Gulf Shores, AL

by Tinsley Myrick, September 9, 2009

The following information was shared at the RE/MAX of Orange Beach sales meeting yesterday by Patrick Daily, Broker/Owner.

Patrick recently attended the RE/MAX Owner meeting and brought us back this interesting info given by David Linegar, founder of RE/MAX in 1973, and Carter Murdock, Bank of America's Economist:

•Savings is at its highest level. People are saving and not spending.

•The economy is already beginning to improve. It's going to recovery slowly.

•Unemployment is REALLY at 11-12% right now.

•Have to get more people working before people will start spending again.

•Small businesses will lead us out of the recession. However, there are no incentives for small businesses right now so the recovery will be slower than it has to be. All the help is going to large corporations rather than small businesses.

•Linegar's staff is been asked to bring solutions to the White House regarding the housing market (ie: where to go with it). The current administration knows they need real results and that they have made mistakes.

•Another real estate boom is coming in 2011 & 2012!

•Where a severe recessions starts (the US), it will be the first recovery.

•Loan markets are going "back to the left."

•Markets with the largest growth percentage will recover the quickest. This is great news for Baldwin County where projected growth is 40% over the next 10 years!

•It will be good for the economy when oil is $40-$80 a barrel.

•Mortgage rates have to go up for market to recover. We are seeing the best rates we are going to see. Therefore, NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY! THESE RATES WON'T LAST!

GENERATIONAL MARKETING INFO I FIND FASCINATING:

Matures (Ages 65+): Have one more real estate transaction in them!

Baby Boomers (Ages 45-64): Have 3 transaction left. Most are downsizing. Typically haven't been savers but pretty good investors. There are 80 million Boomers.

Gen X (Ages 29-44): They have low birth rates. Not having as many kids as the Boomers. There are 48 million Gen Xrs. They are buying and selling real estate. Very tech oriented.

Millennials (Ages 15-29) (aka Gen Y): These guys will probably have similar habits as the Boomer, however, they will be wiser. They will have more kids than the Gen Xrs. There are 74 million of the Millennials. Very tech oriented.

David Linegar told everyone that agents that are unable to relate to clients with tattoos, piercings, torn jeans, etc, will get left behind when the Millennials start buying and selling! Also, we must be able to communicate to the Gen Xrs and Millennials in the ways THEY want to communicate (text, email, Facebook, etc).

Fortunately, Scott and I are in good shape with this. We are 1st and 5th year Gen Xrs. We have Baby Boomer work ethics but we do the work like Gen Xrs!

All for now.

Tinsley

We have seen activity pick up along the Alabama Gulf Coast. There remains a large inventory but the number of sales has been increasing. I have analyzed data from our local MLS system for both sales and active listings located in the Gulf Shores area for Gulf Front or Beach Side condominiums. This analysis includes areas of Gulf Shores such as East Beach, West Beach, and the Fort Morgan area. Condo complexes such as the Beach Club, Plantation, and The Indies are located in the Fort Morgan area.

Please review the table below.

Please let me if you are interested in purchasing a beach condo in our area. I will be happy to set up a search for you and send the bargains as they hit the market. Please e-mail me or call me (251-215-9382 ) at anytime. You can also search for condos using our Real Estate Property search tool.

Don't forget about the National Shrimp Festival that will be held in Gulf Shores from October 8 - 11, 2009.  You can buy your condo today and use it for the Shrimp Festival Weekend.

Deals, discounts fuel resort market

Realtors say both sales and rentals at Gulf are brisk at bargain prices Sunday, August 16, 2009 By KATHY JUMPER Real Estate Editor

Realtor Steve Neitzel has already sold five condominium units in August and predicts his best months will be this fall.

"We've cut half of our inventory because of the great deals," said Neitzel of Brett Robinson Real Estate in Gulf Shores.

Prices in the current market can be summed up as "what someone is willing to pay," said Neitzel, who sold a large Gulf-front unit in Phoenix 9 in Orange Beach for $700,000, a half-million less than the original asking price.

Summer brought increased sales and rentals at the Gulf, but with sales prices 35 percent to 45 percent less than listing prices of two to three years ago. Most condos have sold from $260 per square foot up to $350 per square foot, Neitzel said.

The rentals were as good as last summer, and agencies said they are gearing up for what's expected to be a busy Labor Day weekend. But like the drop in condo prices, the rental agencies are offering discounts.

"There were more visitors this summer, but folks were taking shorter vacations, and the average daily rate was down," said Sarah Kuzma of Meyer Real Estate in Gulf Shores, which manages rentals for 1,600 condo units and 300 houses at the Gulf.

"It takes more effort," Kuzma said. "We know that once they come and visit, they are hooked."

