Last week was a great week for Northwest Florida. Dr. Rick Harper of the Haas Center in Pensacola predicted a robust market for real estate in our area for 2011!
The Haas Center is a renowned research center and Dr. Harper has been tracking the local economy for many years. His outlook over the past three years has been very much in tune with the times—slow real estate sales. The fact that he has turned his prediction around for Okaloosa County is huge!
Dr. Harper predicted that there will be 2300 new jobs created and cited two main reasons:
1. The 7th Special Forces will be bringing almost 2000 military, plus families and civilians which, in turn, will create even more jobs off the base in Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton Counties.
2. Vision Airlines is bringing almost 20 new direct flights to our Northwest Florida Regional Airport, located right in the heart of Okaloosa County. These non-stop flights will bring people from all over the Southeast and mid-West, as vactioners and for business.
These two events will stimulate all sectors of our economy, and real estate will be right up there at the top of the list. When people are buying and selling houses, and builders are building new houses, the general economy is also doing well.
Housing is a true driver of the economy and anyone who came on earth prior to 2001 knows this. We don’t want to see another boom like we had between 2002-2006, but steady or even robust growth is what will help our economy bring new jobs to our area.
Gloria K Frazier
Gloria Frazier
Broker/President
ERA American Realty