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Ohio Girl

Beach Lover
Feb 13, 2006
239
59
Sagamore Hills OH
I would be curious to hear from realtors what they think of the current pricing of homes along 30A. I understand paying a premium for gulf front property but it seems that the prices of other homes on the market are a bit inflated. (I'm not complaining since we own a house). Just wondering if the prices are reasonable or if buyers are balking at the higher prices. Thanks.
 

walt-prop

Beach Crab
Nov 2, 2012
2
0
yes-I believe your observation is correct. A friend from Atlanta was visiting during spring break and rented a home in Watercolor for $4,000 for the week (also inflated). They looked at a few homes and felt we are overpriced. I also have a new home for sale in Seagrove and buyers seem scarce currently. With that said, some pockets I hear are doing well.
 

James Bentwood

Beach Fanatic
Feb 24, 2005
1,495
606
Construction is booming and homes are selling. Prices will continue to rise as the area becomes more and more exclusive. It feels a bit like early 2000s. But there will be growing pains here and there. Commercial boom is just starting.
 

jodiFL

Beach Fanatic
Jul 28, 2007
2,476
733
SOWAL,FL
From what I have heard they are just getting back to"normal" for this area since the oil spill. Don't see them going down anytime soon.
 

BeachArkie

Beach Lover
Jun 27, 2008
156
85
44
Seagrove
Prices are high because demand is high due to low inventory. Definitely overpriced, the bubble is back!
 

steel1man

Beach Fanatic
Jan 10, 2013
2,291
659
Bubble burst was mainly caused by bankers making loans to unqualified buyers.pretty sure most $800K+ buyers will pass the smell check at the bank.
 

BeachRob

Beach Lover
Nov 30, 2012
161
65
I work a lot of WaterColor (30A's most popular community by sales), Rosemary Beach, Grayton, Seacrest Beach, etc. What I am observing is this...

Sales are strong.

-WaterColor, for example, is on track to sell even more houses this year than last year. Meanwhile, homes on the market in the community are about 70% of what its needed for healthy inventory. And, leading up to this year, there had been a fair amount of shadow inventory that we no longer have... (Builder product: where you could walk into a model home and buy a house that wasn't on the MLS because it had yet to be built.) Not having the shadow inventory further strains supply.

-Inventory is also very tight in Rosemary Beach, where I hear the principal complaint is that "There's nothing to buy" rather than "prices are too high."

The underlying value of the real estate along 30A is there.

-Recently, I ran some models to calculate the utility of a vacation home here to the buyer. Essentially, "Is it worth it to buy here at these prices?" And the answer is "yes!" The bargain days are gone. But, return on investment -especially when things like owner stays are accounted for- is at a healthy level. Thankfully, we are not to a point where you would have to factor in "pride of ownership" or "speculation of continued increases in prices" to get to this conclusion. I think we are getting closer to that level. But, we haven't seen runaway pricing on the bulk of inventory.

We have seen some properties- particularly newly built and nicely decorated homes- sell, maybe, for more than they should.

By contrast, homes which were built and decorated over 8 years ago are staying on the market longer. Basically, it's really hard to sell a house when its full of furniture from Tuskers. Buyers don't like brown furniture or tropical design. They don't like dark granite or galley kitchens. So, many of these homes will find their buyers after the newly-built or renovated homes have sold. Sometimes, unless a seller elects to redecorate, these houses have to sell at a reasonable discount to get the buyer.

What I don't see, to answer the OP, is an opportunity for a massive correction. Where this market has stumbled in the past has been when, statistically speaking, we have experienced third standard of deviation events. When do you expect there to be back-to-back hurricanes? How often should you plan for the worst oil spill ever in the Gulf of Mexico? How many times in our lives will we experience an economic downturn so bad that it is referred to as a proper noun with a capital letter? I would hope to think the worst is behind us in terms of threats to market value here.

Where I do see opportunity for correction is when interest rates rise. But, what I anticipate- rather than prices dropping- is a tailing off of volume sold. That's because this crop of buyers, since 2010, have been really strong financially speaking. I have yet to work a buyer in this cycle that will NEED to sell for less than he paid for a home. That's just not going to happen. LTV on these mortgages is nowhere near what it was in 2008.

This market is in good shape.

If anyone reading is interested in selling their home, you can DM me. I have an article in the next issue of Thirty-A Review detailing how to prepare you home for listing. Should be a good read.

:) R
 

Garner

Beach Fanatic
I work a lot of WaterColor (30A's most popular community by sales), Rosemary Beach, Grayton, Seacrest Beach, etc. What I am observing is this...

Sales are strong.

-WaterColor, for example, is on track to sell even more houses this year than last year. Meanwhile, homes on the market in the community are about 70% of what its needed for healthy inventory. And, leading up to this year, there had been a fair amount of shadow inventory that we no longer have... (Builder product: where you could walk into a model home and buy a house that wasn't on the MLS because it had yet to be built.) Not having the shadow inventory further strains supply.

-Inventory is also very tight in Rosemary Beach, where I hear the principal complaint is that "There's nothing to buy" rather than "prices are too high."

The underlying value of the real estate along 30A is there.

-Recently, I ran some models to calculate the utility of a vacation home here to the buyer. Essentially, "Is it worth it to buy here at these prices?" And the answer is "yes!" The bargain days are gone. But, return on investment -especially when things like owner stays are accounted for- is at a healthy level. Thankfully, we are not to a point where you would have to factor in "pride of ownership" or "speculation of continued increases in prices" to get to this conclusion. I think we are getting closer to that level. But, we haven't seen runaway pricing on the bulk of inventory.

We have seen some properties- particularly newly built and nicely decorated homes- sell, maybe, for more than they should.

By contrast, homes which were built and decorated over 8 years ago are staying on the market longer. Basically, it's really hard to sell a house when its full of furniture from Tuskers. Buyers don't like brown furniture or tropical design. They don't like dark granite or galley kitchens. So, many of these homes will find their buyers after the newly-built or renovated homes have sold. Sometimes, unless a seller elects to redecorate, these houses have to sell at a reasonable discount to get the buyer.

What I don't see, to answer the OP, is an opportunity for a massive correction. Where this market has stumbled in the past has been when, statistically speaking, we have experienced third standard of deviation events. When do you expect there to be back-to-back hurricanes? How often should you plan for the worst oil spill ever in the Gulf of Mexico? How many times in our lives will we experience an economic downturn so bad that it is referred to as a proper noun with a capital letter? I would hope to think the worst is behind us in terms of threats to market value here.

Where I do see opportunity for correction is when interest rates rise. But, what I anticipate- rather than prices dropping- is a tailing off of volume sold. That's because this crop of buyers, since 2010, have been really strong financially speaking. I have yet to work a buyer in this cycle that will NEED to sell for less than he paid for a home. That's just not going to happen. LTV on these mortgages is nowhere near what it was in 2008.

This market is in good shape.

If anyone reading is interested in selling their home, you can DM me. I have an article in the next issue of Thirty-A Review detailing how to prepare you home for listing. Should be a good read.

:) R
Very good and informative post Rob!
 

Vita canizaro

Beach Lover
Oct 23, 2011
117
5
yes-I believe your observation is correct. A friend from Atlanta was visiting during spring break and rented a home in Watercolor for $4,000 for the week (also inflated). They looked at a few homes and felt we are overpriced. I also have a new home for sale in Seagrove and buyers seem scarce currently. With that said, some pockets I hear are doing well.
Where is your house for sale
 
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