THE TIME IS RIGHT TO BUY - ARE YOU READY?

The news is better every day for homebuyers in our area. The inventory of homes are reducing fast with the bulk of the buying in our area just starting with military transfers. It could get interesting. Affordable and quality homes in our area are getting very low, which could begin to raise prices once again. Basic Economics, Supply and Demand.


Right time, right place
Low interest rates and the new federal tax credit can mean good deals for first-time homebuyers
By THOMAS J. MONIGAN Northwest Florida Daily News 315-4438 tmonigan@nwfdailynews.com Good news still can be hard to find in the local real estate market, but it appears there’s something positive shining through the darkness. Thanks to a government incentive of $8,000 and interest rates below 6 percent, first-time homebuyers are finding themselves in the right place at the right time. “The more people learn, the more interest there is,” said Gloria Frazier, owner of ERA American Realty of Northwest Florida. “Prices have come down to where affordability is excellent.” A 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage of 5.5 percent means there’s an opportunity to be seized. “In the late 1990s, we had the same housing affordability, but I don’t think there have ever been incentives like these,” Frazier noted. Numbers from local lenders appear to bolster that claim. At Northstar Mortgage in Fort Walton Beach, the percentage of first-timers securing home loans rose from 8.9 for the first five months of 2008 to 52.6 this year. According to Northstar’s Sue Botelho, 14 percent of first-timers range from 21 to 25 years old and 50 percent are 26 to 34. Perhaps the biggest surprise, Botelho said, is that about 25 percent of all first-time homebuyers are single women who are qualifying with a median income of $37,400. Bart Swan, who recently merged Superior Home Loans with Baker and Lindsey, offered slightly different numbers. In the first five months of 2008, 53 percent of all home loans closed at Baker and Lindsey were for firsttime buyers. In the first five months of 2009, that number was 41 percent. Swan says not enough people know enough about the opportunity. “It appears the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit isn’t getting people out of bed to buy a home, despite the fact that it should be,” he wrote in an e-mail. But Swan can also point to 24-year-old Ashley Davis. She recently bought a four-bedroom, two-and-ahalf bath home with 1,900 square feet just south of Interstate 10 in Crestview. For the record, it was a “short sale” in which the holder of the previous mortgage was settling for something less than the original asking price. The selling price was about $150,000. And because Davis put 6 percent down on a 30-year fixed USDA Rural Home Loan at 5 percent interest, Davis’ total monthly payment (including taxes and insurance) is about $1,000 a month. She also could get the $8,000 in the mail from the federal government if she amends her 2008 tax return. Otherwise, she can take an $8,000 credit when she files for 2009. And if she lives in the home for three years, she does not have to pay it back. The mother-daughter team of Kathy Campbell and Kelly Shephard from the Key Group at Century 21 Wilson Minger helped Davis buy the house and she secured her loan through Swan. Everyone involved said a key first step was checking to see what Davis could afford. “She was the epitome of the smart first-time buyer,” Shephard said. “The first step needs to be going to see a lender. … I would never tell anybody to go outside their comfort zone on what they could afford.” Campbell agreed. “There’s nothing worse than finding something you love, then finding out you can’t afford it,” she said. “After that, everything else doesn’t look so good. You need to know what you qualify for.” Davis is a 2008 graduate of the University of Central Florida in Orlando. She began planning even before she earned a degree in Applied Mathematics and landed a job as a cost analyst with defense contractor Qualis Corp. “It was just the next step, to move out on my own … time for me to be the adult,” she said. “My idea was to move in with my parents for a little while and save up enough to get going on my own.” Prep work started with checking out the Multiple Listing Service provided by the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors. Davis then used an online mortgage calculator on Eglin Federal Credit Union’s Web site. With Swan’s help, she found she qualified for a home that would cost up to $165,000. “I was thinking in the $130,000s,” she said. “Because I know what my bills are, plus I wanted to keep putting money in my savings account.” Davis and her real estate agents looked at about 30 homes in a month. A few were in Niceville, but most were in Crestview. “More house for your money,” Davis said. “It just needed to be south of I-10.” She found a brick home that had a “relatively flat lawn … that was important, because I’m the one who’s going to me taking care of it,” Davis said. “When you walk in through the front door it’s very open … it has a vaulted ceiling and there’s a second story.” A previous offer for the house had been accepted. But the situation changed with the first prospective buyer and Davis didn’t waste any time. “I looked at it Saturday morning, and I knew there was somebody else looking at it Saturday afternoon,” she said. “So I made an offer, and three days later it was in contract.” The sale was closed at the end of May. It all took planning, discipline and knowledge of what the numbers mean and how they work. “I think it goes back to building a foundation in order to be prepared for largest purchase of your life,” Davis said. “The age that I am, and the housing market way it is, it just happened that I was at the right place in my life and the right time in housing market with the interest rates the way they are.”

