Tag: panama city beach real estate sales

Will Gulf Front Condo Prices Continue to Fall?

Is the Gulf Front Condo Market at the Bottom?

As a real estate professional who specializes in Gulf Front Condos in Panama City Beach, I get asked all the time for my opinions about the current market.  Are condo prices going to drop anymore?   When are prices going to start going back up?   Are short sales and foreclosures still dominating the market?  Should I buy now or wait a little longer?

In my opinion, I think now is a great time to buy.  I know what you’re thinking.  “Of course he’s going to say ‘buy now’, he’s a real estate agent and he just wants to make a sale.”  Not so fast, I like to base my opinions on facts and not just good old fashioned optimism.  So here are the facts.

The Bay County Multiple Listing Service (MLS) shows that there were 44 gulf front condos in Panama City Beach sold in January of 2011.  In Jan. of 2012 that number was up to 47.  It’s a slight increase of almost 7% I know, but let’s look a little deeper.  The average sales price in Jan. of 2011 was $183,509.  In Jan. of 2012 the average was $217,436.  That’s nearly a 20% increase in sale price in just one year.

Are you thinking that 2012’s average sales price must have been skewed by the sale of a huge, really high priced penthouse?  Think again. The highest priced sale in Jan. 2011 was $600,000.  The highest priced sale in Jan. 2012 was $540,000.  Even if that weren’t the case, we can level the playing field by looking at the average price per square foot.  In Jan. 2011 this was $164.27/Sq.Ft. In Jan. 2012 it was $183.93/Sq.Ft. That’s a 12% increase.

Are foreclosures and short sales still dominating the market?  Yes and no.  In Jan. 2012, 36% of sales were either foreclosures or short sales.  While that’s still a considerable percentage, it’s actually down from 45.5% in Jan. 2011.   If you are the type of person that likes to see these numbers in a neat and clean format (like me) here’s a handy table.

Gulf Front Condo Sales Comparison
January 2011 vs. January 2012
Jan. 2011 Jan. 2012 % Change
Total Sales 44 47 6.82%
Average Price $183,509 $217,436 18.49%
Average Price / Sq.Ft. $164.27 $183.93 11.97%
% Foreclosure/Short Sale 45.50% 36% -20.88%
Listing $ vs. Sold $ Variance -7.85% -4.48% -42.93%

The bottom line is that nobody has a crystal ball.  Any investment carries inherent risk.  The savvy investor looks at the big picture.  Does the picture of today’s condo market in Panama City Beach look like we’re at a snow capped peak or are we somewhere near the bottom in the foothills?

If you are interested in finding out more about Gulf Front Condos in Panama City Beach, please contact me, Opey Russ Broker-Associate at Beach Beach Real Estate, at 850-699-1996.

The Beach Show – Our New Real Estate TV Show

Well, folks, here it is.  I’ve been talking about doing this for a while, I’ve been tweeting about it for weeks and we’ve finally gotten the kinks worked out.  The Beach Show is your ONLY internet TV show all about real estate in Panama City Beach.

Each week we’ll publish a video of the Three Hot Deals of the Week that show you what you need to be buying.  These deals will range from $60/foot attached townhomes to $150/foot beach-front cottages to new luxury homes in Wild Heron.  All of them are steals and most of them go under contract within a few days of them being featured – no necessarily from our efforts, but because they are hot deals.

The deals on the show will sell whether we feature them on the show or not, but the object is to get them in front of you before someone else buys them.  The real estate market may still be in the proverbial toilet, but there are still hot deals out there that disappear faster than you can say 3 Hot Deals of the Week!

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4170614&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1

Visit TheBeachShow.com and read the show notes.

Also, in addition to the 3 Hot Deals of the Week, we have two other segments we feature each week from our good friends Karen Smith and Hunter Palmer.  Visit TheBeachShow.com to read Real Estate Tips by Karen Smith and The Mortgage Minute from Hunter Palmer.