Robin Sherman, CRS, Broker Associate Robin@PensacolaForYou.com

The first meeting of the Home Builders Association of Northwest Florida's (HBA) Green Building Council drew a large audience today. The majority of those in attendance are HBA members who are interested in meeting the public's increasing demand for "Green Building."

Council President Luke Shows of Shows Construction told the group that the purpose of the Council is two-fold; Education and Leadership. By way of education the group intends to work to educate the members about "Green Building" while also taking a leadership role in helping define just what the broad term "Green Building" means.

The Green Building Council will have monthly educational meetings focused on building in an environmentally friendly manner. The major topic categories will include energy efficiency, conservation, sustainability and recycling. Education on the various green certifications will also be tackled by the Council.

Many of you know that I'm about half way through my certification as Pensacola's first Eco-Broker, so thought it important to attend. I've joined the Council and will keep you updated on the Green Building Council's "Greening of Pensacola."

Check out my article on Energy Efficient Windows

Pensacola Beach Market Update- The white sand beaches and emerald green waters of Pensacola Beach draw tourists like a magnet. Who can resist kicking off the shoes and wiggling those little piggies in the soft white sand? But some serious real estate business is going on here so here's the report:

The numbers look good; sales are up as are average and median prices (significantly), but given the small number of sales overall, the numbers for '08 are actually skewed by sales in a new high end Gulf front project (Beach Club). Two of these sales were over $2,200,000 and one over $1,000,000 with most over $800,000. It's all about how far we drill down on the numbers . . .

In truth, like most of the Gulf Coast, we are seeing some super bargains right now. Pensacola Beach Market Update numbers taken from the Pensacola Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

Pensacola Market Update - Well . . . the year over year housing numbers for Pensacola's housing market aren't encouraging (at least if you are a seller).

I've just run the stats on sold properties 1/1/07 to 4/25/07 compared to the same period for '08. These sales include homes, townhomes and condos in Pensacola (this does not include Pensacola Beach and outlying areas like Cantonment).

Jazz it Up in Pensacola! Let's see . . . how to fill a Thursday night on the beautiful Emerald Coast. Sit home and watch television? No way. Not when we've got such talent walking our streets!

My good friend and well known "Jazz Chanteuse" Kitt Lough has a new gig every Thursday evening at 600 Palafox, New World Landing in downtown Pensacola. Kitt's wowing the Pensacola audiences with her sultry, swinging jazz standards with Dave Shelander at the piano and Jim Ales playing string bass.

Last night's audience was a mix of the downtown after-work crowd and Kitt, Dave and Jim's dedicated fan club. If you haven't been to 600 South you might jott it down on your calendar now. Kitt and the guys are there each Thursday starting at 7pm. The atmosphere is elegant and comfortable and the music is . . . well romantic and glamorous are descriptions that begin to scratch the surface!

Kitt has her debut CD "Orange Colored View" on sale and it has received rave reviews and plenty of air time on jazz stations across the Southeast.

See you next week as you Jazz Up Your Thursday!

You'll find the Jazz trio at 600 South which is in the New World Landing complex at 600 South Palafox Street - Downtown Pensacola.

Got the question again today, "Have we hit bottom yet?" Well, to be honest the answer is Yes And No. As the National Association of Realtors has worked hard to explain, all real estate is local. And then there's local within a given area.

Here's a Pensacola Beach, FL, example. In 2005 I sold a Gulf front condo in a particular building for $700,000. A few days later another agent in my office sold the same floorplan for $715,000. These are great units with stellar rental history and as I said . . . Gulf front, but this was top of the market. Zip forward to late '07 and early '08. We had four of these units come on the market for between $375,000 and $425,000. Guess what . . . the smart money jumped in and they all sold quickly (Can you spell CASH FLOW?). It appears that all those that needed to sell did so as there is now only one active listing of this same floorplan and it is priced at $565,000. So, as far as this building goes . . . We've hit bottom.

And then I can give you an example of another condo project on the same beach where we haven't hit bottom. This building isn't Gulf front, but it's only a few hundred yards away from the Gulf and it is truly amenity packed. But the fundamentals are different. It's newer, farther from the retail core and doesn't have the repeat rental business yet. It also doesn't rent as well because it isn't Gulf front. Because there are so many amenities there are "amenity fees" associated with the rentals and renters tend to balk at this if there is an alternative. This project was sold when the pre-construction rush was in full force so there were a lot of "speculator" sales. So, as far as this building goes . . . We haven't hit bottom yet.

Bottom line (So to speak!) - just as with stocks - you need good professional help if you are looking at timing the real estate market.

One thing is for sure, as with stocks there is a cycle to real estate and many factors impacting that cycle. The smart money doesn't always get the bottom, but it usually gets pretty close.

So the next time you get the question, "Hit bottom yet?" The answer really needs to be . . . you bet . . . let me give you the specifics!