Destin Real Estate News and Blog - Destin Real Estate News

Council Updates for Walton and Okaloosa County

Okaloosa County Updates

The Destin City Council recently established the budget for 2016-17 which includes a 7.6% increase in property taxes.

The new millage rate will be 1.615. Here are some of the areas the extra money will be used:

• Stormwater and sidewalk repairs
• A marine unit with a personal watercraft for the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office
• Increased law enforcement coverage for spring break

Other decisions that resulted from the latest council meeting:

• A temporary tree-cutting ban
• With the 30-year contract with Gulf Power coming to an end, the council has decided to take proposals to do a feasibility analysis for purchasing the city's electrical utility. I wonder how many thousands of dollars they'll spend before…

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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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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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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 Beach Ordinance "Unconstitutional"

Recently Walton commissioners voted to remove signs, ropes and any obstructions from the beach. This meant that homeowners with "private property" or "no trespassing" signs on their beachfront lots would face penalties if they didn't take them down.

Well, it wasn't long before homeowners started to push back. A federal lawsuit was filed on Monday by Edward and DeLanie Goodwin, claiming that this action was violating their First Amendment rights to display signs on their private property.

According to report in the NWF Daily News, the Goodwins, who have owned their home since 1978, are entitled to its use down to the mean high water line. There are several times in the past when strangers have trespassed on their property and even entered their home…

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Destin Real Estate Update - June 2016

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

Destin Home Sales

Although slightly down from May, Destin home sales in June 2016 reflected an active market with almost $23,000,000 in sales volume. The average price was $658,345 and houses closed at an impressive 93% of asking price. 708 single family homes were sold in the Emerald Coast area for a total volume of $285,426,540. The average sale price was $403,145 with homes selling an average 98% of their asking price.

Luxury homes were hot along Scenic 30A with the highest median home price at $2,475,000 in Alys Beach, followed by $1,522,500 in Rosemary Beach and $860,000 in Watersound.

…

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Select Sold Listings for June 2016 at Destin Real Estate LLC

Congratulations to these happy new home owners in Destin and Santa Rosa Beach. It was a pleasure working with you.

Sold: 06/10/2016 $1,495,000 | MLS #752153
1048 E HWY 98 1706, Destin, FL 32541
Two stories of floor-to-ceiling windows and 3 huge terraces in this Silver Beach Towers condo. Owners will enjoy Gulf views as far as the eye can see.

Sold: 06/16/2016 $1,267,500 | MLS #752162
504 Bayview Street, Destin, FL 32541
This luxury waterfront home on Joe's Bayou boasts 100' of deep waterfront and a 2-boat dock with lift. Built for outdoor living, the new owners are sure to spend hours on their 900 sq.ft. lanai with fireplace, bar and summer kitchen.

Sold: $1,175,000 | MLS #749298
950 E. Highway 98 6052, Destin, FL 32541
Newly renovated with…

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