HGTV Smart Home building in Paradise Key, Jacksonville Beach (South Beach)   It is always exciting news when HGTV picks a new location for one of its featured showhomes. This time it is the HGTV Smart Home and will be built in Paradise Key, a charming coastal community in Jacksonville Beach's South Beach.    Search homes & lots for sale in Paradise Key   Paradise Key is within walking distance to local beaches and minutes away from all the restaurants and shopping you can handle. Still it's coastal construction will make you feel like you have been transported to a far off vacation destination. Reminiscent of Key West, the wrap around porches, roofs with long overhangs and observation decks, show Southern architecture and charm to its fullest potential.      While a homeowner may choose... 09/05/2012

The chart above gives a report of the Jacksonville Beach real estate market in July 2011 vs. July 2012, and also year to date to Jan.-July 2011 and Jan.-July 2012. The number of new listings is similar in both cases, -18.3% and -19.2%, respectively. The Months of Inventory at 4.5% represents a solid Sellers Market. The average sales price is up 8.6% for the 2012 Year to Date, verifying the Sellers Market that Jacksonville Beach is experiencing.. Closed sales for 2012 are down .3%, which is understandable with the low inventory. Check out the graph where the Jax Beach market leveled out in July 2011 until October 2011, then began a climb which has calmed down to meet the entire MLS median sales price.. With low inventory and prices going up, now is the time to find a great deal at Jacks... 08/26/2012

This is fabulous news for Paradise Key, here in Jacksonville Beach! The HGTV Smart Home will be constructed here in Jacksonville Beach, a short distance to the ocean, and a fabulous place to call home. Jacksonville Beach has more public beach access and parking than our neighboring beaches to the North (which include Atlantic & Neptune Beach), and it's own distinct personality complete with downtown shops, and restaurants. As a local Jax Beach resident, I think this is fabulous & I'd be happy to help you if you are interested in more information. Watch the video for more information:   08/23/2012

Jacksonville's Best Shoe Repair Shop Atkinson Shoe Repair 1245 3rd Street Jacksonville Beach FL 32250 904-249-3777 It's been a bit of a quest, but finally we have found true artisans at Atkinson Shoe Repair who have the skill and professional attitude to do excellent work. Chuck took a pair of shoes that looked past help due to my dog's loving nibbles on the heel and transformed them into wearable shoes again. So wearable that I won't hesitate to even wear them when I am working. Now that is an accomplishment! Not only that, but Chuck was very friendly and knowledgeable and more than willing to help me find the right stretcher to help with the arch in some boots so my high arch will be more comfy. I can't tell you how many questions I have asked in other shoe shops only to receive a sho... 08/19/2012

HGTV Coming To Jacksonville FL HGTV is going to build their first Smart Home at Paradise Key in Jacksonville Beach. Paradise Key is a South Beach community, built in the Coastal style and located east of A1A. Smart Homes have energy saving features and advanced technology. Features include: - many of the appliances and devices will be connected - energy and systems of the home will be monitored by the owner, including security, heating and cooling, lighting and electronics.- everything can be monitored from your smart device. Jack Thomasson, an HGTV house planner, said in a news release, "that the features and functionality of this home are like nothing we've ever offered in HGTV home giveways, and set the standard for creative spaces and ways that consumers can use emerging technology ... 08/15/2012

Rowlett Real Estate School has on line real estate courses for Jacksonville Beach, FL.  If you are looking for a great Jacksonville Beach Real Estate School with affordable online prices, check out our website at www.rowlettrealestateschool.com  Get your Real Estate license in Jacksonville Beach with a Jacksonville Beach Real Estate School that has state approved real estate courses and a great passing rate for the state exam. 08/12/2012

Eric Miller, a full service real estate authority out of the Jacksonville Beach FL area announced the launch of their cutting edge website http://www.homesjacksonvillebeach.com. This Jacksonville Beach specific website was custom built on behalf of Eric Miller to help buyers search property for sale in Jacksonville Beach. Using this advanced website homesjacksonvillebeach.com, Eric Miller will bring easy search functionality to local customers searching real estate for sale in Jacksonville Beach. homesjacksonvillebeach.com is a direct website for the Jacksonville Beach real estate area. homesjacksonvillebeach.com will provide swift search functionality for Jacksonville Beach Foreclosures, Jacksonville Beach New Homes and Jacksonville Beach property. For the easiest Jacksonville Beach re... 08/10/2012

