You might’ve guessed, the price of real estate in the City of Niceville is shooting up. It has for the last couple of years. 

That’s because of the basic law of supply and demand – we’re running out of room to build houses in the City of Niceville specifically. That means prices have increased dramatically. 

However, the approvals of a couple of development orders by the Niceville City Council mean there will be more inventory on the market soon – for buyers and renters alike. 

• But, there are a couple of wrinkles that you should keep your eye on (we will!). 

The first development, the one with a very interesting change, was approved by the council on a 5-0 vote.

• The Valparaiso Realty Company Development will build 35 houses in the area around Juniper Ave., close to where the new Aldi is going by Niceville High School. 

But, that’s not the interesting part: Originally, the development was supposed to be much larger – think double the number of homes. What changed?

Councilwoman Cathy Alley pressed on this question during the discussion period before the vote. The builder, Huff Homes, is holding off until next month on asking for approval for another part of the development.

• The company wants to build what their engineer called ‘Tiny Homes’ during the meeting.
• The houses, which are single family, detached homes, will be built adjacent to the Sunbelt Rental building.

This block of 35 homes will be rented out by the builder as a long-term investment. During the discussion it was brought up that the homes would be less-than-desirable for purchase because of their proximity to both the Sunbelt Rentals facility and John Sims. 

• The first block of 35 homes, which are further to the north than the proposed rental homes, passed unanimously. 

The second development approval involved the Deer Moss Creek neighborhood in the eastern portion of the city. It passed on a 4-0 vote.

• Councilman Sal Nodjomian abstained due to a potential conflict of interest.
• He said in his abstention vote that he is “involved in the project.” 

Ruckel Property Group plans to build about 140 homes north of the runway at Ruckel Airport. The grass landing strip for small, typically single-engine, planes will end up being about 1500 feet from the nearest house. 

• The overrun – the cleared land for the airport that isn’t technically part of the runway – ends about 400 feet from the nearest home.