Watercolor

[newbie]

I've been down to this area numerous times down because of the beauty of the area. I like it much better than Hilton Head, Amelia, Kiawah, etc. due to the white sand, lack of highrises, clear water, dunes, etc.

I have looked and looked at houses along various parts of 30A over the last 2 years or so. I really like Watercolor. However, I have noticed that every time I come down, it appears that there has been yet another round of price cuts on the houses. I also get data from a realtor. The data seems to show that activity has picked up in Watercolor, but prices are continuing to fall. I have some info from a couple of years ago that showed many prices on homes in the $700 plus range per square foot. Over the last six months or so, it seems the many of the sales in Watercolor have been under $500 per square foot. Am I missing something? I wouldn't want to pull the trigger on a purchase while prices are still falling.

 

[Smiling JOe]

Data is only as good as the analyst who is reading it. Something that you cannot do with a project as large as WaterColor is look at only the avg sq ft price for sales when making your assumptions that prices are decreasing. You need to keep in mind the location of the houses, too. It might be that the cheaper more recent sales are in ph 3 or ph 4 which doesn't have easy access to the beach. Remember that some of WaterColor is located east of hwy 395, a good mile or more from the WaterColor Beach Club, BaitHouse, Beach, etc. I'm not suggesting that the price per sq ft hasn't or isn't decreasing, but make sure that you are comparing apples to apples, when reading the data. It might be best to have your Realtor give you a WaterColor map and you can track the avg sq ft prices, pinpointing the homes' locations. It will vary greatly.

 

[SablePoint]

I agree with most of what you're saying Smiling Joe. But I'm building in Phase 3 of Watercolor and your statement about Phase 3 not having easy access to the beach seems to be a misconception that a lot of people have.

Our house in Phase 3 is closer to the WaterColor Town Center and Beach Club than just about any home in Phase 2 (actually, almost every property in Phase 3 is closer to the Beach Club than almost every property in Phase 2). If you look at a map of WaterColor and draw concentric circles radiating out from the Beach Club, you?ll see what I?m talking about.

Plus, to get to the Beach Club, Town Center, Bait House, Boat House, etc... from Phase 3, you don't have to ride your bike down busy Western Lake Parkway (the main thoroughfare through town)... you get to take an awesome scenic tour across the Western Lake pedestrian bridge.

Most parents would probably prefer that their kids not ride down Western Lake Parkway? and from Phase 3, you don?t have to do that.

I think Phase 3 is definitely the undiscovered gem in WaterColor (one reason being is that it is still being developed, unlike Phase 2 and Phase 1 which are nearly built out and naturally have the most inventory of homes for sale).

Phase 3 is a "Destination." People only go to Phase 3 if they have a house back there. It is the "no outlet" section of WaterColor... which is bordered on the south by Western Lake, and on the west and north by Grayton Beach State Park (and therefore permanently protected from encroaching development).

Phase 1 & 2 are "through fares" where traffic drives through on their way to Town Center, 30-a, and the Beach Club? or to 395 and Publix. Whereas Phase 3 is secluded and removed from all of the traffic.

Although not formally designated as such, Phase 3 seems to me to be almost the "Estate Section" of WaterColor. It seems that the lots are larger, the trees are taller (reaching above the rooflines and providing a more wooded setting)... and everything just seems more private.

I would choose Phase 3 over Phase 2 (and most of Phase 1) every time. And I believe that as time goes on and the community gets more built out? many more people will come to realize this.

With all of that said? there is absolutely nothing wrong with Phase 1 & 2. WaterColor is the most breathtaking resort development I?ve ever experienced? anywhere. To me, it is the Crown Jewel of the Emerald Coast.

 

[Smiling JOe]

SablePoint, you make some great points about ph3, and as long as the people are on foot or bike, you are correct, and most people do go to the beach in WC on bike, it seems. Of course I was refering to the driving distance. Ph 4 seems well removed from the heart of WaterColor, in terms of proximity.

 

[SeaGrooving]

SablePoint,

Good points, nice articulation, and exactly why we bought our lot in Phase III instead of any other Phase.... no traffic there, fewer rentals (we hope) and surrounded by nature trails

 

[SablePoint]

Smiling Joe, I should have stated that I agree with 100% of everything you said except...

It might be that the cheaper more recent sales are in ph 3 or ph 4 which doesn't have easy access to the beach.

Phase 3 is actually pricier than Phase 2.... so I don't think that you're seeing "cheaper more recent sales" in phase 3.


But on everything else you said:

Data is only as good as the analyst who is reading it. Something that you cannot do with a project as large as WaterColor is look at only the avg sq ft price for sales when making your assumptions that prices are decreasing. You need to keep in mind the location of the houses, too... ...Remember that some of WaterColor is located east of hwy 395, a good mile or more from the WaterColor Beach Club, BaitHouse, Beach, etc. I'm not suggesting that the price per sq ft hasn't or isn't decreasing, but make sure that you are comparing apples to apples, when reading the data. It might be best to have your Realtor give you a WaterColor map and you can track the avg sq ft prices, pinpointing the homes' locations. It will vary greatly.

