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South Padre Island Residential Sales up 55% in 2009
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10 Comments ::  :: South Padre Island, Economy |
South Padre Island Residential Sales up 55% in 2009
 South Padre Island is bucking the national real estate slump with a surprisingly strong year and there is a changing of the guard for the top local real estate company in sales.
Both the Island's sales levels and median price are up in 2009 as you can see from the following charts, provided by the leading local Realtor of the sales boom, AliceDonahue.com. [There is something very special about South Padre Island]
"We invested heavily in great agents and advanced technologies that provide extra value for our customers. Our data center works all night processing the sales and inventory data for South Padre and the Texas coast - providing additional features and information about what's for sale and the market conditions. We also provide a popular real estate blog where everyone talks about the market on the Island" - says Alice Donahue, Broker
Alice Donahue Real Estate has become the top broker on the Texas coast, outperforming the market with record level company sales this year. While others are complaining about the market conditions, we are doing something about it, helping our clients take advantage of the opportunities that exist. Let's look at these incredible numbers for South Padre Island and enjoy: 
Other positive news for our area:
 A new $40 million oil pipeline assembly plant is underway and is Port Isabel's entry in the
offshore oil and gas industry. Port Isabel is one of 12 deepwater ports in Texas, with a depth of 36 feet.
Subsea 7, an international underwater engineering construction company, is expected to attract other companies in the offshore oil industry to our area. The company will assemble pipelines that it will haul to offshore oil rigs.
The company has already hired about 90 workers, including skilled welders, with local training at the plant. The company plans a large operation on the 58-acre site which is located on the intra-coastal waterway near Long Island Village and Port Isabel. The company's first project calls for welders to join 38 miles of pipe that its ship will carry to an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.
A world class new high-rise has been announced, the Kirana Luxury Beachfront High-rise Condominiums South Padre is about to be taken to new heights with the new Kirana oceanfront condominiums that bring a new class of luxury to the Island.
"Kirana is an Indian word meaning "ray of light" and the new design shines bright on the lone star state with a pyramid style high-rise like nothing the Texas coast has ever seen. This project rivals anything in the world." - says Alice Donahue, broker for AliceDonahue.com
"We are excited to have this class of product come to the Island and the pre-construction prices put this product on price par with our 1980's built beach condos, but this high-rise design literally towers above anything on the Island" - says Alice.
These residences rewrite the rules of style, form and function. Kirana offers a refined collection of beautifully appointed 3, 4 and 5 bedroom luxury condominium residences and penthouse units. At 40 stories and with a pyramid-like shape, it will be the tallest and grandest structure on the Texas coast. Contact us for renderings, floor plans, pricing and availability, we are having a huge response and are taking reservations right now! We are reserving a unit ourselves while the best choices are available.
Read More About Kirana
The New Marina Vista Villas Town homes with protected boat docks are near completion at The Shores on South Padre Island
 The most northern townhome has been completed and furnished. There will be Open Houses held every weekend for the rest of the summer. The first one will be this Saturday, June 20th. We would love for you to stop by to take a peek.
The finished product of these town homes has far surpassed expectations. They are state of the art but yet, they have maintained the casual luxury they were designed to accomplish.
Some of the extraordinary features are the Viking appliances, the DVR security system that can be monitored remotely 24/7 via the internet, quality hurricane resistant construction, marble and granite throughout, maple floors throughout, AND they are totally furnished and professionally decorated.
You can be a member of the Marina Vista Villas Founder's Club, which will award you many extras, by being one of the first to purchase. The developers are offering some special buyer incentives right now for the first buyers. Read More About Marina Vista Villas
The new Sapphire Beach High-rise is now completed and in use already
 A new class of luxury for the Island, this new high-rise includes:
* Low, sensible maintenance fees,
* Dramatic views of the Ocean and Bay,
* Access to Hotel Services,
* Valet Parking,
* Concierge,
* Room Service,
* Housekeeping Service,
* Pools for everyone in the family: Two large Private Swimming Pools,
* Private Bungalows,
* Outdoor Bar,
* Access to adjacent Sheraton Hotel
and $1,000,000 swimming pools. Read More about the Sapphire
Progress is being made on the second bridge to the Island
 Cameron County Officials say they've picked 5 possible routes to South Padre Island via bridge.
