November 1, 2007

Ground Breaking for New Airport

Today, November 1, 2007, marks a momentous milestone in Florida history with the ceremonial ‘groundbreaking’ event for the Panama City-bay County International Airport. Public support for the new airport poured in from all over Bay, Walton, and adjacent counties, reaching an estimated attendance of over a thousand. Public officials declared “Florida is open for business,” including Governor Charles Crist. With the highly anticipated new international airport on the rise, Florida’s economy will surely benefit from the new visitors to the area. The direct flight demographic will ultimately become a buyer resource. "Statistically, it has been proven that buyers on the emerald coast have visited the area an average seven times before they convert to homeowner status. Whether it is a second home purchase or a primary residence, people who come here, fall in love with the area and they buy more real estate," said Tommy Brantley, Sales Executive for Beach properties of Florida. "This airport will open new markets, and those new markets will become our primary target for sales over the next several years."

The Airport Authority expects to complete the new facility in late 2009 or early 2010.

“The time to buy is now. We are seeing more real estate transactions this year than last, and the momentum is only going to increase because of this extraordinary milestone. This groundbreaking will help create a sense of urgency propelling buyers to action. We couldn’t be more excited about this occasion,” said Hunter Harman, Broker and Co-owner of Beach Properties of Florida.