Amelia Island Plantation Real Estate News

There’s positive housing market news being reported for the calendar year recently ended. “Real estate sales in Amelia Island Plantation experienced a significant increase over the previous two years. Overall sales in terms of dollar volume finished at just under 55 million dollars for 2011,” according to a recent report.

Great Blue Heron, near Amelia Island Plantation
Great Blue Heron (Amelia Island Plantation in background).

Amelia Island Plantation is a top travel destination in northeast Florida. The expansive property features three championship golf courses, 23 Har-Tru tennis courts, a pampering spa and oceanfront amenities. But besides attracting travelers, Amelia Island Plantation is home to full-time residents plus second homeowners who enjoy a resort lifestyle at the coast.

With 3.5 miles of beachfront, the resort property covers a sizable area of Amelia Island’s southern tip. It crosses the island from the Atlantic oceanfront to the Amelia River, and is home to thousands. People reside with the resident wildlife — great herons, egrets, armadillos and gopher tortoises who nest in the maritime forest and burrow in the sand dunes.

With more than two thousand dwellings within Amelia Island Plantation (including oceanfront villas and estate-sized single-family homes along the beach, marsh, and fronting golf fairways), the choices and views are diverse. So how’s the real estate sales environment at AIP? See more further below.

Adding to the uniqueness of the Plantation (compared to other residential golfing communities in Florida), is the natural barrier island setting. With its beginnings dating back to the 1970s, Amelia Island Plantation was carefully designed to preserve as much of native flora and fauna as possible. Amelia Island Plantation has retained over 70% of the original (native) tree canopy at this 1,350 acre resort property on Amelia Island’s southern tip.

Much of Amelia Island’s highest-valued real estate sits behind the gates of Amelia Island Plantation. There’s positive housing market news being reported for the calendar year recently ended. According to a “2011 Real Estate Summary” dated January 26, 2012, (shared on Facebook), Michael Asnip, Director of Real Estate Sales and Marketing at Amelia Island Plantation reported the following:

“Real estate sales in Amelia Island Plantation experienced a significant increase over the previous two years. Overall sales in terms of dollar volume broke out of the low 30 million dollar level and finished at just under 55 million dollars for 2011. We increased our company’s sales dollar volume by over 200% year over year. “

Of course, Amelia Island Plantation is making its comeback from the “Great Recession,” and change in ownership of resort assets. The resort is recovering from bankruptcy in 2010, a time of flux and uncertainty when real estate transactions were depressed. (Omni bid $67.1 million for the resort at an auction held on Aug. 23, 2010.) Interestingly, Omni’s investment acumen was recognized with the top award “best hotel asset deal of the year 2010” in the hospitality industry, specifically for its purchase of the Amelia Island Plantation property, read more here.

The future looks brighter now under new management and infusion of additional funds. Forefront is Omni’s “re-imagination” project that has already broken ground and bodes well for the resort’s outlook (an additional investment by Omni of around $90 million in the hotel and other amenities). Read more about “Grand Plans: Re-Imagination Project at Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort.”

The Amelia Island Plantation 2011 Real Estate Summary also suggests … “Accelerated absorption rate of properties in Amelia Island Plantation has reversed the pattern of ever increasing inventories of homes, home sites and villas available for sale in the community. This would tend to indicate that the continued pattern of eroding property values may be at its end.”

The report indicated that the “average sales prices retreated again in 2011 with the average sale price down by 5 percent when compared to 2010.”  

Naturally, all property owners on Amelia Island, within Florida, and across the nation are keeping fingers crossed that the worst of the housing market crisis is over.

Coastal, Resort-Style Living 

From oceanfront villas to golf course estate homes, there are various neighborhood associations within the gated resort community (with frontage along the Atlantic coastline, along golf courses, and overlooking riverfront and salt marsh, including some properties with docks and deep water). See more about this resort, related article, “Amelia Island: Omni Writing New Chapter On Storied Sea Island.”

Spectacular Waterfront Views

Breathtaking waterfront vistas in two directions are available from some of the higher elevation dwellings on the southend of Amelia Island (such as the Dunes Club Villas within Amelia Island Plantation).  There are properties where a homeowner can look out to the east of their dwelling over the Atlantic coast then walk to the opposite side of their living space for splendid views of the intracoastal waterway and marshfront to the west.  Imagine waking up to an amazing beach sunrise and being able to settle down in the evening to a sensational sunset over the Amelia River.

Note: Additional property sales transactions (more than the 54 noted above) also were closed within the Amelia Island Plantation by other real estate brokerage firms outside of the Plantation’s in-house sales team during the period.