February 9, 2010 — Intrawest, a leader in the development and management of experiential destination resorts, today announced a definitive purchase agreement to sell its interests in Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort to the Becnel family of Destin, Florida.  Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed and the transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2010.The purchase agreement also includes the management contracts for Cottage Rental Agency, a community of beach homes located in Seaside, Florida and two hotel properties, The Marriott Residence Inn and The Marriott Courtyard, both located at Sandestin.   

Once the transaction is finalized Intrawest and the Becnel family are committed to work together to ensure a smooth transition of ownership.  Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, Cottage Rental Agency and the Marriott hotels will continue to operate “business as usual” and the resort management teams will continue their commitment to delivering excellent guest service and experiences.

RISMEDIA, January 28, 2010—Florida’s existing home sales rose in December 2009, marking 16 months that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors.

Existing home sales rose 33% last month with a total of 14,630 homes sold statewide compared to 11,013 homes sold in December 2008, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide existing home sales last month increased 4.3% over statewide sales activity in November.

Florida Realtors also reported a 91% increase in statewide sales of existing condos in December compared to the previous year’s sales figure; statewide existing condo sales last month rose 22% over the total units sold in November.

Seventeen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported increased existing home sales and higher condo sales in December. A majority of the state’s MSAs have reported increased sales for 18 consecutive months.

Florida’s median sales price for existing homes last month was $140,400; a year ago, it was $155,300 for a 10% decrease. Housing industry analysts with the National Association of Realtors (NAR) note that sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in November 2009 was $171,900, down 4.4% from a year earlier, according to NAR. In California, the statewide median resales price was $304,520 in November; in Massachusetts, it was $285,000; in Maryland, it was $245,569; and in New York, it was $210,000.

According to NAR’s latest outlook, home sales are seeing a boost from the federal home buyer tax credit. “There are many more potential buyers who can enter the market in the months ahead,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Activity should ramp up for another surge in the spring when buyers take advantage of the expanded tax credit, which hopefully will take us into a self-sustaining market in the second half of 2010. In all, 4.4 million households are expected to claim the tax credit before it expires, and balance should be restored to the housing sector with inventories continuing to decline.”

In Florida’s year-to-year comparison for condos, 5,968 units sold statewide last month compared to 3,132 units in December 2008 for an increase of 91%. The statewide existing condo median sales price last month was $107,000; in December 2008 it was $130,300 for an 18% decrease. The national median existing condo price was $178,000 in November 2009, according to NAR.

Interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.93% last month, significantly lower than the average rate of 5.29% in December 2008, according to Freddie Mac. Florida Realtors’ sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

Among the state’s larger markets, the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton MSA reported a total of 849 homes sold in December compared to 638 homes a year earlier for a 33% increase. The market’s existing home median sales price last month was $247,900; a year ago it was $246,000 for an increase of 1%. A total of 763 condos sold in the MSA in December, up 45% over the 527 units sold in December 2008. The existing condo median price last month was $111,400; a year earlier, it was $112,900 for a decrease of 1%.

For more information, visit www.floridarealtors.org.

SANDESTIN — Reports are coming in that the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort and other properties owned by parent company Intrawest could be sold off in an auction as early as Feb. 19.

A public notice of foreclosure has been posted in the New York Times and Toronto’s Globe and Mail by the company’s lenders, which include Lehman Brothers and Davidson Kempner Capital Management. The notice states an auction to sell Intrawest’s assets will be held Feb. 19.

Representatives from Intrawest and Sandestin have not returned messages seeking comment for this story.

Sandestin has been a part of Intrawest since July 1998, when the Canadian-based company finalized the $130 million buyout and took over ownership of the resort from the Malaysian-based Sime Darby Berhad.

Intrawest reportedly missed payments last month that were due on a $1.4 billion loan, which led to Lehman Brothers and Davidson Kempner Capital Management to file the notice of foreclosure.

Vancouver-based  Intrawest is owned by New York private equity firm Fortress Investment Group LLC. Intrawest has been struggling with financial problems since it was bought by Fortress in 2006 for $2.8 billion in cash and debt.

The deal was a leveraged buyout with a $1.7 billion loan which came due in late 2008, around the time when the financial crisis hit.

Intrawest has sold several assets in order to meet the payments, including a resort at Copper Mountain, Colo., and two resorts in France.

The Federal Aviation Administration has assigned a new three-letter identifier to the new Northwest Florida Beaches International airport now under construction in West Bay, Florida.

Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport’s three-letter location identifier will be “ECP” when the airport opens in May 2010.

The new airport is replacing Panama City – Bay County International Airport, whose three-letter identifier is “PFN.”

Location identifiers are not interchangeable and cannot be transferred from one location to another or from one airport to another even within the same community. In fact, the first and second letters or second and third letters or third and first letters of a three-letter identifier may not be duplicated with less than 200 nautical miles separation.

“The FAA’s awarding of our new location identifier is another important step in our process to open Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in May,” said Airport Authority Chairman Joe Tannehill.

Construction of the new Northwest Florida Beaches International is 80 percent complete and on track for an opening date of May 23, 2010.

I’ve just sold a Resale - single family property at 571 Windswept Blvd. in Freeport. Come and visit my site to see other properties in that area. If you are interested in looking for or selling your home, please Contact Me.

The “Florida Panhandle Beaches” is the only continental U.S. destination included in Frommer’s list of Top Destinations 2010!  (Other places on the list include Melbourne, Australia; Tunisia; Hanoi, Vietnam; Kerala, India; and Mexico City). 

