Don Pickett

With all the water that Fay brought, you would think Lake Jackson would have greatly benefited not only from the rain that fell into the lake; but the primary contributor, natural run off from the surrounding terrain. According to the article in Monday's Democrat, the lake's level only increased about four feet. With reported rainfall of eleven plus feet recorded, what happened to all the water? Some want to blame the holding ponds; however, the county's stormwater management coordinator I think rightly rejects that theory and says it percolates into the groundwater; which may make its way into the lake. So what does all of this have to do with the property values for those that have waterfront homes on Lake Jackson? A WHOLE LOT! I am sure you could ask any Realtor, Appraiser and the Leon County Property Appraiser and they would all agree. You can't convince a prospective buyer that property that previously had a wonderful lake on the property will ever have it again. Especially if they have read how suggestion after suggestion as to a possible fix has received the "cold shoulder" from the "powers that be." Those same "powers" warm-up to those property owners having a problem with their homes flooding recently and in the past such as Lafyette Oaks. These owners likely will or have had the value of their homes affected. The "powers" take action with this flooding problem with the construction of retention (holding) ponds. Some have greatly alleviated the flooding problem to the benefit of those affected property owners as has Lafvette Oaks. So why is it that these individuals with flooding problems (many in locations that never should have been permitted by government agencies to be built on in the first place) be assisted at great public expense and NOT ASSIST THE LAKE FRONT PROPERTY OWNERS? Especially since two of the suggestions of fixing the lake problem, namely of filling the sinkhole or building a berm around it, would be rather inexpensive. The fact of the matter is that some of the waterfront property owners have expressed that they would contribute to the cost. Personally I don't agree that the cycle of draining is a natural thing that ought to be left to nature. That same reasoning is not used in unnaturally digging holding ponds that alter the natural flow of water across the terrain.

I grew up in a small agricultural town in South Florida, Pahokee, on the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee. The lake was wonderful back in the days of the 1940s and 50s. The water clear, with a ting of brown from natural tannic acid and very abundant of fish and other wildlife. The lake was a destination for many fresh water fishermen from all over the United States. Doesn't that sound familiar to those of us that have lived in Tallahassee for many years with our own Lake Jackson? All those nationally sponsored bass tournaments - which are no more.

With all the water that Fay brought, you would think Lake Jackson would have greatly benefited not only from the rain that fell into the lake; but the primary contributor, natural run off from the surrounding terrain. According to the article in Monday's Democrat, the lake's level only increased about four feet. With reported rainfall of eleven plus feet recorded, what happened to all the water? Some want to blame the holding ponds; however, the county's stormwater management coordinator I think rightly rejects that theory and says it percolates into the groundwater; which may make its way into the lake. So what does all of this have to do with the property values for those that have waterfront homes on Lake Jackson? A WHOLE LOT! I am sure you could ask any Realtor, Appraiser and the Leon County Property Appraiser and they would all agree. You can't convince a prospective buyer that property that previously had a wonderful lake on the property will ever have it again. Especially if they have read how suggestion after suggestion as to a possible fix has received the "cold shoulder" from the "powers that be." Those same "powers" warm-up to those property owners having a problem with their homes flooding recently and in the past such as Lafyette Oaks. These owners likely will or have had the value of their homes affected. The "powers" take action with this flooding problem with the construction of retention (holding) ponds. Some have greatly alleviated the flooding problem to the benefit of those affected property owners as has Lafvette Oaks. So why is it that these individuals with flooding problems (many in locations that never should have been permitted by government agencies to be built on in the first place) be assisted at great public expense and NOT ASSIST THE LAKE FRONT PROPERTY OWNERS? Especially since two of the suggestions of fixing the lake problem, namely of filling the sinkhole or building a berm around it, would be rather inexpensive. The fact of the matter is that some of the waterfront property owners have expressed that they would contribute to the cost. Personally I don't agree that the cycle of draining is a natural thing that ought to be left to nature. That same reasoning is not used in unnaturally digging holding ponds that alter the natural flow of water across the terrain.

