Destin Real Estate News and Blog - Home Selling 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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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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The Complete Spring Cleaning Checklist

Get these chores taken care of in May, then when the kids are off you can spend your spare time  enjoying the summer. It's easy to have small issues build up, take care of them little by little and your home will always be well maintained. If you're considering selling your home, you'll be half way there.

Indoor Checklist

1. Kitchen & Bath

Examine any areas that could be susceptible to water damage and re-grout, beef up the caulking, or repair leaky faucets. Make sure you check inside the shower at the tops of tiles, near windows, or along the edges of a shower insert. If you have tile in showers or backsplashes, this is a great time to quickly reseal the grout.

2. Safety Detectors

Test your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors…

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Seller's Tip: Does Your Realtor Do Half the Job?

During peak seasons, including spring break and April, experienced Destin Realtors understand that vacation homes and condos must be shown to buyers between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. This time frame, called the "turnover", is when the property is vacant as last weeks guest leave and next week's new renters arrive.

Last week, I had a serious buyer in town that was interested in looking at seven condos in the Destin area. We were able to schedule five viewings without any difficulty. However, two agents were unwilling to work Saturday, so their clients missed an opportunity to sell. 

One agent sent me a text that said "Can not do it this weekend, or Monday morning. Plan on an open house on Wednesday. Maybe that will work."

While the other agent said "I…

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