Blog Northwest Florida

Pet Fest in Gulf Breeze - Trust me, Pet Fest is a "Don't Miss" event in Northwest Florida!

Have you ever seen an iguana dressed as a cheerleader? Here's your chance. This is an Anything Goes event second only to the Flora-Bama's Mullet Toss. Over 1,000 people attended last year, most of them brought along by their pets. And the variety of pets is pretty amazing as well - horses, goldfish, lizzards . . . and yes, some cats and dogs as well.

This year's event will be more educational, with 23 vendors displaying pet related items and 7 veterinarian stations.

• WHEN:   10am to 4pm, Saturday, May 10
• WHERE: Shoreline Bark Park, across from the Gulf Breeze Recreation Center, 800 Shoreline Drive
• COST:   $5, Proof of rabies vaccine for all pets
• INFO:    932-7888

Pet Fest in Gulf Breeze . . . Don't let your pet go without you!

The Zoo Northwest Florida hosts a Longneck Party to welcome the newest giraffe, Colby.

Wooo Hooo! Break out your dancing shoes as there will be live music. Heavy hors d'oeuvres, raffles, a cash drawing and the unveiling of the Zoo's new giraffe exhibit are among the treats you can expect at the Longneck party.

Colby is a 12 year old male giraffe that stands 18 feet tall. Zoo handlers say he is adjusting well to his new home.

• WHERE:   The Zoo Northwest Florida, 5701 Gulf Breeze Parkway
• WHEN:     Friday, May 9 - 7pm to 10pm
• COST:     $30 per person, $50 per couple
• INFO:      932-2229

The Zoo Northwest Florida - Gulf Breeze, FL

Santa Rosa County Clean Community - Lots of reasons for the environmentalist in you to smile - and play! You can take care of Mom and help the environment. Crafts, from jewelry to birdhouses will be available for sale, along with some gorgeous plants and horticulture-related items in this Mother's Day tradition held for the 6th year in a row. The Milton setting is beautiful and you will find food, gifts and music for Mom and the entire family.

Green-Up Santa Rosa is a program sponsored by Santa Rosa County Clean Community System. The county organization supports environmental programs countywide. Funds raised during Green-Up go to projects like Adopt-A-Space, a program whereby community organizations or businesses work to keep sections of the county free from trash that damage the environment and the natural beauty.

• WHERE:      6758 Park Ave., Milton, FL
• WHEN:        9am to 3pm - Saturday, May 10                         Santa Rosa County Clean Community
• CONTACT:   623-1930

Gallery Night in Downtown Pensacola - This FABULOUS weather is supposed to stick around through the weekend so there will be NO BETTER place to be this Friday evening than Gallery Night in Downtown Pensacola.

Never been to Gallery Night? WOW, have you missed out! Not to worry . . . I'll fill you in!

Over 40 artists, performers, and groups of all kinds participate in Gallery Night. And food . . . did I mention food? There'll be GREAT food to munch on as well. Gallery Night actually takes place in 4 Districts - North Palafox, South Palafox, Belmont and the Historic District. Just head downtown and wander around, or for the more organized among us, CLICK HERE to go to the Arts Council of Northwest Florida's site where you can find out EXACTLY WHO will be EXACTLY WHERE doing EXACTLY WHAT.

The festivities begin at 5pm and run until 9pm. Best of all - it's all FREE baby!  See you at the Gallery Night in Downtown Pensacola.

Robin Sherman, MA, CRS is a Broker Associate licensed in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. You can contact Roibn at Robin@PensacolaForYou.com

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Eco Friendly Business Cards and Other Twisted Tales from the Internet

Gulf Coast Condo Auction

Green Building Council

Gulf Coast Condo Auction - Wow . . . have we come off those '05 and '06 highs of $600 sq. ft. This past weekend saw an Absolute Auction of 30 new condos in Gulf Shores, AL (aka the Redneck Riveria, part of the Emerald Coast running from Panama City, FL, through Orange Beach, AL).

This is an amenity laden condo of 170 units. A total of 100 units were sold at preconstruction prices. The developer held back 70 units for appreciation. Things didn't go that direction so . . . look at this sample of the buys this weekend:

The fundamentals are roughly the same as they were when we were selling at above $500 a sq. ft. The sun still shines and the rent still comes in. HELLO investors . . . you can see that the smart money is waking up to the bargains to be had! There will be more Gulf Coast Condo Auctions!

The first meeting of the Home Builders Association of Northwest Florida's (HBA) Green Building Council drew a large audience today.  The majority of those in attendance are HBA members who are interested in meeting the public's increasing demand for "Green Building."

