September 28th, 2008
Posted by robin sherman
Well . . . just when it seems like the bad economic news won’t end, here comes some GREAT NEWS!
The privately funded Milken Institute just released a study ranking Pensacola number three in the state of Florida in terms of job growth. Better yet, the study placed Pensacola number 29 in the nation. When you consider that nearby Mobile, AL, ranked 125th and economic and job powerhouse Atlanta, Ga, ranked 59th, Pensacola looks to be doing quite well!
Some of the bright spots pointed out by the study are Pensacola’s fast growing high tech small businesses which are taking advantage of our proximity to three major military installations (NAS Pensacola, Hurlburt AFB and Eglin AFB) and their associated defense contractors, the good quality of life and our affordable housing.
In addition to the Milken study’s good news, a CNN Money survey just named one Pensacola community, Ferry Pass, as one of the “25 Best Places to Live.” The CNN Money survey says the median home price for Ferry Pass homes averages $129,350, compared to the Best Places overall average of $293,712!
Way to go Northwest Florida! I’ll be happy to share housing and neighborhood information on the Pensacola Bay Area. After all, who wouldn’t want to live in one of the 25 Best Places!
September 7th, 2008
Posted by robin sherman
I had the opportunity to work with some GREAT “baby boomer” clients earlier this year; Jim and Sharon. They were looking for a Pensacola Beach condo they could use as a rental now, and eventually move into a few years down the road when they actually retire. Jim and Sharon had looked at properties on Pensacola Beach back in 2005 and 2006, but with the soaring demand for beach condos and the rapidly escalating prices they just felt priced out of the market.
Amazing how just a few years have changed their perspective! Like other baby boomers around the country, Jim and Sharon were able to take advantage of the slumping real estate market and actually purchase more condo than they had originally hoped and for less money.
And it’s no wonder when you look at what has happened to property prices on Pensacola Beach. Statistics from the Pensacola Association of Realtors show that resales in one resort condominium project on the beach, Portofino, went from an average price of $924,239 in 2005, to $608,464 in 2008, a decline of more than 36%.
A recent online survey of 150 Coldwell Banker Brokers across the country found that 66% said home purchases among baby boomers was on the rise. Jim and Sharon are representative of those boomers that aren’t afraid to make a move during what has been called the worst housing market since the Great Depression. Like smart investors everywhere, they chose to purchase at the bottom of the market instead of at the top!
June 26th, 2008
Posted by robin sherman
Navarre Beach Park, a bright spot on Navarre Beach, is scheduled to reopen this October. The Navarre Beach Park was destroyed in September of 2004, by Hurricane Ivan.
The park is run by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Recreation and Parks and includes 400 parking spaces, picnic tables, pavilions, dune walkovers, and restrooms on both Santa Rosa Sound and the Gulf of Mexico.
The Navarre Beach Park has been a popular spot with bird watchers as the habitat on the Santa Rosa Sound is perfect for shorebird nesting. In fact, the park’s reopening was scheduled for this summer, but has been delayed due to concerns about possible distrubance of the shorebird nesting season.
The Santa Rosa County Commission has solicited suggestions from area residents for services to offer in the Navarre Beach Park. According to a Pensacola News Journal article some of the suggestions have included activities for stargazers, a concert stage and the return of campsites.
Navarre Beach is on the eastern tip of Santa Rosa Island – Pensacola Beach anchors the western end of the island – and is populated primarily by a few high rise condominiums and a smattering of beach rental homes and primary residences. With the exception of the few Gulf front condominiums at the center of the beach, Navarre Beach is relative untouched and commercial free (two restaurants and a convenience mart). The average sales price for the first five months of 2008 in the combined area of Navarre and Navarre Beach was $273,506.
The October Navarre Beach Park reopening will coincide with the annual Beaches to Woodlands tour hosted by the Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council. This is a popular festival linking northern and southern Santa Rosa County through outdoor activities.
For Similar Articles:
Jubilee . . . Remembering Old Florida
Four Things to Love About Navarre Beach
June 21st, 2008
Posted by Robin Sherman
Home Sales Pricing and the Law of Attraction . . . I had been rolling 
around the idea of writing a blog post on “Pricing Right” for the home seller when I found myself with time to kill in the Raleigh/Durham airport. Perfect I thought, I’ll sit here and outline this real estate pricing strategy post . About a page into it my flight was called.
So here’s where the Law of Attraction comes in. Figure the odds of this. Of all the people on this airplane, where does the one gentleman who is traveling to Florida to sell his mother’s home sit? You guessed it, right beside me.
