Real Estate Market Update - 6-1-2006

This month there are some signs of improvement in the local market. Even though the number of houses listed for sale continues to grow (now up to 6,400 single-family homes and condos in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties), the sales improved in May. Six hundred (600) detached homes sold in May (up from 500 in April), and it is interesting to note that 523 of them were under $300,000. Of that number, 352 were under $200,000. The reason --- affordability. The average price of homes in the area is still slightly beyond the reach of the average person making $30,000 per year ($70,000 in a 2-earner family).

The prices are adjusting down slightly when new homes go on the market, but they are further reduced at the time of the sale (after all, it's a buyer's market!). Sales around the waterfront are still sluggish and a smart buyer can get some good deals on those properties.

The outlook for the area is very good right now, with several new downtown condos under construction and a new 2718-acre development, called "Jubilee" in the works in north Santa Rosa County. The Atlanta-based Eagle Group is planning to have the first phase and the golf course completed in the fall of 2007. We welcome your comments and questions. Send them to me at joe@stukey.com or visit our website at www.stukey.com.