Like the Rodney Dangerfield of the American Southeast, Florida’s panhandle never gets the respect it deserves. Dubbed the “Redneck Riviera” by dismissive northerners, northwest Florida, in fact, contains some of the most diverse recreation choices along Florida’s drastically under-appreciated Gulf coast, and some of the best options for visitors seeking an affordable family vacation. From Destin to the west, where you can hire a fishing or sailing charter, to the smattering of National Seashores as you move east, there’s really something for everyone. Seaside’s planned community is so “perfect” it was the setting for the The Truman Show, yet you’ll also find old-school Florida towns with funky shops, tiny hotels, pristine beaches, and the perfect cottage to rent.

“Stunning beaches, nature trails … great restaurants, and a cozy, yet quirky, sense of community.” — Lesley Abravanel, author Frommer’s Florida

Read more: http://www.frommers.com/articles/6469.html#ixzz0YjjgbwS7

Nationally: 

WASHINGTION – Nov. 2, 2009 – Pending home sales rose again, marking eight consecutive monthly gains – the longest streak since measurement began in 2001, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in September, rose 6.1 percent to 110.1 from a reading of 103.8 in August, and is 21.2 percent higher than September 2008 when it stood at 90.9. The gain from a year ago is the largest annual increase on record, and the index is at the highest level since December 2006 when it was 112.8. 

Florida:

ORLANDO, Fla. – Oct. 23, 2009 – Florida’s existing home sales rose in September, which marks more than a year (13 months) that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. September’s statewide sales also increased over sales activity in August in both the existing home and existing condominium markets.Existing home sales rose 34 percent last month with a total of 14,419 homes sold statewide compared to 10,778 homes sold in September 2008, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide existing home sales last month increased 4.1 percent over statewide sales activity in August.Florida Realtors also reported a 77 percent increase in statewide sales of existing condos in September compared to the previous year’s sales figure; statewide existing condo sales last month rose 8.9 percent over the total units sold in August.Florida’s median sales price for existing homes last month was $142,000; a year ago, it was $174,900 for a 19 percent decrease. This reflects prices falling and also more entry level homes being bought as first home buyers were scrambling to take advantage of what they thought was the end of the end of the tax incentives.

By Martin Hutchinson
Contributing Editor
Money Morning

It looks like the U.S. housing sector has bottomed. In fact, if you’ve been thinking about buying a house, this may be the time to make your move.

Let me tell you why.

Congress and the Obama administration are considering whether to extend the $8,000 first-time-buyer tax credit for another year from Nov. 30, when it expires. With cheap money, housing may show strength in the short term, just as we’ve seen with other assets. But there is the potential for a market hiccup next year or in 2011.

When the National Association of Homebuilders released its NAHB Index for October last week, it showed a drop of one point in homebuilders’ view of the market, from 19 to 18.

The good news: The index is at double its level from last spring – when it bottomed out at nine – meaning homebuilders see an improving market.

The bad news: The index is based so that a reading of 50 is the “neutral market” view. That means there’s a long way to go, yet.

But even if Congress doesn’t opt to extend the $8,000 tax credit, 30-year mortgage rates are still down around 5.1% – close to their all-time low. But rates probably won’t remain that low for long: Building inflationary pressures and the huge U.S. budget deficit will combine to push interest rates higher.

In other words, even if housing prices are destined to drop by another 10% (except in the very worst areas, I wouldn’t expect you’d see anymore than that), you still may end up saving so much on financing costs by borrowing now that you’d be mad to wait any longer.

Housing arithmetic is always complicated but one thing I do know: 7% of $90,000 is more than 5.1% of $100,000!

Mr. Hutchinson goes on to say…

“Housing arithmetic is always complicated but one thing I do know: 7% of $90,000 is more than 5.1% of $100,000.”

To read Mr. Hutchinson’s entire article please click here.

 Florida’s existing home sales rose in September, which marks more than a year (13 months) that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. September’s statewide sales also increased over sales activity in August in both the existing home and existing condominium markets.Existing home sales rose 34 percent last month with a total of 14,419 homes sold statewide compared to 10,778 homes sold in September 2008, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide existing home sales last month increased 4.1 percent over statewide sales activity in August.

Courtesy Florida Realtors

WASHINGTON – Oct. 1, 2009 – Pending home sales have increased for seven straight months, the longest in the series of the index which began in 2001, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in August, rose 6.4 percent to 103.8 from a reading of 97.6 in July, and is 12.4 percent above August 2008 when it was 92.4. The index is at the highest level since March 2007 when it was 104.5.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said not all contracts are turning into closed sales within an expected timeframe. “The rise in pending home sales shows buyers are returning to the market and signing contracts, but deals are not necessarily closing because of long delays related to short sales, and issues regarding complex new appraisal rules,” he said. “No doubt many first-time buyers are rushing to beat the deadline for the $8,000 tax credit, which expires at the end of next month.”

The Pending Home Sales Index in the Northeast jumped 8.2 percent to 85.3 in August and is 12.0 percent higher than August 2008. In the Midwest the index rose 3.1 percent to 90.8 in August and is 7.6 percent above a year ago. In the South, pending home sales increased 0.8 percent to an index of 104.6 and is 8.2 percent above August 2008. In the West the index surged 16.0 percent to 130.5 and is 22.3 percent above a year ago.

© 2009 Florida Realtors®