She said Meyer is offering Labor Day specials - rent a condo unit and stay the third night free or a rent a beach house and get the fourth night free - and for the Shrimp Festival weekend in October will offer to provide a free week's stay for every week booked.

The national reports say folks are willing to travel, but they want a bargain, Kuzma said.

The discounting started last year and has escalated, with reduced rates offered even in the peak rental month of July, according to Bob Stuart, owner of Sugar Sands Realty & Management in Gulf Shores. In the spring, people called to cancel summer reservations, half because one or both spouses lost a job, he said.

Renters bring potential buyers, agents said. For example, many of the buyers that have stayed in the past at one of the 2,057 units managed by Brett Robinson are now buying units due to affordable pricing, according to Neitzel.

Most of the agents at the Gulf are selling properties under $400,000, and many are in the $200,000 range, according to C.B. Brierty of Realty Executives in Gulf Shores. "We've had some good sales this past year. We're not making money like we did in the heyday, but we're working with people who are buyers."

High insurance costs continue to hinder sales, Brierty said. And buyers today can't expect a cash flow from renting their units. "I was working with a couple who were going to pay 50 percent down, and there still was not a cash flow with all the fees."

Most of the sales at Sugar Sands Realty have been at $400,000 or above, according to Stuart.

"We've had a lot of activity from Louisiana," he said. "Where they have traditionally purchased in Destin and Panama City, we're seeing more and more of those folks buy here. Our pricing is better and the property taxes in Florida are a lot higher."

Not everyone is discounting. Developer Larry Wireman has finished his second gulf-front building at Turquoise Place on Alabama 182 in Orange Beach, and plans to start closing the units soon. More than 120 units presold at prices starting around $1.25 million in the 227-unit building.

All but 38 of the 173 units in the first Turquoise tower have sold, he said. The units average 2,300 square feet and start at $1 million and go up.

"We sold several units at full price, some for over $2 million after the first of this year," he added. "People try to compare us to units that are selling for $200 per square foot. We can't sell the units for that."

/cut/3/cBILL STARLING/ Staff PhotographerBeach lovers enjoy the summer sun and surf on the condominium-lined beach at Gulf Shores. Condo sales in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach were up in the summer, and rentals were as good if not better than last year, according to Realtors, who hope the upbeat market continues into the fall.

Pier into the future: After five years, new Gulf State Park Pier set for July 23 opening

Wednesday, July 01, 2009 By JEFF DUTE Outdoors Editor

Shortly after Hurricane Ivan destroyed the Gulf State Park Pier in September 2004, many fishermen began counting down the time until a new pier would be built.

On Tuesday, Alabama conservation department officials announced that the clock would officially reach 00:00 at 9 a.m. on July 23. That's when Gov. Bob Riley is expected to cut the ribbon to open the 1,520-foot-long pier after more than 18 months of construction and a bid cost of $16.2 million.

"As you know, good things come to those who wait. We had hoped to open the new Gulf State Park Pier this spring, but Mother Nature decided otherwise," state conservation commissioner Barnett Lawley said. "That said, the new pier will be the longest on the Gulf Coast and will reach more than 1,500 feet into the Gulf of Mexico.

"This facility will provide unparalleled educational opportunities for students and teachers alike to view and experience first-hand the intricate ecosystem that thrives on Alabama's coast. It will also give Ala bamians and visitors unequaled access to great sightseeing along our beautiful beaches and shore line. The wait will be well worth it."

That also appears to be the sentiment among fishermen who regularly fished the old pier, said David Thornton, who spent 35 years learning to catch fish along its weathered rails. Thornton said he has kept in touch with many of the people who shared those rails with him.

"I think the consensus is that it's been worth the wait," Thornton said. "But it sure has been a long time - more than four years - and that time hasn't gone by quickly.

"The pier will be a very consistent, accessible place to fish and there's a lot of camaraderie that developed over time on the old pier, and it's that social aspect of fishing on the pier that we've been missing, too."

Thornton predicts the pier will open up opportunities to catch fish species that were out of reach for the old pier, which had an end octagon in about 12 feet of water. The new pier's end will be in 26 to 28 feet of water.

"There are a bunch of us who are eager to give a shot and get a taste of what we knew we were missing. The old pier was always a good inshore pier because of the shallow water and there were good pelagic (migratory) opportunities at certain times of the year," he said. "Now, it's like there are two piers out there. We'll still have the good inshore fishing, but we'll also have a whole new pier outside that second (sand) bar."

A "soft opening" is planned a few days before July 23, said the conservation department's chief engineer, Terry Boyd.

"We don't want the governor and a thousand people to be out there and the drink maker doesn't work," Boyd said.

