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In the real estate markets of St. George Island and Cape San Blas, these years were the last ones of normalcy; they were a time, now lost, when real estate for sale was selling, albeit at a leisurely pace; they were days when lots for sale, unlike now, were actually selling, albeit slowly. They were the last of the Good Ole Days.
Here and there, rumors were beginning to emerge, whereby a sleeping giant would soon wake up - but no one knew for sure. After all, most rumors are just that: rumors! The giant was the conglomerate fo...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
6/18/2010
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In the early 1990's I was doing some promotion leg work for Anchor Realty about St. George Island, Florida in Atlanta. I was meeting local agents at rest estate companies to let them know about the superb opportunities offered by the real estate for sale on St. George Island and Cape San Blas. I remember well asking waiters at numerous restaurants in Atlanta the question: "Do you know where is (what is!) St. George Island?" In 1988 or 1989, the answers were unanimously the same: a blank stare, or "is it...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
6/2/2010
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Actually, "Nothingness" to quote Jean-Paul Sartre, is what qualifies this period best. Cape San Blas and St. George Island real estate sales came to an abrupt halt after the double hurricane hit in November of 1985. I remember this time very well. Highway 98, between Carrabelle and Eastpoint, had the flavor of an African safari trail, with entire portions of the road gone, and with asphalt, when left, looking like a wild accordion. The bridge between St. George Island and the mainland felt lik...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
5/27/2010
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St. George Island was first platted and lots offered for sale in what is now its center in the 1950's; a ferry boat was then in operation between Eastpoint and St. George Island. You can still see the embarcadero to the immediate East of where the bridge leaves the mainland. The ferry landed near where the existing bridge connects to St. George Island. It was also the era when Bob Sikes Cut was opened in order to procure faster access to the high seas for the Apalachicola fishing flotilla. The first bridge to the mainland was...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
5/24/2010
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This is the first article of a set of seven. They have one ambition: placing the local real estate sales market into the perspective - and also the wisdom - afforded by time. St.George Island and Cape San Blas have changed much during this time span. Over this quarter of a century, the market of real estate for sale has experienced two full cycles of depression followed by prosperity, plus another depression - the last one and most devastating - that may not have ended yet. Understanding how the beach vacation markets of St. G...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
5/20/2010
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Home Inspection: a Must Before Listing or Buying on St. George Island, Cape San Blas, and other coastal areas:
Whether you are buying (or considering to list) a house on St. George Island, Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, Mexico Beach, Carrabelle or Apalachicola, there should be one common denominator to your approach: a competent home inspector!
There are many ways to select an inspector: (1) ask friends who have purchased or sold real estate and used one; (2) ask your Anchor Realty real estate agent; (3) but if in doubt, asking for a sam...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
5/17/2010
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This report pertains solely to the Cape San Blas and Indian Pass areas in Florida. Watch for the St. George Island, Apalachicola, and Carrabelle reports to follow within days.
As statistics can be manipulated in many ways to drive almost any point, so are the data relating to any market - and the real estate in Cape San Blas is no exception to the rule. Yet, in simplifying the search by looking for the number of transactions; in reducing the territorial scope (here: Cape San Blas and Indian Pass, Florida), and ...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
5/13/2010
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In the past few weeks, the landscape of the St. George Island commercial district has changed drastically - and for the better.
As soon as you leave the long bridge, driving from the Florida mainland onto St. George Island, provided you are looking to your left, you will see, next to the St. George Inn, a brand new building: once completed in early September, it will be shared by two tenants, Anchor Realty and a new grocery store.
For decades, this location has been occupied by Anchor Realty & Mortgage Co., recognize...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
5/10/2010
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The editor for the Apalachicola Times wrote in late December 2009 that the new St. George Island grocery store's likelihood to be built was comparable to the likelihood of "peace in the Middle East". Unfortunately for the Middle East, but fortunately for island residents and visitors, the building should be completed in September 2010; and after sixty to ninety days of set up time, the store should open around Thanksgiving of the year!
The new building is located to your left when driving onto St. George Island - between...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
5/5/2010
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THE END OF AN ERA:
(by Olivier Monod, CCIM)
The World Order Before the 1910's
Before the 1910's, the world was in many ways a juxtaposition of several regional spheres of influence; each with its own currency, its privileged trading partners, its language, its customs, and its political regime. The political landscape appeared stable and was comprised primarily of monarchies and republics with little involvement in the business world - what could be called "early capitalism".
Extremes such as Communism, Fascism or Nazism did not...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
10/9/2008
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CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS?
