Walton Sun:
BY PASHA CARROLL SUN REPORTER
While South Walton is still a hot spot for real estate, the market seems to be softening ever so slightly.
Homes are taking a few weeks longer to sell and prices, still astronomically high compared to undiscovered South Walton, have leveled and are hovering.
?What we saw last year was really amazing, I doubt it will happen again,? local Realtor Associate Bobby Johnson said. ?It overshot itself. Now it is just backtracking and simply readjusting.?
?We defiantly inflated our prices on this peninsula, because we could,? local real estate developer John King said.
Just because prices have stabilized does not mean the bubble has burst, as national reports have eluded. It just means Realtors will have to work a little harder, Johnson said.
?This is the real deal. We made crazy money, now we just have to work for it,? Johnson said.
?We are making hay while the sun shines,? King said.
And the sun is still shining brightly over South Walton. Only now a few clouds might offer minutes of shade.
?When people talk about slowing down, they are talking about sales time,? King said. ?It used to take 30 days to sell, now it might take 90 days.?
?Typically it takes six months to sell a home,? Johnson said. ?Realtors were doing it in hours. We got a little spoiled.?
Johnson does not think however, that County Road 30A will ever see a decrease in sales. If anything he says the road will become more elite.
?I believe in 30A. That?s what it is all about,? Johnson said.
He said he continuously sees celebrities enjoying 30A?s beauty. King said for the 240 lots he has platted and under construction, there are still 500 people on the waiting list.
With the market a little slower, Johnson hopes life will return to normal and the South Walton real estate market will be more realistic.
?If it kept up like that, I couldn?t have kept up,? Johnson said. ?The stress level was too much.?
He said now selling real estate will be more like it was when he got in the business four years ago, hard work and the craft of handling an ever changing market.
?Now we can get back to living a normal life,? Johnson said.