TRAVEL CHANNEL RATES PANAMA CITY BEACH AS TOP FIVE FAMILY BEACH

Published by Ozgur Tore
Sunday, 07 June 2009

Looking for a great summer getaway? Panama City Beach, Fla., makes a splash, recognized by the Travel Channel as one of America’s Best Beaches for Families.
This Northwest Florida destination ranks Number Five on the Travel Channel’s list of Top 10 family-friendly beaches in the United States, cited for pristine beaches, award-winning cuisine, family attractions, child-friendly restaurants and accommodations, water sports, entertainment, nightlife and more.

“Panama City Beach is proud to receive this recognition from the Travel Channel,” says Dan Rowe, president and CEO of the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau. “From spectacular beaches, water parks, and marine attractions to world-class golf, fishing, shopping and dining, travelers of all ages find everything they’re looking for in a great beach vacation here in Panama City Beach.”

The destination boasts 27 miles of sugar-white-sand beaches bordering the clear emerald-green waters of the Gulf of Mexico and St. Andrews Bay. Although sand and surf are the main draws, Panama City Beach earned accolades for its full gamut of offerings, rating a five out of five from the Travel Channel for “Child-Friendliness” and “Non-Beach Activities.”

Spanning roughly one million square feet in the heart of town, the new Pier Park is Northwest Florida’s largest shopping, dining and entertainment complex. Enjoy soft sea breezes while shopping or dining al fresco at this venue overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. With predictably warm, sunny weather, Panama City Beach welcomes families year-round with outdoor concerts, festivals, fishing, golf, boating, sunset cruises, dolphin excursions, eco-tours, sporting events and more.

Cited by the Travel Channel as the Best Day Trip, St. Andrew’s State Park spans 1,260 acres. Hike the nature trails to see deer, egrets and graceful tropical birds. Some of America’s best deep-sea diving is right off the park’s coast in the jetties and nearby Shell Island, the Travel Channel says. The water here is crystal clear, making it ideal for watching the large schools of brightly colored tropical fish.

Among Panama City Beach’s other family favorites noted by the Travel Channel, Gulf World Marine Park offers entertaining animal shows and a chance to swim with dolphins. Shipwreck Island Waterpark is one of Florida’s largest theme water parks. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium features fascinating finds from around the world, while ZooWorld Zoological & Botanical Park is home to more than 250 animals, including rare and endangered species, in a lush, tropical setting.

More travelers around the globe are about to discover this Florida gem thanks to a new international airport slated to open early next year, making Panama City Beach easily accessible to travelers across the country and in international markets. With a myriad of green features incorporated into the design and construction, the airport aims to be the first in the U.S. to receive LEED certification.

A long-time favorite among beach enthusiasts, Panama City Beach also has enjoyed recognition as a premier beach destination from Condé Nast Traveler, TripAdvisor®, USA Today, Southern Living, Dr. Beach and the Clean Beaches Council.

Other destinations on the Travel Channel’s list of Best Beaches for Families are: Coronado Beach, Newport Beach and Santa Barbara, Calif.; Nantucket Island, Mass.; Siesta Key, Fla; Poipu Beach, Hi.; Duck, N.C.; and Hilton Head and Kiawah Island, S.C.

NEW CRESTVIEW CINEMA SITE MOVING DIRT

Guess what folks. This new movie cinema in North Crestview is huge. Excitement is in the air and the City Fathers are getting their wish. The City has always said recently, the town is moving North. With the only Library, new Crestview Chamber of Commerce, and Post Office across the street from the High School, and five new banks, it is quite obvious the City is getting what they wanted. It was only natural the new Cinema be placed in the middle of all of this.



