Real Estate in Northeast Florida and Around the World

It's Official!  Naval Station Mayport is officially going to get a nuclear aircraft carrier, after several years of having none since the retirement of the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy.  This is a huge win for Northeast Florida, which has two Naval Stations in the area. 

The coming of the carrier is a win on many fronts - the infrastructure improvements to the Mayport base will need to be modified to accommodate a nuclear carrier.  This means immediate and ongoing construction and maintenance workers will be needed, both military and civilian. 

With the increased jobs as a result of enlarging and modifying the Naval Base,  dredging that will need to be done,the personnel filling these jobs will need to eat, be entertained, be housed, buy vehicles, gasoline - you see where this leads.  All of the businesses that will provide goods and services to not only those performing these initial improvements, but also the more than 3,000 Navy personnel who will comprise the crew of the carrier and their families.  True, this is a gradual inflow of people into the community - but this is a good thing as it does not create an artificial demand that is not sustained.

Housing inventories in Northeast Florida have been trending favorable since April of 2009.  Northeast Florida is "where Florida does business", versus, where "tourists come to see the Mouse".  Northeast Florida - which is Jacksonville and the beach communities of Fernandina Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach, Volano Beach, St. Augustine Beach and parts south - as well as Orange Park, Amelia Island, St. Augustine, Fleming Island, Green Cove Springs, Palm Coast and Middleburg to name a few - will all benefit from today's announcement.  And - the increased activity will help pull the State of Florida out of the economic clamp down with a higher influx of sales taxes coming in from business happening in our area. Our area schools will benefit, as will our citizens.

I love our neighborhood, and know you will too.  I hope to see you around here soon - and when you see me, give me a wave, OK?

  The interest and demand for housing in the Northeast Florida market is on the rise, and I have been assisting my existing and brand new customers with selling and buying homes.  I have 5 pending sales since mid-January, two of which are short sale transactions, and four of which are my own listings, so I have put my customers first and unfortunately, not kept you, the interested reader, updated.  I apologize for my delayed update to Blogging the Times.

I have been discussing this furious activity that I am seeing with colleagues in my local chapter of Women's Council of Realtors, the local Watson Realty Corp. offices and also with our local builders, and they are all saying the same thing.  Buyers are out, houses are selling, and from the trends seen in the latest update from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors market statistics, we are definitely on an improving track.  For the past 11 months, home sales have increased, and based on activity being seen in January and February, the data should support at least two more months of increased activity.  The Realtor community has been saying for some time now, we are touching the bottom of the housing prices, and in some communities, the bottom has already passed. 

So if you are interested in buying a home or selling your home and moving up to the next home, now is the time to get into the market.  If you are trying to "time" the market - chances are you will be too late by the time you think you have found it.  In addition, if you are able to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit of up to  $8,000 for first time buyers or up to $6,500 for "move-up" buyers, you must be under fully-ratified contract by April 30, 2010, and close no later than June 30, 2010.  This gives you just over 60 days to find that perfect house and get under contract, and if you are building, just over 4 months to close.  In other words - time is running out fast.  It does not appear that this tax credit will be extended again, or that new tax credits will be passed for purchasing a home. 

Now is the time to buy. I'll be driving around those neighborhoods, looking for houses for my buyers, and looking for opportunities to discuss selling your house.  So if you see me, give me a wave and let's have a chat.  See you around the neighborhood!

Being raised as a Southern girl, Southern hospitality is just something I obtained through osmosis. It was in the air I breathed, water I drank and house I was raised in.  It was in my friends homes, businesses I worked in growing up and my schools.  What is strange is to find people who today, have heard of this term but do not know what it is. 

It's the smile you get when you walk into a restaurant, corner store or dry drug store.  It's the hug you get after having just met someone.  It's the offer for a cup of coffee, piece of pie or a plate of whatever happens to be on the stove at the time.  It's the hug you get instead of the handshake.  It's the feeling that you belong, you are accepted and one of us, no matter what your dialect or language may be.

In case you missed it, it isn't so much a "what" as a "feeling".  In the south, we would rather get to know you than just pass by.  We want you to feel welcomed, to become part of us, to feel like you are family and not just a passer-by.  We want to get to know you. It's people being outgoing rather than introverted, caring if you are having a nice day or that the sofa is comfortable.  The Germans have a term for this - gemütlich.  In the Southeastern United States, we call it Southern Hospitality.  And if you have ever been in its presence, you know what it is. 

What does this have to do with real estate?  This is one of the reasons the Southeastern U.S.  and specifically Northeast Florida is so special, and why people want to live here.  Yes, the weather is great, the economy diverse here, the cost of living good, but it is the people make the quality of life wonderful for those who live here.  From Yulee and Callahan south to St. Augustine and Palm Coast and all points in between, the Northeast Florida area offers plenty of Southern Hospitality and then some.  So come check out our neighborhoods, and call me to show you the way.  We'll chat a while and have a cup of coffee, and even a piece of pie if you'd like.

See you around the neighborhood!