“It’s a clear sign that lenders are now willing to grow their commercial real estate portfolios just as they have been doing in other areas,” said Jayme Nabors, co-owner of NBI Properties.

Overall, the banking sector has dramatically improved its liquidity position in the past several years and many large banks have more than doubled their holdings of cash and securities since 2009. According to Federal Reserve System chairman Ben Bernanke, the credit quality of assets at large banks is improving as well, although positive changes have depended on the types of loans available. According to reports, delinquency rates on loan portfolios at large banks have declined from their peaks, but delinquencies on commercial and industrial loans and consumer loans have fallen to the bottom of their historical ranges.

Bernanke added that delinquencies on loans backed by commercial or residential real estate have declined moderately and currently remain elevated.

“The market has been fickle and uncertain for several years, so this news offers hope to investors and consumers,” said Nabors. “It’s another sign of recovery that credit conditions throughout the country are getting better and that many businesses and consumers are finding it easier to get approval for loans.”

Financial experts seem to agree that the abundance of competitive lending sources combined with attractive, low interest rates has created an ideal environment for financing commercial real estate.

Nabors noted that on the Emerald Coast, his company has seen more lenders offering loans and programs for hospitality, construction, retail, and special use properties.

“It’s exciting that banks are starting to catch up with borrowing demand,” he said. “We’re working with many clients who are seizing this opportunity to invest in commercial real estate.”

The news is a much-needed shot in the arm for the economy, as analysts said construction spending on more than 238.3 million square feet of new space added approximately 610,000 new jobs.

Impacts were felt in numerous areas of the country with Florida ranking seventh in areas of development. NBI co-founder Jayme Nabors said that commercial real estate development on the Emerald Coast is also rebounding with encouraging numbers.

“It’s really picked up with more investors interested in developing office buildings, industrial complexes, warehouses and retail buildings,” Nabors said. “We’ve seen across the board increases, largely driven by private-sector growth that spurred more construction spending.”

The following states posted the highest amounts of direct spending in all three phases of development across all categories of commercial real estate. The number in parenthesis refers to that state’s rank in 2010:


1. Texas (Previous rank: 2), $7.9 billion in spending

2. New York (1), $6.5 billion in spending

3. West Virginia (48), $5.9 billion in spending

4. California (3), $4.5 billion in spending

5. Arizona (14), $4.2 billion in spending

6. Utah (26), $3.6 billion in spending

7. Florida (4), $3.4 billion in spending

8. Illinois (10), $3.0 billion in spending

9. Massachusetts (21), $3.05 billion in spending

10. (tie) North Carolina (7), $3.05 billion in spending

The NAIOP report predicts that construction spending will enjoy more increases in 2013 and 2014 while economists believe it’s a strong sign of a strengthening recovery.

Source: 20120 Florida Realtors

Carried us in their womb and delivered us in pain
Adopted us and loved us unconditionally
Changed thousands of diapers
Rocked us to sleep at night
Stayed by our beds when we had a cold, a fever, or any other illness
Put band aids on our boo boos!
Wiped our runny noses
Yelled at bullies on the playground to leave us alone
Packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch
Helped us study our spelling words
Took us to church
Hung our drawings on the refrigerator with pride
Made scrapbooks of all of our accomplishments
Corrected us when we needed discipline
Took collect phone calls when we were in trouble
Sacrificed so we could have the things we wanted
Ironed our clothes
Put up with our growing pains
Fixed our favorite meal whenever we asked for it
Loved us more than anyone in the world ever could

We’re sure you have fond memories of your mother, so enjoy thinking about all the times you’ve spent together. Better yet, let her know how much you appreciate her! She’ll never get tired of hearing it.

Despite the tame prediction, meteorologists say that all coastal residents should make the same hurricane preparations every year, no matter what the forecasts indicate. NBI Properties advises its commercial property owners to heed the same advice and be prepared.

“No matter what the weather reports predict, we always tell our clients to have plentiful hurricane supplies on hand for their businesses and their homes,” said Craig Barrett, co-owner of NBI Properties. “It’s just common sense to be prepared to protect your business assets and your property in the event that adverse weather conditions threaten our area.”

Experts say the Atlantic Ocean will be cooler than it has been in recent years. They also say there is a “fairly high likelihood” that El Nino, the atmospheric force that suppresses storm formation, will develop by the summer. Typically, El Nino results in conditions that are less than ideal for storm formation.

