If you’ve been watching the news, (which I am sure we all have) you are aware that the top kill efforts to stop the oil from from spilling into the Gulf failed, leaving whole regions fearful of what might happen economically if the spill can’t be contained. The sobering news, however, did not detour crowds from heading to Panama City Beach’s unaffected shores and soaking up sun while lounging on perfectly white, gorgeous beaches. Continue reading “Despite Oil Spill News, Panama City Beach Enjoys Big Memorial Weekend Crowds”→
I guess it goes without saying that we continue to be in a buyers market and selling your home seems like an Olympic event at times. Each week I am bombarded by questions about how to make your home stand out from the rest when selling. I will not hammer my number one point which is price because I have beaten that horse and I think everyone gets it by now. So beyond price what can you do as a seller? I want to share the Top 4 tips for making your home an inviting and welcoming place.
1. Welcoming atmosphere
Having doubled in size in just the last few years, BookIt.com is finally in a place big enough to house the talent needed to operate a serious contender in the web travel booking industry. Originally in the Poeple’s First building at the intersection of Middle Beach Road and R Jackson Blvd, they were bursting at the seams with absolutely no room for expansion. In a permanent home, everyone from the owner down to the call center reps are finally comfortable in a cutting edge, modern designed facility.
Wow, so over the last several months, so much has changed in my world (Jason), the world of PCBDaily and in the world of Panama City Beach. Where to start? Let’s start with Panama City Beach.
With the huge fanfare of the opening of the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport CNN aired a segment interviewing local officials and talking about the prospective economic prosperity that the new airport can bring. Cool!
To show all their customers and potential customers they care, Hidden Dunes condominiums on Thomas Drive in Panama City Beach has taken a very proactive stance in getting the word out that oil is not effecting their beautiful resort or the pristine beaches it lies on. They actually hired us (the CYber SYtes team) to shoot a video of their property and put it on their web site. The point was to emphasize that while the situation in the Gulf of Mexico is very serious, it has not effected us environmentally yet, and actually doesn’t look like it will.
Still, as of today, we have no tar balls or sheen hitting the beaches of Northwest Florida or Panama City Beach. This is great news.
So, the video is great, but really what makes them special is what they are doing to help their customers feel special and assured their vacation investment is protected.
One of the cool efforts of the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau is that they are in the process of adopting an area-wide plan where if the beaches are closed during a visitor’s stay, the participating resort will offer a $200 travel credit towards a return visit. Hidden Dunes is proud to be supporting this and will indeed offer a $200 travel credit to anyone whose vacation is interrupted by government closed beaches. If the Panama City Beach CVB program has enough buy-in, they’ll spend some money marketing it and making it known across our feeder markets.
ECP is officially opened for business, and ladies and gentleman, if you didn’t get to take a trip down to the new Northwest Florida International Airport this weekend, you missed one heck of a gala, complete with live music, food, a marching band and a pep rally-style arrival for those lucky few who were first to arrive at the new airport .
Okay, I know you think Karen has finally lost it, talking about hot dogs in a Real Estate article!!! As you know I always base my articles on real life situations and questions that I am asked and I tend to keep it on the positive. Many people have come to me with great concern since the Oil Spill and have become gripped in fear of their investment and their career. While this has been a daunting and challenging situation, there is every reason to keep the enthusiasm for what is right in our world instead of focusing on the negative. I had many things to write about this week but thought it a great time to remind you of one of my all time favorite stories. Continue reading “Keep On Selling Those Hot Dogs”→
The National Association of Homebuilders reported this week that their “Housing Market Index”, a survey among its members to quantify builder sentiment about the housing market, rose three points in May to 22. While this is still well below the 50 mark which indicates builders feel optimistic about the housing market, it is the highest reading since August of 2007. It has not been above 50 since April of 2006. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reported that new home construction soared in April – up nearly 41% from the same moth last year. The number of starts in April was also 5.8% higher than the previous month. The number of applications for new building permits actually fell for the month – down 11.5% from March. April 2010 applications were, however, still nearly 16% higher than the same month in 2009. Continue reading “Homes Data Promising”→
One of the best ways to show support for our beautiful beaches is to encourage the city council, county commission and other local organizations to pass a resolution opposing drilling off Florida’s Gulf Coast.
On April 30th, Walton Area Chamber of Commerce did just that and threw its support behind a proposed Constitutional Amendment banning the offshore drilling practices off Florida’s coast, which have the potential to threaten the economy of Northwest Florida. Here’s the resolution in its entirety.
PCBDaily 