All the proposed routes would start at Holly Beach near Bayview, and end near Beach Access 5 or 6 on the island.
An environmental impact study on the areas that will be impacted will take up to 34 months to complete.
Once that is done, the county will take further action Read More About the Second Bridge
Continental Airlines is providing new non-stop jet service from Dallas to South Padre Island Airport in Brownsville
South Padre Island is now a short hop from Dallas - American Eagle Airlines has nonstop jet service between the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and the Brownsville as of June 11 2009. Read More About the New Air Service
Texas is being touted as the national leader in population and economic growth by all the nation leading economists
 Forbes Magazine and The Brookings Institute Report Texas Leads U.S. Metros in Recovery
Beneath the constant drumbeat of headline numbers emanating from Washington on U.S. jobs, national unemployment, GDP, and home prices lies a complex, diverse set of 366 metropolitan economies.
While no metro area has been immune from the current economic downturn, the pain is unevenly distributed. Some have felt only modest effects, and a few show early signs of recovery.
Metro areas in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana—have performed relatively well, experiencing less severe job losses, relatively large wage gains, and modest home price increases. Specializations in energy and government, large amounts of federal hurricane recovery funding for the Gulf Coast, and smaller increases in housing prices during the early and mid-2000s may all help to account for their better performance. Read More About the Strength of Texas
 And there is so much more! No wonder we are doing so well. Click here to see our new aerial tour
Did you know?
AliceDonahue.com Real Estate also represents properties in the emerging paradise market of Huatulco Mexico!
Most of Alice Donahue Real Estate is bilingual and familiar with the Mexican culture. We hope to be a part of improving U.S. and Mexican relations and building lasting relationships. Click here to check out Cosmo Residences and see why.
Alice and Judy in Huatulco Mexico at Cosmo Residences
- there is so much to tell about this new market and development.
Aritcle by Mike Stuart |
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| Comments | |
D.P. @
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 2:42 PM | |
I laughed a few years ago when some of the agents on this island seriously suggested that the new border fence was going to raise island property values. But don't underestimate the effects of this new Subsea 7 oil pipeline construction company. This thing could be BIG, pumping a lot of money into the local economy. The capability to drill in very deep water is relatively new, which may explain why most people don't know much about it. It requires large underwater pipes to transport the crude oil to land based refineries. Those offshore deep water projects are expensive, and must be supported by deep water ports, as Port Isabel has. Some people may be turned off by the idea of a big industry moving in so close to a prime tourist area, but making undersea pipes is a relatively clean business. They fabricate the pipes, then ship them out to sea to whatever new drilling rig in the gulf requires them. |
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Fernando Del Valle, Valley Morning Star @
Tuesday, August 04, 2009 12:29 PM |
Planned second causeway to South Padre Island could create about 90,000 jobs.
“We’ve got to plan for the future of the community,” said David Allex, chairman of the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority, the agency that oversees the project.
A decision is expected by December, Allex said. Construction of the $600 million project could begin in two years.
Bridge tolls would repay bonds issued to pay for what would become one of the largest infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the Rio Grande Valley, Allex said.
“It ought to be a self-sustaining operation,” he said.
So far, officials have outlined five possible routes, with the southernmost located about four miles away from the Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge, said Mario Jorge, the Texas Department of Transportation’s district engineer for the eight-county region that includes Cameron County. His agency is also working on the project with consultants HNTB Corp.
The northernmost and southernmost routes are located about four miles apart, said HNTB’s Richard Ridings.
The northernmost route would connect to the Island near Beach Access No. 6, officials said. Other routes would connect to the Island near Beach Access No. 5 and Atwood County Park, near The Shores development, north of Andy Bowie Park.
From the mainland, three proposed routes would tie into Centerline Road near the Cameron County Airport, officials said. Two others would connect just south of Holly Beach.
The project’s routes range in length from 7.2 to 7.8 miles, said David Garcia, assistant director of the Cameron County Transportation Department.
