A Time to Buy

Reduced prices in real estate attract interest in the Forgotten CoastA Time to BuyReduced Prices in Real Estate Attract Interest in the Forgotten Coast

By Maria Mallory White

Since what goes up must come down, now is the time for the smart money to make a move to the Forgotten Coast real estate market.

So say local experts in the homes-and-land trade, who report that after a two-year orbit in the stratosphere of unrealistic valuations, real estate prices are coming back to earth now.

“For a lot of people, (prices) had gotten out of their range. They couldn’t afford it,” says Kay Eubanks, owner and broker of Coldwell Banker Forgotten Coast Realty. “Now if they want it, now’s the time to buy.”

As a result, browsers and buyers alike are returning to the region.

“We’ve had a good 60- to 65-percent pickup in call-ins, walk-ins and contracts,” Eubanks says. “It’s the most we’ve seen in months and months – we’re seeing signed contracts now, whereas people before had just been looking. Mexico Beach is hot. Carrabelle, too, and St. Joe Beach – all up and down the Panhandle, things are picking up.”

The renewed activity started in November and has continued into the spring, says Realtor/broker Helen Spohrer, who owns Prudential Resort Realty of St. George Island. Spohrer, who also is a member of the Franklin County Tourist Development Council, says that in addition to the reduced prices in the area, today’s low interest rates mean attractive deals for creditworthy buyers at a time when properties are selling 40 to 60 percent below the highs of 2004 and early 2005.

Consider a one-acre beachfront lot at upscale, gated St. George Plantation, Spohrer says.

“Back in early ’05, there were several that closed at $2.4 million, and in the last several months there were some that sold for between $1.1 million and $1.2 million,” she says.
The price adjustments aren’t only in the biggest-ticket neighborhoods, either.

“That same 40- to 60-percent (decrease in prices) applies everywhere,” Spohrer explains. “For instance, there are houses that are selling in the older section of the island in the lower $200,000 range. It’s been a long time since houses have sold at those prices on the island.” Such conditions are most attractive for the long-haul investors.

Broker William J. “Jay” Rish, who owns Century 21 Gulf Coast Realty Inc. in Port St. Joe, says he is seeing an uptick in pent-up demand from investors.

“That’s not to say it’s time to pop the champagne corks,” he cautions, because the price drops that brought buyers back to the market have meant tough times for other real estate investors.

“Foreclosure, auctions, stress auctions and people who were overextended – they’re (still) working their situations out,” Rish observes. Such vestiges of the market’s troubled past must be resolved before the industry can truly celebrate. “In order to get over an illness, you’ve got to have some pain,” he says.

Meanwhile, at least one real estate veteran believes the area’s name is a lingering liability.

“I want to get away from ‘the Forgotten Coast,’” says Alice Collins, owner of Century 21 Collins Realty. At the beginning of her 30-some years in the market, Collins says she served vacationers whose children and grandchildren are her clientele today. That’s proof, Collins asserts, “We’re not ‘forgotten.’ If anything, we’re the ‘Unforgettable Coast.’”

St. George Island Sales Trends

On St. George Island, 2007 was a year of many changes. The market is starting to show signs of recovery as prices realign with values. Already there has been an increase in activity, and 2008 sales are trending upward.

According to Marilyn Bean of Century 21 Collins Realty on St. George Island, “Interest rates are coming down and Florida voters just passed Amendment 1, which should return money to homeowners and put nearly $10 billion back into Florida’s economy over the next five years.”

Prices shown are the sales price of property sold per year from the lowest price to the highest price.

PLANTATION LOTS (all 1 acre)
GULF FRONT
2005: $2,300,000 to $2,425,000
2006: -0-
2007: $1,050,000 to $1,225,000

BAY FRONT (ALL 1 ACRE)
2005: $389,000 to $1,300,000
2006: $512,000 to $945,000©
2007: $700,000

INTERIOR (ALL 1 ACRE)
2004: $440,000 to $450,000
2005: $379,000 to $555,000
2006: $450,000 to $540,000
2007: -0- 

PLANTATION HOMES
GULF FRONT
2005: $2,125,000 3BR/2BA 1,508 SF to $4,400,000 6BR/5BA 6,500 SF
2006: $1,750,000 4BR/4BA 2,375 SF to $2,900,000 4BR/5BA 3,800 SF
2007: $1,075,000 3BR/2BA 1,296 SF to $2,000,000 3BR/3BA 3,100 SF

BAY FRONT
2005: $830,000 3BR/2BA 1,272 SF to $1,649,900 4BR/3BA 3,328 SF
2006: $1,099,000 5BR/4.5 BA 3,050 SF to $2,250,000 3BR/3BA 3,100 SF
2007: $890,000 3BR/3BA 1,936 SF to $1,175,000 5BR/4BA 2,512 SF

INTERIOR
2004: $580,000 3BR/2BA 1,465 SF to $596,000 3BR/3.5BA 1,800 SF
2005: $675,000 3BR/2BA 1,350 SF to $995,000 5BR/4.5BA 3,700 SF
2006: $975,000 3BR/3BA 2,188 SF to $1,200,000 5BR/3BA 2,400 SF
2007: $483,000 4BR/3BA 2,014 SF to $2,350,000 4BR/3BA 3,986 SF 

GULF BEACHES LOTS
GULF FRONT
2005: $1,600,000
2006: $1,250,000 to $1,340,000
2007: -0-

BAY FRONT/CANAL FRONT
2005: $220,000 to $700,000©
2006: $275,000
2007: -0-

INTERIOR
2005: $215,000 to $386,000
2006: $198,000 to $330,000
2007: $125,000 to $410,000

GULF BEACHES HOMES
GULF FRONT
2005: $1,125,000 3BR/3.5BA 1,780 SF to $2,550,000 5BR/5BA 3,000SF
2006: $1,050,000 3BR/3.5BA 1,943 SF to $1,600,000 4BR/4BA 2,004 SF
2007: $710,000 3BR/3BA 1,250 SF to $850,000 3BR/3BA 1,550 SF

BAY FRONT
2005: $500,000 2BR/2BA 1,569 SF to $1,150,000 4BR/5BA 2,500 SF
2006: $500,000© 3BR/2BA 2,245 SF to $831,300 3BR/3BA 2,276 SF
2007: $645,000© 3BR/2BA 1,344 SF to $795,000 3BR/2BA 1,640 SF

INTERIOR
2005: $365,000 1BR/1BA 1,400 SF to $525,000 3BR/2.5BA 5,600 SF
2006: $320,000 1BR/1BA 950 SF to $1,325,000 5BR/4.5BA 3,200 SF
2007: $299,000 3BR/2BA 1,456 SF to $849,900 4BR/3.5BA 2,414 SF

EAST END LOTS (all 1 acre)
GULF FRONT
2005: $2,300,000
2006: -0-
2007: $1,325,000

BAY FRONT
2005: $600,000 to $1,050,000
2006: -0-
2007: -0-

EAST END HOMES:
GULF FRONT
2005:    $1,450,000 4BR/3BA 1,904 SF to $3,200,000 5BR/5BA 3,500 SF
2006: -0-
2007: $1,975,000 4BR/3.5BA 2,630 SF to $2,600,000 5BR/5.5BA 3,867 SF

GULF FRONT (ALL 300 OCEAN MILE TOWNHOUSES):
2005: $700,000 2BR/2.5BA 1,250 SF to  $730,000 3BR/3BA 1,500 SF
2006: -0-
2007: $580,000 2BR/2.5BA 1,431 SF