Brian Hughes Crestview News Bulletin
You can’t smell the popcorn and tickets sure aren’t for sale yet, but Crestview continues to nudge closer to having a new 10-screen cinema.
Contractors have cleared a multi-acre site for the planned Twin Creeks Crossing shopping center, cinema and office park off of Richbourg Lane and Industrial Drive. Located behind the new Marquis Self Storage facility, developers also are planning an apartment complex for the site.
A new cinema for the area has long been rumored. Several false starts were thought to be the real thing.
This time however, things look serious, if the bustle of heavy construction equipment and the erection of temporary site offices is any indication.
Keith Park Developers is working on the first phase of the development, which would include the 10-screen, 40,000-square foot cinema as an anchor for a 30,000 square foot shopping center. The cinema would feature stadium-style seating, according to the developers’ agent, Jack Jernigan.
Speaking before the city council in February, Jernigan said the targeted opening for the cinema is set for April 1, 2010.

NEW SCHOOL COMES TO CRESTVIEW

Yes, the private schools are now targeting Crestview for their growth. With the tremendous growth coming to Crestview, I expect many other private schools will be targeting the Crestview marketi and it will help some of the stress to the school district until the other schools are completed.

Rocky Bayou to open Crestview campus
By BRIAN HUGHES Florida Freedom Newspapers

CRESTVIEW — The Central Baptist Church school playground is quiet now, but in a few months it will be filled with the sound of youngsters at play. Rocky Bayou Christian School of Niceville soon will establish a Crestview presence when it opens two voluntary pre-kindergarten classes this fall. Parents and educators recognize the value of socializing youngsters in a school setting. The state mandates school for 5-year-olds, but the voluntary pre-kindergarten program lowers the age to 4. Rocky Bayou Superintendent Don Larson has been considering opening a Crestview campus for several years, said Debra Marshall, who will be principal at the new campus. “The facility they have here at Central Baptist is wonderful,” Marshall said. She cited convenient parking, a kitchen and a safe, well-equipped playground among the benefits. Rocky Bayou plans to start small; it will offer two classes of 18 students each, Marshall said. Ultimately, Rocky Bayou hopes to offer education through the sixth grade at Central Baptist. “Our goal is to grow one or two grades a year,” Larson said. “We don’t want to grow too quickly and have the quality of our education suffer.” Central Baptist Pastor Scott Dennis said the church is excited about Rocky Bayou coming. When he brought the idea to the congregation for a vote last Sunday, there was no dissention, he said. “Everybody thinks it is a great idea,” Dennis said. Among the school’s eager supporters is Jacob Bracewell. He cavorted around the parking lot during Rocky Bayou’s ribbon-cutting Tuesday while his parents, the Rev. Dave and April Bracewell, kept a wary eye on their 4-year-old. “Are you looking forward to starting kindergarten this fall?” Bracewell, Central Baptist’s recreation minister, asked his son. “Yes!” came the instant reply. “Are you going play nice with the other kids?” Dad asked. “Yes!” “Are you going to work hard and learn your letters and learn about Jesus?” “Yes!” “Are you going to be good and stay out of the principal’s office?” “No!” Three out of four’s not bad.

Freeport Florida Gets $12 Million Nature Center

With the new Panama City International Airport just a few miles down the road from the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center, I am sure it will get some international attention. He might change the world, but he definite change Freeport. Note: To get to the Panama City International Airport from the west, many will be travelling by this area. Panama City International Airport Opening is planned for May 2010.


M.C. DAVIS’ BIOPHILIA CENTER TO COMBINE FUN, LEARNING
EDUCATION on the plantation
By TOM McLAUGHLIN Northwest Florida Daily News 315-4435 tomm@nwfdailynews.com