I grew up in a small agricultural town in South Florida, Pahokee, on the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee. The lake was wonderful back in the days of the 1940s and 50s. The water clear, with a ting of brown from natural tannic acid and very abundant of fish and other wildlife. The lake was a destination for many fresh water fishermen from all over the United States. Doesn't that sound familiar to those of us that have lived in Tallahassee for many years with our own Lake Jackson? All those nationally sponsored bass tournaments - which are no more. The U.S. Corps of Engineers and the Central & South Florida Flood Control District heard the loud voices of the rich agricultural interest and others with special interest, started building a huge network of canals and pumping stations. This was done to rid the Glades of all that water that was a problem for agriculture and later residential development to the east. They even "straightened" the Kissimmee River to speed the flow. Now, government is spending billions of dollars to try to reverse the harm done. It is time for our local and State government agencies to take action to restore Lake Jackson to where it once was as a real gem. Maybe our County commissioner that campaigned for election that he was going to make Lake Jackson restoration one of his points of focus, will finally rise to the occasion of his promise to us, the voters that helped elect him.

The U.S. Corps of Engineers and the Central & South Florida Flood Control District heard the loud voices of the rich agricultural interest and others with special interest, started building a huge network of canals and pumping stations. This was done to rid the Glades of all that water that was a problem for agriculture and later residential development to the east. They even "straightened" the Kissimmee River to speed the flow. Now, government is spending billions of dollars to try to reverse the harm done. It is time for our local and State government agencies to take action to restore Lake Jackson to where it once was as a real gem. Maybe our County commissioner that campaigned for election that he was going to make Lake Jackson restoration one of his points of focus, will finally rise to the occasion of his promise to us, the voters that helped elect him.

Don Pickett, Realtor, Coldwell Banker Hartung and Noblin, Inc. Tallahassee Real Estate N Data Services, 850-591-4725, donpick@aol.com Search the entire Tallahassee Area Real Estate Market.

This article published in Realty Times Positive Trends in Housing Studies by Kenneth R. Harney gives some very positive signs in the national housing market.

The Florida Statewide report of existing (resale single family) home sales for July gives you a good insight of what is happening in the entire State. This report is published every month about the 25^th and reports the previous month's data. It is very encouraging to see a good number of Metro Areas through out the State are showing an increase of sales for July 2008 compared to last year. The Tallahassee Metro Area showed a minus 13% when compare with last years number of sales; which, is also the Statewide average. Of note: the Tallahassee Metro Area (TMA) includes Leon, Gadsden, Wakulla, Jefferson and Franklin Counties. The report also shows the Median Sales Prices where our TMA continues to show we have the most stable market in the entire State. In July it was $205,900 compared to last years $210,200. A look at our TMA sales number of resale homes shows a range of 150 last September to 169 for the remainder of 2007 and a drop to 120 in January with a very good climb to 218 in July, which is the usual trend for these months. An expected signification decrease can be expected for August based on current reports, as of this date, and continue for the remainder of the year, which is a norm.

Our number of active single family homes, both new construction and resale, continues to be in the 3,000 to 3,400 range. There has been an average of 233 homes, resale and new, sold per month for the past 12 months. The average sales price was $235,728 which was 96% of the last listed price for an average of 107 days on the market. If a listing is cancelled by the Realtor and reentered as a new listing, for marketing purposes with maybe a price reduction, that date starts the number of days on the market all a new and the resulting reported days on the market for that property is not accurate. You do not have to be a mathematician to see we have a huge supply of homes to sale and with our current economy will likely take a few years to level out the market. For sellers that REALLY want to sell you need to take note. Our real estate market has certainly changed and the old response of the 3 most important things in real estate, (location, location, location) has changed to location, condition and price.

Don Pickett, Realtor, Coldwell Banker Hartung and Noblin, Inc. Tallahassee Real Estate N Data Services, 850-591-4725, donpick@aol.com Search the entire Tallahassee Area Real Estate Market.

It seems that all the developers and builders are declaring their products are GREEN. Going Green is a very popular buzz word right now. Read is very interesting article by Richard Thompson describing the many aspects of green construction. Thompson owns Regenesis, a management consulting company that specializes in condominium and homeowner associations. It really would be a great checklist to use in examining some developments to see how "green" they really are.

Jane Bixler Conn, Realtor with the Capitol Green Building Group stated that only a certified home can be called Green. The only certifications currently available are the Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) and LEED, with NAHB finalizing their requirements. Also, only a development that had gone through the certification process can be called Green. There are less than a dozen in Florida. One can certify a newly completed home. One can not certify a subdivision after completion.

Don Pickett, Realtor, Coldwell Banker Hartung and Noblin, Inc. Tallahassee Real Estate N Data Services, 850-591-4725, donpick@aol.com Search the entire Tallahassee Area Real Estate Market.