After the introductions were made and he learns I’m a Realtor – not only a Realtor, but a Florida Realtor, he exclaims, “It’s my LUCKY day.” Hmmm . . . maybe . . . I think.
Here’s what he told me. He listed his mother’s property just over six months ago. (So, in this SLOW market it has already been on the market six months.) Of course it’s in perfect shape, best home in the neighborhood, etc. He’s on his way to meet with his Realtor and find out why it hasn’t sold.
But, you know me. When asked, I told him why. Why? It isn’t priced right. Pure and simple. It just isn’t priced right.
I asked how he arrived at his price originally. He said his Realtor gave him a number and then since the Realtor pointed out that the house needed a new roof, he got an estimate and then added this amount to the price. “And what did your Realtor say about that?,” I asked. “Well, he said I that might be a little high.” Hmmm . . . (Again!)
“And what has he said since then?,” I ask. “Well, just that he’s showing it. There’s not much traffic.” Hmmm . . . (Again!)
So here’s my philosophy on pricing:
- Always give the Sold and Pending homes more weight than the Active homes when setting a price.
- The Market, and the Market alone, ultimately determines the sales price.
- Know the number of months of inventory in that particular neighborhood (or market) and make sure the seller knows.
- The home must be one of the top two or three BEST priced homes in terms of the competition or it WILL NOT SELL.
Here’s what happens. It’s VERY, VERY simple. Buyers give their Realtor their price range and “must haves.” The Realtors – and today the Realtors and the Buyers given the access to listings on the internet – select the homes to see. The top value homes – read lowest price for the same features – get the most attention. And these are the ones that sell most quickly. Remember, more homes are coming on the market each and every day, so a good Realtor – even a merely competent Realtor – is keeping track of where the home stands vis-a-vie the competition.
So, fortunately the home this gentleman is trying to sell isn’t in my market. Because, I had to tell him it was time to fire his Realtor and look for another, and this time listen to them from the Get Go!
And as far as the Law of Attractions goes, when it’s priced right it is guaranteed to attract a buyer. Happens EVERY time!
More Posts on Real Estate Pricing:
Silver Lining to the Harsh Realty Reality . . . Price for the Market
Creative Real Estate Marketing or Just Plain Silly?
Information presented here contains the information and opinions gathered by Robin Sherman, MA, CRS, Broker and is accurate to the best of her knowledge
June 15th, 2008
Posted by Robin Sherman
Four Things You’ll Love About Navarre Beach . . . Well, I could come up with hundreds . . . but we all know what short attention span those of us on the internet have so, I’ll hold it to four for the time being!
1) The Beach – the beach, the beach, the beach Itself! Where else (other 
than Pensacola Beach) can you find such WHITE sand beaches and such gorgeous aqua green water? Navarre Beach is a TREASURE to be sure. Wanna walk along the shore and collect seashells? Wanna fish from shore? Wanna people watch? This laid-back piece of Florida real estate heaven is the place for you!
2) Juanna’s Pagoda – Volleyball and a killer breakfast, sailboats and beer, 
live bands and ring toss; come in the morning, come mid-day, come in the evening – something will be going on at this landmark grass thatched hut located at the base of the bridge.
Make sure you sign up for their mailing list so you won’t miss the special events, like sailing regattas and battles of the bands.
3) Bikers on the Beach on Saturday and Beach Church on Sunday. Come to 
Cocodries Restaurant at Navarre Beach on Saturday and check out all the fancy bikes, along with a great biker rock band. Come back on Sunday – same parking lot – and you’ll find the Beach Church in session – attended by many of the participants from yesterday’s Biker’s on the Beach concert!
4) Great, Affordable Housing – the Navarre area’s median home price for the year ending June 15, 2008, was $216,950. While beach homes sport higher price tags than homes on the mainland, you can live five minutes away and SAVE!
Interested in Navarre or Navarre Beach real estate? Give me a call and I will fill you in on all the ins and outs of purchasing real estate along the Gulf Coast.
May 31st, 2008
Posted by Robin Sherman
It’s All About Location – 
I have just added a very cool new interactive mapping tool to my home search module. The map that pops up when you click on the home search is the gateway to this super new feature.
And I will be continually adding and updating features as they become available. Who doesn’t like satellite views of homes and neighborhoods?
And to be able to see all the nearby listed properties and save your searches . . . what a time saver!
