|
Investing in the Florida Panhandle - Why it's a good investment
by: Deborah Orr
The Florida Panhandle is located in Northwest Florida and is known as
the "Forgotten Coast". Florida real estate investments are now booming along the Forgotten Coast due largely to
"The St Joe Company" which manufactured paper for many years an
d is the largest landholder in Florida with approximately 825,000 acres of land at 12/2004. St Joes land holdings are concentrated primarily
in Northwest Florida and more than 300,000 acres of it is located within
ten miles of the Gulf of Mexico. In 2003, St Joe shut down it's paper plant and started developing much of those acres of trees along the
beautiful Emerald Coast of Florida into luxury master planned waterfront
and golf communities such as Watercolor,
Watersound,
Rivercamps and affordable hometowns such as Palmetto Trace and The Hammocks.
To further drive the growth of the area, St Joe has donated 20,556 acres for
the proposed relocation of the Panama City-Bay County International A
irport which will be located between Hwys 77 & 79 in Panama City
2E St Joe has also sold 93 acres to one of the nation's largest retail developers for Pier Park, a hugh beachside
shopping, amusement and entertainment complex, in Panama City Beach.
News of the transaction raised Northwest Florida's profile to new heights.
The following table represents St Joe land use entitlements in Northwest Florida in varous stages of approval:
Project |
County
| Total Project
Acres |
Maximum Project
Units |
CampCreek Golf Cottages |
Walton |
10 |
50 |
Cutter Ridge |
Franklin |
10 |
24 |
East Lake Powell |
Bay |
181 |
360 |
Hawks Landing |
Bay |
88 |
167 |
Palmetto Trace |
Bay |
138 |
480 |
Pier Park (Residential) |
Bay |
10 |
125 |
RiverCamps on Crooked Creek |
Bay |
1,500 |
450 |
RiverCamps on Sandy Creek |
Bay |
6,000 |
600 |
The Hammocks |
Bay |
143 |
457 |
WaterColor |
Walton |
499 |
1,140 |
WaterSound Beach |
Walton |
256 |
499 |
WaterSound Phase I |
Walton |
506 |
487 |
WaterSound West Beach |
Walton |
62 |
197 |
WaterMill |
Gulf |
94 |
120 |
WaveCrest |
Bay |
7 |
95 |
West Bay DSAP Phase I |
Bay |
4,234 |
685 |
WindMark Beach |
Gulf |
2,080 |
1,662 |
Total (5) |
|
=
15,818 |
=
7,598 |
With a 2004 net income of $90.1 million, St Joe is a major driving force in
the development of the Florida Panhandle. "Our success can only parti
ally be measured in the value we have created thus far" said Peter Rummell, chairman and CEO of JOE.. "We won't be able to calcula
te its full measure for years. JOE owns enough high-quality developable land to create value for decades".
2. Florida has one of the nation's strongest economies in the count
ry, as well as significant demographic and geographic advantages.
The region’s biggest growth catalysts are St. Joe Co. developments,
influx of retirees, tourism and military-defense spending.
a) Now aged between 38 and 56 years, the baby boomers comprise almost
one-third of the nation's population and are expected to have a hugh impact on Florida's inmigration and housing demand. While they start th
inking retirement, younger boomers (late thirties to early fifties) start
thinking investing in resort real estate as a second
home. This second-then-retirement home cycle should continue for deca
des as the boomers continue to move through their retirement decades.
Note: The biggest bulge in the birth rate was in the mid-1950s. These people
are now in their mid-50's and are just beginning to enter this cycle in
significant numbers. With numerous new developments under way along
the Gulf coast and moderate housing prices by Florida standards, the
Florida Panhandle is positioned to become an increasingly important player
in the second-home marketplace.
b) The emerging generation of baby boomer retirees, with their growing emphasis on lifestyle, community, and interdependence will totally
transform the nation's housing market. Traditionally, empty nesters tend to downsize their
housing and migrate to warmer climates in coastal communities to enjoy their golden years. The new urbanistic communities developing along the
Panhandle offer all of this plus the ability to work and play where you live, deemphasizing the need for vehicles to a population who wish to remain
independent in spite of declining mobility and health.
c) Interstate 10, the state's longest east-west connector, runs through the entirety of the Florida Panhandle. Due to it's proximity to gulf coast and southeast neighbors such as Texas, Louisianna, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia and it's pristine waters and white sand beaches, the
Destin/Panama City Beach area is the second most driven-to vacation destination in Florida.
d) The Panhandle tourism growth in particular has sharply outpaced state and national gains — with numbers for every county from
Escambia through Walton up by more than 10% last year. New communities are beginning to push inland. “You’re seeing huge residential
developments planned for Freeport — the first we’ve seen off the coast,” says Tom Powell, executive director of the Walton County Economic Development Council.
3. New construction is not the only real estate investment opportunity
in the Florida Panhandle. With annual population growth along the
Emerald Coast far exceeding the state average, restrictions on new development and growth management regulations act to constrain growth of new housing, making the existing inventory more valuable and pricing it higher. Housing appreciation has been unprecidented in Bay, Okaloosa,
Walton and Santa Rosa counties as has population growth.
|
2004 Population |
Ave. Annual Growth 2000-2004 |
Bay |
157,810 |
1.57% |
Calho=
un |
13,=
277 |
0.4=
4% |
Escambia |
298,694 |
0.37% |
Franklin |
11,570 |
1.12% |
Gulf |
13,842 |
0.86% |
Holmes |
19,453 |
1.20% |
Jackson |
47,478 |
0.38% |
Liberty |
7,337 |
1.21% |
Okaloosa |
182,694 |
1.68% |
Santa Rosa |
135,797 |
3.46% |
Walton |
46,217 |
3.15% |
Washington |
21,979 |
1.15% |
|
|
|
Florida - State |
17,239,646 |
1.80% |
Florida Trend magazine's 2005 industry outlook for residential
real estate investing sees the Florida real estate market as hot, hot, hot.
The magazine notes that speculative buying could create localized problems in areas of the state, but there appears to be little danger of a
housing slowdown in 2005, barring a huge jump in interest rates or a catastrophic terrorist incident.
Why should you invest in the Florida Panhandle?
The proposed International airport in Panama City.
Retiring Baby Boomers.
In-migration predictions significantly higher than the state average.
3 deep-water ports, 2 of which are designated international trade zones.
Restrictions on new development of Master planned waterfront resort communities.
St Joe, St Joe, St Joe.
Florida real estate investment is poised to remain strong and real estate investing in the
Florida Panhandle is being propelled by some major players. If you
haven't taken the plunge into real estate investing, you're not too late.
If you are a seasoned real estate investor, you would be wise to look to northwest Florida for continuing growth and appreciation.
You may also be interested in reading
You don't have to Win the Lottery to make Money in Preconstruction
In this article Debbie dispells the myths about securing preconstruction real estate investments. You will learn ALL the ways to make money in preconstruction.
|