  Here are the 2012 stats and 2011 for comparison -   2012 20 Homes Sold (February=8)   Lowest price: $85,000 (February =$85,000) Highest price: $257,731 (February =$575,000) Shortest Days on Market:2 (February =9) Longest Days on Market: 501 (February =224)       2011 13 homes sold (February =14) Lowest price: $70,500(February =$51,500) Highest price: $330,000 (February =$1,250,000 ) Shortest Days on Market: 3 (February =5) Longest Days on Market: 248 (February =764)   Do you need more numbers to show the market is stabilizing? Sales are up month over month (150%), and year over year (53%).  Lowest priced home sold is flat month over month, and up year over year (20%). Days on market (from the time a listing is new to the time it is sold and new owner takes possession) is tightening up... 07/26/2012

Sorry for the delay in posting these, and thanks Marco, for reminding me! I'vee had the pix but have been busy dealing with a massive wood rot issue on a listing, so my attention has sadly been diverted. This is the new front view. That is the same palm tree beyond the mailbox. The walk has been completely replaced with a loose coquina walk that curves around the house. This is the new backyard, you can see the edge of the rear patio. What a difference! The other "weedy" shrubs that were blocking everything were wax myrtles. The grass is zoysia which is softer to walk on than St. Augustine, and doesn't require as much upkeep. This is the new view facing north.  You can see the walk meandering around to the back, and the three windmill palms are staggered. This is the new walk, you can s... 05/09/2012

I'm always fascinated by a complete redo of a yard. I, myself, do not care for the St. Augustine grass we have here in the Southeast; it's a crawling, viney type of grass, and it just gets everywhere, especially if you don't keep it in its place! A good friend is having her yard completely redone, and has allowed me the chance to help document the process by taking before and after pictures - here is where she is so far with the process: BEFORE Before Work Started, facing east AFTER East View After - notice, walkway has been completely demoed and removed.   BEFORE The backyard is almost completely wild and looks very small & cramped.   AFTER You can just see the edge of the patio on the right hand side -she had no idea there was this much room in the back yard!   I don't think these cha... 04/26/2012

Now, why would I be ranting not only about an awesome party song, as well as a veritable icon of recreational fun? Because a visitor to my neighbor's house (you may recall I live on an itsy bitsy 3 home cul-de-sac, so I can Gladys Kravits easily) attempted to put several Red Solo Cups in my recycling bin this AM. What's the beef? He's recycling you say. RED SOLO CUPS CAN ONLY BE RECYCLED BY WASHING AND REUSING. Yes, they are a #6 plastic, which is not a recyclable plastic. Only 1-3, and under special circumstances are 4&5 recyclable in most curbside recycling collections.   Please, correctly reuse your Red Solo Cups for future partying! Here's the clean version of the song, if you want the unedited version, you know how to find it.   03/27/2012

 Here are the 2012 stats and 2011 for comparison -  2012   20 Homes Sold (January=8)   Lowest price: $85,000 (January =$85,000) Highest price: $257,731 (January =$575,000) Shortest Days on Market:2 (January =9) Longest Days on Market: 501 (January =224)     2011   13 homes sold (January =14) Lowest price: $70,500(January =$51,500) Highest price: $330,000 (January =$1,250,000 ) Shortest Days on Market: 3 (January =5) Longest Days on Market: 248 (January =764)  Do you need more numbers to show the market is stabilizing? Sales are up month over month (150%), and year over year (53%).  Lowest priced home sold is flat month over month, and up year over year (20%). Days on market (from the time a listing is new to the time it is sold and new owner takes possession) is tightening up as well.  ... 03/21/2012

  Here is a handy list of upcoming events in wonderful Jacksonville Beach, FL.  I've included the websites as well so you can get more specifics for those events you are most interested in. Some events may change date or times, you can confirm prior to event date either via the Jacksonville Beach city website, or the event specific website.   March 12, 2012 - 10:30am - 2:30pm Fighting Back 5K Beach Run For more info: 904-318-8104www.milestoneraceauthority.com March 17, 2012 - 7:00am - March 18, 2012 - 7:00am First Coast Volleyball Association Saturday & SundayBeach volleyball courts located between Beach Blvd. & 4th Ave. S. www.fcva1.com March 24, 2012 - 8:00am Florida Surfing Association’s Great Atlantic Surf Contest Location: South side of pierFor more info: 904-626-9090www.floridasur... 03/08/2012