May 27th, 2008
Posted by Robin Sherman
Crab Jubilee – Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m 50. Fifty is the new 40 you 
know (But, of course, in my case it’s the new 30). Since I’m being honest about my age I have no problem telling you some of the things I remember about the Old Florida. That’s the Florida that came WAY before the internet . . . heck that’s the Florida that came WAY before Cable television and the 8–Track (if you don’t remember 8–tracks, they came WAY before CDs).
When I was a kid we would finish our dinner, load the Igloo cooler with snacks and head to Santa Rosa Island (Pensacola Beach). We would pull the battery out of the car – no kidding – plunk it in a galvanize d tub sitting in an inner tube and connect it to lights we floated on the water. My grandfather would tie the inner tube to his belt loop with a rope and pull the entire contraption behind him as we walked through the Santa Rosa Sound (Intracoastal Waterway). What in God’s name were we doing you ask? CRABBING – this is the way you caught your fill of Blue Crab in those days and as a kid, it was more fun that Halloween and the Interstate Fair all wrapped into one.
Now, this is a thing most people have never witnessed, but I count myself among the lucky few (relatively speaking) who have been on the beach at the height of a Jubilee. The biologists will tell you a Jubilee occurs when there is too little oxygen in the water and the crab make their way to the shore. I will tell you that a Jubilee is a CRAZY TEAMING MASS of Blue Crab making their way to shore by the hundreds of thousands come hell or high water.
I have only seen one Jubilee in my adult life (a small one at that), so I suspect we have done something to alter our environment in such a way as to eliminate this amazing phenomenon. But I cherish the memory of being a child, dozing off in the back seat of a Ford Fairlane, surrounded by buckets of Blue Crab, bubbling their last breaths as we trundled down the highway toward a backyard overflowing with aunts, uncles and cousins all gathered around a bonfire prepared just for one of our southern crab boil get-togethers.
For More Articles like this:
Blue Crab Jubilee – Wild Delaware
Alabama – Great Days Outdoor Magazine
Mobile Bay Jubilee – Wikipedia
May 26th, 2008
Posted by Robin Sherman
In Honor of Memorial Day –In 2001, my husband retired after over 20 years in the military. He was in the military when we met, but I will tell you, I had NO idea what I was in for when he proposed and I accepted.
There were lots of ups and lots of downs, including lots of separations. I will always remember his return from his first six month deployment aboard the USS Forrestal. He told me, “The best day of my life is ANY day I return from deployment.”
That stuck with me and I worked hard to make sure that every time he returned from deployment it really was the BEST day.
Today I think not only of the active duty men and women that deserve our thanks – and a Best day – I think of their families. I think of those who went before, those who served, those who came home and those who didn’t. And, again, I think of their families. I think of their wives – or husbands – who celebrated anniversaries alone, watched their children grow – and in some cases come into the world – alone, buried parents alone and simply lived day in and day out without the presence of their spouse. I want to honor our active duty members and our veterans, but I also want to honor their spouses and their children. I wish them all a Best day!
If you want to learn more about supporting our troops and helping the families they have left behind, visit Operation Homefront
May 25th, 2008
Posted by Robin Sherman
Joe Patti’s Seafood, A Pensacola Landmark – Ask any Pensacola tourist . . . after the beach and the Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola’s most visited attraction is Joe Patti’s Seafood. Not only do you have an amazing choice of fresh seafood, just ordering is entertainment!
Started as a small bait business in 1931, Captain Joe and Anna Patti’s seafood sales has now gone global. You can find crab, crawfish, gumbo, every fish imagineable, wine, sushi and even tableware at this busy seafood house.
The patrons line up for fresh Gulf shrimp, with heads or without!
One of the shrimp boats in Joe Patti’s Fleet.
Want to know more . . . or place an order . . . they ship worldwide.
Click Here to Vist Joe Patti’s Website
May 24th, 2008
Posted by Robin Sherman
Sacred Heart Hosptial Announces $31.5 million Cancer Facility – Patients undergoing cancer treatment in Pensacola will soon have a modern new facility in which to receive their treatment. The new four story building, slated to open in late 2009, will house researchers, patients and doctors in one building, increasing the overall comfort and efficiency for all.
Located at the corner of Airport Boulevard and College Parkway, across from the Cordova Mall, the four-story building will include a pharmacy, a prayer and meditation area, a patient resource library and meeting rooms, in addition to areas for clinical services.
Sacred Heart is affiliatd with the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Construction of the Sacred Heart Hospital Cancer Facility is expected to begin in August.
