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THE END OF AN ERA:
(by Olivier Monod, CCIM)
The World Order Before the 1910's
Before the 1910's, the world was in many ways a juxtaposition of several regional spheres of influence; each with its own currency, its privileged trading partners, its language, its customs, and its political regime. The political landscape appeared stable and was comprised primarily of monarchies and republics with little involvement in the business world - what could be called "early capitalism".
Extremes such as Communism, Fascism or Nazism did not...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
10/9/2008
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CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS?
(by Olivier Monod, CCIM)
"Crisis? What Crisis?" This was the title of what we used to call an LP in the 1970's, by "Supertramp". It could advantageously summarize the long arguments we hear daily in this election year. The most recent political battles for the presidency have revolved around (i) blaming the Republicans for all of our economic woes in the case of the Democrats, or (ii) softening the gravity of the situation in the case of the Republicans. Yet, can we in earnest blame the man in the Whit...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
10/5/2008
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Real Estate Market Update for St. George Island and Franklin County, Florida
2nd Quarter, 2008
(by Harry Plumblee)
The really good news for St. George Island and the rest of Franklin County is there are still buyers who are interested in this market and they are buying; certainly not like in the crazy period of 2001-04, but nevertheless houses are selling. However, the big question in almost all buyers' minds is: "have we reached the bottom yet?" Of course the answer to that question will not be known until sometime after t...
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Posted by:
Harry and Katrena
Plumblee
Posted:
8/14/2008
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INFLATION:
Turn a Problem to Your Advantage
The article which follows is simple and carries an obvious consequence. This is what makes its strength. This is what gives it its worth. By the way, do not share it with your banker!
Gas prices
To begin with a topic already amply debated, each time I stop to fill up my tank with gasoline, I feel a sense of vertigo. In early June 2008, I paid $107; three weeks before, it was $99; five weeks before, $93; and seven weeks prior, a mere $89. Out of curiosity, I made the calculation - if the...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
8/1/2008
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Strategic Considerations about Real Estate Risks
Real estate, by definition, is what does not move; it is what you cannot carry with you. This definition suffers no exception - to the extent that, a tree, when planted in the ground is part of the real property; only an act of severance (cutting it down or uprooting it) would turn it into personal property.
The French call real estate "immobilier"; to the Germans, it is "Immobilien"; and in Spanish, it is "inmuebles". The three words stem from the sa...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
7/19/2008
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COMPARATIVE REAL ESTATE SALES DATA
(Part One) FRANKLIN COUNTY
This is the first of a series of four articles comparing three highly speculative coastal markets: from East to West, Franklin, Gulf and Bay counties - three contiguous counties bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, in the Florida Northwest. The first three articles will compare the volume and distribution of sales for the first five months of 2008 and 2007. The fourth and last article will attempt to discover patterns or trends based on the differences between these markets; these difference...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
7/13/2008
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Thoughts on the Real Estate Market Condition in Franklin County, Florida in June 2008
And what it means for the owner and the potential buyer...
In this coastal area*, there are many factors affecting the Real Estate market. The market decline started over 3 years ago, in early 2005. It was not acknowledged until after Hurricane Dennis in July 2005 and Hurricane Katrina in August of the same year. Throughout Florida, as well as in many other parts of the USA, price increases and lending practices had become irrational.
Coastal property experi...
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Posted by:
Harry and Katrena
Plumblee
Posted:
7/7/2008
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Commercial vs. Residential Real Estate:
Part V - Synthesis:
This is the last of a series of five articles comparing the benefits and risks associated with four different types of real estate investments: commercial, residential, vacant land and development.
In the past four blogs, we have reviewed the signatures of four very distinct types of real estate investments. This time, we shall attempt to sort this information and assess what might be most appropriate for you.
Yet, before biting into the meat of the topic, let me ask you a question: If...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
7/1/2008
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Commercial vs. Residential Real Estate
Part IV - Lots and Land
This is the fourth of a series of five articles comparing the merits and drawbacks of different real estate investments. The next article will offer concrete data, which should assist you in determining the type of real estate investment best suited to your needs, to your personality and to your pocketbook.
