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Atlantic Beach, FL Real Estate News

By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
I attended a Jacksonville Beaches Chamber of Commerce event last night at this estate, and one  of my primary motivations was to SEE this estate, as I had not had the chance just yet.  This 1961 contemporary residence was designed by Taylor Hardwick, a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright. Encompassing 1.7 oceanfront acres, this estate has been renovated into 3 separate condominium residences with spectacular ocean views. Available for rent for $5000 double occupancy for 90 days, you can read more about it on their website here: http://www.theatlanticbeachestate.com/ It was truly a unique experience!  
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
Atlantic Beach is a city of small town charm, unique history and a community many are proud to call home. We invite you to visit and see why Atlantic Beach is a community of choice! This coming Saturday, at Bull Memorial Park, there will be a holiday sing-along! A disc jockey will spin holiday tunes for the karaoke-style songs. Santa will arrive for a visit and refreshments will be offered to celebrate the winter season. Adults and children of all ages are welcome to join in. Snow is in the forecast, so dress warmly! I'm not sure we will have snow this weekend, but we have freezing temps right now, so we are all getting in the holiday mood!
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
Everyone is fascinated by foreclosures, and how much they can "save" or make by purchasing one. As Realtors know, not every foreclosure represents the same type of deal, depending on the work they need, and the community they are located in.  I just ran a quick search, and came up with 63 total foreclosures sold this year in Atlantic, Neptune and Jacksonville Beach, FL. The lowest price one sold for $25,000 and was fire damaged, requiring repairs, but close to the Mayport Naval base. There were quite a few of these, which are townhomes, that sold for less than $50K. The highest price property was an oceanfront home, with 3000 square feet, built in 1923, that sold for $1,335,000. It needed absolutely no work at all. The oceanfront home is a terrific deal, the fire damaged townhome is les...
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
In this era of Tweeting, Facebooking, and Foursquaring our every move, it was inevitable criminals would find ways to profit from our constant display of not being home. Here are some simple steps to plug those cyber leaks and protect yourself while online and offline: Disable the geotagging on your phone. You can visit this website; http://www.icanstalku.com/ to find directions on how to disable the geotagging on various devices. Pay attention when posting pictures; some sites strip pictures of their respective geotags, and some ask you to opt in to post those geotags. Be aware of the policies on the sites you post mobile uploads to. Manage your "friends" list. Many of us somewhat blindly accept friend requests, without REALLY knowing who the person is, or even looking at their profil...
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
Here are the October 2010 stats and 2009 for comparison - 2010 19 Homes Sold Lowest price: $66,000 Highest price: $2,510,000         Shortest Days on Market: 3 Longest Days on Market: 308 2009 17 homes sold Lowest price: $46,000 Highest price: $850,000 Shortest Days on Market: 12 Longest Days on Market: 453 Now, this is great news! I'm sure some of you are saying; "WHAT?!", but this is the first positive news for the beaches communities in October, as both Neptune & Jacksonville Beach were both down year over year. Sales are up year over year, 11% to be exact, and while that may not be exciting to you, it's still positive news in the local real estate market. The low end of the price range is up roughly 30%, which is also a first time stat this year (I think I will have to confirm), and...
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
I met a friend (and recent buyer) for a lunch yesterday at one of our fabulous local places, Taste! in Atlantic Beach. This is a small restaurant, with about 6-7 tables, and 4 seats at the bar, so you can see everyone. One of the most unique things about this restaurant is it is only open one day per week.  You would think that would be impossible, especially in today's economy, but they do an incredible business, and they have take out available as well. I have included their menu from yesterday, which also has their website. If/when you are in the area, you should try a visit to them - the food and ambiance is awesome!    (904) 372-0854 Wednesday November 3, 2010 Reservations Suggested Can't make it in for lunch? Entire menu available for Carry Out till 6 p.m. Please call orders in by...
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
If you have been to our area, you have probably heard someone refer to Town Center.  This is a thriving, pedestrian-friendly area, with local shops and restaurants. Some of my favorite places are here! Upcoming events include: Unchain for the Holidays 11/20-11/30/10 Weekly events include: Music in the Courtyard at 200 First Street Every Friday from 7-10pm April-October Slider's Happy Oyster Hour every Thursday 5-8pm with drink & oyster specials Monthly events: North Beaches Art Walk the 3rd Thursday of the month, www.nbaw.org www.beacheswtowncenter.com
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
  Here are the September 2010 stats and 2009 for comparison - 2010 17 Homes Sold Lowest price: $32,500 Highest price: $545,000 Shortest Days on Market: 2 Longest Days on Market: 208 2009 18 homes sold Lowest price: $59,900 Highest price: $845,000 Shortest Days on Market: 0 Longest Days on Market: 706 Sales are essentially flat year to year, which is good considering the press has been stating how much sales are down due to the expiration of the tax credit. Pricing year over year does not indicate much positive news, however, I would like to point out that the days on market, which is a key indicator of proper pricing was much longer last year than this year, AND, the property on the market longest? It was a lower priced foreclosure that was not properly priced from the beginning! Proper...
