Odds & Ends

Happy Holidays

‘TIS THE SEASON FOR HOME TOURS.

A HANDFUL OF FERNANDINA BEACH RESIDENTS OPEN THEIR DOORS TO VISITORS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON. And you are welcome inside. The 16th annual Amelia Island Museum of History Holiday Home Tour is set for December 2 and 3. Five historic house are decorated by local florists and interior designers and docents at each location provide historical notes and details about the architectural elements. Stops along the fundraising tour include the Smith Home at 414 Broome Street (pictured), said to be the first home finished in Fernandina following the Civil War. Built in 1866 for Major William Duryee, the house features 13-foot ceilings. Tour hours are 10 AM to 4 PM. Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 day of event.

GOLF COURSES ARE FAIRLY COMMONPLACE IN NORTHEAST FLORIDA. However, it wasn’t until August of this year that the first 18-hole course completed in the region in 20 years officially opened. Designed by Bobby Weed, the course is located inside the 549-home adult gated community of Stillwater Golf & Country Club. In addition to the course, the Lennar community in St. Johns County features a 16-acre practice facility with lighted driving range, three putting and chipping greens and an enormous, undulated Himalayan-style putting course. “Stillwater delivers terrific shot values with ample playing areas that encourage the old-style game of low, running approach shots,” says architect Weed.

Bay Watch

One area of local real estate that remains relatively hot is active adult communities. PulteGroup, one of the nation’s largest home builders, recently announced sales are underway at its newest 55-plus communities, Summer Bay at Grand Oaks. The new neighborhood consists of 40-, 50- and 65-foot wide home sites located inside the Grand Oaks master-planned community, not far from downtown St. Augustine. Pulte offers 15, single-family home designs for active adults with upgrades starting in the low $300s. Highlighting the property will be the Summer Bay Amenity Center with a resort-style pool and a spa, pickleball and bocce ball courts, fitness center, outdoor fireplace and a community garden.

On With the Show

The Women’s Board of Wolfson Children’s Hospital’s annual Art & Antiques Show was a First Coast tradition for many years. Just like many other annual happenings, the pandemic poured cold water on plans and the event was put on pause. This winter, however, the fundraiser returns and has been reimagined as the Winter Design Show, taking place December 2-4 at the Prime Osborn Convention Center. Three days of special events include a black-tie gala, lectures by renowned designers, a kids’ fashion show and a showcase of fine art and antique dealers. Regionally acclaimed interior designers and artists such as Caitlin Flynn, Ginny Stine, Kathy Stark and John Beard are joined by other out-of-state vendors including Whitehall Antiques from Chapel Hill North Carolina and Atlanta’s McDonough Fine Art. Headlining the lecture series is HGTV star Ty Pennington, who speaks on Friday, December 2, 10 AM-noon. Tickets range from $3,000 for a pair of Grand Benefactor passes to $15 for admission into the antiques market.

MARKET UPDATE

“Moving into fall 2022 we continue to see the residential real east market, which includes single-family homes, condos, and townhouses, continue to moderate and normalize,” says Mark Rosener, president of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR). “While still an 18% increase year over year, the median price in our six-county market has shown mild fluctuations month to month of between $350,000 and $365,000 since March. This indicates that the dramatic increases that were seen during the pandemic are coming to an end.”

According to NEFAR, in Duval County, the August median price of single-family housing was $349,995, a slight drop from the previous month. The median days on the market was 28, more than twice as long as it was a year ago. Down in St. Johns County, prices fell slightly to a median price of $555,000 for a single-family home. Active inventory of homes for sale rose to 1,312 and the affordability index inched up to 49, demonstrating that St. Johns remains the least affordable county in which to live in Northeast Florida. In Clay County, inventory rose as well, rising to 776 homes, or a 2.6-month supply. Here, the median price of a single-family home was $366,250. *

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