I wholeheartedly agree.

 

[jimmyp5]

SJ and SablePoint have made some very perceptive & accurate statements about the WaterColor phases. And Newbie, a number of lookers are going through the exact same issues you're asking about ... I'm a full-time Realtor in WaterColor, it's all I do.

In my opinion, too many buyers and sellers and Realtors get too hung up on price-per-foot comparisons too much of the time. Sure, it's a useful index for spotting trends, comparisons between communities & phases, etc., but please remember it's only one characteristic.

Even right within WaterColor, I'd encourage you to also look closely at architecture, floorplan, quality of construction, location, finishes/fixtures/appliances, number & size of porches, covered parking, indoor & outdoor storage, etc.

As for the trend of per-foot prices falling over the last two years, I don't know how familiar you are with the Panhandle or 30-A markets in general, but WaterColor is clearly not alone in softer pricing the last couple years. There are several exhaustive (even one or two exhausting ones) threads on SoWal regarding this, that you ought to peruse.

My quickest answer to WaterColor's trend that you ask about is that an overdue price correction was triggered by the record '05 storm season, yet homes kept getting built here all through '06 and still. So our inventory has swollen tremendously, even as buying activity was very light.

Some of the high per-foot prices seen 2 years ago came from the general frenzy in the 30-A (and national) real estate market, and some came from the fact that there were only 30-40 homes, total, on the market here then.

Some of the lower per-foot prices you've seen the last couple months came from a text-book buyers market of up to 150 homes, from larger homes (on average) than 2 years ago (so typically a little less per foot), but it's mostly from sales being made by sellers who needed to get out at the time ... good ol' supply & demand helped these buyers make some very good buys.

And that's exactly where we are still today. Many of the other pundits on this board can help you try to decide whether we're at the bottom yet or not.

Please PM me if you'd like to discuss this further.

 

[SablePoint]

I was refering to the driving distance. Ph 4 seems well removed from the heart of WaterColor, in terms of proximity.

Absolutely agree. Phase 4 is not in the same ballgame. I guess that's why I took exception to the comment which seemed to lump Phase 3 in with Phase 4. Absolutely no comparison between the two.

Phase 3 is, in my opinion, closer to the heart of WaterColor than even Phase 2.

According to St. Joe... Cerulean Park is "the heart of the community and defines a long water axis that connects Gulf to lake." At the lake, the axis continues over the Western Lake pedestrian bridge. And what's on the other end of the bridge? Cerulean Park North, of course! It's an exquisite extension, and "bridging" of the two parks... and the two phases... across the lake. Cerulean Park North then continues along another water axis (with stream and fountains) till you ultimately reach the Phase 3 Pool.

Cerulean Park and Cerulean Park North are the anchor and the centerpiece of the development. You can almost draw a stright line from the Beach Club, through the Town Center, through Cerulean Park to the Bait House, Boat House, then over Western Lake to Cerulean Park North and ending at the Phase 3 Pool.

I have to admit that I didn't know that WaterColor had all of those plans when I bought into Phase 3 (heck, the bridge wasn't even built at the time). But now that I've seen how they had this vision all along, and how it all fits together... and how stunning it is... I'm just awestruck.

Yes. Phase 4 is far removed from the heart of WaterColor. I'm sure it will be nice. But Phase 4 will never be in the same league as Phase 3.

 

[Buckhead Rick]

Owning a lot in Phase 4 I agree with all the previous folks, phase 4 is a part of Watercolor in name only, we are really more like Natureswalk and other nice developments north of 30A. In the future (who knows how long that is) Phase 4 we offer access to a nice shopping area, hopefully with more than a Publix and liquor store - though that's a good starting point, Beach access -though a car ride away, and many pools but will have to be priced considerbly below the rest of WC and closer to Natureswalk.
The great thing about 30A is there is a price point for many different people.

 

[Babyblue]

I've been down to this area numerous times down because of the beauty of the area. I like it much better than Hilton Head, Amelia, Kiawah, etc. due to the white sand, lack of highrises, clear water, dunes, etc.

I have looked and looked at houses along various parts of 30A over the last 2 years or so. I really like Watercolor. However, I have noticed that every time I come down, it appears that there has been yet another round of price cuts on the houses. I also get data from a realtor. The data seems to show that activity has picked up in Watercolor, but prices are continuing to fall. I have some info from a couple of years ago that showed many prices on homes in the $700 plus range per square foot. Over the last six months or so, it seems the many of the sales in Watercolor have been under $500 per square foot. Am I missing something? I wouldn't want to pull the trigger on a purchase while prices are still falling.

Pull the trigger. Just make an offer you can live with.