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
I needed new tires about a week ago, and had to clean out my trunk to get to the donut.  Of course, this meant I took out  a box holding lockboxes and WD-40. I showed a short sale later in the week, and had not yet put said box back in....came across a townhome whose lock was just not functioning smoothly, and it felt like WD-40 would be the perfect solution. A back up (at least it worked for me the other day) could be a pen-sized mister of hand sanitizer. I sprayed in the lock once with the key and once without, and it seemed to help the tumblers loosen up. Let me know if you have other ideas - thanks!
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
As most people probably do, I have more than one email account. My first account was a Yahoo account, and it's the one I use the least currently. Imagine my surprise when I got an email from a long time friend the other day stating: "I think you've been hacked - but thanks for sending me a picture of my favorite body part." Because I use this account so infrequently, I don't update the email addresses, which turns out was a GOOD thing: about 1/3 of the email addresses were undeliverable, and of the remaining ones, I'm pretty sure the majority of them have good firewalls and the virus-laden email was probably stopped dead in it's tracks. I attempted to alert the remaining contacts, however, apparently, my attemps to send an email to all my contacts looks like spam attempt to Yahoo, and t...
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
Atlantic  Beach  August 2010 statistics   Here are the August 2010 stats and 2009 for comparison - 2010 25 Homes Sold Lowest price: $35,000 Highest price: $1,500,000         Shortest Days on Market: 1 Longest Days on Market: 298    2009 17 homes sold Lowest price: $53,000 Highest price: $645,000 Shortest Days on Market: 1 Longest Days on Market: 301 WOO HOO!  Atlantic Beach sales are UP year to year by 47%! Certainly a change from what the media reports, isn't it?  And, this is much better than Jacksonville Beach (27%) and Neptune Beach (-47%). Also, the low end decreased $20,000, look at the increase on the upper end: from $645K to $1.5M! Days on market is flat on both sides....an indicator of proper pricing/presentation.   Properly priced and properly presented properties are STILL se...
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
Here are the July 2010 stats and 2009 for comparison - 2010 18 Homes Sold Lowest price: $40,000 Highest price: $629,000 Shortest Days on Market: 8 Longest Days on Market: 44 Sunrise 2009 21 homes sold Lowest price: $44,900 Highest price: $1,450,000 Shortest Days on Market:5 Longest Days on Market: 1247 Home sales are down 15% year to year, which while not great news, is still much better than many other parts of Florida.   Pricing shows a 10% decline year to year in Atlantic Beach on the lower end, and there is not an apples to apples comparison on the high end - the $1.45M house (which was also the house on the market the longest) was an oceanfront property. The days on market is also fairly stable, another indication the sellers are pricing homes correctly, which will help to reduce i...
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
This sounds like fun! Atlantic Beach is hosting their first annual Community Challenge Triathalon. Consisting of: 5K beach Run 500 Meter Ocean Swim 10K Beach Cruiser Bike (meaning a bike without gears) AB lifeguards will be competing as well. For more info, and the registration form, go to the Atlantic Beach website: http://www.ci.atlantic-beach.fl.us/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=229 Carol Zingone is a Broker Associate with Prudential Network Realty. Recently honored as the Realtor of the Year for Northeast Florida - an award based on community service, professional qualifications and other attributes, Carol helps buyers and sellers throughout the Beaches, Intracoastal West and Greater Jacksonville, FL areas. She can be reached at 904/993-9048 or via email at carolzingone@clearwire.net.
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
In our current economic environment, we have seen an unprecedented increase in foreclosures, deed in lieu of foreclosures and short sales of home mortgages across the United States. Many homeowners are losing their homes due to many reasons including job loss, unexpected medical expenses and life circumstances. Fast forward to changed circumstances, those homeowners are now in a position to buy a home again. The mortgage lender will look at the type of circumstance that led to loss of the home and what the potential buyer has accomplished since the foreclosure or short sale.   What about a short sale?  For buyers who have sold a home previously by a short sale, the guidelines for future purchase are  slightly different and less stringent. • If the short sale occurred due to financial mi...