Weather experts predict there is only a 24 percent chance that a major hurricane will make landfall on the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle west to Brownsville, Texas. The long-term average is 30 percent. Other than Hurricane Irene, which caused major damage to North Carolina and the Northeast last year, the United States has had relatively calm storm seasons for the past three years.

“I think we’ve been very lucky here in the Panhandle,” said Barrett. “It’s been six years since we’ve had a hurricane strike and I’m sure that’s part of the reason we are setting records now for tourism, commercial real estate and home sales.”

“This is encouraging news,” said Jayme Nabors, co-owner of Lifestyle Properties in Destin. “The Home Price Index indicates that Florida home prices rose 4.7 percent overall and 1.6 percent without distressed sale numbers, which is better than the national average.”

According to CoreLogic, distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions. Non-distressed home sale prices, which represent two-thirds of all sales, have appreciated by just over 1.0 percent since the beginning of the year.

The HPI report also revealed the five states with the highest home price appreciation were: West Virginia (+8.6 percent), Michigan (+5.8 percent), Florida (+4.7 percent), Arizona (+4.5 percent) and South Dakota (+4.1 percent).

Including distressed sales, the five states with the greatest depreciation were: Delaware (-11.2 percent), Connecticut (-7.9 percent), Rhode Island (-7.8 percent), Illinois (-7.1 percent) and Georgia (-6.6 percent).


Of the top 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) measured by population, 67 are showing year-over-year declines in February, nine fewer than in January.



Source: 2012 Florida Realtors®

“It only takes one trip down Front Beach Road to realize that tourism this spring has been strong,” said Maureen Richardson. “We’ve seen an increase in real estate closings in March and it’s one of the busiest times I have ever experienced.”

February bed tax collections set a record in Okaloosa County and were up in Walton and Santa Rosa Counties compared to 2011.

Richardson’s office also reported the average selling price of real estate held steady with only a slight 1% decline over 2011 and properties sold quicker with average days on the market falling 9.4%. Furthermore, the market appears very strong for the future with predictions for an 18% price increase for Panama City real estate estimated between June 2012 and June 2013.

Elsewhere, nearby real estate markets reported:


Okaloosa County

4%  - Increase in # of Single Family Sales

18%  - Increase in # of Condo/Townhome Sales

16% - Increase in Total Dollar Volume of all Sales



Walton County

15%  - Increase in # of Single Family Sales

6%  - Increase in # of Condo/Townhome Sales

11% - Increase in Total Dollar Volume of all Sales



Santa Rosa County

20%  - Increase in Total Sales

20.6% - Increase in Total Dollar Volume of all Sales



“What’s great for tourism is also great for real estate sales,” said Jayme Nabors, co-owner of NBI Properties and Lifestyle Properties. “We have noticed that the two always seem to go hand-in-hand, and the result is that we’re seeing more property inquiries than ever this year.”

Even though Jim just recently decided to become a realtor, over the years he has influenced real estate development via the leasing of thousands of square feet of retail space in Shoreline Village Mall, Destin Commons, Sandestin, Gulf Place, Seaside, Rosemary Beach, and Carillon Beach. He also served on the board of the Destin Harbor Business Association where he helped influence infrastructure and harbor improvements, as well as sitting on the board of the Destin Chamber of Commerce.

“Over the years, real estate in this area has seen it all,” said Jim. “We’ve gone from stagnant to boom and back to bust again. But the re-set button has been pushed and now we are seeing a rebound that is very promising! I have always believed the Emerald Coast is one of the most desirable locations in the country!”

Jim knows the difference between desirable and undesirable locations, as he has seen much of the world. He grew up overseas as the son of a CIA officer, living in Bolivia, Pakistan and Germany as well as northern Virginia and North Carolina. After graduating from the University of North Carolina, he was accepted to the Navy’s Aviation Officers Candidate School where he received his commission and pilot’s wings. He served in the Pacific and Vietnam while flying C-121s and his last duty station was at Whiting Field in Milton, Florida. He fell in love with the Emerald Coast while finishing out his career in Pensacola and then settled permanently in Destin in the early eighties.

After operating many successful businesses on the Emerald Coast for more than three decades, Jim was eager to finally throw his hat into the real estate ring. He’s excited about joining the staff at NBI Properties because of the upswing in commercial real estate interest in the area.

“With the Emerald Coast re-emerging as a prime tourist, second home, and retirement destination, businesses are looking for location opportunities up and down the coast,” explained Jim. “And since commercial real estate activity usually precedes residential, the future looks very bright!”

