As always, its been a beautiful week in Mexico Beach Florida!

The MBARA Kingfish Tournament went off without a hitch last weekend. The captain's party was a huge success as always with pounds and pounds of grilled sausage straight from Louisiana. Half Hitch Tackle and Blue Water Outriggers as well other local businessess donated rods, reels, coolers, gift certificates, t-shirts and various other items as door prizes.

I honestly have no idea how many people attended but, IT WAS A LOT! It's always a good time for a good cause! The fishing started Saturday and although it was beautiful in the morning it got rather stormy in the afternoon. It, of course, didn't damper any of the fishing though. In fact, rain is always a welcome sight this time of year.

We had 170 boats registered. SunDance Realty is the official weighmaster and we weighed in lots of Kingfish, Spanish, and several Wahoo!

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The Mexico Beach CDC is one again sponsoring Music in the Park, every Thursday in September from 6-8:00 Central time. The concerts are at the city park next to the El Governor Hotel. What better way to spend a Thursday evening than at the beach listening to good music with friends and family.

Bring your chairs, your family and friends, a beverage, and even a picnic! Send me a quick email and I'll send you the schedule!

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If you are an animal lover (like me) you will want to attend the annual Bow Wow Bash in Port St. Joe the last weekend in September. There will be dog parades, pet look-a-like contests, and other dog related activities all day! Should be hilarious!!!!! There's even a dinner and dance for the humans that evening!Send me a quick email and I'll send you this flyer as well! (Let me know if the flyer does not show up here!)

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Now for the real estate news.
With all the media hype about how terrible the market is I thought I'd go back to some previous years and compare the stats. Below is a chart comparing the sales from 2001-2007. The statistics are from our local MLS system for each year from January to Sept.

Looking at the stats, things aren't as bad as they as they are portrayed. There are a few buyers who bought at the height of the market in 2005 who have lost some value if they planned on selling in the next year or so.

The majority of our buyers are people who buy as a 2nd/ vacation home and plan on using it until they can retire down here. These buyers, because it is a long term investment are fine!

Property values are now stabilizing and as you can see there is still a great appreciation rate for property in our area. The number of sales in 2007 has almost tripled from last year which tells me that those who can --- are!

As for the mortgage industry, they are back to lending to only those who can afford to pay the payments! I think that is a good thing. Those who have good credit will be able to secure financing at a good interest rate. If you need financing I can put you in touch with a great lender who is reliable, fast and requires very little paperwork!

As always, if you are interested in buying or selling anywhere from Mexico Beach to Port St. Joe to Carrabelle or even up to Wewahitchka give me a call or email. You can always check out my website which has not only my listings but all the properties on the market!

I look forward to hearing from you!