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Clearwater Real Estate – Fabulous Clearwater Florida

April 15th, 2008 Categories: Clearwater Florida

 

Welcome to Clearwater Florida Real Estate and more..

While we specialize
in Clearwater Florida
Real Estate, we can tell you that Clearwater
Florida is fabulous for more than
luxury homes and waterfront condos with amazing views. We have award winning beaches, pubic parks,
great neighborhoods and more. Wed like to share some of our amazing City and area with you. 

Clearwater
Florida is a unique
area. Most people dont realize that in Clearwater
we have the mainland and yet the city also includes Clearwater Beach
| Sand Key | Island Estates on our oceanfront and the intercoastal waterways.
There are many reasons its a fabulous place to live – starting with the fact
that we enjoy at least 244 days of sunshine each year and we are bordered by beautiful
blue water on two sides of us.   

 Fun Facts about Clearwater
Florida from Sperlings Best Places:

Clearwater Florida Real Estate covers 12 zip codes:

 Reasons We Enjoy Living in Clearwater Florida

  1. Clearwater
    Offers an Active Lifestyle – Sports
    Town USA
  2. Clearwater has the Best Beaches – Clearwater Beach
    Best City
    Beach
  3. Natural
    Clearwater
    encompasses more than Beaches  –
    Enjoy our Pristine Side
  4. More
    Fun things to Do in Clearwater
     
  5. Clearwater is Home
    to Great Neighbors and Neighborhoods

 

1. Active
Lifestyle – Sports Illustrated named Clearwater ˜Sports Town USA.

Clearwater, is a city of approximately 110,000
residents and is located just north of Tampa
Bays waterfront on Floridas
Gulf coast, and became ˜Sports Town USA in 2003 thanks to its investment the City of
Clearwater
continually makes in the quality of life of all its citizensyoung, old and
in-between.

Thousands of people of all ages participate in sports on an annual basis and
with our excellent climate our town is conducive to all kinds of outdoor and sports
activities all year long.

The city of Clearwaters Parks and Recreation
Departments mission is to˜To provide parks and recreation programs,
services, facilities and beautification to benefit residents and visitors of
the city of Clearwater.
They serve everyone, visitors from out of town as well as our local residents.

The City of Clearwater˜s facilities are remarkable and includes all of the
following:

Simply put, if it concerns recreation and you cant find it in Clearwater, it probably
hasnt been invented yet.

Clearwater Proud to have the
Philadelphia Phillies and the Threshers Here  

The Philadelphia Phillies have held spring training in Clearwater since 1947, over 60 years – it is
the 2nd longest partnership in MLB. We are also home to the Phillies
minor league team the Threshers who call Bright House Field home. Its a great
place to catch a game and fun the whole family will enjoy.  

Spring Training and Major League Baseball ˜Spring Training is at its
height in March each year. Other teams in the area are the Tampa Bay Rays in St Petersburg , the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin
and the New York Yankees in Tampa   

Enjoy Life Long Sports in Clearwater

Finally, Clearwater
Parks and Recreation
supports life-long sports participation by providing avenues for customer
input, as well as developing partnerships with organizations that demonstrate a
strong desire to offer life long sports
participation avenues:

Some of these partners are:

The recreation-based and leisure-related attributes of the city of Clearwater stand out, and
their scope in terms of delivering programs and opportunities to people at
every phase of life cannot be overemphasized.

The city rightfully takes pride in its comprehensive approach to youth
sports, and at the same time, Clearwaters
outlets for senior athletes are unmatched. With such an all-encompassing way of
sporting life, Clearwaters
standing as an All-American sports town
will undoubtedly continue flourishing will into the new millennium.

City of Clearwater Hosts the
IronMan Triathalon Annually

 The 2007 winner, Andy Potts won by completing the 70.3 mile
course in an amazing 3 hours 42 minutes and 33 seconds - thats
impressive. While they say the view only changes for the lead dog¦in
this case, each man and woman, regardless of place, achieved their own personal
triumph today on a typical Clearwater
day in November it was 78 degrees and tenacity won over fatigue. 

This is the second year in a row that the Ford Ironman 70.3
World Championship was held in Clearwater
Florida and its easy to see why.
Clearwater in
November is the ideal place for all kinds of activities outside – just another
example of why we love living here, in paradise!

2. Beach Lifestyle – Clearwater Beach Best City Beach
on Gulf of Mexico

 Did you know that Clearwater
Beach was chosen as the Best City Beach on the Gulf of Mexico?

 

Many people dont realize that Clearwater
Beach is part of the City of Clearwater. We are proud
of our award winning beach that offers plenty of recreational opportunities
like jet skiing, boating, parasailing and more.