Officials have yet to determine whether the causeway will be two or four lanes wide, Garcia said.
A private company could be contracted to build and operate the span, said Jorge, the TxDOT official.
“There are several companies that have talked to us that are worldwide,” said Allex, the Cameron County mobility authority chairman.
The proposed causeway would spur the development of 3,000 privately owned acres on the Island, stretching about 25 miles north of town to the Mansfield Cut, he said. The project also would transform areas of the mainland where new roads leading to the causeway would be built.
“They’ll be all new communities developing on the mainland,” Allex said.
With all that development expected, he said, about 90,000 jobs would be created over a period of 40-50 years. |
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Interested Guy @
Monday, August 10, 2009 11:35 PM |
The final tally for July is interesting. It looks like total sales dollars for the entire area were down for the second year in a row. That hardly sounds like a recovery, but it could mark the bottom. Strangely enough the total number of sales is actually UP from last July. That seems to suggest that overall area sales are biased toward lower priced properties.
If however you just look just at island sales, you do get a very different picture. Total number of sales and total dollars are BOTH definitely up year over year. Strangely enough the island's relatively few 3 bedroom condos actually outsold the much more plentiful 2 bedroom condos! Maybe Sapphire closings are skewing the numbers? Hard to say, but that's my best guess. Even if Sapphire is skewing the numbers, you still can't deny that the island seems to have some kind of magical ability to support new development during the nation's worst economic disaster since the great depression. Cool.
All comments welcome. |
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Phil Izzo , WSJ @
Wednesday, August 12, 2009 6:09 PM |
Economists Pronounce the Recession Over
The majority of economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal say the recession is over and Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke deserves another term.
Of the 47 economists the newspaper surveyed, 27 said the recession has ended and 11 predict another trough this month or next. The rest refused to commit. But they were nearly unanimous is saying that Bernanke should be rehired.
Gross domestic product is expected to grow 2.4 percent in the third quarter at a seasonally adjusted annual rate. Economists were also heartened by a better-than-expected jobless report in July. |
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Don Brunell @
Wednesday, August 12, 2009 6:12 PM |
In Texas, business is booming.
In 2008, 70 percent of all jobs created in the United States were created in Texas. That same year, Texas was named America's Top State for Business in CNBC's second annual study that scored states on 40 different competitiveness measures.
Texas now surpasses New York as home to the most Fortune 500 companies, and Texas dominated Forbes' "Best Cities for Jobs in 2008" list with five cities in the top 20. While the nation's unemployment rate is 9.5 percent, the rate in Texas is 7.5 percent. And while our state faces a $9 billion deficit, Texas has a $9 billion surplus. Instead of raising taxes, Texas is cutting them.
Gov. Rick Perry says holding the line on taxes, having a reasonable regulatory structure and offering economic development incentives such as the Texas Enterprise Fund and Texas Emerging Technology Fund have attracted hundreds of employers to Texas.
He notes that 7,300 new jobs were created in Texas in November 2008 alone. |
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Island Vacationer @
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 11:41 PM |
Instead of going to South Padre this year for vacation, we went to Port Aransas, the first time in about 15 years. The sand isn't as nice as on South Padre, but there is a LOT more of it, and the beaches are a lot less crowded. Also, the coast line isn't so cluttered with dozens of high rises - it's a much more "natural" beach environment. There are however lots of nice seafood restaurants and bars not far off the beach. We really enjoyed it, a nice change of pace. My wife thinks we should be looking at vacation property in the Corpus area, not South Padre. Plus they have better medical facilities in nearby Corpus. Decisions, Decisions!
I agree with my wife that all the beachfront condos on South Padre detract from it's overall appearance, and the problem is only getting worse. Plus, you've got that serious beach erosion problem on South Padre that nobody can deny. I do however think the water on South Padre is better though, often bright green/blue on summer days when there isn't much wind to stir up the surf. But 90% of my swimming is always in a pool, so I don't really care.
I would also expect the weather to be a little warmer on South Padre during the winter months, another important consideration.
