Panama City Beach Real Estate Market Conditions
Panama City Beach Real Estate Information | Market Conditions | Boating and Fishing

Well we have to say that 2008 was a VERY exciting year. Lots of good, some bad. On the good side we had a VERY good year helping buyers find properties that met there needs and helping sellers get their properties sold. On that bad side it is so difficult to speak with, meet and deal with so many folks who are in financial difficulty. It is truly heart breaking.

We get calls periodically asking us to evaluate the current real estate market in Panama City, Panama City Beach and Bay County in general. So we thought I’d offer up a brief summary on where we feel the real estate market is at this point in time.

The single family home market has been slow. That last 3 months there have been about 90 sales per month in all of Bay County. Many of our inquires are for foreclosed homes of which there is still a good selection.

The foreclosures are still putting downward pressure on the home selling prices. There is currently about 2 years of inventory on the market given the current sales rate. See the Market Data page of our web site to review the numbers. With regard to the discount from asking to selling price we are not seeing huge discounts. The homes that are selling seem to be priced very close to market price with an average discount of 6-10 percent from asking price to selling price. Although in order to get to the magic price to get an offer we are seeing sellers continue to drop their prices.

The condo market has been a little wacky. We have had some large complexes try to sell units at auction. Some have been sucessful some have not. Prices for condos are still coming down. We recently sold a brand spankin’ new gulf front unit in a brand new 2008 building for $196 per square foot! Panama City Beach condos are selling at an average discount of 15 percent from asking price to selling price. Inventories are high with 5 years of inventory on the market at the current sales rate for Panama City Beach condos.

Vacant land…wow! It is just amazing. There is nearly 17 years of inventory on the market at the current sales rate! There were just 8 vacant land sales in December. The average discount from asking price to selling price is a whopping 25 percent!

Ok what does this mean to buyers…pick your property type, target a property, see if it meets all your needs and if it does make an offer…You have the chance in this market to get a very good deal!

What about financing you ask? The loan limits have increased for FHA and we are seeing buying customers taking advantage of the low down payment requirement for FHA loans. You still have to have pretty good credit. Don’t know what your credit worthiness is? Just email or call us and we will be happy to get you the resources you need to see if you can buy a property…no strings attached no commitment on your part.

Conventional fianancing is happening for those that have 20% down and decent credit.

What about this area…what’s happening here?

The new international airport in on schedule and even ahead of schedule I am told. Projected opening date is May of 2010. Pier Park our new retail, outdoor, pedestrian friendly mall is a BIG hit and appears to be weathering the economic down turn ok. It seems to stay busy and I am told there were about 5000 people in attendance for the first Pier Park New Year’s celebration where they had a beach ball drop and fireworks! Folks had a great time and they hope to make it an annual event.

Vivian and I are contemplating moving to a waterfront condo. Its a difficult decision, especially for me having spent so much time in wide open spaces, mountains and plains of the American West, Wyoming in particular. However, downsizing and having less maintenace to deal with is attractive. So we are kicking it around for a move for us in 2009.

We hope and wish that everyone one has a wonderful 2009.

Gotta go!

Kind regards, Mike and Vivian Foate
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MIKE’S CELL: 850-596-4236
VIVIAN’S CELL: 850-814-2372
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Mike and Vivian Foate-REALTORS®
Prudential Shimmering Sands Realty, Inc.
400 S. Hwy 79
Panama City Beach, FL 32413

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