Real Estate Information

Just listed - 14th floor Gulf front 2 bedroom condo at Tops'l Beach & Racquet Resort. 
Click here for more info

Vision Airlines formally announced the expansion of its service to 17 new destinations from the Northwest Florida Regional Airport.  Starting March 25th, they will offer flights to and from 12 new destinations which include:

Atlanta, GA
Little Rock, AR
Huntsville, AL
Savannah, GA
Punta Gorda, FL
Baton Rouge, LA
Knoxville, TN
Macon, GA
Greenville/Spartanburg, SC
Birmingham, AL
St. Petersburg, FL
Louisville, KY

On April 1st, service will be begin at these additional destinations:

Chattanooga, TN
Shreveport, LA
Asheville, NC
Columbia, SC
Orlando, FL

This opens up many travel opportunities across the southeast.  These new destinations were selected to help stretch the tourist season in Northwest Florida.

Prices for the new destinations normally will start at $79 one way; however, they are offering a special rate of $49 one way for any of the new markets when booked between Jan. 18 - 23.

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In 2009 I partnered with my cousin, Nathan Abbott, to form a team of specialists that help provide solutions to homeowners in distress and facing foreclosure.  Abbott Can Help provides an efficient and systematic approach to working with property owners and lenders to offer solutions to foreclosure through short sales.  We were recently featured in the real estate section of our local publication, The Daily News.

Click here to view the article

Barefoots Beachside Bar & Grill, which was located between the two towers of the Hilton Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort, was destroyed in a fire that started just after midnight on Sunday, October 3rd.

No structural damage was sustained to either of the two Hilton Sandestin hotel towers, although the heat from the fire caused the sprinkler system in all 24 rooms on the first floor closest to Barefoots to go off.  There were no injuries reported & the fire appears to be accidental.

Sandestin hopes to have Barefoots rebuilt and reopened by next April.

                                          More good news for the new Panama City International Airport!  Southwest Airlines has agreed to buy AirTran in a $1.42 billion deal that will combine two of the nation's biggest discount carriers.  The acquisition moves Southwest into 37 new cities.  The largest of those is Atlanta. The acquisition also gives Southwest a bigger slice of the market in cities like Boston & New York, major East Coast cities, where it has been expanding.  The deal is also a boost to Southwest's plans to expand internationally.

This is great news for the Gulf Coast Region and Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) in Panama City Beach. Easier access and low coast flights should increase travel volume to the area throughout the year.  

The deal between Southwest & AirTran must still be approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation and stockholders of the two airlines.  The two airlines will fully integrate the two companies within 18 to 24 months, after which customers will only see the Southwest brand.  When combined, Southwest and AirTran will serve more than 100 communities.

On September 22, Wyndham Worldwide announced that it has agreed to acquire ResortQuest.  The ticket price for this transaction is $56 million.  The all-cash transaction is anticipated to close by the end of the third quarter in 2010.  With this acquisition, Wyndham Worldwide becomes the world's largest full-service vacation rental business, provising access to more than 85,000 vacation properties in 100 countries.

I feel this will be a good move for the company as a whole and in the Gulf Coast region. 

Click here to read more on the story

Local seafood, arts & crafts, and good tunes will occupy the harbor this weekend as the 32nd annual Destin Seafood Festival cranks up this Friday afternoon.  Weather this week has been in the low 90s but cooling off in the evenings and there has been a nice Gulf breeze in the afternoons.  Although football has geared up across the country, plenty of local events keep the beach life active, including the YOLO Board Seaside Celebration this weekend with free concert in the amphitheatre.  Check both links below and have a great weekend if you are home...or at the beach!  

www.YoloSeasideRace.com
www.DestinSeafoodFestival.org

Funny how pets can leave an impression on our hearts.  The unconditional love a dog gives his or her master is something we all could practice in life towards each other.  I've had the pleasure of raising a male Doberman (Samson) the last 8+ years of my life, and can reflect on the many lessons he has taught me.  Patience, the unimportance of material things, and the true meaning of companionship.  On Tuesday I laid him to rest at our family farm in Defuniak Springs, where he love to be the most.  He was 8.5 years old and had battled cancer long enough.  I've always believed in the saying 'rather to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.'  Well goodbye old friend...you will be missed, but never forgotten.     

Looks like a nice Labor Day weekend coming up on the Gulf Coast.  Cooler temperatures this morning were refreshing and a reminder that fall is just around the corner. Since the capping of the oil well earlier this month, I have seen a positive surge in real estate activity and many properties that are priced right are getting offers and selling.  A lot of the 'low hanging fruit' is selling on the market and consumer confidence seems to be building.  Sold prices have helped buyers determine fair market value in condo buildings and neighborhoods, and once there is a bottom set it seems to trigger multiple sales around that price point. Most national real estate reports point out that bank-owned properties and distressed properties will continue to flood the market.  These REOs and short sales can sometimes be rock bottom deals, but there are still great arms length transactions happening across the beach. 

 If you have always wanted to own real estate along the Gulf Coast, I invite you to let me show you the way.  Please call me when you are coming in town to view properties on the market, or use the Ultimate Property Search Engine tool to browse yourself.  I think you will enjoy previewing properties and the user friendly features of http://Chris.DestinRealEstateCompany.com. 

The beaches are clean, the water is warm, and it looks like a sunny weekend here at the beach.  Hope to see you there!