Panama City is the Place to be!</h1> <article> <h1>Panama City is the Place to be!</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">The Cat’s Out of The Bag<br /> Panama City Beach is the Place to be<br /> <br /> Panama City Beach’s present and future is brighter than its distinct white sand.<br /> <br /> We who live here have known this for a long time, but the word is just getting out beyond the Emerald Coast. In a recent survey by SmartMoney, PCB was selected the No. 1 destination to buy a second home. America Online featured the list on its website.<br /> <br /> This is a well-deserved honor because, as the article stated, “there is something for everyone.” There are beaches, several championship golf courses, an active nightlife, shopping, a range of luxurious beachfront properties, and much more.<br /> <br /> PCB is priming for growth. A new international airport, scheduled to open next year, will bring a fleet of low-cost carriers and nonstop flights to the panhandle. According to the SmartMoney article, a flight from New York currently includes at least one connection with ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://panamacityhomes.net/blog_post.asp?post=14616">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span></div> </article> <article> <h1>More Riviera, Less Redneck</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">Florida Panhandle is a Diamond Coming out of the Rough The “Redneck Riviera” nickname for Panama City and the surrounding area along Florida’s panhandle has stuck like a canoe after hitting a sandbar.<br /> The moniker populated out of the area’s penchant for drawing tourists from nearby Georgia and Alabama during the summer, hosting rowdy spring breaks, and housing an assortment of decrepit homes and seedy motels. Tom T. Hall even sang a song in 1996 entitled “Redneck Riviera” with lyrics that included, “Gulf Shores up through Apalachi-cola they got beaches of the whitest sand. Nobody cares if gramma's got a tottoo or Bubba's got a hot wing in his hand.”<br /> Twelve years later, the song’s title is outdated with the area singing a different tune. Some great things are happening here!<br /> <br /> Pier Park, which opened May 1 at the heart of Panama City Beach, is a 900,000-square-foot open-air lifestyle center featuring ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://panamacityhomes.net/blog_post.asp?post=14292">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span></div> </article> <article> <h1>A changing tide rolls in – buyers take notice</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">For the past three years, patience for homebuyers has been a virtue.<br /> <br /> Since the market peaked in July 2005, sales and prices have dropped steadily. As a result, buyers could afford to be choosy because there might be a better deal across the street.<br /> Now it appears this trend is shifting towards a much better one that sends a message to potential buyers that procrastination is no longer an asset.<br /> <br /> Florida’s biggest landowner, the St. Joe Co., believes the housing market may have reached the bottom. St. Joe chief executive officer Peter Rummell points to stabilization in the residential inventory as a positive sign, adding that buyers must be "retrained" to recognize the importance of buying a home now.<br /> <br /> A Wall Street Journal article printed last week backs up Rummell’s claim. The article states that April 2008 likely marked the bottom of the U.S. housing market. It also notes that inventories are now declining ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://panamacityhomes.net/blog_post.asp?post=10476">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span></div> </article> <article> <h1>Haste Makes Waste in Shifting Foreclosure Market</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">Prospective investors in Florida foreclosures need more than a buy low, sell high philosophy. They have to buy fast, too.<br /> <br /> A local banker told me cash buyers in the marketplace have rose from three to 24 percent. Cash buyers have a distinct advantage because some homes need to sell before a foreclosure sale appears. This means that more savvy investors with cash are here already picking up the best properties, the cream of the crop. By the time everyone else figures out that this is the time to buy, the best properties will be gone.<br /> <br /> A few years ago, even a few months ago, this was less of an issue. In addition to a smaller proportion of cash buyers, supply skyrocketed. In September 2006, Florida had the country’s highest foreclosure activity - more than four times higher than the national average – and accounted for 27 percent of the nation’s total. By the start of July 2007, the Sunshine State had fallen to number two behind ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://panamacityhomes.net/blog_post.asp?post=10475">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span></div> </article> <article> <h1>Insurance Industry's Windfall Sends Real Estate on Downward Spiral</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">Weather forecasters are not the only ones paid when they make mistakes. Insurance companies profit pretty well, too. And the Florida real estate industry is paying the price. It’s been two years since a hurricane struck The Sunshine State, but residents continue to face rising insurance rates or dropped coverage. According to the Insurance Information Institute, rates are likely to rise between 20 and 100 percent over the next year for the 43 percent of the U.S. population living in coastal areas stretching from southern Texas to the northern tip of Maine. In addition, the Institute singles-out Florida as a possibility for even higher increases. While current commercial and residential borrowers struggle to pay the premiums and prospective ones become hesitant to buy because of it – thus slowing the real estate sales market – insurance companies are laughing all the way to the bank. According to a St. Petersburg Times article last week, the ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://panamacityhomes.net/blog_post.asp?post=10474">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span></div> </article> <article> <h1>STATE FARM'S EVACUATION PLAN</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">Historically, Florida has been known for a few specific things. We are the Spring Break capital. Any college football fan can’t deny our talent for producing great players all over the State. Just this year, one of our very own was the youngest player ever to be awarded the Heisman Trophy. Ask any 4 year old where Disney World is and he can tell you. Oh, and hurricanes. We have those, too. Since 2005 when hurricanes ravished our State, insurance companies all over the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts have gone into panic mode. Rates for homeowners have sky-rocketed…that is, if they didn’t drop you entirely. Enter State Farm Insurance. Probably one of the most well-known insurance companies in America. Well, minus Florida. Need car insurance? Health or life insurance? Great. They’ve got you covered. But you’re left out if you own a home. Sorry. This reminds ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://panamacityhomes.net/blog_post.asp?post=9329">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span></div> </article> <article> <h1>WANT TO BECOME AN EDUCATED BUYER?</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">The buzzword for 2007 was “subprime.” It was said so often on the television that a seven year old could probably tell you what it means. No matter where you receive your daily fix for news, the mortgage and housing industry has saturated a good portion of CNN, Fox and every newspaper outlet in America for the past year. Almost makes you enjoy really bad reality television, huh? Is it over yet? Well, not entirely, but we’re getting there. And that’s the one bright spot to hitting rock bottom…you can only go up from there! So take a deep breath and let out a big sigh, Floridians. We ARE on our way back up. Recent numbers have showed a price stablization in condos and homes in many complexes and subdivisions in Panama City. “But Scott, that’s not what I heard on the news last night.” Yeah, I know…and that makes things all the more confusing for someone who is new to buying real estate. But the truth is, people are ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://panamacityhomes.net/blog_post.asp?post=9328">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span></div> </article> <article> <h1>A SMALL STEP FOR FLORIDA HOMEOWNERS</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">A SMALL STEP FOR FLORIDA HOMEOWNERS These have been stressful times for everyone. You can’t turn on the television without hearing something about tax increases, gas prices…something that wants to suck the life out of our wallet and bank account.<br /> <br /> When the Florida Legislation session began this month, a few more clouds over the Sunshine State floated away. Property owners all over the state let out a sigh of relief that could probably be heard all the way to South Carolina when we received a little more tax relief.<br /> <br /> Citizens will gain the freedom to purchase a new home without huge tax penalties. Rental home owners, second home owners and businesses will benefit from limits on future tax increases. The amendment contains two provisions that we have long advocated: doubling the homestead exemption and the ability for families to take with them their Save Our Homes tax savings, or “portability."<br /> <br /> Sound like ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://panamacityhomes.net/blog_post.asp?post=9325">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span></div> </article> </main></body></html>