 We also have nature-base attractions like the Clearwater
Marine Aquarium eco-tours, shelling, private walks on the pristine north
Clearwater beaches to Caladesi Island which was named one of the top 10 beaches
in the United States by Dr Stephen Leatherman (aka ˜Dr. Beach) who has been
ranking Americas beaches for over 10 years.    
 

In Tampa Bay Florida and especially on Clearwater Beach, tourism is our major
industry and plays a vital role to our local economy. Were not alone, the
Clean Beaches Council explains that our United States beaches and coastal
areas ˜offer unique recreation, support maritime commerce and provide jobs for
coastal communities.   In fact, beach tourism contributes over $640
billion annually to the US Economy (85% of all tourist revenue)   

In the last 10 years there have been over 20,000 health advisories issued
relating to water quality in the United States
and here in the Tampa Bay area we are only too familiar with the additional
impacts of storms and new construction on Pinellas County beach
erosion.  Every year miles of beaches are lost to beach erosion.

Weve loved living on our beautiful Pinellas Gulf
beaches and weve also seen many changes over the last 18 years. With more
properties on the beaches and more people visiting our beaches it takes even
more effort to ensure that we embrace ˜low impact living and
work to ensure sustainable beaches.

Clearwater Beach
now being called The Billion
Dollar Beach

The City of Clearwater has a
significant project underway on Clearwater
Beach, Beach Walk. Its
now being called the Billion Dollar Beach
because it is taking 1 billion dollars of private developments, luxury hotels
and condotels, new high-end hotels and the City of Clearwaters beautification program. So
please pardon our dust as we are under construction. You can already see the
completion of the First Phase and from Pier 60 heading south you will see a new
winding pedestrian friendly walkway with more green space and public amenities.
Check it out.    

3. Natural Florida – Enjoy the Pristine
side of Clearwater Florida

You may not know but Floridas attracts
more than snowbirds this time of year. Florida
is a bird watching mecca and Clearwater
has many spots to view them. 

There have been over 500 species of birds spotted in Florida along our Great
Florida Bird Trail. This ˜Fowl Trail is made up of 2000 miles of
self guided Florida
birding along our highway trails. Yes, you read right - I said 2000
miles!!! 

We have several spots here in Clearwater
and along our Pinellas County highways and you might have noticed the
Great Bird Trail Markers as seen below along US Highway 60 about
halfway across the road connecting Clearwater
to Tampa Florida.  Also
one of my favorite spots on the trail is in Tierra Verde Florida at Fort Desoto
Park and
Beach. If you stop by the rangers station they have free guides as
well.

Florida has:

Enjoy
watching them from a variety of places in Clearwater including Kayaking though our Blue waterways.

Boating and Waterfront Living in Tampa
Bay

Boating is part of living on the waterfront in Tampa
Bay especially since we have access to
Tampa Bay
and the Gulf of Mexico in Clearwater.
We have some of the most desirable waterfront homes and condos along our
waterways. We have great waters for both sailboats and powerboats. If
you want to enjoy boating we have lots of different ways to enjoy boating
from buying your own boat to being part of a boating club or sail boat racing
team.

We even have extensive classes at the Clearwater Sailing
Center and the Clearwater
Power Squadron. Wishing lots of ˜fun by the foot when boating in 2008 as
my friend, Shane Faunce says.  

Have you ever wanted to learn more about boating in and around Clearwater Florida?  Now
youre in luck, the 2nd Wednesday of each month MarineMax of
Clearwater Florida offers a FREE class on boating for women called Women on the Water.

This Clearwater
boating course for Women is taught by a Coast Guard certified Captain. It
will include information on:

Clearwater Sailing Center
– teaches Sailing and Windsurfing on Sand Key

Clearwater Community Sailing Center was established to provide safe,
enriching and affordable sailing opportunities to local Clearwater Florida
residents and visitors, including youth, seniors, and the disabled for the
benefit of the entire Clearwater community. 

It doesnt matter if you are a beginner or an experienced sailor because Clearwater Community Sailing
Center has sailing
instruction and sailboat rentals for everyone.

The sailing instruction is geared to all age groups, is delivered in a small group
setting, and they guarantee these courses will teach you to sail safely and
confidently. They will teach you everything you need to know to navigate your
first dinghy or race your Laser to victory.   So, if you ever
wanted to learn to sail – theres now an easy way to learn!

Calling all Scuba Divers – Pinellas
County has 13 Artificial
Reefs

Looking to do some diving in and around Clearwater Florida?
Well youre in luck – Pinellas County Utilities has actually created 13
different artificial reef sites. They can be found as close as 3 miles offshore
to up to 38 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico along Pinellas Countys
shore.

