Since nothing really existed here before Eglin got established in the 40s, older here often means something built in the late 60s. So not too different than what was getting built in the early 90s in terms of home styles.
Every once in a while, you get some homes from the 30s in Valparaiso that go on the market, but they're pretty rare. The bright side is that the commute to Eglin from there is extremely quick and painless. Niceville is generally slightly newer construction, and the fixers I've seen there tend to be either cosmetic fixes or total teardowns with not much between those two. We're in Bluewater Bay where the oldest homes are about 25 years old. You can sometimes get a decent deal if you find something with the original Carter era decor in place and take care of the cosmetic problems, but under $300K can be hard to find these days, even for something that needs a bit of love. (In general, if it's afforadble for someone with a military salary, it sells pretty quick these days around here.)
The older parts of Ft. Walton Beach tend to be 50s cinderblock. They aren't always the prettiest things, but are sturdily built, and hold up well in the storms. The area with the biggest upside from that era is probably Elliot Point which is just to the north of where a lot of building and rebuilding is going on in downtown Ft. Walton. You'd get a good return on your investment with a nicely done addition to older cinderblock in those areas, imo.
I'm not big on Crestview. No one I know that lives there is too excited about living in Crestview. They just got lured up there with the promise of cheap housing costs in the 90s and early 00s, and since it's no longer cheap, why bother?
