What the Experts Say about Real Estate Values in Northwest Florida

Here are some opinions on the area.

	American Express says that Northwest Florida is one of its Top Ten vacation destinations in the country. Northwest Florida is second behind the Orlando area in Florida tourism. Northwest Florida beaches are world-class, drawing over seven million tourists each year — more than any other East Coast beach area.
	Real estate professionals in Walton County say that prices are lower than during the boom year of 2005. But they are expecting sales to increase, as more properties come on the market. Many residences are priced below the cost to build. “If you are looking for an investment to hold on to for the next five years, the time to purchase is now. We are still very undervalued compared to other regions of Florida.”
	The St. Joe Company (NYSE:JOE), whose corporate headquarters are in Jacksonville, FL, is the largest landowner in Northwest Florida, owning over 718,000 acres of prime development land — half of it less than ten miles of the coast. St. Joe has been a large player in the Florida panhandle for a long time, starting out as a timber company but realizing in recent years that the value of its acreage was much greater as investment property. So now they’re in the property development business, with major activity focused in Walton County.

According to St. Joe’s Investor Relations Department the long-range prospect for Florida panhandle real estate is particularly upbeat.