Back from vacation--market looks very soft

[TooFarTampa]

Uh oh! Have you just revealed your location? :shock:

Uh, yes Kurt. I'm in Tampa.

Just thought ice cream sounded good. That's where I would go if I got to Travel2Much like T2M.

 

[Kurt]

Uh, yes Kurt. I'm in Tampa.

Just thought ice cream sounded good. That's where I would go if I got to Travel2Much like T2M.

I thought you meant to stop by the rental house "Sugar Shack" where you were hangin' out.

 

[TooFarTampa]

I thought you meant to stop by the rental house "Sugar Shack" where you were hangin' out.

:nono1: You need to leave Grayton once in awhile and head east!

 

[Travel2Much]

...

Just thought ice cream sounded good. That's where I would go if I got to Travel2Much like T2M.

No Sugar Shack tonite, sorry. To report in, the beach at RB was quite fine tonite, sorry dunes aside. Some human urchins were ruining the dunes with Dad's permission until someone pointed out how gauche that was. That restaurant (Onano?) was filling up and given that it is a cool summer evening looked idyllic. It's a fine thing to walk your bike through such a neat downtown. The lawns were beautiful and when I passed upon them I said "romp, romp, romp". But, I think some show is on for twilight, as blankets were beginning to be laid about. Magical. Seven mil for gulf front? No problemo...

 

[Kurt]

:nono1: You need to leave Grayton once in awhile and head east!

I was at RB this AM. I am all over SoWal like yellow flies on a big black sticky ball hanging from a sand pine. http://www.sowal.com/photos.html

I did catch the moon rise at Grayton again this evening though. :clap_1:

 

[dusty]

What is the rate of homes selling in the area for the last 5 years? Wasn't last year more of the anomaly than this year?

 

[Smiling JOe]

Just trying to report what I saw and nothing else and get others perspectives. ... That's all I am trying to discuss in a fair and honest way....

Skier,
This is a good topic and I am interested in reading opinions. However, everyone here knows that many listings are like your very own, which is an overpriced property that you will sell only if someone is willing to pay you more than it is worth. You do not care if you sell, yet you add to the number of listings just sitting on the market, and help soften it. It is a free world and you are welcome to do whatever you please within the laws of the land, but don't continue with your horse caca.

With that said, sure there are overpriced properties dropping in price, and sales have slowed. Frankly, I am glad to see some prices are rounding back to what should be the listing price. I bet you are a lawyer trying to piss off people all day, and I don't think you really give a crap about the market. You are just trying to stir the pot.

 

[dusty]

Philip,

I get the list of properties directly from Arvida sales (it only includes listings by Arvida and not other realtors) and it includes about 120 properties--land, condos and homes. The rest I got by going to Destin Properties website and counting those listed by other agents. Its at least 180. Not sure why the MLS you were looking at had so few of the total listings. In terms of total units, there will eventually be about 1k, but Arvida still has a lot of unsold lots in phase IV and many lots it still owns in Phase III. So, in terms of non-Arvida owned units, the inventory is in the range of 20-25%.

Are all the Arvida units on the market or are some of them in controlled releases?

How is Watersound selling? The last press release I saw showed a surplus of buyers for Watersound Beach/Watersound Beach West.

 

[Smiling JOe]

What's interesting is that this is quite irrational behavior. Buyers see the ridiculous price and are offended and back off, even if they were willing to pay market value. Other buyers see the "for sale" signs carpeting the landscape and back off. Still other buyers see that darn near every place in a development is up for sale and think, "well if this development sucks so bad that everyone is trying to unload their property I will back off". Still others see others backing off and back off.

The result is a severe constriction of demand due to attempted market manipulation, and escalating supply.

Interesting collective action problem.

:clap_1: :clap_1: :clap_1:
Thanks, I've been so busy shouting at Skier that I may have forgot to say what you said so well.

 

[Smiling JOe]

Sueshore, I actually think October is the best time of year here anyways. Still warm enough for going to the beach, but not so warm you sweat through clothing if you have to be outside for 5 minutes at 8:30 am. Very pleasant if you want to golf, walk, play tennis, or bike. Peak of hurricane season has passed. And way less crowded than it would be in August.

If you and Kurt don't stop telling people these lies about October being a good month to visit the beach, I may have to break out a jar of whoop-a_s. October is the worst month ever and everyone should plan around the month of October for beach travels. The yellow flies are the worst from Oct 1 - Halloween. Sharks eat a lot in October. Rip Currents are definitely worst in October. All the restaurants close for a vacation in October. Peak of Hurricane season is October. Should I continue? Yes, if you want to have the worst beach vacation, come in October.