    Here are the 2012 stats and 2011 for comparison -   2012   8 Homes Sold (December=27)   Lowest price: $85,000 (December =$88,900) Highest price: $575,000 (December =$835,000) Shortest Days on Market:9 (December=6) Longest Days on Market: 244 (December =554)        2011   14 homes sold (December =17) Lowest price: $51,500(December =$80,000) Highest price: $1,250,000 (December =$575,000 ) Shortest Days on Market: 5 (December =8) Longest Days on Market: 764 (December =502)  Ok, not what I was expecting to see after the past few months of positive indicators.  Sales are down both month over month (and a big drop at that) and year over year (not insignificant).  Not sure what is driving this, as we’ve been seeing double digit in closed sales for the past few months. This could be a tempo... 02/19/2012

A few friends and I ventured out for lunch today, as we typically do, and today we enjoyed The Metro Diner. Now, the Metro Diner has been around for quite some time, but this location in Jacksonville Beach is a new one; their soft open was just last weekend, so the place was packed. Think southern comfort food at fabulous prices and you have the gist. You can peruse their menu here. And, they have been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives as well. Since they are new, you can expect a wait (ours was an hour to be seated today), on the weekends; it's not as busy during the week. Bright, diner-style, with open kitchen, and you can sit at the kitchen bar to watch them cook as well. We ordered and happily consumed (or took leftovers home) the following: Biscuits & Gravy, with a side of hash... 02/19/2012

Tomorrow is the big race day here in Jacksonville & the beaches - it's the annual 26.2 with Donna End Breast Cancer half and full marathons! There will be road closures, and detours, and everyone is prepared; watching the preparations is interesting: there are cars from the auto sponser dotting one main course, J. Turner Butler (which us locals call JTB), and portable faciliites set up. The race starts at 6:30am and everyone should be in from the course by 2pm.  Here's the link to the race route, so you can plan appropriately. Congrats to all the runners, and dress warm; we are going to have cold temps in the AM!   02/11/2012

  Here are the 2011 stats and 2010 for comparison -   2011   27 Homes Sold (November=11) Lowest price: $88,900 (November =$78,000) Highest price: $835,000 (November =$360,100) Shortest Days on Market:6 (November =0) Longest Days on Market: 554 (November =618)          2010   17 homes sold (November =11) Lowest price: $80,000(November =$50,000) Highest price: $575,000 (November =$2,375,000 ) Shortest Days on Market: 8 (November =36) Longest Days on Market: 502 (November =1999)   Once again, great news that we are not hearing from the local media!  Home sales are up year over year and month over month (impressively, I add!); prices are up (modestly, but still up and days on market are down.  The great thing about Jacksonville Beach, however, when compared to Atlantic & Neptune Beach is th... 01/31/2012

I am in a hotel room in Cary, NC (more on that in a future post) watching CNN this morning, and they are at the Beach Hut Cafe in Jacksonville Beach, FL! This fabulous place is close to where I live, and is a great locals kind of place.... The primary debate was at UNF last night, and I'm sure the whole town is just buzzing with excitement - hope everyone got a chance to watch, but of course, you can certainly google it at your leisure!   01/27/2012

I have friends who have done this every year, and they love it. I, being from NJ originally, hold firmly to the theory that you should only go into the Atlantic Ocean between Memorial Day & Labor Day, and New Year's Day CLEARLY does not fall into that window. I may consider it as a way to welcome 2013; let's face it, at least our water temps are still in the 60's down here, compared to the northern states! Jacksonville Beach Polar Plunge 01/10/2012

 Here are the 2011 stats and 2010 for comparison -   2011   16  Homes Sold (even with October) Lowest price: $72,000 (October =$125,000) Highest price: $645,000 (October =$570,000) Shortest Days on Market:8 (October =6) Longest Days on Market: 215 (October =511)       2010   18 homes sold (October=15) Lowest price: $90,000(October =$69,900) Highest price: $2,415,000 (October =$480,000 ) Shortest Days on Market: 3 (October =0) Longest Days on Market: 502 (October =215)   This is what I wish the local media would focus on: Sales are flat (or stable) month over month, and down a modest 11%% year over year. Days on market (total time from new listing to closing table) is essentially flat on the short side; I am happy to see the long side of days on market come down year over year.  These ar... 12/26/2011