Council President Luke Shows of Shows Construction told the group that the purpose of the Council is two-fold; Education and Leadership. By way of education the group intends to work to educate the members about "Green Building" while also taking a leadership role in helping define just what the broad term "Green Building" means.

The Green Building Council will have monthly educational meetings focused on building in an environmentally friendly manner. The major topic categories will include energy efficiency, conservation, sustainability and recycling. Education on the various green certifications will also be tackled by the Council.

Many of you know that I'm about half way through my certification as Pensacola's first Eco-Broker, so thought it important to attend. I've joined the Council and will keep you updated on the Green Building Council's "Greening of Pensacola."

Check out my article on Energy Efficient Windows

Energy Efficient Windows? I resumed my Eco-Broker course today and WHOA are there a lot of things to learn about windows! Silly me . . . my concern has usually been with the way the windows looked from the outside of the house.

Now, I've built a house (To clarify, I've watched my house being built and paid the bills as they rolled in!) and I remember picking out the windows, choosing between aluminum and wood clad, etc., and I knew there was an Energy Rating. But, did you know that there are Climate Zones for Energy Star qualification criteria? The climate zone break down comes down to - mostly - do you spend more time heating or cooling or do you spend almost equal time on both heating and cooling.

The Department of Energy actually has a  Climate Zone Finder that allows you to search by zip code. The nice thing about this is that once you find your climate zone, you can determine the most appropriate U-factor (The measure of the rate of heat loss, or how well a product prevents heat from escaping) for your most energy efficient windows. (There are R-values too, which are the inverse of the U-factor, but we'll save that for another day!)

Eyes glazing over? Please, save the glaze for the windows! A Low-E (low emittance) coating can be applied to your windows to reduce the heat loss. Much more economical than replacing the windows, especially in mild climates. (But you'll want a licensed, insured window professional to help you with this determination.)

Why is all this important? It's the $$$ of course! Approximately 25% of the energy used for space heating and cooling offsets heat loss or gain from windows. And energy efficient windows, doors an skylights can help reduce energy bills up to an estimated 15%. With energy being a major focus of much of the conversation I hear today . . . it's definitely - well - a HOT topic!

Stay tuned. It's about much more than energy efficient windows. I'll keep you posted (no pun intended) on my quest to become Pensacola's first Eco-Broker!

I have just started my Eco-Broker designation . . . in part a result of my recent acknowledgement that it's time this girl get back to more mindful day to day living! I have to admit that in the hurley-burley fast flying real estate market of recent years I got a bit away from myself.

With our nation's oil and gas worries, and my recognition of local environmental changes, I've decided that working toward the Eco-Broker designation would be time well spent. And I have to tell you, I've learned some interesting things in just two days! So I'm here to share:

First of all, did you know that nearly half of an average home's total energy bill goes toward space heating or cooling?

And, do you believe that by setting your furnace or air conditioner back while you are away it will just make them work harder to catch up when you return home and dial the thermostat back up? Evidently that is a very common misconception (One that I have to admit I bought into!). Years of research has proved this idea wrong. The facts are these:

1. By dialing back the thermostat (or up for A/C) 10 to 15 degrees for 8 hours you can save 5 to 15% a year on your heating or cooling bill.
2. Your savings are roughly 1% for each degree if the setback is 8 hours or longer.
3. The percentage of savings from the setback is greater in milder climates.
4. A programmable thermostat can pay for itself in energy saved within 4 years.

This born again eco-girl has just scratched the surface of important information that we can use ourselves and share with our clients. I promise to let you know what Ah-Ha moments I have as I continue my Eco-Broker designation journey!

Pensacola Beach Market Update- The white sand beaches and emerald green waters of Pensacola Beach draw tourists like a magnet. Who can resist kicking off the shoes and wiggling those little piggies in the soft white sand? But some serious real estate business is going on here so here's the report:

The numbers look good; sales are up as are average and median prices (significantly), but given the small number of sales overall, the numbers for '08 are actually skewed by sales in a new high end Gulf front project (Beach Club). Two of these sales were over $2,200,000 and one over $1,000,000 with most over $800,000. It's all about how far we drill down on the numbers . . .

In truth, like most of the Gulf Coast, we are seeing some super bargains right now. Pensacola Beach Market Update numbers taken from the Pensacola Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

Pensacola Market Update - Well . . . the year over year housing numbers for Pensacola's housing market aren't encouraging (at least if you are a seller).

I've just run the stats on sold properties 1/1/07 to 4/25/07 compared to the same period for '08. These sales include homes, townhomes and condos in Pensacola (this does not include Pensacola Beach and outlying areas like Cantonment).