Lisa Barton

You've probably been hearing a lot of conflicting information regarding the housing market. Some of the national sound bites are encouraging, and some, well...not so much. The local real estate trends provide a more reliable and truer view of what's happening here in our backyard. When reviewing market indicators, it's important to realize that trends vary by indicator and market recovery won't occur everywhere all at once. Let's breakdown what happened in the Ponte Vedra Beach and Jacksonville Beaches markets over the second quarter of 2011: 

Overall, buyers in Northeast Florida absorbed homes more quickly than last year. Month Supply of Home Inventory is down 28.5% to an 8.4 month supply. New listings also decreased almost 20%. Pending home sales (an indicator of homes that are scheduled to close in the near future) are up 34%. The Housing Affordability Index (HAI) continued to climb for the Jacksonville area. At the end of the second quarter, the HAI was up 6%, suggesting that buyers have a great deal of "buying power."

Some of the individual Jacksonville Beaches areas trends were:

Ponte Vedra Beach: 

• Inventory continued to drop with 22% fewer homes on the market this summer than last.
• The number of homes sold as stressed sales dropped from over 30% to less than 22%.
• Average sale price is up! (Yes, you read that correctly.) The median sale price of homes sold in Ponte Vedra Beach in June was well over $300,000.
• The luxury market continues to show signs of growth. 

The St. Johns County Board of Commissioners has proposed a 0.75 millage rate increate on property taxes in St. Johns County. While the County budget will be reduced for the fifth consecutive year, the proposed millage rate increase is designed to maintain county programs and services near current levels. There will be two public meetings held to give voters a chance to voice their opinion about this important issue. The first meeting will be held on September 6th and the second meeting will be held on September 20th. For more information you can visit the County website. This site provides helpful information about how the property taxes on your home may be impacted if this increase is approved. 

Here's a quick summary of the Seven Mile Drive neighborhood in Sawgrass Players Club. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

• Neighborhood: Seven Mile Drive
• Nearest Major Intersection:  Solano and TPC Parkway
• Gated: Yes
• Clubhouse: The Ponte Vedra Golf & Country Club (formerly known as Oakbridge Country Club) has tennis, a pool, golf, and dining. You must be a member or a member guest to access these facilities.  Only a few blocks away is the TPC Clubhouse which is open to the public. There are a variety of membership categories available depending on how much you want to play golf.
• How Many Homes: Seven Mile Drive has 130 residences.
• Size Range: This neighborhood has homes ranging from 2,500 to 5,000 square feet with the majority of homes falling around 3,500 square feet.
• Pedestrian-Friendly: Yes, very.
• Recreation: There is a very large playground with basketball courts, soccer fields, jungle gym, walking trails and covered picnic tables in Oakbridge. 
• Nearest Grocery Store: Publix, Winn Dixie, and Fresh Market are all close.
• LB’s Favorite Neighborhood Feature:  The vista at the top of the hill as your coming down Seven Mile Drive is really beautiful.
• Fun Fact: The biggest hill in Ponte Vedra is in Seven Mile Drive.

Did you know that there are only two tax credits still available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009? This act extended incentives originally introduced in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

• The Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credits for consumers installing solar energy systems, small wind systems, geothermal heat pumps, and residential fuel cell and microturbine systems is available until December 31, 2016 and can provide a 30% tax break.
• Tax credits are also available for plug-in electric drive conversion kits. According to the IRS website, the tax credit is equal to 10% of the cost of converting a vehicle to a qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle after February 17, 2009. The maximum credit is $4,000. Conversions must be completed prior to December 31, 2011.

Believe it or not, it's that time of year again...summer is almost over and our children will head back to school in less than a month. For the last 18 years, BEAM (Beaches Emergency Auxillary Mission) has helped Jacksonville Beaches'  families get ready for the school year. BEAM provides new backpacks, school supplies, new underwear, and gently used clothing to underprivildged Beaches students. BEAM also provides a voucher for each child to receive a new pair of shoes from Target or Kmart. For many of these children, this will be the only new pair of shoes they'll wear all year. 

You can drop items for the Back to School program at various locations around the Beaches including the Ponte Vedra Prudential Office, 1000 Sawgrass Village Drive, Suite 101, or the Ponte Vedra Chamber of Commerce, 50 A1A North, Suite 102.

Back to School with BEAM will be held Saturday, August 13 from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m., at the Beach United Methodist Church in Jacksonville Beach. For more information about BEAM, go to http://www.jaxbeam.org or call (904) 241-7437, ext 1.  

