Now, this is interesting: apparently Shad Khan is in negotiations to buy the Fulham Soccer team, which competes in the English Premier League. I know many Americans think soccer isn't REALLY a major sport, but I grew up playing soccer, and love the game. This obviously works well as part of Shad Khan's master plan, with the Jaguars playing one game per year in Wembley Staduim. You can read the full story here: http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/544821/ryan-ohalloran/2013-07-10/report-jaguars-owner-shad-khan-pursuing-londons-fulham 07/10/2013

We are proud to announce that our firm is now members of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors / NEFAR and the Northeast Florida Multiple Listing Services / NEFMLS.  This gives us direct access to searching for and listing properties in the metro Jacksonville and Palatka areas including Duval, Baker, Bradford, Union, Clay, and Putnam County Florida.   We also now have reciprocal rights to list and search properties in the St Johns St Augustine MLS.  If you are interested in doing a flat fee MLS listing in these areas, we can help you for our standard rates as mentioned on our flat fee MLS website.  List in the Jacksonville MLS.  List in the Palatka MLS.  List in the Orange Park MLS.  List in the St Augustine MLS.  It is as easy as 1-2-3 by following the instructions on our site.... 07/09/2013

The Haydon Burns Library is a landmark in downtown Jacksonville, even though the building no longer houses a library. i was unaware until today that the library building sits on the former site of the "new" City Hall which was built after the Great Fire of 1901. The Great Fire was one of the worst disasters in Florida history. In eight hours, the fire burned 146 city blocks, destroyed more than 2,368 buildings, and left almost 10,000 residents homeless. It is said the glow from the flames could be seen in Savannah, Georgia and the smoke plumes all the way in Raleigh, North Carolina. Now, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund hopes to bring activity back to the building, with a recent purchase & plans to renovated the space. it is important that cities preserve their historic buildings, and this ... 07/01/2013

Great Jacksonville Restaurants - Azurea   Just walking into Azurea is a treat that you can't quite capture in a photo, but here is our best attempt on the left. Azurea is located in One Ocean Resort & Spa, 1 Ocean Boulevard, Atlantic Beach FL, phone 904-249-7402. Executive Chef Ted Peters is so respected in the culinary world, that James Beard House of the James Beard Foundation has invited him to cook for food and wine enthusiasts again this Fall. Chef Peters is also another one of the 19 local Chefs to make the first Americas Best Chefs list. The service is very attentive at Azurea, as befitting a AAA four-diamond property, which was named in the "Top 100 Best in the World" by Conde-Nast Traveler, a 'Top 40 in Florida' and among the "World's Best Hotels" by Travel & Leisure in 2012.  ... 07/01/2013

I don't drink as much beer as I used to, but will have to check this out. World of Beer opened their first location today in Jacksonville, in the TinselTown area.  The restaurant typically offers 35+ beers on tap, including local brews by Engine 15, Pinglehead, Intuition, Bold City and Green Room. This location will alos offer tavern fare including brats, that are designed to complemen the craft beer theme.  It's located in the former Starbucks on Deer Lake Court, and is close to Mellow Mushroom, Ale House, and Tilted Kilt. You can read more here: http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/423471/gary-mills/2013-07-01/jacksonvilles-first-world-beer-opens-today   07/01/2013

Great Jacksonville Restaurants - Restaurant Orsay Vive la France! Restaurant Orsay is located in Jacksonville's Avondale area at 3630 Park Street, phone 904-381-0909. Reservations recommended. Co-owner Chef Brian Siebenschuh is one of 19 local chefs to make the first Best Chefs America list.  The food at Restaurant Orsay is elevated to an art form. This is fine dining in a bistro fashion, combining traditional French cuisine along with some dishes using French cooking techniques with a Southern flair. Food comes from locally grown farms and the bartenders have a roof top herb garden for their specialty drinks. The atmosphere is fun and trendy - the food is  superb. Dishes you have to try: You just have to try the Escargots, even if you're not sure you like them. They are arguably the be... 06/29/2013

