'Speculators Out Of The Equation' In Coastal Florida

The Tallahasee Democrat has this update on coastal Florida. "Lenny Kopple of Tallahassee owns a lot in Franklin County but he doesn't plan to move there. He hopes to sell a new home lot along the golf course in the St. James Bay development for $219,000 after buying it two years ago for around $150,000. But he's received only a couple of calls since putting it up for sale last fall." "Some real estate agents and analysts say that coastal land sales in Florida are beginning to slow down. But Kopple says he's not worried about the potential of a real estate bubble bursting. 'There are too many people doing these things (investing in real estate),' Kopple said. 'To me, it's a lot safer than the stock market.'" "Concerns about hurricanes, insurance costs and high land prices are being blamed for the slowdown. But no one seems to be predicting a loss of property values, only a slowdown in price increases. 'I think anybody (who) is willing to sit with it a reasonable period of time will come out OK, if they didn't buy at the absolute peak of the market,' said Lewis Goodkin, a real estate analyst based in Miami. 'Right now, I consider that we are at the peak of the market, or close to it.'" "'I think most of it has plateaued right now,' (broker) Larry Hale on St. George Island. said. 'For a speculator to come in and buy a piece of property and hold it six months to a year and expect a major gain on it, it's just not going to happen.' The St. Joe Co. also has put a tremendous amount of property on the market, Hale said, 'So people have a choice.'" "When it comes to lots, there's plenty of choice in the nearby St. James Bay subdivision because of owners who are trying to resell. The development has sold 75 percent of its planned 417 single-family home lots. But in the community this month, at least 60 lots were for sale, including many for resale." "Ten homes within the development had been completed in January, said Bob Klein, general manager of St. James Bay. Two 12-unit condominium buildings are expected to be completed this month. Klein said the number of lots being resold in the development is typical of resort properties, which have cycles of buying and reselling as they are developed. 'Once the prices reach a certain level, it levels off,' he said. 'And it has leveled off.'" "Bennett Axelrod bought two lots in St. James Bay four years ago for less than $100,000 each. Now he's offering them for sale in the mid-$200,000s. Even though Hurricane Dennis may have discouraged some potential buyers, Axelrod said he hopes the market will pick up again in the spring. 'There is a lot more property for sale than there has been in the past,' he said. 'People who got in at the ground level in St. James Bay, like myself, and have a greater profit potential are looking to get out now.," "Meanwhile, hundreds of condominiums are planned or are under construction about six miles away in Carrabelle, fueling more talk about real estate speculation in the area." "Richard Parvey said his company is considering launching a new development on 372 acres near St. James Bay. Even if there is a slowdown in the market, he said, land in the area still is underpriced compared to other parts of Florida. 'I don't want to say the bubble has burst,' he said. 'But I think the speculators are now out of the equation to a certain extent.'"