Boyd said parks personnel will begin the process of stocking the concession areas, putting up signs and doing anything else necessary to get the pier ready for fishermen. He added that the state transportation department also must install a stoplight at the intersection of State Park Road and East Beach Boulevard.

"The contractor may still be on site after Friday tying up a few loose odds and ends, but the contractor is not going to be a problem with opening the pier," Boyd said.

Prices to fish the pier have increased across the board, but Gulf State Park assist ant superintendent Trey Myers said it is still a great value.

"The cost of living has had an impact, but the facility is triple what we had with the size of the pier and the amenities out there now," he said. "The cost has gone up on everything, but the pier is still a great value."

Based on the new daily rate of $8, Myers pointed out that the weekly rate of $40 gives the angler two days of free fishing, the monthly rate of $80 results in two weeks free, the $160 semi-annual rate gives four months free and the annual rate of $320 affords a full eight months of free fishing.

Myers said the pier will almost certainly have an impact on the demand for the park's campsites.

"The cabins and cottages stay booked through most of the year, but I'm sure it'll increase the demand on our 496 campsites," Myers said. "With the camp store, new nature center, boat docks and pool and pool house under construction all in the campground, the pier will help re-establish the park as a vacation destination place for people from all over the country."

Beach rentals brisk but last-minute

Sunday, June 21, 2009 By KATHY JUMPER Real Estate Editor

A two-bedroom, two-bath condominium unit on the beach in Gulf Shores that sleeps six: $1,500 to $1,900 a week.

A five-bedroom, five bath Gulf-front house in Orange Beach that sleeps 16: $4,800 a week.

Watching dolphins play in the surf from your balcony: Priceless.

Well, it's not exactly cost-free, but renters do have a great view of the dolphins, according to Sarah Kuzma of Meyer Real Estate, which manages rentals for 1,600 condo units and 300 houses at the Gulf.

It's summertime, and the race is on to keep the rental units booked. "We have 10 weeks to make it happen," Kuzma said.

Rental agencies are open 24-7 to accommodate guests who are following a national trend - booking rooms at the last minute.

"We've had some calling while driving on the interstate" to the coast, Kuzma said. "There are so many last-minute bookings, we can't stay ahead of the paperwork. We have walk-ins all during the night."

Twenty-five percent of bookings at Brett Robinson Real Estate & Development Co. in Orange Beach come within six days of arrival right now, said Brett Robinson's Marie Curren.

"We don't know why," she said, "if it's the economy and they are trying to save money, or just not thinking far ahead."

The peak July 4 weekend is booking now, when it used to book months in advance, agencies said. But no one is complaining, because occu pancy rates are meeting last year's full house.

"We're very excited that our June and July occupancy is equal if not better than last year," Curren said. "We had another building open, and that increased our inventory by 5 percent." Brett Robinson manages 2,057 rental units.

Discounts are available at most rental agencies all summer, ranging from 20 to 25 percent off the rental price.

"Our supply has increased, and our demand hasn't," said Connie Carlisle, director of reservations of Kaiser Realty in Gulf Shores, which has 650 rental properties, and 230 of those are houses. "When you have a lot of new things coming on the market, people are discounting them to get them known, and we have to discount some of the older units to make the rates competitive."

There are 14,090 condo units and 1,954 hotel and motel units in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Fort Morgan, according to the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The summerlong Student Life convention at The Wharf's conference center in Orange Beach and a number of large sports tournaments have brought new visitors to the area, Carlisle said. "We are appreciative of the group business coming. We don't mind giving them a better rate to get future business."

Shorter stays

Erik Nist, owner of Alabama Beach Vacation Rentals or ALBVR.com in Gulf Shores, said his company is seeing shorter stays - three or four days rather than a week.

"With the current state of the economy, guests know what's going on, and some request a discount," said Nist, whose firm manages 92 properties. "And some are real bold. We had one offer $700 a week for a house that rents for $4,200 a week. We tell our owners we will do our best to book their unit, but we don't want to give it away."

Still No. 1

Alabama is still the No. 1 state for visitors to the Gulf, followed by Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee, agents said. This summer is also bringing more folks from Texas and Arkansas, according to Kuzma.

"We're seeing more who have never been here before, but heard about us. And the coast is also known for its repeat business. It's very important to get heads in beds. Once they are here, we've got them, and they will come back."

/cut/2/cBILL STARLING/ Staff PhotographerPeople crowd the beaches Monday in Gulf Shores. Renters this summer are following a national trend: booking at the last minute. But occupancy rates for the peak July 4 weekend are meeting last year's full house, so Alabama Gulf Coast rental agencies aren't complaining.