The reefs for each designed to attract and support different fish. Part of
the design includes different size openings to attract the types of
fish. Some reef openings are designed to attract bottom dwellers like
grouper, snapper, and grunt. The height of these artificial reefs attracts
migratory species like mackerel, amberjack, cobia, barracuda, and
baitfish. 

So if you enjoy Diving – Welcome to Clearwater
– we have lots of local dive shops and great places to go out diving.

Clearwater Beaches Speed Boat Leaves you Screaming

Come visit us in Clearwater Beach, and experience two boat
rides in one on the Sea Screamer. While you are here, ask me about how you can
own a home or condo in paradise: Clearwater Beach,
Sand Key and Island Estates Florida.

The Sea Screamer is a 73² speedboat, loaded with 38-passengers, that cruises
through Clearwater Harbor, Clearwater
Pass, Clearwater Beach
and Sand Key looking for dolphins. Once you finish the dolphin sightings, the
Sea Screamer Captain takes the passengers on an exhilarating ride in the Gulf
of Mexico ˜screaming past Clearwater
Beaches and resorts.

4. Fun things to do in Clearwater
Florida

Weve seen how much Clearwater
has to offer along our beaches and natural resources – we also have fun things
to do that incorporate both in many cases. All I know is that they are lots of
fun and some of the things that make living in Clearwater fabulous.  

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is one of Clearwaters
Home Town Treasurers 

Looking for fun things to do around Clearwater
and Clearwater Beach? Well, one of the best kept
secrets around Clearwater,
Florida is the
Clearwater Marine Aquarium. It is here that you interact with the dolphins,
stingrays, turtles, and river otters.

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Inc (CMA) is dedicated to public education,
research, animal assisted therapy and the rescue, rehabilitation, and release
of sick or injured animals. CMA is a Florida
non-profit organization located on Island Estates.

So, take a break visit us in Clearwater
at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium- Parents can play while the kids go to
Special day adventures or in the summer they can even go to a fabulous Summer
Camp.

Here are some of the many activities offered by Clearwater Marine Aquarium:

Theres no better way to get around Clearwater Beach than the Jolley Trolley.

Clearwater Beachs
moving landmarks is the Jolley Trolley – these open aired Trolleys
are a fun and economical way to get around on Clearwater Beach,
Sand Key and Island Estates. This is a great service for Clearwater beach
condos
and home owners from Sand Key
Florida to Island Estates as well as the local tourists.

The Jolley
Trolley had 2 routes covering Clearwater Beach,
Sand Key, Island Estates and Downtown Clearwater. Hop aboard and see the
sites in a new, fun, inexpensive way.

Clearwater
Golf Courses – Public and Private

Many people will tell you the thing they find most fabulous about Clearwater is the great
year round golfing on any of our many golf courses. If you find youve mastered
these we have plenty more in our neighboring cities of Pinellas County.

Airco Golf Course – 13690 Stoneybrook Drive Clearwater
Florida 33762 Airco
Golf Course is an 18-hole championship regulation length golf course in Clearwater. 

Belleview Biltmore Golf Club - 1501 Indian Rocks
Road Clearwater Florida 33756 The Belleview Biltmore golf
course is a popular 18-hole world class championship
course, 71-Par golf course is challenging and beautiful
for golfers of all abilities.

Chi Chi Rodriguez Golf Club 3030 McMullen Booth Road Clearwater
Florida 33761Chi Chi Rodriguez
Golf Course is a 12-hole, Par 69 Golf Course located in mid Pinellas County with over 70 sand traps. It is
also home to the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation.  

Clearwater
Country Club Golf Course 525 N Betty Lane Clearwater
Florida 33775.
Clearwater
Country Club Golf Course is a 72 Par championship golf course that opened
in 1921. Is semi-private and gives discounted rates to Clearwater residents with valid Parks
and Recreation card. 

Countyside Country Club - Pine Course, Lake Course &
Bay Course  - 3001 Countryside Blvd Clearwater
Florida 33761. Countryside Country Clubs has 3 private 18
hole golf courses are enjoyed by its private equity members in the
Countryside area of Clearwater.  

Cove Cay Country Club Golf Course 2612 Cove Cay Drive Clearwater
Florida 33760

Cove Cay Golf Course is a semi-private member owned 18 hole Clearwater golf course. It
is a par 70 golf course and has over 6000 yards a greens along the waterfront
of Tampa Bay it offers the best of both worlds. 

