Investing in Panama City and PC Beach after Hurricane Michael

[January Johnson]

Hi, everyone.  Panama City, FL native here. I'm also a REALTOR and an Airbnb owner of 3 properties NOT on the beach.  

Just thought I'd let you know PC is OPEN for LTR and STR business here, and the market is heating up, especially as people get insurance money. There are MANY MANY opportunities to invest in real estate, no matter what you're looking for--from tear-downs to recently cleared residential land to beautiful homes that sustained no damage (mostly on PC Beach).

The rental market is VERY TIGHT, and the Craigslist scammers have come out of the woodwork. I just had a new listing "stolen", and the poor owner was besieged by people knocking on her door. (HOT TIP: If it seems to good to be true, IT IS!) Lesson: If you have a SFR here, you can rent it furnished or unfurnished for WELL over what it was going for before the storm--now and probably for the next 2-3 years. Who knows if or when rates will go back down. For now, it's a goldmine of opportunity. Homes are not SELLING for as big of an increase as they are RENTING for. (Ex: Sales prices may be 10-15% higher, but rental rates are 25-50% higher.)

Here are just a few opportunities:

Buy some LTRs and rent to people displaced from their original rentals;

Buy some LTRs and rent to people who are here to do recovery/rehab work;

Buy some STRs (furnished, I mean) and rent for 3-12 months to people redoing their homes;

Buy some STRs and rent for 3-12 (or longer!) months to people here to do recovery/rehab work;

Buy some tear-downs, then tear down and rebuild;

Buy some tear-downs, then tear down and hold and sell later;

There are a lot of myths and hearsay in the wake of the storm, but whatever you're hearing, here is what I know for sure:

MANY people did not have insurance of any kind.  These properties will be on the market shortly and have already begun to be listed.

MANY people have left PC because there are almost no places to rent (and they could not afford to buy).  So if you are in the market for rental property, you have a hungry pool of folks to choose from.

The LTR rates are AT LEAST 25% (and even 50% or more) higher than before the storm.  Some people are price-gouging, but some of it is just supply and demand.

Property values are NOT going down, even in hard-hit areas.  

PC Beach is virtually untouched except on the far east side.  If you were to visit PCB, you would almost not know a storm had come.  Everything EAST of PCB (to Port St. Joe) is another story.

If I can help you out, let me know.  If you have questions, I'll seek answers.  If you'd like to contact me directly, please do.