For the purpose of this article, lots and land will be taken to be for residential purposes. It will therefore exclude:
- Farm land, which can be considered a...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
6/26/2008
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Commercial vs. Residential Real Estate:
Part III - Residential Real Estate:
This article is the third of a series of five comparing the advantages and risks associated with investments in commercial real estate, developments, residential real estate, and vacant land; the last article will establish a synthesis and a blue print of what might be appropriate for you.
For the purpose of this article, we shall call "residential real estate" any habitable structure owned and used as a permanent residence. It may...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
6/17/2008
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Commercial vs. Residential Real Estate
Part II - Developments
This is the second article of a series of five, comparing risks and benefits associated with commercial real estate (see my last blog), residential, vacant land, and (this week) real estate developments.
For the purpose of this article, we shall call a "development" the process which starts from a vacant land parcel and takes it to a finished real estate product, such as a mall, an apartment complex, a condominium building, retail stores or any combinations ther...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
5/19/2008
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Part I - Commercial Investments:
This article is the first of a series of five comparing the advantages and risks associated with investments in commercial real estate, developments, residential real estate, and vacant land; the last article will establish a synthesis and a blue print of what might be appropriate for you.
We shall call "commercial real estate" buildings capable of yielding periodic revenues to their owners. Examples include a strip mall, an office building, a shop, houses or apartments for rent. For the pu...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
4/15/2008
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There is a lot of bad news this year in our world of real estate, and in the world in general. Yet, when everything is said and done, there is also some positive news, which warrants a progressive market recovery.
One positive aspect of our new market is that speculators are gone, or at least are on the way out. Greed in the period 2000-2004 was a key factor of our more recent market problems. In 2004 alone, prices of beachfront properties increased by 93% - almost doubling in one year is insane and unsustainable.
A second...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
4/1/2008
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Real Estate Market Update for Sept to Nov 15, 2007
St. George Island and Franklin County
My last update was 2 1/2 months ago. Since September 1, the situation on St. George Island and throughout Franklin County has become somewhat clearer. List prices have more or less stabilized, with only 34 price reductions in the 75 day period (unbelievably, there were also 4 price increases, reflecting some really positive thinking). The number of active listings on all types of real estate continued to fall with a net loss of 13 since Septembe...
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Posted by:
Harry and Katrena
Plumblee
Posted:
11/21/2007
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During my career in retail we lived and worked in Washington D.C., Tampa, Chicago, and Atlanta. So when I decided to make a significant move to work for a different retailer and transfer to Tallahassee, a number of people, including my new employer at the time asked, “Why Tallahassee?”. The answer is really quite simple. My wife and I feel Tallahassee is one of the best kept secrets in the USA.
As both a District Manager and a Regional V.P. with a major retailer, I had visited the area numerous times but had been pretty much limited in what I h...
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Posted by:
Rick
Samuelsen
Posted:
8/29/2007
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Rediscover Gramercy Plantation………
Quietly waiting amongst heritage oaks, pines and ancient magnolia trees, you will find a natural place, protected from urbanism and preserved for you in its original beauty. Feel the gentle breeze of salt air on your face, while watching dolphins frolic in the surf. Listen to the call of the native blue heron. Other neighbors include the majestic bald eagle, the red cockaded woodpecker, deer and raccoon. Hike our nature trails and catch a glimpse of the rare Florida panther or black bear.
...
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Posted by:
Mary
Katzer
Posted:
8/29/2007
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Have you always dreamed of owning a luxury getaway at the beach, but are discouraged by the expenses and upkeep associated with it? Fractional ownership may be right for you!
Fractional ownership is relatively new to Mexico Beach, but is being offered by Vista del Mar, an upscale, premium development to include a total of only six custom Gulf view condos. Four units are currently available.
Simply stated, fractional ownership divides a property into individual deeded shares that appreciate, and may be sold just like any other piece of real estate....
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Posted by:
Ann
Mazzanovich
Posted:
8/9/2007
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St. George Island is located in Florida’s Big Bend region. The Big Bend area, based on 150+ years of National Weather Service data, is in a region where no major hurricanes have made landfall. It is no secret that over the years we have had damage from hurricanes, but we have never had major damage such as other regions of Florida have experienced throughout recorded history. The bottom line is if you want beach property but you are worried about hurricanes, then St. George Island is the place for you.
Florida’s hurricane activi...
