High coastal real estate prices and the threat of hurricanes may shift more demand to inland locations that feature higher elevations, which are hard to come by on the Florida coast. Owl's Head, a New Urbanist development, will test the market.
"According to Larry Davis, who has sold real estate in the Florida Panhandle for 15 years, 'nothing can compete with Seaside,' the original New Urbanist community where pastel-colored houses carry million-dollar price tags.
But his new development, Owl's Head, near Freeport, Fla., has something Seaside can't offer: elevation.
'It's a pretty slow rise as you drive up from the beach,' Mr. Davis said. 'But by the time you get to Owl's Head' â€" due north of Seaside and about 15 miles inland â€" 'you're at about 100 feet.'
By Florida standards, he said, 'this is nosebleed country.'
And that, to some buyers, could be a blessing. After two seasons in which hurricanes battered the Gulf Coast, destroying houses and much of the beach itself, some customers may like the idea of living inland, where they are protected from storm surges."
FULL STORY: Add 'Elevation' to 'Location, Location'
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Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research