Condo Info

[flyguy]

Greetings,

I am new to your forum and enjoy the info.

I am interested in purchasing a beachfront condo (a view of the ocean from the balcony is important to me and the wife).

We plan to spend April and May mostly at the condo, rent it during the summer and spend September and October back at the condo. The winter would be rented long term if we could find a good snowbird. We don't want to be at the beach with the crowds or during the summer heat.

Brand new 2+ bedroom condos are now listed below 400K in Panama City Beach and older ones are approaching 300K. We are going down to the Panhandle to look at condos in two weeks but plan to delay buying till the fall. My gut feeling is prices will continue to fall in PCB as more condos come on line, more folks walk away from their deposits/mortgage, and rents continue to fall due to oversupply.

I spent a week at Santa Rosa beach last July and other than the heat I thought it was very nice. But the prices are much higher than PCB and since we plan to use our condo off season, I don't see the need to pay double what we would in PCB.

Some questions:
Do you SoWal folks think I am off base on my reasoning?

Do you think SoWal condo prices will be dragged down by the PCB prices?

Does anyone have any info on Pinnacle Port condos. They appear on the MLS to be very removed from the rest of PCB, almost to Walton county.

Thanks,
Flyguy

:scratch:

 

[Kurt]

Prices may fall more, but no one can tell you how much. I think there are some good deals out there now. Pinnacle Port is right over the county line.

 

[seacrestkristi]

flyguy. I Seacrest.
Sowal is nothing like PCB, and hopefully the county commissioner's along with citizens, will not let it get that way. You probably would have an awesome view in a high-rise but what about your neighbors and the environmental beauty?
If you change your mind about being Gulf front, I have a charming quiet townhouse in Seacrest just 200 steps to the gulf. You can see the gulf on the horizon from your front bedroom window, backs up to Camp Creek Golf Course. Very quiet, nice neighbors. Anyhow, IMHO, it's all about location and I don't feel PCB prices will affect what Sowal has become and most importantly has not become. Crowded with tourist shops and McD's. It's all about the hometown feel and clean beaches. Would ya'll agree? :roll: :roll:

 

[egrp]

SoWal and PCB are nite and day...they may appear close on a map, but that is the only similarity. Pinnacle Port is kind of a tweener, its right behind Carrilon (sp?) Beach...but its not that nice, a bit aged.

 

[PalmBeach]

Sowal and PCB are completely different. It really boils down to a matter of taste and budget. Like Cadillac and Rolls Royce. Both are nice but the investment level and quality are quite different. If you don't mind high rise condos and want the best view for the dollar PCB is for you. There are some very motivated sellers and the buildings are first class with regard to amenities. In my opinion, the long term for outlook for Sowal is a dramatic price increase as the market transitions to affluent end-users rather than investors. 2006 was the slowest year for sales but also saw the 3 highest price home sales in the history of the area (from over $7 million to over $9 million). An 8-unit Gulf front condo project in Seagrove is currently being pre-marketed for prices ranging from $2.95 million to $5.8 million. Expect to see demolition of older condo buildings replaced by extemely high end units. Of course, this process will take quite a while. In the short term you will see some good deals as weak investors drop out. I know of an investor who recently deeded a new unit in Seagrove to the bank in lieu of foreclosure. However, most of the Sowal investors can afford to hold a year or two until they can at least sell for break even. A lot of PCB investors don't have the ability to hold as long.

 

[Bobby J]

Go with Sowal and if you need help with an agent let me know. I may know a few! ;-)

 

[beachmouse]

Is Pinnacle Port the place that got whumped by storm surge by one of the recent hurricanes?

If so, you need to know the up to date status of any insurance claims, special assessments and whatnot in order to make an informed decision.

 

[Franny]

You mention paying double for condo's on 30-A. There are a couple of mid 1980's units for sale on 30-A for $469-495,000 compared to a new unit in PCB for $349,000. The one's on 30-A are larger units, smaller developments, only older but well maintained. I have nothing against PCB and I personally like Ponnacle Port just wanted to clarify the price differences. Good luck to you.

 

[SHELLY]

I am interested in purchasing a beachfront condo (a view of the ocean from the balcony is important to me and the wife).

Do you mean a "real full-blown gulf view" or a "neck-craning, leaning out over the balcony, you can just see a sliver of blue that may be the gulf at high tide view"?

There's a wide gap in the prices between the two.

plan to delay buying till the fall. My gut feeling is prices will continue to fall in PCB as more condos come on line, more folks walk away from their deposits/mortgage, and rents continue to fall due to oversupply.

I agree.

---------------------------------

Are you able to carry this condo if you don't rent it out as planned?




.

 

[slandmarks]

You may want to be CAREFUL about investing in Pinnacle Port. There have been many assessments over the years and they are currently wrangling with the Bay County Building Department over "out of code" doors and windows, etc.