FREEPORT — M.C. Davis believes he can change the world by giving kids a chance to pick up turtles in the woods. And when he opens the E. O. Wilson Biophilia Center at his Nokuse Plantation, that’s exactly what he wants to see. “The theme here is learning while you’re having fun. We expect them to learn almost through osmosis,” Davis said during a recent tour of the center. “If kids leave here feeling like a little bit of a naturalist, that may go dormant, but when you are a mayor or a governor … maybe you’ll remember. “I think it will manifest itself, I really do. I’m betting my life’s work on it.” Construction of the 28,500-square-foot center, built at a cost of about $12 million, “basically” is complete. Crews will begin setting up the exhibits next week, according to Christy Scally, the center’s director. “We’re still on target for a grand opening Sept. 12,” she said. The center, located off State Road 20 east of Freeport, will be the first of its kind in the world, Davis said, and has drawn interest from as far away as France. A film crew from that country visited recently and filmed a documentary, Scally said. When the center opens, it initially will cater to fourth-graders, Scally said. School officials from Walton and Bay counties already have signed up to bring students. Curriculums also are being put together for seventh-graders and high school students, she added. Okaloosa County schools have expressed interest in sending students, too. But budget issues have prevented the school district from pledging full support, Davis said. “I think it will give students a real-life experience they couldn’t get in a classroom setting,” said Mark Gardner, who as Walton County’s facilities director, has been close to the Biophilia Center construction since its inception. Glassed-in to give visitors a feel of being outside even when they’re inside, the center will feature exhibits designed by scientists with a focus on “things we need to teach the next generation,” Scally said. For example, the scientist designers saw the need to give students an understanding of pollinators and the importance of pollination in the food chain. “A large majority of our food comes to us as a result of the pollination process,” Scally said. To demonstrate that in a way to capture students’ attention, the designers decided to build an actual beehive into the wall of the Biophilia Center. Bees will be able to come and go as they please from a hive entrance that opens on the outside while visitors can observe the inner workings of the hive. Still another exhibit features piano keys on the floor. When children step on the keys, they will make animal noises. That will allow students to identify the animals they hear outside, Scally said. A theater that seats 200 will be used for entertainment and education, she said. Another priority for the designers was to come up with a way to explain the importance of the long leaf pine ecosystem, Scally added. That mission will be accomplished with exhibits and tours of Nokuse Plantation. Forests of old growth long leaf pine dominated the landscape of Northwest Florida before the trees were decimated during the 1800s and early 1900s to make room for development. Davis’ plantation encompasses 48,000 acres in Walton County, and he is devoted to restoring the long leaf pine ecosystem on his property. “It’s a 300-year project,” boasts Matt Aresco, Nokuse Plantation’s director. “We’ve replanted 7 million long leaf pines.” Aresco said he also is working to restore wire grass to the area. “When you have wire grass and long leaf, it’s usually an indication of a healthy ecosystem,” he said. Alongside all of the exhibits, Davis and his crew have developed a nature walk so students can observe the forested plantation. Davis quietly has acquired land near Freeport for years. He has managed to establish, he said, “the largest private wilderness in Florida.” Nokuse (the Creek Indian word for bear) Plantation also is important because it is a “linchpin,” Davis said, that connects Eglin Air Force Base’s reservation and other wilderness areas to the Choctawhatchee State Wildlife Management Area and points east. Davis said he sees his conservation effort as “the first chance in over a century” to do what he’s done. He said he hopes others will build centers such as the Biophilia Center. Students are the hope for the future of conservation, he said. “In the overall scheme of things this doesn’t mean much. I hope this is popular and this idea spreads out and creates ripples everywhere,” he said. “Then maybe we’ll have a chance to save the planet.”

FED CHAIRMAN BELIEVES NATIONAL ECONOMY ON PACE FOR 09 TURNAROUND

With our economy somewhat insulated from some of the doom and gloom of the national economy, I expect our future in our local area is very bright NOW. If you want to be in the real estate market, don't wait and miss the boat.