Buy or Sell a home with the Sellin' With CC Team and get Rebates!   The Sellin' With CC Team  904-401-8481 www.SellingWithCC.com CC@SellingWithCC.com    Homes for Heroes is a program that offers discounts to first responders, Military, Educators, Health Care professionals, Law Enforcement, and Fire Fighters when they buy or sell a home with an Affiliate Realtor. The Sellin' With CC Team are Affiliates and are ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs.    It is a seller's market but just just coming out of one of the worst real estate crashes can still make profits tight. The Homes for Heroes program partners with Realtors and Title Agencies to make sure you are receiving the most money when you sell your home.   If you are buying a home in Jacksonville, cash does not nor... 06/26/2013

This is such a cool story! I have been in Jacksonville, FL since 1990, and have driven through the San Jose area many times. I've seen this tower over the years, and it's so nice to see a local community pull together to get this National Register of Historic Places site restored. According to the article, this is one of four guard towers that lined the San Jose Estates neighborhood. You can read the full article here:  http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2013-06-26/story/old-tower-stands-rebuilt-jacksonvilles-san-jose-community#ixzz2XMNV6xpV     06/26/2013

4th of July in Northeast Florida A guide to all the 4th of July fun in Jacksonville, Orange Park and St Augustine Florida. Jacksonville Florida 4th of July Celebration 2103 Thursday July 4th from 4pm-10pm at the Jacksonville landing, featuring live bands, food, beverages and fun! For more information on parking, docking your boat and more, visit Jax Happenings. 2013 American Pride 4th of July in Orange Park Thursday July 4th from 11am-9:15pm. At the Moosehaven on Park Ave.  Use to be free, but from 3pm to 8:30pm, there is a $5 fee per person. Yikes, so much for trying to get there early to get a good seat for the fireworks, it’s gonna cost you some dough. The reason for the admission fee is due to a concert they are having starting at 7pm. Check out the flyer for more details. 2013 Fire... 06/22/2013

I don't typically blog about my local City Council, however, I've had several hours in the past two weeks where I've been at City Council meetings. Why? We have a local sign ordinance due to sunset this month that allowed us to have Open House signs on public right-of-ways in Duval County, and as President of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors, I get to communicate the associations position on the bill as it makes it way through the bill process. The bill process consists of public hearing/input, Rules Committee, Finance Committee, Land Use & Zoning, and with any luck, it will be passed this coming Tuesday. While at Rules Committee this past Monday, this Director's postion came into question. It is interesting to watch the process, and as this article outlines, there are que... 06/20/2013

Apparently, under owner Shahid Khan, we have some major stadium improvements coming our way.  A few of the improvements include:  New platform area in the north end-zone with pools, food & beverage service. Video scoreboards in each end zone, 55 x 301 feet , the largest of their kind. New LED board displays on the sidelines, as well as the Bud Light Party Deck and above the Terrace Suites in the south end zone.  Displays over the tunnels Shahid Khan is quoted as saying "It will be impossible to stay home and watch the Jaguars"   Now, I LOVE NFL Football, but I'm not 100% certain I want to see ANYONE at an NFL game in a bathing suit...just sayin'. You can read the full article in the Jacksonville Business Journal here:   http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2013/06/19/jacksonvil... 06/19/2013

Jacksonville Florida Real Estate Market Report  Single Family homes (attached & detached)  May 2013                    May 2012 Active Listings: 3,475                 Active Listings: 4,348 Sold: 1,014                               Sold: 702 Months Inventory: 3.43            Months Inventory: 6.19 Average Price: 517,389          Average Price: 474,926 Last month I was pretty excited to see the months inventory at 3.98. The month of May was even better at 3.43 months.  A slight drop in inventory and an increase in the number of homes sold in Jacksonville is the reasons why. I also want to add that the median sales price for May of last year was $109,950. This year in May was $141,000. So, to explain median prices, it means that in May 2013 half the homes sold was below 141,000, the other... 06/19/2013

This is great news for all NBA lovers, as well as Jacksonville: we are hosting a pre-season NBA game featuring the Orlando Magic & the New Orleans Pelicans.  The game is October 9th at Veteran's Memorial Arena, and tickets will run from $15 to $250 for courtside seats - you can read the full story in the Times Union here:  http://jacksonville.com/sports/basketball/2013-06-18/story/jacksonville-host-nba-preseason-game-first-2009#ixzz2WcL730HJ     06/18/2013