There is a nice Radisson on beautiful Corpus Christi beach, but relatively few places around to eat. South Padre certainly has the best places to eat, drink, and be merry. (My wife did agree that if both South Padre and Corpus were equal distances from our house, she would much prefer to buy a condo on South Padre.)
Another problem with Corpus is that it's kind of ugly with all those refineries around, and you don't see that type of undesirable industry near South Padre. Who knows what you're breathing in Corpus!. I also noticed a lot more tar on the beach in Port Aransas, probably from those off-shore drilling rigs that are clearly visible from the beach. But then again South Padre sure had it's share of oil slick problems this year!
It looks to me like Corpus might be a better place to raise kids than South Padre. You've got better job and educational opportunities in Corpus, and better medical facilities for all. Corpus might also be a better place to retire, if for no other reason than the overall city services.
I do however think some of those solid concrete high rises on South Padre would survive a major hurricane better than most of the beach houses in Port Aransas. Hurricane resistance IS important.
Perhaps South Padre is best left for vacationers, whereas Corpus is better for raising a family, or retirement. That could explain why about 90% of South Padre's condos always seem to be vacant, because they are seldom more than vacation homes. It could also explain why South Padre has so few year-round full time residents.
I haven't had much time to compare real estate prices between the two places, but maybe I should start to focus on this. Anybody out there investigated this yet, and come to some solid price conclusions?
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Island Optimist @
Thursday, August 20, 2009 11:22 PM |
I'm sensitive to the argument that poorly regulated developers have done some serious damage to SPI. What we've got now is two public beaches at either end of the island for valley day visitors, with a long stretch of exclusive condos for the rich between them. Most of those condos are so tall and close to the beach that you can't see the sun set from the beach. The only services that exist for beach access between the big condos is basic parking, so outside visitors are effectively confined to the two public parks that really get overcrowded and trashed on the weekends.
Many island condos also suffered major damage from Dolly, which shouldn't have happened from such a relatively small hurricane, further highlighting the inadequate building codes and greedy developers who cut too many corners in their construction projects. While the beach in front of these condos slowly erodes, nobody in government seems to have done anything more than apply dredge material which eventually gets washed away. Where does our tax money go?
On the bright side, the sheer quantity of all this poorly planned and managed growth has ironically brought us a lot of truly WONDERFUL businesses that make visiting here a wonderful experience. It's a wonderful place to vacation, definitely one of the best sea-side areas in Texas.
Overall I'm optimistic that eventually we'll elect a government that has the teeth and muscle to deal with the beach erosion problems, and set much higher standards for future construction projects. (i.e., no more Ocean Towers type of developments) Here's another stunt our leaders pulled recently: Hey, let's raise the occupancy tax to discourage more tourism!
Bottom Line: Solve these basic government problems, and property values will quickly skyrocket. Now is a good time to buy SPI real estate, while the big investors are still licking their wounds from the big stock market crash, local government is worried about little more than petty little "code violations", and real estate prices are amazingly low. The way I see it, things can only get better from here. |
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Joseph McCormick @
Saturday, September 05, 2009 5:18 PM | |
Using your own sales data it is clear that closings of the Sapphire are what drive the 'real estate recovery' of SPI. Take away all of those over the past 8 months and the overall real estate market remains on life support. |
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Morning Beach Guy @
Tuesday, September 08, 2009 7:23 AM | |
Wake up with the sun. Go for a stroll along the sandy beach. Watch the sun slowly rise over the Gulf. Feel the cool breeze. Check out the new shells the tide brought in. Look at the way the sun peeks through the clouds as it slowly rises. Maybe you'll even see a small storm in the distance gracing the skyline. Feel the warm water on your feet as you walk through the soft sand. Watch the sand crabs busy digging new holes. Watch the cute little sandpipers digging for food. See the gulls diving for fish. Watch the morning fisherman try their luck in the surf. Life is different here. Now you understand why you own island property. |
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Margarita drinker @
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 10:52 PM |
Looks like they're going to rebuild the beach a little more ($1.5M worth), and screw around with some kind of offshore "sand trap". Let's hope it works and rebuilds our property values!
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2009/2009-09-14-092.asp |
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