Feather Sound Country Club – Feather Sound Golf Course - 2201
Feather Sound Road Clearwater Florida 33762. Feather Sounds Golf Course
is a private 18 hole golf course that is a Par 72 course located in the
gateway of Pinellas
County.

Top of the World Golf Course - 2367 World Parkway Blvd Clearwater Florida
33763. Top of the
World private golf courses are enjoyed by the residents of this 55+ condo
community in the heart of Clearwater and they have both 9-hole and 18-hole
golf courses.    

5. Clearwater
is Home to Great Neighbors and Neighborhoods

Clearwater Beach Real Estate and Tampa Bay offer Priceless
Sunsets

When Jack and I relocated to Tampa, we
were drawn to Clearwater
Florida real estate because of its
world renown sugar white sand and its crystal clear water (thats where the
name Clearwater
actually comes from).

Quite frankly its family-friendly environment (hence the reason Clearwater Beach
won best City Beach
on the Gulf of Mexico) was a big draw
when we decided to make this our home. We found that Clearwater and the Tampa Bay area offered the perfect blend between
vacationers and full time residents.

As I was writing it was reminded of what it was like when Jack and I moved
from Philadelphia
to our first beach house 17 years ago. We would sit on
our beachfront porch each evening and joke
as we watched the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico
that it was like seeing a new masterpiece being painted right before our eyes –
art appreciation at its best!   

I guess thats when we fell in love with living on the
beach and the Florida
lifestyle we get to enjoy every day. I still find it hard to believe
that we get to ˜work as REALTORS in this beach front luxury
resort community where others only get to come and visit for a short time each
year as tourists or winter residents.

I want to thank all our readers who continually make me stop and realize
each week how beautiful our Tampa
beaches and sunsets are and how lucky we are to earn a
living helping buyers and sellers with Clearwater Florida
Real Estate where our homes and condos have the bluest backyards. Are
starting to see why we believe this is a fabulous  city and a fabulous place to live?  

150 Places to Live Close to Clearwater
Beach Florida for
Under $100,000

Thats Right! You can live within 5-miles of some of the most beautiful
beaches in the world near Clearwater
Beach, Florida
for under $100,000. Of course, we have Clearwater Beach bargain
condos and homes for sale that costs more than $100,000, and we
have waterfront and oceanfront bargain condos and homes along
our 14 beach communities too!

But yes, there were over 150 condos,
condo-hotels, town homes, villas and more under $100,000
when I checked today.

Are you ready to join us in paradise - living in Clearwater Florida
where the average temperature is about 60-degrees. (Today was almost 90
degrees) You will love playing golf and tennis, the white sandy beaches, and
the beautiful blue water of the Gulf of Mexico.

So, if you are looking for a Clearwater
vacation home, a second home to go during the winter, or want to move
to Clearwater Florida, then it is time to get your piece
of paradise.

Living in Sand Key Florida
– Sand Key Condos – Sand Key Real Estate

Sand Key is Home to Finest Luxury Oceanfront Condos, home to Beach Wildlife
and home to some of the Finest Beaches in the US – its up to all of us to work
together to sustain and protect all of them for the future.

We get to enjoy our amazing Clearwater
beaches and Sand Key Park
here year-round:

  Clearwater Beach
Real Estate – Clearwater
Beach Condos

Clearwater Beach Real Estate – Sand Key Condos

Clearwater Florida
Real Estate – Island Estates Condos

Clearwater Florida
Real Estate – Clearwater
Condos

Clearwater Florida Real Estate – Homes in Popular
Neighborhoods

Clearwater Beach Real Estate Market Report for 2007

Clearwater Beach
Florida - Today we
are recapping information regarding condos that have sold on the beach in Clearwater
Beach and Sand Key this past year compared to the previous
year. Were all standing by to see where 2008 takes our luxury beach real
estate in Clearwater Florida,
however, Jack and I are seeing lots of serious buyers prepared to purchase
luxury Clearwater
Beach condos in
2008.

We have included a 2 year historical look since our Beach condominium real
estate market that shows we have seen lots of changes over the last two years
with new buildings and complexes like Sandpearl Residences, Belle Harbor,
Mandalay Beach Club being completed and other projects like Indigo that didnt
make it off the ground. 

Gulf Front Condos on Clearwater
Beach | Sand
Keys 2007 Year in Review

Its been a buyers market in the Tampa Bay area and especially on
Clearwater Beach where there was a lot of ˜speculative Beach condo
investing in new developments with the intent of just flipping these beach
condos quickly by buyers ˜on paper that never planned to own or live in
them. 

