Yes, it’s true. I live in Valencia at Abacoa. But even if I didn’t, I’d want to. Abacoa is a pretty remarkable planned community by anyone’s standards. And Valencia is by far its crown jewel. Sure, green parks, little bridges, a delightful lake, community clubhouse and pool add to its charm. But what I love about this particular little enclave is it’s gated community feel and value without the yoke of an equity membership!

Valencia is the architectural product of four top builders…Frankel-Paone, Issa, The Spear Group and Delcrest.  Each brings different floor plans, perspectives and personal touches to its Mediterranean style. It’s a neighborhood designed with winding streets, rear-entry garages, Corinthian columns, charming front porches and lush landscaping. No cookie cutter community…it warrants those higher (high $600’s to $2 million) price tags.  And Valencia residents make sure those values are well maintained!

So if you’re in the market for something that offers just the right measure of exclusivity, take a close look at Valencia at Abacoa…where every house, every street will surprise and impress you.

Every once in a great while you walk into a house that feels, well, quite perfect. You could move in without changing nary a thing. Even the wallpaper is charming, delightful, completely unexpected.  That’s 148 Santiago Drive, in Valencia at Abacoa.

It sits unobtrusively on a very quiet street.  The playground and community pool are near by … but you’d never know it. On paper this home appears quite mundane… one story, 2800+ square feet, 3 bedrooms with an office/den, and three full baths. But, surprise! You leave ordinary at the door.

Inside the foyer is a formal living room to the left, with plenty of room for a baby grand. To the right, a spacious office and a full guest bath complete with a huge shower, of all things.

Pad quietly down the hall a bit and you come to a formal dining room with a double tray ceiling with subtly painted clouds and a trompe-l’oeil window scene on the wall.

Go a few feet further and find yourself in a vast open country kitchen with a family room that looks out on a brick lanai with a perfectly private lap pool and Jacuzzi waterfall.

Just beyond are two very ample bedrooms separated by a large Jack & Jill bath.  And then there’s the magnificent master suite with two large walk-in closets and double bath complete with a steam/shower.

And everywhere, every detail is tastefully, artfully attended to by a decorator who clearly knew her stuff. So much so that the overarching feeling is quiet sophistication, and serenity…now.  Seinfeld aside, that’s no joke! Not at $699,000 in a neighborhood surrounded by million dollar homes.

What constitutes “home” is a very personal thing … quite different for everyone. Home might be a place your grandparents lavished you with love …  or where you grew up under your parents’ watchful eyes … or where you first lived as a grown-up. For everyone, the idea of “home” is quite different … and rarely consciously expressed.

You walk into an open house and you can appreciate all the amenities … the coffered ceilings, granite counter-tops, wood floors, huge master suite, double shower. And they attract the rational you. But it’s the sun streaming through the French doors, or the view of a park, or an inherent sense of sophistication that makes it feel “just right.”

Home is either evocative of a place you felt comfortable and loved. Or  representative of how you want to see yourself. You know it when you see it … but you can’t always say why. And it’s that intangible something that makes you say ‘wow.”  It makes you fall in love enough to buy.

A Realtor^® can and should dress up a home, present it in its best light, market its best features. But in most cases it’s more about the Realtor^® taking the time to understand the buyer and match him or her up with the right property than it is about the property itself.

Bottom line … it’s often psychology that makes the sale … not the “sell.”

One sure sign that the snowbirds are landing is the arrival of those massive auto carriers, unloading a Bentley here, a Mercedes there. And you have to wonder, why go to so much trouble every year.

A second home makes for a far smoother landing.

You can have a car garaged and ready when you get to town. Have all your own furniture and dishes, your Florida clothes, everything that makes for comfortable living in place and ready for your return.

No more renting a place or trucking a car. No packing for the season. Have all the creature comforts, a smart tax shelter, a terrific winter shelter all in one. 

What better time to buy!

N. Palm Beach County  Real Estate prices are finally bottoming out. There are lots of great homes for sale, deeply discounted … while there are actually very few rentals.  Mortgage rates are down. And the start of an upward trend is probably just another year or two away.

Your second home may very well begin to appreciate not long after you buy. But you need to catch the bottom of this bell curve before it starts to cycle back up. So why wait. Turn this economic downturn to a real advantage.

Invest in your life in South Florida.

Enjoy Florida on your own terms, your own turf. You’ll have the weather you want, the proximity you need. With direct flights to the Caribbean, Europe and Latin America. Short hops to anywhere on the East Coast. And the luxury of Palm Beach, the action of Miami, the ease of the Keys all so close by. Land in Jupiter. Buy it now!

Most people define a treasure as a small, undiscovered jewel that surprises and delights. The 3-story Jupiter Townhome I just saw at 4119 Parkside fits that description to a T. Built in the classic style of a metropolitan East Coast townhouse, this one combines traditional design with Florida creature comforts.

Enter on the level of a spacious den, with a half bath and easy access to the enclosed 2-car garage.

