From Staff
Real-estate professionals could collectively save about $2.7 million a year through a reduction in license fees.
The Florida Real Estate Commission approved the reductions in June based on a recommendation from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, according to The News Service of Florida.
The department was following a directive from Gov. Rick Scott to reduce costs and fees. There are more than 200,000 real estate licensees in Florida.
Among the reductions, the initial and biennial renewal fees for sales associates dropped from $80 to $64, while the fees for brokers went from $90 to $72 for initial and biennial renewals.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty has teamed with HP 500 LLC, an affiliate of Hallmark Partners, to be the exclusive sales agent for Beacon Riverside, a 15-story luxury residential tower on the St. Johns River in the historic Riverside neighborhood.
Beacon Riverside will be the first high-rise condominium tower to begin construction in Northeast Florida in nearly a decade. It is being built near The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens.
Prices for the 2,400- to 5,000-square-foot condominiums will begin in the upper $700,000s, with penthouse plans topping $2 million.
Bryan Weber, principal, multifamily of Hallmark Partners, is leading the development of Beacon Riverside.
The Davidson Companies have been included on Florida Trend magazine’s 2014 list of Best Companies To Work For.
The annual list, which appears in the August issue, features 100 Florida companies ranked in small, medium and large categories. Davidson is ranked at number 20 in the small company category. No other local real estate company made the list.
The company, which is based in St. Augustine, was also recently honored as one of the best places to work and top 50 fastest-growing companies by Jacksonville Business Journal.
New home sales in Nocatee for the first half of 2014 are up 21 percent over 2013, making it the third best-selling master-planned community in the nation.
The rankings were published in real estate advisory firm RCLCO’s Mid-Year 2014 Update, a survey of total home sales in the first six months of 2014 at the nation’s top-selling master-planned communities.
Nocatee was the only Top 5 community to post a sales increase from 2013, selling 505 homes during the first half of the year.
SunCoast Property Management LLC sold a portfolio of 46 single-family homes in Jacksonville to Reven Housing for $3,181,613.
The properties average 1,322 square feet and are mostly three-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath rental homes, a news release said.
SunCoast owners Carter and Chris Funk personally owned properties in the package. Another property owner was CKF Investment Properties LLC, a company founded by the Funks to identify residential rental income investment opportunities in Jacksonville and develop them in partnership with other investors.
The company said the annualized returns from the properties ranged from 20-75 percent.
CKF previously sold 55 properties to Invitation Homes, a subsidiary of the Blackstone Group.
Plans are underway to build a new church for Saint John Paul II Mission on 35 acres of land west of the Kelly Pointe subdivision in Nocatee.
The $3 million project will include an 11,000-square-foot church hall with seating for about 350 people.
The Diocese of St. Augustine has contracted with Kasper Architecture for the project. Groundbreaking will occur in February, with an estimated completion date of December 2015.
• Beacon Riverside, a luxury waterfront high-rise condominium in Riverside, announced the hiring of Nicole Dana as director of sales.
With the support of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty, Dana will spearhead the sales effort for HP 500 LLC, an affiliate of Hallmark Partners, which is developing the 45 upscale riverfront residences along the St. Johns River near Downtown.
Dana has specialized in the on-site sales of luxury waterfront condominiums since 2001.
• Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty has promoted Don Cline to assistant general manager and Kevin Waugaman to managing broker of the company’s Ponte Vedra Beach office, replacing Cline. Cline will continue to lead the company’s Atlantic Beach office.
A broker/manager with more than 30 years of experience in the real estate industry, Cline helped launch the company’s Fleming Island office before becoming the broker/manager of its Beaches office.
The company also has hired Christine Scalf to lead its Mandarin/St. Johns branch office as broker/manager. A licensed Realtor since 2006, Scalf earned “Rookie of the Year” recognition followed by multi-million dollar producer status for seven consecutive years.
Edgewater Companies Inc. has sold 11 of the first 12 units in the Channelside Luxury Townhomes community on the Intracoastal Waterway.
Homebuilder SH Design of Jacksonville Beach began construction on the 29-unit, five-building waterfront community in March.
Homes range from 2,256 to 2,390 square feet and prices start at $552,000.
Located on the site of the former Lighthouse Grill, each Channelside townhome has its own floating dock slip offering deep-water access.
A full service marina is located just to the north, restaurants are within walking distance and the beach is a bicycle ride away. A homeowners association will maintain all exteriors, grounds and docks.