WASHINGTON – June 5, 2009 – The pace of economic contraction is slowing, indicating the economy could bottom out and then turn up later this year, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told the House Budget Committee on June 3. He cited recent reports, including a flattening out of the decline in consumer spending and signs of a bottom in the housing market.Bernanke said the economy “has contracted sharply since last fall, with real gross domestic product [GDP] having dropped at an average annual rate of about 6 percent during the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of this year,” Bernanke told the committee. He said 6 million jobs have been lost since the downturn began, and recent labor market information “suggests that sizable jobs losses and further increases in unemployment are likely over the next few months.”Bernanke said consumer spending, which dropped sharply in the second half of 2008, has been “roughly flat” so far in 2009, and “consumer sentiment has improved.” He also said the Obama Administration’s economic stimulus could boost spending. However, the Fed chairman said a weak job market, the loss of housing wealth, and tight credit conditions could hamper consumer spending, which would be a key component of any recovery.“Making Progress”The Fed chairman said businesses “remain very cautious and continue to reduce their workforces and capital investments. On a more positive note, firms are making progress in shedding the unwanted inventories that they accumulated following last fall’s sharp downturn in sales.”Bernanke said the Fed continues to believe economic activity will turn up later this year, based on improvements in consumer spending and housing demand supported by fiscal and monetary stimulus and stabilization in foreign economic activity. Inflation is likely to remain low over the next year, Bernanke said.However, he warned that the forecast is dependent on continuing improvement in credit markets, and he said that “even after a recovery gets under way, the rate of growth of real economic activity is likely to remain below its longer-run potential for a while, with unemployment continuing to rise even after the economy turns around.Concerns about the job market were heightened by Wednesday’s release of the ADP National Employment Report. The private sector report, which has become more closely watched in recent months, said employment decreased by 532,000 in May, vs. a revised decline of 545,000 jobs in April. While the ADP report showed a slight improvement, it was “another in a list of ‘less bad’ economic reports,” said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at RidgeWorth Capital Management. “We do believe that the market expectations are shifting from simple survival to sustainability, so less bad is not good enough.”

NEW FLORIDA GROWTH BILL PASSES TO HELP STIMULATE DEVELOPMENTS/BUILDING

State of Florida takes a major step in stimulating growth and building. It is a start.

Gov. Crist signs Fla. growth management bill

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – June 2, 2009 – A growth management bill supported by business and development interests but opposed by environmentalists and local governments became law with Gov. Charlie Crist’s signature Monday.Crist said he hopes the bill (SB 360) will boost Florida’s sagging construction industry and create new jobs by making it easier to build in urban areas and extending the life of existing development permits for two years. Other provisions are designed to promote affordable housing development.“I know that it’s probably one of those bills where nobody’s going to be overly happy on either side,” Crist said. “So, hopefully it’s right down the middle and will be able to stimulate our economy and not do harm to our beautiful state.”Environmentalists, the growth management advocacy group 1000 Friends of Florida and the Florida Association of Counties had urged a veto. They argued the legislation will encourage sprawl and make Florida’s roadways even more crowded than they are now.“This is going to be a disappointment to the citizens of Florida who are already frustrated by traffic congestion,” said Florida Association of Counties spokeswoman Cragin Mosteller. “This is a big setback.”Most of the argument has been over a provision designed to correct an unintended consequence of an existing growth management law that requires ample roads and other transportation facilities to be in place before development can occur. That’s a concept known as “transportation concurrency.”It was aimed at containing sprawl but has had the opposite result. Instead of focusing growth in urban areas, concurrency has shifted it to outlying and rural areas because roads there are less congested and cheaper to build.The new law is intended to channel that growth back into cities by lifting transportation concurrency requirements in what are termed dense urban areas. State review of large regional developments also will no longer be required in those areas.The problem is the measure’s 1,000 people-per-square-mile definition of an urban area is too broad and will include suburban and rural sectors, said 1000 Friends president Charles Pattison.“The areas being exempted are not the ones that are urban and dense,” Pattison said. “This is clearly meant to benefit development interests.”Those interests certainly are happy with the new law.“Our economy needs the shot in the arm that this legislation will provide,” said John Sebree, the Florida Association of Realtors vice president for public policy.Associated Industries of Florida president and CEO Barney Bishop said the state’s prosperity hinges on its ability to grow and the new law will provide a spark by “easing the regulatory burdens that have been stifling economic growth.”Florida Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Mark Wilson also praised the legislation while criticizing “special interests and others” for making “a last-minute push to politicize” the issue.Crist also cited a provision calling for a study of mobility fees that would replace transportation concurrency and spread costs for new roads and other facilities more broadly across communities.The fee concept has drawn support from all sides in the growth management debate, but Pattison noted the state already is conducting the study, so there was no need to put it in the law. The results are expected to be ready for next year’s legislative session.