Step up a flight to a great room with a great open kitchen (complete with corian counters, oak floors, tumbled marble tiles) open onto the living room. Just out of sight … a separate dining room, laundry closet, and half bath.

Step up again to the 3^rd floor with its huge master suite with a high recessed ceiling, stunning fan, and light pouring in the skylight window.  Two more bedrooms and two full baths complete the picture.

In all, 2200 square feet of well designed, private space tucked away on a quiet street next to a community park, in close proximity to the Antigua Clubhouse and pool.

At $245,000 this little gem is perfect for two … or as a vacation retreat, which is what it’s current owners had in mind. Lucky for you, they rarely appeared.  So, though delightfully furnished, it has barely been used. Kind of like finding a small, low-mileage, BMW convertible at a ridiculous used car price!

Where the sky’s so dark, the stars don’t just twinkle. They pop. And the moon seems to hang in mid-air, almost close enough to touch. So oversized, you expect to see the Dreamworks® logo… And the waves keep rolling gently in.

If all that sounds just a bit too picturesque, you haven’t explored the Jupiter atmosphere. Where you can live your life in flip-flops. Dine alfresco nearly every night. Sip a martini or a brew. Sail the intercoastal or bike along the beach. Scout the local art fairs that spring up on weekends. Alternate between the Food Shack and Kee Grille, depending on your mood.

Jupiter is a small town with a sophisticated soul. At any given time or place you’re just as likely to see a family outing, a retired couple, singles of any particular age. It’s easy living. Close proximity. Great shopping. Fine dining. Live music. Excellent education. And as Scripps® will attest, a smart place to do business.

And right now, thanks to factors well outside its sphere, Jupiter is a great place to buy property. The real estate market here has never been better or more accessible for all kinds of buyers, all kinds of homes. Condos. Townhouses. Estates. Gated communities. Vacation homes. Rental properties.

You can take my word for it. I’ve lived here for the past 6 years. And the only way to explore the atmosphere in Jupiter is to move here. An hour from Miami. A million miles from everything you want to leave behind. 

Anyone who knows Jupiter knows it’s a wonderful place to raise kids. Pretty much anywhere you go you see happy, active kids fully involved in and enjoying life… biking, skating, playing baseball, swimming, skate-boarding. So much so, I thought I’d seen it all. Then I ran across the Veggie Kids on my Saturday morning pilgrimage to the Abacoa Green Market!

 

The three oldest kids in the remarkable Shirley family— Renee 12, Josiah 10, and Katie 6 — grow and sell their own homegrown, remarkably oversized produce under the guidance of their father, Steve, an agronomist. The 7,000-square-foot garden they tend is on the family’s Jupiter Farms property. Not only do the kids produce seasonal produce (October till June)… tomatoes, eggplant, beans, squash, radishes, carrots, onions, potatoes, corn, broccoli, cauliflower and GIGANTIC cabbages… fresher and more luscious than any this blogger has yet seen. But they now also have fresh eggs year-round from 22 free-range chickens and a website filled with all sorts of smart saleables. These kids are single-handedly reviving the concept of cottage industry!

Clearly, at their house, kids rule. But don’t take my word for it. Visit their website at www.veggiekidsfarm.com and discover one more reason why buying a Jupiter home is ideal for any family who really wants to put down roots!

Located within the town of Jupiter, in the heart of Abacoa (the last word in master-planned communities), sits the charming neighborhood of Mallory Creek. Created with Built-Solid construction and Key West Architectural styling,  Mallory Creek is the latest jewel designed by Divosta Homes. It is set among preserves and waterways that complete its tropical feeling. And encompasses a delightful mix of villas, townhomes and single-family homes with front porches and balconies that overlook lushly landscaped, tree-lined streets. With its immediate access to downtown Abacoa amenities and  all that Life in Jupiter entails, Mallory Creek is a neighborhood not to be missed or viewed lightly. The amenities alone built into each home far exceed the norm…and, in fact, include many things other builders consider upgrades! You can get in on pre-construction pricing with builder incentives if you buy now. And if you register through Seacrest Florida Properties, you’ll also get a plasma TV!

"The Martello" starting at $595,900

"The Nautica" starting at $379,900

"The Magnolia" starting at $239,900

Yesterday it was splashed across papers nationwide. NBA legend Michael Jordan, is joining golf legend Tiger Woods as a resident of this area. It was reported that Bull & Bear LLC, the company managed by Mr. Jordan, has purchased two lots in an exclusive development, The Bear’s Club, for a little over $4.8 million.

So, yet another superstar joins the ranks of those who have taken advantage of low market prices to wisely invest in Jupiter properties. Some come for the weather, some for the golf, some to conveniently moor their yachts and soak in the glorious atmosphere of our little corner of paradise. And we welcome them all.

But I have to wonder, did Michael Jordan really want that kind of publicity when buying a home? Sure, it’s tough for him to avoid the paparazzi. But in my experience, the right professional can arrange showings and home sales with the utmost discretion. And when you consider that everyone, even the most public of figures, deserves a little personal privacy, discretion is a valuable commodity. Think about it. I know do, with every client, every sale.