Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Airport News, New Roads, and Something about Millage

Interesting morning in the news. The deadline for bids on the old airport site was Monday. 4 bids were received with offer details to be released in about 8 days. The site is approximately 700 acres with water-frontage. This could be an awesome place for a sweet development. A link to the article can be found here.

St. Joe agreed to sell approximately 4000 acres to the State of Florida for approximately $46 million. This will be huge for our local growth. A link to the article can be found here.

-Edited 9/28/06: Just got word of some of the roads they are looking at widening:

SR 22 in Bay and Gulf Counties
SR 12 in Gadsden and Liberty Counties
SR 20 in Bay, Calhoun and Liberty Counties
US 98 in Gulf, Franklin, Jefferson, and Wakulla Counties
SR 71 in Calhoun and Gulf Counties

The last article goes something like this: Blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah; blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah; blah blah blah blah.

Blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah; blah blah blah blah. *Whispers – The Panama City Commission unanimously voted to decrease the millage from 5 to 4.1722 mills in light of public outcry over high valuations. To understand, click here.

- Edited 9/28/06: The intention of the "Blah's" was not to signify unimportance, it was only to emphasize that the reporter through in a pretty important decision made by the commission at the tail end of a seemingly unrelated article.

posted by Jason at 9:39 AM

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Monday, September 25, 2006
Buyer's Market = Great Time to Buy

Typically in my posts (and my opinions) I try to steer clear of anything “doom and gloom”. I like to consider myself an optimist, and I like to discuss positively about the real estate market. However, it is very apparent that the current market is definitely slower this year than it was last year.

A friend of mine often says “. . . it is what it is.” Right now we are going through a period of correction and transitioning to a buyer’s market. I found an article that speaks into this at Realtor.org. A link to the article can be found here.
A link to a .pdf version can be found here.

There is a lot of chatter with regard to owners worrying about their real estate investments. The bottom line is that the growth that occurred here in Panama City in the last few years was unnatural and extraordinary. If you are an investor and you have the money to hold your investments, then you'll be fine. If you are a speculator and expecting (or expected) to ride the "real estate wave", you may be in trouble. Quick money is great, but over-extending yourself is risky.

Long term: people love the beach. The commercial industry is on track to catch up with the residential growth and when it does Bay County will be huge for destination travelers. I'll post later on other things coming up in this area.

posted by Jason at 9:14 PM

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Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Ketchup - With a splash of Bay County Airport

For a few weeks at least, I will be playing catch-up with regards to getting some recent items in the news posted. A lot has happened and I thought great news would be a good start. On Friday (9/15/06), it was announced formally that the airport relocation had finally received the FAA's last approval. You can find the article here.

To read the FAA Record of Decision, Click Here.
To read the response from the Bay County Chamber of Commerce, Click Here.
To read the response from the Natural Resources Defense Council, Click Here.

posted by Jason at 10:27 PM

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