(by Olivier Monod, CCIM)
"Crisis? What Crisis?" This was the title of what we used to call an LP in the 1970's, by "Supertramp". It could advantageously summarize the long arguments we hear daily in this election year. The most recent political battles for the presidency have revolved around (i) blaming the Republicans for all of our economic woes in the case of the Democrats, or (ii) softening the gravity of the situation in the case of the Republicans. Yet, can we in earnest blame the man in the Whit...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
10/5/2008
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Real Estate Market Update for St. George Island and Franklin County, Florida
2nd Quarter, 2008
(by Harry Plumblee)
The really good news for St. George Island and the rest of Franklin County is there are still buyers who are interested in this market and they are buying; certainly not like in the crazy period of 2001-04, but nevertheless houses are selling. However, the big question in almost all buyers' minds is: "have we reached the bottom yet?" Of course the answer to that question will not be known until sometime after t...
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Posted by:
Harry and Katrena
Plumblee
Posted:
8/14/2008
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INFLATION:
Turn a Problem to Your Advantage
The article which follows is simple and carries an obvious consequence. This is what makes its strength. This is what gives it its worth. By the way, do not share it with your banker!
Gas prices
To begin with a topic already amply debated, each time I stop to fill up my tank with gasoline, I feel a sense of vertigo. In early June 2008, I paid $107; three weeks before, it was $99; five weeks before, $93; and seven weeks prior, a mere $89. Out of curiosity, I made the calculation - if the...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
8/1/2008
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Strategic Considerations about Real Estate Risks
Real estate, by definition, is what does not move; it is what you cannot carry with you. This definition suffers no exception - to the extent that, a tree, when planted in the ground is part of the real property; only an act of severance (cutting it down or uprooting it) would turn it into personal property.
The French call real estate "immobilier"; to the Germans, it is "Immobilien"; and in Spanish, it is "inmuebles". The three words stem from the sa...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
7/19/2008
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COMPARATIVE REAL ESTATE SALES DATA
(Part One) FRANKLIN COUNTY
This is the first of a series of four articles comparing three highly speculative coastal markets: from East to West, Franklin, Gulf and Bay counties - three contiguous counties bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, in the Florida Northwest. The first three articles will compare the volume and distribution of sales for the first five months of 2008 and 2007. The fourth and last article will attempt to discover patterns or trends based on the differences between these markets; these difference...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
7/13/2008
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Thoughts on the Real Estate Market Condition in Franklin County, Florida in June 2008
And what it means for the owner and the potential buyer...
In this coastal area*, there are many factors affecting the Real Estate market. The market decline started over 3 years ago, in early 2005. It was not acknowledged until after Hurricane Dennis in July 2005 and Hurricane Katrina in August of the same year. Throughout Florida, as well as in many other parts of the USA, price increases and lending practices had become irrational.
Coastal property experi...
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Posted by:
Harry and Katrena
Plumblee
Posted:
7/7/2008
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Commercial vs. Residential Real Estate:
Part V - Synthesis:
This is the last of a series of five articles comparing the benefits and risks associated with four different types of real estate investments: commercial, residential, vacant land and development.
In the past four blogs, we have reviewed the signatures of four very distinct types of real estate investments. This time, we shall attempt to sort this information and assess what might be most appropriate for you.
Yet, before biting into the meat of the topic, let me ask you a question: If...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
7/1/2008
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Commercial vs. Residential Real Estate
Part IV - Lots and Land
This is the fourth of a series of five articles comparing the merits and drawbacks of different real estate investments. The next article will offer concrete data, which should assist you in determining the type of real estate investment best suited to your needs, to your personality and to your pocketbook.
For the purpose of this article, lots and land will be taken to be for residential purposes. It will therefore exclude:
- Farm land, which can be considered a...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
6/26/2008
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Commercial vs. Residential Real Estate:
Part III - Residential Real Estate:
This article is the third of a series of five comparing the advantages and risks associated with investments in commercial real estate, developments, residential real estate, and vacant land; the last article will establish a synthesis and a blue print of what might be appropriate for you.
For the purpose of this article, we shall call "residential real estate" any habitable structure owned and used as a permanent residence. It may...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
6/17/2008
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Commercial vs. Residential Real Estate
Part II - Developments
This is the second article of a series of five, comparing risks and benefits associated with commercial real estate (see my last blog), residential, vacant land, and (this week) real estate developments.
For the purpose of this article, we shall call a "development" the process which starts from a vacant land parcel and takes it to a finished real estate product, such as a mall, an apartment complex, a condominium building, retail stores or any combinations ther...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
5/19/2008
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Part I - Commercial Investments:
This article is the first of a series of five comparing the advantages and risks associated with investments in commercial real estate, developments, residential real estate, and vacant land; the last article will establish a synthesis and a blue print of what might be appropriate for you.
