Real estate sales on the Emerald Coast of Florida have overcome the COVID effect downturn of March and April 2020, and far exceeded the year over year sales figures compared to 2019.  The chart above illustrates the trend of pending sales each month for the areas of Santa Rosa Beach, 30A, Destin, Sandestin, Miramar Beach, Niceville, Bluewater Bay, Fort Walton Beach, Navarre, Crestview, Freeport, Point Washington and Miramar Beach, Florida.

Properties going under contract increased from March 2020 through June 2020 by 654  units. That’s a 49% increase in number of pending properties, including houses, condos, town homes, lots and commercial properties.

Destin Pending Sales increased from 92 to 239 units.

Miramar Beach Pending Sales increased from 95 to 212 units.

Santa Rosa Beach, North of Hwy 98, Pending Sales increased from 63 to 89 units.

30-A Santa Rosa Beach, South of Hwy 98 Pending Sales increased from 159 to 517 units. (WOW!)

Fort Walton Beach Pending Sales increased from 222 to 270  units.

Niceville Pending Sales increased from 105 to 139 units.

Crestview Pending Sales increased from 216 units to 238 units.

Navarre Florida Pending Sales increased from 213 to 223 units.

Reviewing year-over-year real estate sales changes on the Emerald Coast, there were 2501 total properties under contract between March – June 2019. In 2020, there were 4815 units under contract during the same quarter. That’s an increase of almost 93%.  Clearly 2020 sales are strikingly improved over last year.

It’s Wendy… It’s Sold!

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty, Inc.
Call 850-259-0422
Email Wendy: itswendy@rulnickrealty.com

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, sells real estate in Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, 30A, Miramar Beach, Crestview, Sandestin, Seaside, Rosemary Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Bluewater Bay, Navarre, Florida.

 

Real estate sales on the Emerald Coast of Florida are starting to rebound after an early April 2020 decrease. Looking at the entire region, including Navarre, Fort Walton Beach, Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, Miramar Beach, Freeport, Crestview, Niceville, and DeFuniak Springs, pending sales of real estate on the Emerald Coast of Florida are down overall from one to two months ago, near the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Pending sales are a good indicator of the current pulse of the market, compared to closed sales (solds), which show the result of activities a month or more old.  Pending sales track where the market is going.

Here is a recap of the Emerald Coast market statistics:

Properties going under contract decreased from 790 units to 650 total units from the first two weeks of March 2020 to the last weeks of April 2020.

That’s a drop of 18% in the number of houses, condos, town homes, lots and commercial properties going under contract.

However, it’s an increase of 31% from the first two weeks of April 2020.

Comparing March to April overall, there was a drop in total units under contract from 1336 to 1096, or 18% fewer sales.

Individual Pending Sales by area from the period of March 1 – March 15 as compared to the period between April 16 – April 30 were as follows:

Destin Pending Sales increased from 51 to 52  ( +1%).

Miramar Beach Pending Sales dropped from  67 to 45  (- 33%).

Niceville Pending Sales dropped from 57 to 55  ( – 3%).

Fort Walton Beach Pending Sales dropped from 123 to 77 ( – 38%).

Santa Rosa Beach, North of Hwy 98, Pending Sales dropped from 37 to 36 (- 2%).

30-A Santa Rosa Beach, South of Hwy 98 Pending Sales dropped from 102 to 74 (- 28%).

Crestview Pending Sales dropped from 120 to 109 (- 9%).

Navarre Florida Pending Sales dropped from 131 to 100 (- 24%).

Decidedly, the Coronavirus economic effect has had an impact on Emerald Coast real estate. but the trend is now upward in terms of new sales.  We will take a look at the market again soon.

If you find that during or after the COVID-19 crisis, you must sell your Emerald Coast real estate, consider your options. Let me know if you have any questions about real estate, whether traditional or short sale.

It’s Wendy… It’s Sold!

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty, Inc.
Call 850-259-0422
Email Wendy: itswendy@rulnickrealty.com

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, sells short sale, pre-foreclosure, REO and traditional real estate in Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, 30A, Miramar Beach, Crestview, Sandestin, Seaside, Rosemary Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Bluewater Bay, Navarre, Florida.

This site, Wendy Rulnick or Rulnick Realty, Inc. is not providing legal or tax advice. The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only. It is recommended that sellers considering a short sale should consult an independent legal and tax advisor for more information.

I was referred to a potential home buyer in Destin, Florida.  He was in the construction business and had just been working in our area for a few months, coming here from another state. I could tell that English was his second language, and I listened carefully.  He told me that he had never bought a home before, but had found one online in Destin that he wanted to see. I looked it up and it was already under contract. Then, I asked him if he had been pre-qualified for a mortgage loan.  There can be stricter loan requirements for self-employed persons, and I was concerned that his local work history may not be sufficient to get approved.

He told me he had money saved up, emergency funds that he could spend.  He mentioned the full amount could be used.  Giving me pause, I said without thinking, “Do you want to spend your entire emergency funds?”

