Phase 3 offers the Infamous “Frog Pool”, which has beautiful ceramic frogs spraying water across the entire pool. This pool is located on Sand Hill Circle and has a large green space for playing with the kids, dogs or just swinging on the swing sets. The lots are larger in this phase allowing for larger homes and private swimming pools. The pedestrian Bridge, crossing over Western Lake, connects phase 3 and 1 together. The bride is lined with colored glass cat tails and offers beautiful sunsets across Western Lake. The homes oh phase 3 range from $1.1 to over $4 million.
Listings in Phase Three
Karen Holder
Watercolor Real Estate Phase One
The community of Watercolor is made up of 4 very distinct areas, all with different amenities. The different phases of Watercolor wind along the edge of Western Lake, the Gulf of Mexico, the community of Seaside, FL and Point Washington state forest making this 499 acre community very special. Under the direction of St Joe, who had owned the land since 1927, Phase 1 development began in 1999.
Phase 1 has the most amenities due to the Beach frontage, lake access and the town center. The commercial development is all Located on the North and South side of 30a, offering 1-3 bedroom condominiums, boutique shops, a wine and cheese bar, a fitness center, a 4 star luxury hotel with 60 rooms and a Gulf Front beach club. There are 3 community pools, including the Gulf Front Beach club, there is the Boathouse, which offers yolo boards and kayak rentals, the Tennis facility, Pedestrian and biking paths and much more. Watercolor is the only planned development along 30a that offers a Gulf Front beach club that is included in your Homeowners Association dues. Homes located in phase one average the highest per square foot with condos starting at $650k and homes ranging from $950k to $4 million
Information, Amenities and all listings in Watercolor.
Listings in Phase One:
Karen Holder
Watercolor Real Estate Phase Two
Phase 2 offers Camp Watercolor, which is staffed with trained professionals and provides daily activities for children. Activities at camp include: arts and crafts, swimming, movies, board games and much more. There is a full size soccer field for games and events, nigh time movies, volleyball and actual soccer. There is a basketball court area There is a full size swimming pool that is heated year round with a lap pool lane for exercising. Phase 2 has easy access to Watercolor Crossings, which has Publix, a dry cleaners, UPS store, Liquor store, Yellowfin Sports shop, Pizza by the Sea and a Nail salon. Homes in phase 2 range from $750k – just under $3 million.
Listings in Phase Two
Karen Holder
Watercolor Home Listing
This Watercolor, FL cottage comes fully furnished and rental ready making for a great beach getaway. Perfectly located just steps from Camp WaterColor and all the wonderful amenities that both WaterColor and Seaside have to offer. A spacious porch welcomes you to an open entertaining, living space that features hardwood floors and tall sunlit windows. The dining area is adjacent to French doors that lead south onto the front porch. The kitchen features a gas stove, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and a breakfast bar allowing for additional seating. The first floor also features three cheerful, private bedrooms complete with private bathrooms. And at the top of the stairs overlooking the living area is a wonderful open loft. –
Author: Karen Holder, Broker
Walton County stats for Feb, 2015
Santa Rosa Beach and Surrounding areas – Real Estate Report
The Emerald Coast Association of Realtors real estate report for February, 2015 is out and there are some interesting observations to be made. January’s numbers were impressive and February’s numbers are looking even stronger with the total number of closings on single family dwellings (houses) up 31% over the same month last year. The total number of “pending” sales are up 14% over last year. The most interesting statistic I find is that the average sales price for a home is up 23% over last year. Growth and value increases like this are usually good news but a word of caution is needed here. The MLS here for our area is showing “cash sales” accounted for 47% of all sales. That is an extremely high number and bodes well for the level of demand in our market but this also means that we are seeing an unsustainable increase in prices due to the fact that almost half of these sales do not involve any financing and many with no appraisal contingencies. Cash sales are driving prices up due to transactions that do not require any “comps” being used because there are no appraisals being done on many of these sales. I believe we are going to see a bit of “blowback” by buyers who are getting a little nervous about these price increases and this will have a moderating effect on selling prices that seller’s are able to get. Overall, the market here is very strong but sustainable increases in property values of 3 to 5% a year, long term, would be a great scenario. Let’s see what the remaining Spring months bring us.
Choosing a real estate agent
Have you ever wished you could see through the “hype” that every real estate agent dresses themselves up in and hire the best real estate agent to help you in buying or selling a home? With the explosion of internet marketing in the real estate industry over the last 10 years, there is not one single agent who ever advertises themselves as anything less than the absolute “best” in the business !
Stephen Brobeck, who is the Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of America has recently said “when it comes to real estate agents, we don’t have the information that we have on other service professionals”.
However, there are things you can do to pull back the curtain and accurately assess an agent’s level of experience and, therefore, competence. These two aspects in any business go hand in hand!
Ask an agent to provide you with a list of their sales for the past year? Don’t be afraid to ask them what their average yearly sales are and for how long? Ask an agent if you can contact the last three people they sold a house to for some feedback on the agent’s performance. It is easy for an agent to produce some documentation supporting their numbers and also provide you with a list of “happy” clients. You want to get at their level of experience! It is critical.
Just as doctors and lawyers “specialize”, your better real estate agents will also. The agent that advertises as expert over vast areas of different communities/cities is not someone to seriously consider. It’s kind of like hiring a repairman to handle an important job who tells you he is the best at plumbing, electricity, drywall, flooring, a/c, painting and anything else you need. What you need is someone who is really really good at more specific jobs and someone who has lot’s of experience. It is a fact that the best real estate agents will have particular areas that they specialize in and will not hesitate to tell you that there are areas they are not familiar with.
Having honest, frank discussion with a prospective real estate agent is essential. It is far more telling to have an agent answering questions rather than telling you about themself . A valuable tool in assessing an agent’s experience and knowledge is to ask about a specific neighborhood or community? Ask about recent sales, average sale price, average price per square foot, days on the market , number of bedrooms/bathrooms in certain houses, square footages. Always remember this; the agent that can answer these questions “on the fly” without having to get back to you is a good real estate agent who has done their homework and stays busy, full time in the business. It is information that you are after and the agent who has this in their head has reached this level of competence by being experienced and successful.