Jacksonville Florida Real Estate Market Report  Single Family homes (attached & detached)  April 2013                    April 2012 Active Listings: 3,653                Active Listings: 4,527 Sold:  918                              Sold: 694 Months Inventory: 3.98           Months Inventory: 6.52 Average Price: 505,182           Average Price: 550,721 Wow. That’s what I said out loud when I saw this month’s inventory level under 4 months. Last month it was 4.36. To put it in perspective, back in April 2005, it was 2.43 months. Now, if you’re new to my market reports or not sure what months inventory means, I’ll explain. If we use April 2013 as the example, then we see that there was 3,653 available houses and 918 houses sold and closed that month. If you divide active houses by sold ho... 06/18/2013

I realize this is a diversion from real estate, but hey, I did have a life before real estate, and it was in advertising.  The ADDYs are the advertising equivalent of the Golden Globes, frankly, and it's a huge accomplishment to be awarded a national ADDY (there are local, state and national levels).  This is fabulous recognition for a local advertising agency, as well as our area.  You can read the full story here: http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/arts/2013-06-16/story/arts-notes-players-sea-campaign-net-brunet-garcia-four-national#ixzz2WOKZws00 06/16/2013

The original Metro Diner has been a restaurant since 1938 in the San Marco area. The current owners opened Metro Diner in 1992 and locals know that Metro Diner is a great place for diner food at its best.  Check out the Metro Diner website for daily specials - tomorrow's are: MonteCristo Sandwich, Country Fried Steak Egg Benedict and Low Country Frittata. Sound tempting? It will taste as good as it sounds. Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives has taped a show at Metro Diner and gave it his nod of approval. Metro Diner fans can find their signature Yo Halla on the Square recipe on Food Network, compliments of owner Mark Davoli. The original location is about a mile from the San Marco Square, hence the Yo Halla on the Square name. Upscale diner food is what Metro Diner is all about. T... 06/15/2013

I snapped some cool cloud shots as a storm passed through our area last night. I was headed to Orange Park for a birthday gathering, and Orange Park is about 45 minutes away from me, and not a "standard" destination on a Friday night. I went with a girlfriend who didn't want to go solo; since we both live at the beach, Orange Park is a bit of a hike, so company always makes a drive like that more fun.  Here are the pix I snapped:  I *think* I applied some sort of special effects on my smart phone on the photo above. In both of them though, you can see what kind of looks like a dragon in the sky.      06/15/2013

Year to date, sales up 24.4 percent and prices up 16 percent. Percentage of lender mediated sales diminishing.      JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors announces real estate market statistics for May 2013. Except where otherwise indicated, statistics reflect combined results for single-family residential and condominium properties.   Northeast Florida’s May sales results held no surprises. Prices continue to rise and inventory continues to fall. There were 1,951 closed sales in May; up 21.5 percent year over year and up 24.4 percent year to date. Pending sales also jumped: there were 2,321 pending sales in May 2013 versus 1,725 pending sales in May 2012; a 34.6 percent increase.   There are many bright spots in the current housing sales situation, includin... 06/14/2013

Those of us who have attended at least one NFL game in our lifetimes can recall how stadium security used to be, and how it is now.    Growing up in New Jersey, I went to many Giants games. At that time, you could even bring in coolers, which was (to me and others) awesome.    These days, you definitely cannot bring a cooler, and now the types of bags you can bring are being addressed.  Keep in mind, just like TPC in our area, these restrictions will be enforced so prior planning is the best option.   With the exception of medically necessary items, only clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bags no larger than 12 inches, by 6 inches, by 12 inches.  One gallon clear plastic freezer bags are also ok, as well as small clear plastic bags approximately the size of a hand.   One of these clear bags, a... 06/13/2013

Have you ever attended one of your local City Council meetings? I'm currently sitting at one, waiting for the chance to speak in support of a sign ordinance change for our local Realtors. I've been to several of these before, and we've managed to get our item moved up on the agenda, so I've not had the privilege of hearing my fellow Jacksonville, FL  residents speaking their minds about items on the agenda.  For example, there is a current agenda item that deals with re-zoning on a more rural stretch of our area, and it's refreshing to hear residents coming to the podium to talk about the peaceful, quiet environment; about how the PUD doesn't fit into the city's comprehensive plan; about how the comparable sold properties don't support this type of development.  I know, you think City ... 06/11/2013