In his spare time, Jim enjoys golf, reading, entertaining, and spending time with his family. He and his wife, Courtney, and his son, Jake, live in Destin where they are big fans of some of the local restaurants, including Cuvee Bistro, Harry T’s, Tuscany, Bonefish, Marina Cafe and La Paz.

Jayme Nabors, co-founder of NBI Properties, one of the largest commercial real estate firms in the Southeast, believes the property loans will continue to improve throughout 2012 and beyond if interest rates continue to remain low and economic recovery keeps improving at a steady pace.

“We’re optimistic at NBI because we’re dealing with fewer and fewer distressed properties now,” Nabors noted. “However, we’ll know more about the true level of distressed assets in the country during the next two years when more than $600 billion in loans are estimated to come due.

Nationally, statistics indicate that the office sector represents the largest share of distressed commercial real estate at $41 billion, a decline of $829 million, or 2 percent, since October 2011. Apartment properties continue to have the second-highest level of distress, with $35.2 billion, a $0.3 billion, or 0.9 percent, drop since October. Unbuilt land and other properties account for the third-highest level of distress with $29.5 billion in distressed assets while retail has the fourth-most distressed assets at $27.9 billion. Hotels round out the numbers with the fifth-highest level of distressed assets, currently, falling $3.1 billion since October. Although industrial has by far the lowest volume of distressed real estate, it rose $435 million to $12 billion, an increase of 3.8 percent.

While the volume of distressed commercial real estate properties is significant, so is the looming volume of stressed property. These properties have characteristics of concern in the short term – maturing loans, bankrupt tenants, under-performance, financially troubled owners or other significant obstacles that could potentially lead to distress in the future.

“Only people with a high annual income who turn a sizable profit on the sale of their home will be affected,” said Craig Barrett, co-founder of NBI Properties and Lifestyle Properties, Inc. “We think this is good news for a lot of people who were wondering about it.”

Two years ago, a 3.8 percent levy on certain investment income was included in healthcare legislation. Part of that investment income includes capital gains from home sales for individuals who make $200,000 per year or more or married couples who earn at least $250,000. However, even these individuals won’t pay the tax unless the home sale nets them over $250,000 for an individual or $500,000 for married couples.

“Even if someone qualifies under these two conditions, a tax may still not be levied,” said Barrett. “From what we have been able to confirm, other tax details are considered before the 3.8 percent tax kicks in.”
NAR recommends that realtors become familiar with the tax, but avoid coaching their clients because the tax details are complicated. The actual tax due will vary from individual to individual because the elements used to calculate “adjusted gross income” can differ from taxpayer to taxpayer.

Source: © 2012 Florida Realtors®

Cities, counties and school districts today collect about 20% more in property taxes than they did in 2006, when home values were one-third higher than they are today. However, the tax tide is slowly starting to recede.



Last year, property tax collections rose just 1.2% — and actually declined 0.9% when adjusted for inflation, according to data from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis. That’s the first time property tax collections have fallen below the inflation rate since 1995 and only the third time in 40 years. 
If the downward trend continues, property taxes may actually bring in fewer dollars this year than last — even before adjusting for inflation. That hasn’t happened since the Great Depression.



Property taxes generated $436 billion last year, about $66 billion more than in 2006 when home values peaked. Public schools get about 40% of this money. The rest flows to other local governments.



Most states have complex laws that make property tax declines rare, small or long-delayed, even when home values plummet. This makes the property tax stable during economic turmoil, unlike the income or sales tax.



“People usually believe that when their house value goes down, their tax bill should go down also,” said Jayme Nabors, co-founder of NBI Properties and Lifestyle Properties, Inc. “But that’s simply not the way it works. Some states are running on assessments based on a formula that considers home values as far back as seven years.”



Factors which delaying lowering property taxes include:


Tax limits Most laws that cap property tax hikes have a little-known flip side: limits on decreases.


Delayed assessments Many states base tax assessments on a home’s value three, six or even 10 years ago — or on an average of multiple years.

The practice protects homeowners from fast-rising taxes when home values soar, but also delays tax cuts when values fall. It also reduces the administrative burden of assessing every home annually.


Shared sacrifice New York, Ohio and many other states automatically raise property tax rates when real estate values fall and cut rates automatically when values rise, a practice called equalization.



During the real estate boom, this practice automatically lowered rates when values rose to prevent taxes from rising too quickly.

Source: USA Today