Here's a quick summary of the Hammock Cove neighborhood in Sawgrass Players Club. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

• Neighborhood: Hammock Cove, part of The Coves
• Nearest Major Intersection: Solano and TPC Parkway
• Gated: Yes
• Clubhouse: The Ponte Vedra Golf & Country Club (formerly known as Oakbridge Country Club) has tennis, a pool, golf, and dining. You must be a member or a member guest to access these facilities. Only a few blocks away is the TPC Clubhouse which is open to the public. There are a variety of membership categories available depending on how much you want to play golf.
• How Many Homes: Hammock Cove has nearly 65 residences.
• Size Range: Residences in this neighborhood tend to range between 1,800 and 3,100 square feet.
• Pedestrian-Friendly: Yes, very.
• Recreation: There is a very large playground with basketball courts, soccer fields, jungle gym, walking trails and covered picnic tables in Oakbridge.
• Nearest Grocery Store: Publix, Winn Dixie, and Fresh Market are all close.
• LB’s Favorite Neighborhood Feature: Hammock Cove is a cozy and friendly neighborhood.
• Fun Fact: This neighborhood is great for trick-or-treating. 

Great news for students and parents living in Ponte Vedra Beach and St. Augustine! The public school districts in the state of Florida were recently graded and the St. Johns Country School District maintained its ranking as the number one district for the third year in a row. St. Johns County Schools had 22 "A" schools and 2 "B" schools. Fifteen elementary schools, all seven middle school and the district's only K-8 school all received "A"s this year. High school are not included in this ranking and those grades will be release in November.

Superintendent Dr. Joseph Joyner said, "I continue to be amazed by the commitment of our students, teachers and school administrators, particularly given the fact that this level of performance was achieved with the new more rigorous FCAT 2.0 in place. St. Johns County School's grades and its top ranking in the state is an indication of everyone's hard work. Even with this outstanding performance, conversations are already focused on how to become even better."

Take a look at the school district's brochure, it provides a good synopsis of the district's plans for the future. Congratulations St. Johns County!

Here's a quick summary of the Innlet Beach neighborhood in Sawgrass Players Club. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

• Neighborhood: Innlet Beach
• Nearest Major Intersection:  Solano and TPC Parkway
• Gated: Yes
• Clubhouse: The Ponte Vedra Golf & Country Club (formerly known as Oakbridge Country Club) has tennis, a pool, golf, and dining. You must be a member or a member guest to access these facilities.  Only a few blocks away is the TPC Clubhouse which is open to the public. There are a variety of membership categories available depending on how much you want to play golf.
• How Many Homes: Innlet Beach as part of Oakbridge, has over 400 residences.
• Size Range: Homes in this neighborhood range in size from just over 1,000 square feet to approximately 2,200 square feet.
• Pedestrian-Friendly: Yes, very.
• Recreation: There is a very large playground with basketball courts, soccer fields, jungle gym, walking trails and covered picnic tables in Oakbridge. 
• Nearest Grocery Store: Publix, Winn Dixie, and Fresh Market are all close.
• LB’s Favorite Neighborhood Feature:  Innlet Beach is a great neighborhood for first time homebuyers and make terrific investment properties.
• Fun Fact: Innlet Beach is just one block from the Ponte Vedra Golf & Country Club.

Who says the real estate market in Ponte Vedra Beach and Jacksonville Beach is soft? Last month (June 2011) my office sold over $19 million dollars worth of real estate -- that's a lot of new homes! This was our best month since June 2006, which was the peak of our real estate market. Interest rates are low, the inventory of homes for sale is high and we live in a beautiful area. Home buyers are on the move!

Here's a quick summary of the North Cove neighborhood in Sawgrass Players Club. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

• Neighborhood: North Cove
• Nearest Major Intersection:  Solano and TPC Parkway
• Gated: Yes
• Clubhouse: The Ponte Vedra Golf & Country Club (formerly known as Oakbridge Country Club) has tennis, a pool, golf, and dining. You must be a member or a member guest to access these facilities.  Only a few blocks away is the TPC Clubhouse which is open to the public. There are a variety of membership categories available depending on how much you want to play golf.
• How Many Homes: North Cove, part of The Coves, has nearly 55 residences.
• Size Range: Homes in this neighborhood vary in size between 2,200 and 4,300 square feet.
• Pedestrian-Friendly: Yes, very.
• Recreation: There is a very large playground with basketball courts, soccer fields, jungle gym, walking trails and covered picnic tables in Oakbridge. 
• Nearest Grocery Store: Publix, Winn Dixie, and Fresh Market are all close.
• LB’s Favorite Neighborhood Feature:  Huge lots of ½ acre or more for most houses.  The majority of homes have water, golf, or water/golf views.
• Fun Fact: I lived in North Cove for three years and sold the house without putting it on the market!