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
If you have parents who are in the process of considering a move to an active adult community, you should consider Brookdale Cypress Village! Conveniently located adjacent to Mayo Clinic on a 120 acre campus, Brookdale Cypress Village offers a Culinary Art Institute and trademarked dining program.  With innovative senior care provided onsite, Cypress Village offers outpatient rehab and home health care services. Cypress Village offers LifeCare on all of their apartments, and on several of the homes they own.  This gives residents the following benefits: Centralized healthcare on one campus Ability to control future long-term healthcare costs. Priority access to Assisted Living, Healthcare and rehab services. Their "Care For Life" guarantee offers: You will never be asked to leave if you...
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
Jacksonville Beach is once again hosting a summer jazz series, and today is the second concert. Tonight is the second concert of the 9th Annual Summer Jazz Series. June's concert started things off with a bang, and July's concert promises to turn up the heat with another multi-talented line-up of performers. Headlining is guitarist Nick Colionne with his unforgettable sound and fabulous on-stage outfits. Nick takes the stage at 7:30 pm. At 6:00 pm the all-star lineup of TIZER featuring Lao Tizer and violinist Karen Briggs will perform. Opening the show at 5:00 pm is alto saxophonist Will Donato. Come out and enjoy this wonderful combination of music, and sea breezes, for free! Bring your blankets or lawn chairs and enjoy refreshments and food available for purchase from local vendors. E...
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
  Many people now have a neighboring house ths is what we in the industry consider "distressed", meaning it's a short sale, on it's way to foreclosure, or a foreclosure.   This means, in all likelihood that the yard is no being maintained, and it looks awful. Additionally, the unmaintained yard is an invitation for all sorts of other issues, including: weeds, vermin, squatters - the list goes on and on. What can you do?  Here are some options to consider, so you can at least take some action towards a resolution: Appeal to the Homeowner's Association.  There may not be budget to take care of the yard, especially if the homeowner is behind on their dues, but the property condition does reflect on the entire community and should be addressed. Take care of the yard either yourself, or have...
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
Here are the January - June 2010 stats and 2009 for comparison - 2010 28 Condos Sold Lowest price: $116,900 Highest price: $1,760,000         Lowest Per Square Foot Sold:$105.57 Highest Per Square Foot Sold: $372.80       Of these, 20 were standard re-sales, 6 were short sales, and 2 were bank owned properties.             2009 24 Condos sold Lowest price: $150,000 Highest price: $2,000,000 Lowest Per Square Foot Sold:$180.07 Highest Per Square Foot Sold: $666.67       Of these, 18 were standard re-sales, 2 were short sale, and 4 were bank owned properties. Pricing is being affected by the amount of inventory in the condo market, although an additional factor is how challenging it is to get loans to purchase condos in today's financial landscape. Most lenders want to see 25-30% down, an...
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
Here are the January - June 2010 stats and 2009 for comparison - 2010 64 Homes Sold Lowest price: $25,000 Highest price: $1,000,000         Lowest Per Square Foot Sold:$25.51 Highest Per Square Foot Sold: $298.18    2009 43 homes sold Lowest price: $48,000 Highest price: $615,000 Lowest Per Square Foot Sold:$40.32 Highest Per Square Foot Sold: $226.77 I know most buyers want to hear more information about distressed sales (REO's/Bank Owned properties) and most sellers would prefer to ignore them - as they make up about 50% of our local Multiple Listing Service inventory, however, they are impossible to ignore, as they do have an impact on pricing, and value perception of the market. Foreclosure sales are up about 50% year to year, which is good, as the sooner we get the distressed inven...
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By Carol Zingone, Global Realtor in Jax Beach, FL - ABR, CRS, CIPS
(Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty)
Here are the January - June 2010 stats and 2009 for comparison - 2010         86 Homes Sold         Lowest price: $38,000                Highest price: $3,200,000           Shortest Days on Market: 0         Longest Days on Market: 952   2009           79 homes sold           Lowest price: $48,000           Highest price: $2,650,000           Shortest Days on Market: 1           Longest Days on Market: 426 Homes sold year over year are UP about 8% year over year. When I posted the 1st Quarter results, our Atlantic Beach sales were up 38% year over year, so I'm a bit surprised to see we've lost some forward momentum. Pricing is a bit more optimistic on the higher end than the lower end. This is not too surprising, due to the amount of "distressed" inventory in the marketplace (short sale...
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Atlantic Beach, FL Real Estate Professionals