Alys Beach growth

[Matt J]

Cork, what do you mean that Alys Beach was paying co-broke? That has never been my experience. If you register your customer with their sales office, they will pay you, and they will gladly show your customer (and you) the property. Or, at least that has been my experience.

I think she was referring to when Alys first started selling. IIRC they didn't do co-broker then, or you had to use an on site Realtor.

 

[RiverOtter]

A hyphen would make two words into a hyphenated word.

Isn't Google awesome. It's one word and I misspelled it

 

[Cork On the Ocean]

Cork, what do you mean that Alys Beach was paying co-broke? That has never been my experience. If you register your customer with their sales office, they will pay you, and they will gladly show your customer (and you) the property. Or, at least that has been my experience.

Over-priced? Perhaps if they aren't selling as many units as they want, but if they are fine with selling their status quo, and are able to hold on through this low point in the market, they may be the better for it. Alys Beach IS the Bentley of homes (I get it, SWGB -- good analogy). Do you think a Bentley is over-priced? Do you think that the people who can afford Bentley's think they are over-priced? Afterall, they get you the same places a 1974 Ford Pinto can get you, except for the front row parking at the country club. I'm not sure how a luxury item like an Alys Beach home can be over-priced, because in your shopping comparisons, there is no other like it in most of the South Eastern USA. When we say a luxury item is over-priced, perhaps we really mean that we cannot afford to buy it. Alys Beach will be THE place for the who's who. I have no doubts about that.

Hi SJ,

Very early on before Alys broke ground they were happy to give realtors information on the community. I for one heavily promoted the community. When they first set up on site, I contacted them to show a client and was told that they were handling all sales in house on a lottery basis and that they were not paying commissions to other agencies. This was in the heyday when real estate was hot. It was only after the market dropped that they began romancing realtors and offering commissions to outside agents. I for one am glad that they have decided to work with us on this beautiful community.

Don't get me wrong, I think that Alys Beach is going to be exquisite and I believe they have pockets deep enough to sustain. I do believe however that a million dollar expenditure is big business and should be treated as such. When I compared the price of Alys Lots to the price of available Paradise by the Sea lots, I couldn't make the argument (nor would I try) that Alys was a better long term "investment".

I just closed a beachfront lot last Thursday in Paradise by the Sea, just steps from Alys and gated for privacy, for $1 Million Dollars. The lot is 60 x approx 600 feet as opposed to the Alys lots which are 1/6 the size. Here's a a portion of the comp study that I did for the buyer.

Yes, my client got a killer deal on a foreclosed lot and I negotiated the price down $300K from the already low list price but my point being that there are a lot of deals out there and based on the continuing drop in prices that we see on the daily hotsheet, I'm not ready to call the bottom yet.

So if our clients are looking at "investment return", we must consider a potential decline in the value of their purchase over the coming months and make offer recommendations accordingly. I know this may not be a popular opinion to many realtors (especially listing agents) but my chief concern is my buyer's welfare and a million dollars is still a boatload of money. I don't want their property being worth less in 6 months than he paid and while there's no guarantee, I think there's a great chance that it won't be.

For the buyer who has no concern about the dollar value and is motivated strictly by aesthetics, then there are reasons why one would pay $3 mil for a lot 1/6th the size in Alys. However, I also believe that we should disclose conditions which could affect the enjoyment of their property. For instance, there is the issue of a gated vs non-gated community and if the buyer wants to build in the near future, there will be ongoing condominium construction behind or very near their beachfront lot in Alys Beach. After reviewing the pros and cons of all options, if the buyer chooses Alys, I believe they've chosen a beautiful community and will work my hardest to negotiate the lowest price possible, even on a Bentley.

I own and live on 30A and am certainly not happy about the declining values of our property. Call them bottom feeders or smart investors, if it were my money, I'd rather pay less than more and I think most people (including) realtors would.
​

 

[homeboy]

Hi SJ,


I just closed a beachfront lot last Thursday in Paradise by the Sea, just steps from Alys and gated for privacy, for $1 Million Dollars. The lot is 60 x approx 600 feet as opposed to the Alys lots which are 1/6 the size. Here's a a portion of the comp study that I did for the buyer.

For the buyer who has no concern about the dollar value and is motivated strictly by aesthetics, then there are reasons why one would pay $3 mil for a lot 1/6th the size in Alys.
​

Those folks that bought those ocean front lots in Alys will be very, very sorry about their "investments" if/when they ever need to sell. Especially the one that paid $3 mill or $1 mill more than the lot right next door. No way, no how they will ever get a return out of that "investment".

 

[homeboy]

True - I am not a realtor, but i do have access to a few facts. The information I stated was what I was told this by several people last year and I have no reason to doubt it, nor guarantee it. Seems like you are very, very interested so dig away and let us know what you find.

As I recall there were about 1,100 units planned for WaterColor. I don't know how many have been completed but it seems like it would be close, but for all I know it could be half that at the moment.