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Posted by:
Harry and Katrena
Plumblee
Posted:
7/12/2007
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Preparing for D-Day:
D-Day, as we all know it, was the date of the landing of the Allied troops in Northern Europe. The massive action would seal the fate of the German Third Reich. Fortress Europe, or Festung Europa as Hitler had coined it, would soon be rid of its Nazi masters. The Empire, which was supposed to have lasted one thousand years according to its founders, was now eleven months from its absolute collapse. The Normandy landing started on the 6th day of June 1944. “Operation Overlord” was the code name for the Allied invasion in nort...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
7/10/2007
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William L. Popham had moved to Apalachicola, seemingly from nowhere, in January of 1917, just as the United States were joining France and England in the war against Prussia, and a few months before the newly born USSR would leave the same battlefields, thanks to Lenin and the Bolshevik Revolution of October --- “Red October”. After preaching in one of the local churches, Popham became active in what were then, and still are today, the two most powerful lobbying forces in the county: seafood and real estate. He actually used the money he h...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
7/6/2007
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Ted Rodrigue was the master of ceremony. A former football player for Florida State University and a contemporary of the actor Burt Reynolds, with whom he had played many a victorious game, Ted could have personified the famous Captain. Cavernous voice, tall, manly, dark haired and bearded, Ted was the perfect incarnation of Captain Haddock, the famous sailor in the adventures of Tintin, the European comics character, who made his debut in the 1930s and still carries today a well-deserved popularity.
Ted was operating the bar with the help of studen...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
7/2/2007
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(Written by Olivier Monod, President/CEO of “WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Anchor” on June 26, 2007)
It is a surprise for no one to hear that the real estate market has known better times. In the last two years, our coastal Realtors’ Association has registered a decrease in membership of 22% from a peak of 495 members to 387 as of 6/25/07.
On another, yet related register, anyone who has done business in Indian Pass and Cape San Blas in the1990s and through 2005 knows Margaret Fletcher. Her knowledge of the area, her insights into t...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
6/28/2007
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What do you think of when you hear about Carrabelle? My youngest son called it “Clarabelle”. My first visit was in 1987 when I moved my in-laws to Lanark Village the day after Christmas. After a grueling trip in a Ryder Truck rental following my mother-in-law all the way from Cortland, New York, I was sure we were going to a place of no return. We met 2 cars between Crawfordville and Lanark Village. I was sure we were at the ends of the earth.
After recuperating with a good nights sleep, we ventured out to see the surrounding area. Boy we...
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Posted by:
Allyn
Jasper
Posted:
6/26/2007
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Crossing the Bay of Apalachicola:
My first visit to St. George Island was shortly before Christmas of 1981. A long and narrow bridge was the only way in by automobile. It was interrupted half way by an “S” shaped causeway one mile long, nick-named “bird island”. The five-mile journey across the bay of Apalachicola started by a mandatory stop at the toll booth: $2 per round trip. Late at night, after the second shift of toll clerks went home at eleven o’clock, payment followed the honor system: you stopped, placed your...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
6/15/2007
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A public workshop and hearing were held on May 22, 2007 on the topic of the Erosion Control Line at Cape San Blas. If you go to www.savethecape.com and click the workshop link you will find information concerning the meeting time and date and if you click at the bottom of this notice, you will find a letter that was sent to all affected property owners. This information also states, “These meetings are relative to the establishment of the "Erosion Control Line (ECL) and not the Coastal Construction Control Line" (CCC...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
5/25/2007
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In today’s extra-ordinary market, sellers must, in order to sell, face three realities:
Quality. Because of the large nationwide inventory of houses for sale, buyers have much choice—and in many cases, too much choice to digest efficiently. Consequently, they are likely to buy on impulse the nicest looking property they have seen. Thus, sellers should aim to offer, within a given price category, the nicest property. Therefore, pay attention to details: landscaping, exterior an...
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Posted by:
Olivier
Monod
Posted:
5/24/2007
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Ron Kelly, Realtor-Associate with WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Anchor since late 2001 has experienced first hand the changes taking place in “The Beaches”. Please let me try to share with you the magic that made the beautiful Forgotten Coast and its real estate potential. Before we get started with the potential investment opportunities let me share with you my reasons for relocating to the Mexico Beach area.
Our Beaches are continually voted among the top 10 beaches in America by Dr. Beach. Unlike other coastal co...
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Posted by:
Ron
Kelly
Posted:
5/16/2007
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