We shall call "commercial real estate" buildings capable of yielding periodic revenues to their owners. Examples include a strip mall, an office building, a shop, houses or apartments for rent. For the pu...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
4/15/2008
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There is a lot of bad news this year in our world of real estate, and in the world in general. Yet, when everything is said and done, there is also some positive news, which warrants a progressive market recovery.
One positive aspect of our new market is that speculators are gone, or at least are on the way out. Greed in the period 2000-2004 was a key factor of our more recent market problems. In 2004 alone, prices of beachfront properties increased by 93% - almost doubling in one year is insane and unsustainable.
A second...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
4/1/2008
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Real Estate Market Update for Sept to Nov 15, 2007
St. George Island and Franklin County
My last update was 2 1/2 months ago. Since September 1, the situation on St. George Island and throughout Franklin County has become somewhat clearer. List prices have more or less stabilized, with only 34 price reductions in the 75 day period (unbelievably, there were also 4 price increases, reflecting some really positive thinking). The number of active listings on all types of real estate continued to fall with a net loss of 13 since Septembe...
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Posted by:
Harry and Katrena
Plumblee
Posted:
11/21/2007
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St. George Island is located in Florida’s Big Bend region. The Big Bend area, based on 150+ years of National Weather Service data, is in a region where no major hurricanes have made landfall. It is no secret that over the years we have had damage from hurricanes, but we have never had major damage such as other regions of Florida have experienced throughout recorded history. The bottom line is if you want beach property but you are worried about hurricanes, then St. George Island is the place for you.
Florida’s hurricane activi...
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Posted by:
Harry and Katrena
Plumblee
Posted:
7/12/2007
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Preparing for D-Day:
D-Day, as we all know it, was the date of the landing of the Allied troops in Northern Europe. The massive action would seal the fate of the German Third Reich. Fortress Europe, or Festung Europa as Hitler had coined it, would soon be rid of its Nazi masters. The Empire, which was supposed to have lasted one thousand years according to its founders, was now eleven months from its absolute collapse. The Normandy landing started on the 6th day of June 1944. “Operation Overlord” was the code name for the Allied invasion in nort...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
7/10/2007
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William L. Popham had moved to Apalachicola, seemingly from nowhere, in January of 1917, just as the United States were joining France and England in the war against Prussia, and a few months before the newly born USSR would leave the same battlefields, thanks to Lenin and the Bolshevik Revolution of October --- “Red October”. After preaching in one of the local churches, Popham became active in what were then, and still are today, the two most powerful lobbying forces in the county: seafood and real estate. He actually used the money he h...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
7/6/2007
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Ted Rodrigue was the master of ceremony. A former football player for Florida State University and a contemporary of the actor Burt Reynolds, with whom he had played many a victorious game, Ted could have personified the famous Captain. Cavernous voice, tall, manly, dark haired and bearded, Ted was the perfect incarnation of Captain Haddock, the famous sailor in the adventures of Tintin, the European comics character, who made his debut in the 1930s and still carries today a well-deserved popularity.
Ted was operating the bar with the help of studen...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
7/2/2007
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(Written by Olivier Monod, President/CEO of “WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Anchor” on June 26, 2007)
It is a surprise for no one to hear that the real estate market has known better times. In the last two years, our coastal Realtors’ Association has registered a decrease in membership of 22% from a peak of 495 members to 387 as of 6/25/07.
On another, yet related register, anyone who has done business in Indian Pass and Cape San Blas in the1990s and through 2005 knows Margaret Fletcher. Her knowledge of the area, her insights into t...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
6/28/2007
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Crossing the Bay of Apalachicola:
My first visit to St. George Island was shortly before Christmas of 1981. A long and narrow bridge was the only way in by automobile. It was interrupted half way by an “S” shaped causeway one mile long, nick-named “bird island”. The five-mile journey across the bay of Apalachicola started by a mandatory stop at the toll booth: $2 per round trip. Late at night, after the second shift of toll clerks went home at eleven o’clock, payment followed the honor system: you stopped, placed your...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
6/15/2007
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A public workshop and hearing were held on May 22, 2007 on the topic of the Erosion Control Line at Cape San Blas. If you go to www.savethecape.com and click the workshop link you will find information concerning the meeting time and date and if you click at the bottom of this notice, you will find a letter that was sent to all affected property owners. This information also states, “These meetings are relative to the establishment of the "Erosion Control Line (ECL) and not the Coastal Construction Control Line" (CCC...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
5/25/2007
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In today’s extra-ordinary market, sellers must, in order to sell, face three realities:
Quality. Because of the large nationwide inventory of houses for sale, buyers have much choice—and in many cases, too much choice to digest efficiently. Consequently, they are likely to buy on impulse the nicest looking property they have seen. Thus, sellers should aim to offer, within a given price category, the nicest property. Therefore, pay attention to details: landscaping, exterior an...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
5/24/2007
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