Destin Real Estate News and Blog - Home Buying Tips

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 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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Destin Real Estate Update - May 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 May, 2016.

Destin Home Sales

Destin home sales in May 2016 reflected an active market with almost $30,000,000 in sales volume. The average price was $596,972 and houses closed at an impressive 94% of selling price. Sales of luxury homes on 30A have been red hot with median prices approaching $2,000,000 in both Rosemary Beach and Seaside. WaterColor was extremely popular with 55 homes sold at a median price of $1,275,000. WaterSound came in at a close fourth with 37 sales averaging only 97 days on the market and closing at 98% of the asking price. 

North of 30A, Niceville sold 80 homes at 98% of the list price…

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Destin Golf Communities - What's Hot, What's Not

For those dreaming of living in a golf course community, the Destin area has an awesome selection to choose from. Median prices for homes on a golf course in Destin range from $463,750 to $1,135,000 with both private and public courses available. Burnt Pine, Kelly Plantation, Regatta Bay, and Emerald Bay are gated while Indian Bayou is not. Some courses require more skill than others but I'll leave that determination up to you.

Year to Date Comparison of Destin Golf Communities as of May 31, 2016

Burnt Pine

Located within the gates of Sandestin, Burnt Pine is the most exclusive golf course community in the Destin area. The average home is over 4,000 square feet with a median sales price of $1,135,000. The most expensive home in Burnt Pine…

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Home Buyer Trivia

What Are the Most Important Features to Home Buyers?

These are results based on a survey of 2,500 home buyers in the U.S. conducted by the National Association of Realtors in 2007. The purpose was to determine popular home feature preferences. It gives you a bit of insight into what features people think are important in a home and the changing trends. This is handy info to know whether you're planning to buy, sell, or build.

1. Most Requested Feature in a Home

Central Air Conditioning was selected by 83% of buyers. 57% wanted a garage for two or more cars; 53% requested a walk-in closet in the master bedroom, and 50% wanted a backyard or play area.

2. The Median Size of Homes Between Late 2005 and 2007

1,840 square feet. Homes have…

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How to Get Accepted for a Mortgage

You Could be Rewarded for Good Behavior

If you're planning on a real estate purchase in the near or distant future, it might be worth taking a look at your bill-paying habits. You might be rewarded for your good behavior. When it comes to credit, are you a "transactor" or a "revolver?"

With upcoming changes to the mortgage credit report by Fannie Mae, these terms could mean the difference between getting accepted for a mortgage, or not.

A transactor is someone who pays their credit card bills in full each month, or pays on time and exceeds the minimum requirement.

A revolver is the person who only makes the minimum payment, allowing balances to constantly roll over to the next month. They may also have several accounts on the go.

This…

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Buyer's Tip: Realtors Make Great Matchmakers

Part of our service as realtors is to play matchmaker for our clients. Once we have a good idea of the type of home or condo a buyer is looking for, then we use our knowledge of the area and the local market to find the perfect match.

In the example below, a client has sent us a request with very specific parameters for a Destin harbor condo, and we've responded with some equally specific listing ideas.

Tim,

My husband and I are interested in a condo as a second home (and then primary after we retire) and preferably in the Destin Harbor area. We have vacationed to the Emerald Coast many times and so, fairly familiar with the area. Ideally, the property would fit within the following parameters:

1. $600K - $750K
2. Bedrooms: 3-4
3. …

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