Lisa Barton

When I'm working with people who are relocating to Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra, inevitably they ask about hospitals and healthcare providers. I'm pleased to say that the Jacksonville Beaches area has good options for high quality healthcare.The nationally acclaimed Mayo Clinic has a medical and research center just over the Intracoastal Waterway. Baptist Medical Center Beaches has a full-service hospital in Jacksonville Beach which just opened a new high-tech surgery center for out-patient surgical procedures. This 15,000 square foot facility will provide efficient, state-of-the art care to beaches residents. The new surgery center is part of the Medical Center's overall hospital renovation plan. Later this month work will begin on a new cancer center as well as a major renovation of the hospital's front entrance and lobby.

Here's a quick overview of the Sawmill Lakes neighborhood in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. If you have questions about this neighborhood please feel free to contact me.

• Neighborhood:  Sawmill Lakes
• Nearest Major Intersection:  Palm Valley Road (210) and Mickler Road 
• Gated: No
• Clubhouse: No
• How Many Homes: Approximately 2000
• Size Range: 3-5 bedrooms
• Pedestrian-Friendly: Yes
• Recreation: Soccer field, basketball court, pool, playground
• Nearest Grocery Store: Publix
• LB’s Favorite Neighborhood Feature:  The lakes really are pretty!
• Fun Fact:  My oldest son got stung by a bee on the thumb while playing at the Sawmill Lakes playground.

Did you know that Marsh Landing, a gated community in Ponte Vedra Beach, has two parks? Osprey Park is the smaller of the two with a playground and basketball court. The recently renovated Fletcher Park spans two acres and contains a new playground, soccer field, and volleyball court. Both parks have restroom facilities. 

In 2011, a running track will surround Fletcher Park and a new pavilion will be built.

Looking for other recreational activities in Marsh Landing? Sidewalks double as bike paths and lead to the Intracoastal Waterway overlooking a number of beautiful estuaries. 

The Marsh Landing Country Club is also available to members and guests and has a wide range of recreational offerings including a fitness center, swimming pool, tennis courts, and golf.

Here's a quick overview of the Plantation Oaks neighborhood in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. If you have questions about this neighborhood please feel free to contact me.

• Neighborhood:  Plantation Oaks
• Nearest Major Intersection:  Palm Valley Road (210) and Mickler Road
• Gated: Yes
• Clubhouse:  No
• How Many Homes: 165
• Size Range: Typically, 3,000 square feet or larger
• Pedestrian-Friendly: Yes
• Recreation: Pool, basketball court, tennis courts, trails
• Nearest Grocery Store: Publix
• LB’s Favorite Neighborhood Feature:  Beautiful entry gates to neighborhood.
• Fun Fact:  My son’s  5^th grade end-of-school party was at the Plantation Oaks pool.

Here's a quick overview of the Marsh Landing neighborhood in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. If you have questions about this neighborhood please feel free to contact me.

• Neighborhood:  Marsh Landing
• Nearest Major Intersection:  Solana Road and A1A
• Gated: Yes
• Clubhouse: Yes – golf, tennis, and social memberships offered
• How Many Homes: 1100
• Size Range: Very wide variety of sizes
• Pedestrian-Friendly: Yes – scenic walks, trails
• Recreation: Playgrounds, pool, soccer fields, basketball courts, nature trails
• Nearest Grocery Store: Winn-Dixie
• LB’s Favorite Neighborhood Feature:  The Harbour Island Yacht Basin is gorgeous. There’s no other place like it in Ponte Vedra, Jacksonville, or Northeast Florida, for that matter.
• Fun Fact:  I’m on the board of my neighborhood's home owner association in Marsh Landing.The Marsh Landing Country Club dining room has the best view of the marsh and golf course in the whole Ponte Vedra Beach area.

While no sector of real estate has been able to escape the declining market conditions, the luxury market (homes valued at $1,000,000 or more) have traditionally been slightly more protected from depreciation. Right now, the percentage of distressed sales for luxury homes in Ponte Vedra Beach and Jacksonville are significantly less than the local average of all homes for sale.  Many sellers in the luxury market have the personal wealth to wait-out the economic conditions, rather than sell their home at a loss. According an article in the Business Section of the Florida Times Union, there is a high inventory for homes on the market for above a million dollars. Keep in mind though, buyers in the luxury market are still looking for deep discounts--just as buyers are in general.

According to the Florida Times Union, data from the Multiple Listing Service indicates that sales in the $1 million or more market are up 6% this year.  Positive signs can be taken from this trend. The luxury market is often the first to recover and this increased activity may indicate that the housing market is at or near the bottom. Combine this with low mortgage rates and the fact that the banks are relaxing lending requirements for jumbo loans, and you’ll find it’s a great time to be a luxury home buyer!

 In my office (Prudential Network Realty Ponte Vedra), we’ve definitely seen an increase in buyer interest and in actual sales of luxury homes. Our high-end listings are seeing much more traffic than they were during the past two years and we’ve had several sales of high-end homes this year.

Richmond American Homes, a new home builder that builds in Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra and St. Augustine, just published a helpful article for home sellers.

Prudential Network Realty will now offer even more services to customers!  Prudential has been selected to join RISMedia’s Real Estate Information Network.  This exclusive new network has only been extended to 50 brokers nationwide that are committed to providing a full range of real estate services and timely information to consumers.  Download this PDF to find out how these new services can help you make real estate decisions.

Once again, I’ve been reviewing the listings and sales for this quarter in the Jacksonville Beaches communities: Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, and Ponte Vedra. There are a few favorable market trends across the entire Northeast Florida market and each of these individual communities that I wanted to share.

Long awaited Bird Island, between the fire station and library on A1A in Ponte Vedra Beach, is now open. Officials, donors, and members of the board of directors all came together on October 15th to support the official opening.