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Laura Cole & Tana Gaskill
  561.758.8625      561.389.6838
   Illustrated Properties
Newsletter
February, 2021
Greetings!

February is particularly delightful. Trees are beginning to bloom, the weather is perfectly balmy, orchids are flowering and we are all grateful for the beautiful lifestyle we are so fortunate to enjoy.
  
This month we remind you of the incredible bird life around us. You don't have to be a confirmed birdwatcher to appreciate nature's bounty in BallenIsles. Our famous Bird Island off the second hole of the East Course is one of the largest breeding area for Wood Storks in South Florida. And one of the most spectacular birds you may see nearby is the Roseate Spoonbill. Read more about them in our article below.

Of course catch up on Real Estate news with recent sales, trends and our featured property. 
  
Happy Valentine's Day!
Laura & Tana
Featured Property 
103D Palm Point Circle
      
This superb Majesty model condo overlooks expansive vistas of the East golf course 7th hole. This end unit is just steps from the neighborhood pool and has a large wrap around screened terrace.  Designer finishes are evident throughout with a bright eat-in kitchen with gas range, formal dining room and large open great room with a library alcove with bar and wine refrigerator. Features include a private elevator, 3 bedrooms, 3 full baths, electric hurricane shutters, custom built-ins and lighting, central vac and large ceramic tile floors. Ideally located in the heart of BallenIsles with a separate neighborhood pool and within easy walking distance of all the luxury amenities of the club. Furnishings/turnkey negotiable. Sports membership ($95,000) or higher required.


BallenIsles Birds
Roseate Spoonbill - photo by Rodney Cole
 
The flamboyant Roseate Spoonbill looks like it came straight out of a Dr. Seuss book with its bright pink feathers, red eye staring out from a partly bald head, and giant spoon-shaped bill. Groups sweep their spoonbills through shallow fresh or salt waters snapping up crustaceans and fish. They fly with necks outstretched, to and from foraging and nesting areas along the coastal southeastern U.S., and south to South America. These social birds nest and roost in trees and shrubs with other large wading birds.

For most people, finding a Roseate Spoonbill requires a trip to the southeastern coast of the United States or even farther afield to Mexico or Central and South America. Here in BallenIsles you are likely to catch sight of one or two of these beautiful birds along the edge of the lakes on the golf courses. Look for groups of pink birds foraging in the shallows of fresh and saltwater, often with egrets and ibises nearby. They are usually busy foraging with their spoon-shaped bill under the water, so the bill might not be the first thing to tip you off. Unlike herons and egrets, they typically hold their bodies horizontally when foraging. This unique posture can help you pick them out from afar. If you don't catch them foraging check nearby mangrove, cypress, or willows for birds noisily roosting in trees.

  • The Roseate Spoonbill is 1 of 6 species of spoonbills in the world and the only one found in the Americas. The other 5 spoonbills (Eurasian, Royal, African, Black-faced, and Yellow-billed) occur in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia.
  • As humans, we are all too familiar with hair loss as we get older. Roseate Spoonbills, it turns out, are familiar with balding too, but instead of losing hair they lose feathers from the top of their head as they get older.
  • Roseate Spoonbill chicks don't have a spoon-shaped bill immediately after hatching. When they are 9 days old the bill starts to flatten, by 16 days it starts to look a bit more spoonlike, and by 39 days it is nearly full size.
  • Roseate Spoonbills get their pink coloration from the foods they eat. Crustaceans and other aquatic invertebrates contain pigments called carotenoids that help turn their feathers pink.
  • The oldest recorded Roseate Spoonbill was at least 15 years, 10 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during a scientific study in Florida.

REAL ESTATE TRENDS
BallenIsles Sales

We think 2021 is going to be a great real estate market. Already 10 closed sales for the month of January, 18 more under contract and just 26 properties for sale! And we’re not done with the great migration yet. Above the normal line, 400,000 more people bought homes in 2020 than predicted. Brokers all over the country, in places like Florida, Texas, and Nevada, say that people are up and moving because they learned in 2020 that they don’t have to live where their company is anymore. A report by Pew Research also looked at postal service data. It focused on the borough of Manhattan from February to July 2020, and there was a 500 percent increase in the number of people who filed address changes over the same time the year before. Of course, a certain number of those people moved to Brooklyn or Queens, but a lot moved to Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Florida, and other states.There’s going to continue to be migration beyond what would have been considered normal patterns a year ago. There’s big outmigration out of states like New York, New Jersey, and Illinois.
*This representation is based on data supplied by the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches or its Multiple Listing Services thru 02/12/2021. 
Laura Cole & Tana Gaskill
561.758.8625   561.389.6838

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