Recently I spend a week down in Destin Florida. Of coarse I had to check out the real estate market.  Riding around I sure did see a lot of For Sale signs on a lot of really nice properties.
A local broker says the property and lot sales dropped big time in the third quarter of 2005 and have leveled out at a much lower level.  He reckons it will stay that way for another two years or until the new regional airport opens.  I do bet with a new larger airport that will help spur things up a bit.

Destiin is such a beautiful area and a lot of people have second homes there. To them, if they are long term holders, it shouldn’t matter much. We talked with an owner at the condo community we were staying. She is from Oklahoma and has owned here unit since it was new, about 30 years ago.  They visit about twice a year and do not rent out their property.  She has such a low initial investment, it really has paid off for her.

Plenty of properties to rent for a week or longer in Destin even thought rental rates seem to be holding up very well.   But I know Destin had become so hot, a lot of people were into flipping.  I know several people who says they would put down a pre construction deposit and then were able to sell at a double closing when property was ready for a big profit.  Those days seem to be over for the time being.

Destin will come back so a bargain hunter could start looking now.

Many retirees are getting a second home to live in part of the year and keeping their current home. Or if you live in a nearby metro like Atlanta for example, you could make several trips down as often as you like, and either rent out your unit or not.

Just spotted this news article and just about fell out of my chair.

 Levitt & Sons, the Florida-based developer of two Seasons communities in north metro Atlanta, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Friday in Fort Lauderdale, leaving hundreds of Georgia homeowners and dozens of prospective homeowners hanging in the balance.

The announcement late Friday capped weeks of uncertainty after Levitt stopped all construction work on its Georgia properties and laid off workers.

With communities at Lake Lanier and in Laurel Canyon near Canton under active construction, the Levitt hiatus pitched a number of would-be residents into a holding pattern with temporary living arrangements and stored belongings as they await the communities’ fate.

Wow!

More:

Recently I spend a week down in Destin Florida. Of coarse I had to check out the real estate market.  Riding around I sure did see a lot of For Sale signs on a lot of really nice properties.

A local broker says the property and lot sales dropped big time in the third quarter of 2005 and have leveled out at a much lower level.  He reckons it will stay that way for another two years or until the new regional airport opens.  I do bet with a new larger airport that will help spur things up a bit.

 Destiin is such a beautiful area and a lot of people have second homes there. To them, if they are long term holders, it shouldn’t matter much. We talked with an owner at the condo community we were staying. She is from Oklahoma and has owned here unit since it was new, about 30 years ago.  They visit about twice a year and do not rent out their property.  She has such a low initial investment, it really has paid off for her.

Plenty of properties to rent for a week or longer in Destin even thought rental rates seem to be holding up very well.   But I know Destin had become so hot, a lot of people were into flipping.  I know several people who says they would put down a pre construction deposit and then were able to sell at a double closing when property was ready for a big profit.  Those days seem to be over for the time being.

Destin will come back so a bargain hunter could start looking now.

Many retirees are getting a second home to live in part of the year and keeping their current home. Or if you live in a nearby metro like Atlanta for example, you could make several trips down as often as you like, and either rent out your unit or not.

From realestatejournal.com there is an article about a NY excutive moving to Florda. He says:

 ”I also had a childhood memory: Growing up on Long Island, I remember my grandfather as a serious, intense person. After he retired, he and my grandmother bought a home in the same area. And he was a different person when I visited him. He just fell in love with Florida and was so happy. I remember thinking at the time, at about age 10, ‘It seems like such a shame, such a waste, for people to have to wait until they’re that age to start enjoying themselves.’ If you really like the lifestyle and you can swing it, financially and from a work standpoint, why do you have to wait until you’re a retiree to start?”

I hear this more and more. People are moving to communities now rather than waiting, and pulling it off due to Technology.

55 Community Guide

When you traditionally think about retiring to some place, that place is Florida. Florida has some very best small towns to relocate to.  The FL weather and beaches are wonderful!  If you know of any Florida small towns (or even parts of metro areas) that would be good to retire, please post a description here so we will all know about it.

Have you retired to Florida?  Tell us about it. The more descriptive the better but even just a name will help and we can look in to more details.  What do you like about it?