High-end, 'affordable as possible' homes for sale in new PCB community. Take a look.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — Amid a tight housing market in Bay County, a new high-end community has opened on the west end of the Beach.

Located north of Panama City Beach Parkway near North Wells Street, the Laguna Haven Community hosted a grand opening ceremony June 15. It features about 25 homes already built with another 15 either planned or under construction.

According to Marina Grigoryan, sales agent and part owner of the development, homes come in six floor plans that range from about $499,000 to $756,000. The cheapest option is 1,648 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, while the most expensive model is 2,496 square feet with four bedrooms and three bathrooms.

"The west end of Panama City Beach is a very desirable area," Grigoryan said. "By going into that area on the north side of (PCB Parkway) that still was a little bit underdeveloped, (my partners and I) felt like we could help contribute to improving that area."

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As of Friday, about 10 of the 25 homes built in Laguna Haven were sold, and six others were under contract.

Grigoryan noted the community was designed to accommodate full- and part-time residents, along with investors interested in buying a property to use as a vacation rental.

She also said the original goal for the project was to offer more affordable homes that started near the upper $200,000 mark. However, as supply costs skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, that became impossible.

"The goal, originally, was to make it an entry-level community (that was) affordable for first-time homebuyers," Grigoryan said. "The lumber prices dictated the pricing to go higher than we anticipated ... but the goal is still to make it as affordable as possible."

Keith Carnley, part owner and building contractor of the community, said it now costs almost double the amount to build a home than it did when they purchased the land in December 2017.

And it's not just the price of lumber that experienced a dramatic spike.

"Lumber is one thing, but (there also were) cost increases to roofing, in concrete, in drywall (and) in cabinetry," Carnley said. "Everything has gone up and gone up fairly substantially, especially in the last two years.

"What we originally thought we were going to be able to sell them for, it's costing even more than that to get them constructed at this point."

Carnley also said while it is unfortunate that recent inflation shifted the project's original plans away from affordable housing, he still expects for the community to be a gem in Panama City Beach — one that still offers homes at prices well below others in the surrounding area.

He noted construction on the first wave of homes broke ground in April 2021. Carnley said he hopes for all 40 of the planned homes to be complete by the summer of 2023.

"Unfortunately, the values and the increase in pricing (have) driven the prices to where (they are) in the housing market," Carnley said. "(The community) is about three miles from Pier Park, about five miles from 30A ... so I think people will like moving into that area.

"... We've put in an affordable high-end community, (and) it's going to be nice."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Laguna Haven Community opens on west end of Panama City Beach