Gulf Shores real estate

By KATHY JUMPER
Real Estate Editor

GULF SHORES, Ala. A driving rainstorm didn't stop bidders from buying 44 condominium units for more than $13 million at an absolute auction that attracted more than 1,000 people to the Crystal Tower condo complex Saturday afternoon.

Amid wall-to-wall umbrellas, more than 500 registered bidders from 20 states came to look for a deal or at least catch a glimpse of the condo-buying fever evident on West Beach in Baldwin County.

The lowest unit sale prices were $275,000 and the highest purchase price was $350,000, which included the 10 percent buyer's premium added to the bid amount, according to the National Auction Co. based in Gadsden.

Mobile Press-Register

Orange Beach Development

February 3, 2008
Kathy Jumper, Mobile Press-Register

A 54,000-square-foot Publix Super Market with a pharmacy should open sometime in the third quarter of this year in the Shoppes at Palm Pointe at Alabama 182 and 161 in Orange Beach, according to Brenda Reid , a spokesman for the Lakeland, Fla.-based supermarket chain.

The local developers of Maritime, a planned community on 182 acres on Canal Road in Orange Beach, say it will be at least 18 months before they start presales. The project will include 350 single-family units, a village center on 10 acres with 300,000 square feet of retail, office, and restaurants and 60 condominium units, according to Pat Martin , one of the developers. Looney, Ricks Kiss Ar chitects is designing the traditional neighborhood development, he said.

Construction should start later this month on the 10,000-square-foot Results Fitness facility on Alabama 182 next to Gulf State Park in Orange Beach, according to Bob Shallow of REMAX Paradise. He and his wife, Susan, are developing the two-story fitness center. The plans are finalized, and they are getting bids from contractors, he said.

Realty South Or ange Beach has expanded its office to 2,600 square feet at San Roc Cay on Perdido Beach Boulevard in Orange Beach, according to agents.

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Gulf Shores Property Auction

LFC Online (http://www.LFC.com/707R2), an Internet real estate auction marketing firm and part of the LFC Group of Companies, has announced that it is auctioning over 22 acres of prime development property located on the Fort Morgan Peninsula, in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The 22.5-acre parcel of residential development land (http://www.LFC.com/707R2), located just north of Highway 180, is zoned R1-FM/PUD and is a proposed 45-lot subdivision. The unparalleled location of the property, along the Bon Secour Bay, lends itself to unbelievable development potential, especially with the pending permit for 46 boat slips, allowing 270 feet of exclusive shoreline access.

The property neighbors the premier Peninsula Golf and Racquet Club, which was designed by Alabama's own renowned architect Earl Stone and is owned by Honours Golf, the leading golf course management and development company in the Southeastern United States.

Gulf Shores, Alabama, located in Baldwin County along the Gulf of Mexico near the Florida Panhandle and an hour drive from Mobile, is a stunning location to own a vacation home or live year-round. With its mild climate, signature golf courses, picturesque beaches, relaxed atmosphere and enchanting local charm, Gulf Shores is quickly becoming one of America's top vacation destinations, especially for golfers. In addition, Baldwin is one of the top three fastest growing counties in Alabama, experiencing one of the largest real estate development efforts in the region. In fact, a recent article on CNNMoney.com named Mobile to be one of the few "up markets" in the country, as a major metro area experiencing significant price appreciation, due to a current boom of new development projects.

"Auctions are always a marketing vehicle that will focus attention on a particular property, but an online auction, in particular, will give this property global attention," comments Bill Lange, President of the LFC Group of Companies (http://www.LFC.com/707R2). "Given the potential of this coastal property, I expect this auction will be a catalyst to reignite development in the Gulf Shores area."

"Despite the declining real estate market, interest in the Gulf Shores and Baldwin County area has began to pick up again," says Allan Cameron, a local broker for Peebles & Cameron, a Mobile-based Grubb & Ellis affiliate. "The potential for this property is phenomenal! The buyer could build a premier residential community or even a grand estate. The pending permit for the 46 boat slips and highly desirable bay frontage make this parcel even more valuable and appealing."

Aside from world-class golf, the Gulf Shores area offers hundreds of acres of wildlife and nature preserves, a variety of restaurants and shopping, as well as recreational activities like deep sea fishing, sun-bathing and strolling along the white sands of the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, for history enthusiasts, there are several historic sites, most notably Fort Morgan, a key battleground during the Civil War.

The bid deadline is February 14, 2008, and prospective buyers and interested parties are encouraged to visit www.LFC.com/707R2 to review more information about the property and register to bid in the online auction.

LFC Group of Companies
For over 30 years, the LFC Group of Companies have served numerous Fortune 500 companies, real estate developers, investors, financial institutions and government agencies by auction marketing thousands of commercial, industrial, land and residential properties with an aggregate value well in excess of $5 billion. www.LFC.com

More auctions predicted

By KATHY JUMPER
Real Estate Editor

Robbie Jaeger's client had looked at the eight-bedroom Gulf-front house in Gulf Shores last summer when it was listed for $2.9 million. When the 5,300-square-foot house hit the auction block earlier this month, Jaeger's customer traveled from Missouri to bid -- and won it for $1.65 million.

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