas showed the most gains. 30A East and Navarre, showed some depreciation. This is only for one month, we'd be happy to send you updates for sold listings, or a monthly report of the stats in desired areas.

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Home Buying Deal Breakers

We researched online and polled past clients to find out what features they would consider deal breakers while viewing a house. Keep in mind that everyone has different opinions and a deal breaker for one person might be an inconvenience for another. Still, if you're selling a home, you might find some of these points helpful.

Popular Deal Breakers

1.  Design flaws that are too costly or time consuming to change

2. Open concept houses

3. Closed floor plans

4. Two-story or split-level homes

5. Carpeting

6. Insufficient closet space

7. Old Roman-style tubs with step down

8. Not enough bathrooms

9. Kitchen peninsula (vs an island)

10. Washer/Dryer in kitchen

11. Close proximity to power lines

12. Indoor swimming pool

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Destin Guide to Fall 2016 Events

Fall is a wonderful time of year in Destin. The kids are back in school and life has begun to return to normal again. You'll see there is still plenty to do; although from the list of events below, largely dominated by craft beer festivals and the ever popular Fishing Rodeo. Please send me a message if you'd like your event listed here.

SEPTEMBER 2016

Okaloosa Island Fireworks at the Fishing Pier - September 4
Time: 9 pm

FWB BBQ Festival - September 16
5th annual festival of food, music, beer, and family fun, sponsored by Okaloosa Gas!  The festival is two days - Friday and Saturday. 
Location: The Landing, 139 Brooks St. Fort Walton Beach | Hours on Friday are from 4 to 9 pm. Saturday hours are 11 am to 4 pm.
Time: 4 pm - 9 pm
…

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Destin Real Estate Update - July 2016

This Destin real estate update for July 2016 gives you a snapshot of home, condo and land sales in Destin FL and the surrounding Emerald Coast.

When summer rolls around, rental season kicks into full gear and sellers are less willing and less negotiable to sell.  Buyers don't seem to notice too much though, as their attention turns to outdoor activities and our beautiful beaches. That being said, residential sales in the Destin area totaled $351,547,336. The average sale price was $372,008 and real estate averaged only 111 days on the market. The average seller received 95% of their asking price.

Strong July performing areas included:

• Navarre: 159 sales
• Fort Walton Beach: 149 sales
• Crestview: 112 sales
• Miramar/Sandestin: 95 sales

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WaterColor FL Real Estate Spotlight

WaterColor - A Reliable Investment

Real estate in WaterColor has consistently been a top performer along the Emerald Coast. Since the beginning of the year, 74 homes were sold for 94% of their asking price and after an average of 122 days on the market. 20 homes sold in under a month.

WaterColor remains a solid area for investment real estate, with a large percentage of properties either used as full or partial vacation rentals. Many year round residents still supplement their income by renting on site carriage houses, separate from the main residences.  

While some seek investment return, others just "Want what they Want". WaterColor is simply a beautiful place to be. The recreation facilities and amenities are superb, and you'll never miss a…

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Golf Community Checklist

Moving to a Destin Golf community? Heres a tool to help you keep track.

Buying a home can be overwhelming, to say the least. You've just spent the day touring some of Destin's finest golf communities, but they're all blending together. The Burnt Pine house overlooking the golf course had a pool, or did it? Was it the Regatta Bay listing that had no short term rentals, or the Baytowne property?

Here's a handy little tool you can use to keep track of all the Destin golf homes or condos you look at. Just fill in the name of the community, address and MLS#, the price, note some of the pros and cons and give the golf course your own star rating. Take a quick photo, and later that night when you're discussing the various homes, it will all come back to…

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Real Estate Nightmare

This real estate nightmare involves two sales of the SAME HOME on the SAME DAY, combined with some sloppy paperwork by the Title Company. Subsequently, the whole thing fell apart, just like a house of cards.  I'm not trying to scare anyone, but really felt that this story needed to be told. It's something that home buyers, sellers or other agents need to be aware of.

The First Deal

After looking at several Destin homes, enduring inspections, appraisals, and lender related delays, our buyers were excited about closing on their new home last Friday. Everything went smoothly as buyers and sellers both signed their respective paperwork, the lender authorized funding, and the title company began disbursement.

We picked up our check on the following…

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Great Schools in Okaloosa & Walton County

We're really fortunate here along the Emerald Coast to have access to excellent schools in both Okaloosa and Walton Counties. There are some hurdles, such as the need for new schools due to increased population, and the constant retrofitting of older buildings, especially in Okaloosa County. There is a big demand for new teachers, with fewer and fewer choosing the profession each year.

The new state law allows parents to choose which school their children will attend, even if it's not in their zoning, or even in their county. Okaloosa County is just one of three "A" rated districts in the entire state, as a result their schools are especially attractive. It's a bit of a balancing act, accounting for a growing local population and the out-of-county…

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Santa Rosa Beach Home Sales for June 2016

Santa Rosa Beach is an unincorporated community that encompasses several smaller communities between Choctawhatchee Bay in the north and the Gulf of Mexico in the south. Point Washington and Grayton Beach act as eastern borders, and Miramar Beach borders to the west.

Real estate in Santa Rosa Beach includes a nice cross-section of bayou or bayfront homes in the north and beachfront treasures in the small Gulf towns along the Scenic 30A Highway in south Santa Rosa Beach.

The stats below represent total sales for June 2016 of Santa Rosa Beach homes, condos and other property types. Notice that single-family homes numbers are quite high, this property type dominates especially in the northern communities close to the bayou and Choctawhatchee Bay.

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New Bass Pro Shop in Destin

Destin, the "World's Luckiest Fishing Village" just got luckier! 

Make way for the expansion of Bass Pro Shops in Destin. The renovation will total 16,600 square feet and should be completed in the Fall of 2016.

Shoppers can look forward to:

• more retail space
• boat pad increasing from 5 boats to 15-20
• three additional checkout counters
• new fitting rooms
• aquarium remodel
• new energy-efficient LED lighting in store

With a huge population of anglers and boaters, this new development will be welcomed.

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