FWB DEVELOPERS REPORTING BRISK SALES

Location, Location, Location. This local story continues to demonstrate the buyer is looking for good projects at an affordable price in a good location. As noted in previous blog entries, a high demand is coming upon us and supply is dwindling. Success stories like this one will be one of many in the upcoming months, as long as builders listen to the customer and provide a high quality homes.

Northwest Florida Daily News Story - December 7, 2008
Slump? What slump?

Some local developments, like Meridian Square Townhomes, are reporting brisk sales
Special to the Daily News Despite the economic downturn, some local projects are reporting steady sales. One is Meridian Square Townhomes, a new development in Fort Walton Beach. The townhomes are targeted as affordable, wellbuilt housing within a stone’s throw of Hurlburt Field’s back gate. Sales are brisk despite the economic slump, says Jay Ghosh, a spokesman for Okaloosa Properties LLC, which ultimately plans to build 66 three- and fourbedroom townhomes on six acres off Martin Luther King Boulevard, next to Heather Glenn Apartments. The two-story townhomes are close to the base, the joint campus of Northwest Florida State College/the University of West Florida and the businesses in the city’s Industrial Park. “We’ve already built the first 24 units and we’ve sold 23 of them in the last 90 days,” says Ghosh, “proving that, even in this real estate market, if something’s priced right and in a good location, it will sell.” The townhomes range in size from 1,750 to 1,900 square feet, depending on the floor plan, and feature such amenities as stucco, tile and granite counter tops. They are energy efficient and hurricane resistant, with low-energy windows. Buyers so far have been mostly military personnel who plan to live in the townhomes, which all have ample kitchens, good-sized living rooms, well-designed master bedrooms and one-car garages. The fourbedroom models have three full bathrooms and the three-bedroom models have 2½ baths. “What’s great about this project is its location, which is ideal for people who work at Hurlburt Field,” Ghosh says. “They will be living less than half a mile from the base’s back gate. And at under $100 a square foot, it’s a very good price.” Shiloh Builders of Fort Walton Beach has begun work on the second phase of the development. An additional 12 units are currently under construction and 12 more will be under way in January.