That’s when the spark of trust lit up. He responded, “I like you.” I was taken aback and said “What?”  He said, “I really like you”.  He didn’t have to explain why.

A few days later, he told me he had decided to rent first. Honestly, I was glad. My intuition told me it was the right thing to do in his situation. I didn’t make the sale. But I earned someone’s trust, and more importantly, I helped him.

It’s Wendy… It’s Sold!

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty, Inc.
Call 850-259-0422
Email Wendy: itswendy@rulnickrealty.com

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, sells short sale, pre-foreclosure, REO and traditional real estate in Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, 30A, Miramar Beach, Crestview, Sandestin, Seaside, Rosemary Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Bluewater Bay, Navarre, Florida.

For the first few weeks of the Florida Stay-at-Home order, I paid a lot attention to others’ social distancing behavior. After all, I was doing the right thing. My husband and I decided we would be prudent. We limit our time out of the house. We wear masks if we have to go to the store. We avoid crowded aisles. We don’t socialize. We use hand sanitizer,  we disinfect food packages. At my Destin real estate office, I’ve removed the candy jar. I sanitize the doors and banisters. I’ve had to gently tell others to back away six feet.  I had listened to the CDC guidelines and modified my behavior.  But, why hadn’t others?

There was “civil disobedience” everywhere. I went to Walmart and noticed people crowding aisles, few wearing masks. I saw customers walking in and out of a convenience store while I was pumping gas, and counted 11 people going in, not one with a face covering.  Then there’s Lowe’s – now that was a party.  First, we could barely find a parking spot.   Nonplussed, I observed multiple people crammed in a car, father, mother and three children, all getting out and going inside the store, hand-in-hand.  (I don’t think you’d see that on a normal day.) I sat and waited for my husband to go in (just one of us at a time means less chance of exposure) and marveled at the jubilant throngs.  It was like the mall at Christmas.

Social distancing on walks? Unless that was a couple I saw with their 45 year old kid, there was no social distancing.  Walking side-by-side, baby cart by baby cart.  Not in family units. A local neighborhood even had a food truck come and they posted pictures online. All were pleasantly three feet apart.  They couldn’t wait to schedule the next one. And a Yappy hour on a cul-de-sac for all the dogs to play (with their owners). The neighbor kids, too.  They go from house to house, in each other’s driveways with their bikes. Then they go home to their individual households. No virus-carrying there.

This was getting on my nerves.

For the first few weeks, I was upset. “Harrumph! How can they be ignoring social distancing guidelines?”  Didn’t people get it? Didn’t they understand that even showing no symptoms, they may still be infected and cause asymptomatic spread of the virus? They would not just be protecting themselves, they would be protecting others if they were careful, stayed six feet apart, wore a mask, did not socialize in groups, and did not allow kids to have play-dates, as recommended by the CDC. But they didn’t.

Then I gave up.

I realized that I cannot control others’ behavior. I can observe it, I can be curious, I can even expect it. But, I cannot let it bother me.

The only behavior I can control is my own. I will proceed accordingly.

 

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty, Inc.
Call 850-259-0422
Email Wendy: itswendy@rulnickrealty.com

It’s Wendy… It’s Sold!

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, sells short sale, pre-foreclosure, REO and traditional real estate in Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, 30A, Miramar Beach, Crestview, Sandestin, Seaside, Rosemary Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Bluewater Bay, Navarre, Florida.

This site, Wendy Rulnick or Rulnick Realty, Inc. is not providing legal or tax advice. The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only. It is recommended that sellers considering a short sale should consult an independent legal and tax advisor for more information.

There is a new Florida real estate form pertaining to the COVID-19 crisis.  It is an acknowledgment that asks for affirmation from prospect, buyer, seller, tenant, and landlord that they are aware of the Coronavirus risks that may arise from in-person real estate showings.  Specifically, the document asks them to minimize health risks to themselves and others, and to acknowledge that they are not aware of any issues that would pose such a risk.  Further, the form states that buyers, sellers, and others will follow the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines.  It also asks the parties to alert others if they subsequently become aware of new information that may have posed a danger, and to assume all risks from in-person access to Florida real estate.

The new Florida COVID-19 acknowledgment is the second form created for use by Florida Realtors, in addition to the COVID-19 contract addendum.  Here is the new COVID-19 In-Person Access Acknowledgment form in its entirety.

Florida Real Estate COVID-1… by Wendy Rulnick on Scribd

 

If you find that during or after the COVID-19 crisis, you must sell your Emerald Coast real estate, consider your options, whether traditional sale or short sale.

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty, Inc.
Call 850-259-0422
Email Wendy: itswendy@rulnickrealty.com

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, sells short sale, pre-foreclosure, REO and traditional real estate in Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, 30A, Miramar Beach, Crestview, Sandestin, Seaside, Rosemary Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Bluewater Bay, Navarre, Florida.

This site, Wendy Rulnick or Rulnick Realty, Inc. is not providing legal or tax advice. The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only. It is recommended that sellers considering a short sale should consult an independent legal and tax advisor for more information.