Why do niche Tampa
Real Estate market reports? Readers tell us that its easy to
find information on total Pinellas County market statistics however it can be
misleading when those reports include everything from condos under $100,000 in
55+ Adult Retirement Condo Communities to the record setting condo sale of
$4,400,000 at the Sandpearl Residences on Clearwater Beach  in 2007. We also had 5 condos sell in
December of 2007 for over $3,000,000 this year in communities like The Grande
of Sand Key, Mandalay Beach Club condos, Vinoy Place and Parkshore
Plaza. Luxury condos and fine living still have
their discriminating buyers even in this real estate market.

Just like all real estate is local - we believe each Tampa Bay
real estate market niche is unique especially when you are looking at Tampa beach communities
on the ocean and our goal is to provide you with a deeper view into
our Gulf Front Clearwater Beach | Sand Key Condo Real Estate
Market. 

Weve seen the time it takes to sell Clearwater Beach Condos or Sand
Key condos that are on the Gulf of Mexico rise
significantly from a low of under 54 days in January 2006 to 138 now
down from a high of 207 in mid 2007. We are starting to see buyers back in the
market buying condos on the beach that are priced properly. 

There are many factors that have effected the time its taken to sell condos
on the beach this year. One is the time it has taken some condo sellers on Clearwater Beach and Sand Key
to price their beach condos correctly for todays real estate market
(many started asking more that it could ever appraise for).

Second, Clearwater Beach Condo Buyers had lots of
choices and many sat on the sidelines wondering what prices would do and
if wed reached the bottom of our price-adjustment.

Jack and I are finding much of the Clearwater Beach real estate
has asking prices that has finally moved into a realistic range for
todays market - Clearwater Beach condo sellers have finally
come to grips with the fact that were not in the 2005-2006 Real Estate
market anymore – if you want to sell any property the first key today is
that you need to price it correctly.

The median price for Clearwater Beach Condos and Sand
Key Condos on the beach is rising again and are currently at
$704,500 which is up from the January prices of 2006 when it
was $675,500.  The big spike in January is caused when new
high-end luxury condo developments like Sandpearl Residences Luxury Condos
reached completion and several units were sold for over 1 million
dollars and up. 

We see that the Clearwater
Beach condo Asked
to Sold ratio has fallen as buyers have addressed the two points we
discussed above. One, theyve force the Clearwater Beach condo asking
price to come down to a price that will fit todays market place and actually
appraise out and two, the fact that theres so much competition along with
some highly motivated sellers theyve negotiated more seller concessions than
normal.

Clearwater Beach Real Estate still has a condo supply that far exceeds
demand and most Clearwater Beach condo buyers have continued to ask us for
info on the Clearwater
beach condos that are deals, bargains, short sales or in
pre-fore-closure since many novice Clearwater
Beach investors found
themselves coming up short in 2007. 

Ironically we had 71 beach front Clearwater Beach condos and
Sand Key condos sold in both 2006 and 2007. So again
is shows things are selling its just that our inventory (condos for sale
at any one time) is so much larger than normal. 

In 2007 we saw 2 ends of the Clearwater Beach Real Estate
Market get the most activity - One was the top end of
the luxury beach condos in communities like The Grande, Sandpearl
Residences Resort Condos and Mandalay Beach Clubs which all had sales
in 2007 over $3,000,000 with the Sandpearl Luxury Condos
setting a new all time high for Pinellas County condos sold at $4,400,000.

Then we also saw people looking to buy that luxury vacation home or winter
retreat at a deep discount. They found distressed sales
prices on Clearwater
beach condos - and there were and still are real bargains to be
found.

Some Clearwater Beach condo prices dropped back to 2004 prices and
many savvy investors realized the opportunity to buy a Sand Key gulf front
condo is now since many believe, like we do that Clearwater beachfront property
will continue to be in high demand and buyers may get their best bargains
for a long time to come.       

 Clearwater Florida Real Estate – a Fabulous Place to Live, Work and Play

If you would like to know more about buying a home in Clearwater Florida or selling a Clearwater Beach condo – we can help. We  live, work and play here ourselves and specialize in  Clearwater Florida Real Estate – why not give us a call at 727-710-8035 or 727-710-8036

So, thinking youd like to know more about homes for sale or buying that Clearwater Beach Condo for vacations and getaways – Feel free to see all the property for sale and search the Tampa Bay MLS here.

Cyndee and Jack Haydon, REALTORS in Clearwater

Located at Charles Rutenberg Realty 1545 S Belcher Rd Clearwater FL 33764

About Cyndee Haydon

Cyndee Haydon, Realtor with Future Home Realty specializing in luxury waterfront and beach homes of Clearwater Beach - St Pete - Tampa Bay area with her husband and partner, Jack Haydon Cyndee's Google Profile

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