My point is that however many units currently completed in WaterColor, it is such a greater number than those completed in Alys Beach that comparing the 2 problematic at best, and a waste of time at worst.

Alys Beach is a victim of bad timing, which as far as I can tell is the development's only real problem, and a problem everyone has to some extent. If the bubble hadn't burst it, would be at least half built out by now and one of the hottest products in the world in my opinion. It may still be that one day. Alys Beach may not appeal to everyone but the product and planning is unmatched. Only time will tell and it will be interesting to look back 20, 50, 100 years from now.

As an aside, I find it interesting that we get Alys Beach naysayers on this forum in oddly regular intervals with oddly similar-sounding posts. Is Alys Beach an attractive target for some reason?

Whoever gave you that info about 2009 was dead wrong. They had a much bigger year in 2005. Maybe a realtor can give us some real data and facts. Very few pieces of property changed hands in Alys last year compared with the other major communities along 30A. I believe the Alys sales folks told me there would be over 800 units in the final development--it will take them a millenia to sell all the product at the current rate of sales.

I don't believe even half of the total units are completed in Watercolor. The two developments are very similar in size. If Ebsco could sell a huge number of lots today, tomorrow or the next day, they would. They simply can't sell the product as it is overpriced by a long shot and the style is way outside the box for the gulf coast. Watercolor, Watersound and Seaside sell much, much better because the style fits will in the community.

Not sure about naysayers regarding Alys. (Everyone has there favorite and least favorite communities in areas where they live.) However, you seem to be highly offended by the comments I made about the development. Do you have a financial interest in the community or do you do business with EBSCO?

 

[homeboy]

Perhaps some are missing the point that Alys Beach is a Rolls Royce and WaterColor is a Lexus. There are a lot more Lexus on the road than Rolls.

I've seen plenty of houses in Watercolor, Watersound and Rosemary that blow away the homes in Alys. Other than the more hurricane resistant nature of the construction in Alys, the exquisite interiors and exteriors of many of the Alys homes don't compare to the unique interiors and exteriors of many of the homes in these other neighborhoods. The homes in Alys are very homogenous with a lack of color and character compared to the homes in these other subdivisions.

 

[Matt J]

I've seen plenty of houses in Watercolor, Watersound and Rosemary that blow away the homes in Alys. Other than the more hurricane resistant nature of the construction in Alys, the exquisite interiors and exteriors of many of the Alys homes don't compare to the unique interiors and exteriors of many of the homes in these other neighborhoods. The homes in Alys are very homogenous with a lack of color and character compared to the homes in these other subdivisions.

As far as aesthetics go that's entirely opinion. As far as construction, energy efficiency, and hurricane resistance go; you have no clue what you are talking about.

My point was also that you can find homes similar to or exactly the same as the architectural style of WaterColor in many other places along 30A. Alys Beach is pretty much that, Alys Beach, can you name another subdivision that offers that style of architecture?

 

[Cork On the Ocean]

Homeboy, as I mentioned earlier, accurate numbers are difficult in Alys because quite of the transfers weren't put into the MLS and because EBSCO themselves have bought back properties that they sold so they really don't count. It's tough to find the real numbers there, maybe by design.

Taste is definitely subjective. One person loves antiques. I love high tech. For me, the thing about Alys is the community designers. You mentioned Seaside and Rosemary. They are both DPZ urban plans. Alys is the third DPZ community that we have on 30A. Go to their website and take a look at the video, if you haven't already done so. New Urbanistic Design was DPZ's brainchild. Their communities are world reknown and are sure to be spectacular. Yes, Alys is overpriced in my personal opinion from an "investment" standpoint but I can't say that it isn't going to be an exceptional community.

The video is here: Alys Beach Video

 

[Kurt]

Whoever gave you that info about 2009 was dead wrong. They had a much bigger year in 2005. Maybe a realtor can give us some real data and facts. Very few pieces of property changed hands in Alys last year compared with the other major communities along 30A. I believe the Alys sales folks told me there would be over 800 units in the final development--it will take them a millenia to sell all the product at the current rate of sales.

I don't believe even half of the total units are completed in Watercolor. The two developments are very similar in size. If Ebsco could sell a huge number of lots today, tomorrow or the next day, they would. They simply can't sell the product as it is overpriced by a long shot and the style is way outside the box for the gulf coast. Watercolor, Watersound and Seaside sell much, much better because the style fits will in the community.

Not sure about naysayers regarding Alys. (Everyone has there favorite and least favorite communities in areas where they live.) However, you seem to be highly offended by the comments I made about the development. Do you have a financial interest in the community or do you do business with EBSCO?

I don't own property in Alys Beach. All of SoWal is my business.

Millenia

 

[PJJ]

Not sure about naysayers regarding Alys. (Everyone has there favorite and least favorite communities in areas where they live.) However, you seem to be highly offended by the comments I made about the development.

All developments and opinions are equal but some developments and opinions are more equal than others.