Area Ranks As Top Beach Again

Southern Living Magazine named the "Destin Area" as the Best Beach

The Readers' Choice Awards published in the January 2009 edition of Southern Living magazine names Destin, Florida as the Top Beach ahead of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, Alabama, Panama City Beach, Florida, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, Pensacola, Florida, Sanibel Island, Florida, Outer Banks, North Carolina, Virginia Beach, Virginia and Isle of Palms, South Carolina rounding out the top ten.

The article is pretty good and gives short descriptions of the area highlights including Famous Natives & Frequent Visitors. Those named for our area are Danny Wuerffel, former quarterback of the University of Florida Gators and Heisman Trophy winner; Jerry Seinfield; John Grisham; Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.

Should I Sell My Place At The Beach?

Recently I was talking with a good client who wanted to sell a property At The Beach and was wondering if I thought it was a good idea to sell in this market or wait until prices come back.

This is a very good question and one that sellers At The Beach in South Walton County Florida are wrestling with right now. As a top selling real estatat agent that studies the market prices and trends virtually every day I would offer this advise to him and those owners of vacation beach homes, investment condos or even vacant land At The Beach who are considering selling with the same concern:

I still believe real estate values in South Walton County and the surrounding areas will continue to drop because the real estate market fundamentals have not changed in favor of sellers. There are still:

1. too many properties for sale relative to the number of buyers in the marketplace.


2. there are still too many bank owned and short sale properties on (and coming on) the market further driving real estate prices down.


3. and banks are still closely holding their money rather than making loans to the real estate investment community which is such a big part of the South Walton County Florida real estate market – credit is very hard to get right now.

Until one if not all of these factors change to favor sellers then price deprecation is going to occur making it unrealistic for sellers to expect more favorable selling prices for their properties over the next 3- 5 years than if they sell at today’s prices.

So for sellers of vacation beach homes, investment condos or even vacant land At The Beach in South Walton County Florida who plan to sell anytime in the the next 3-5 years I would tell you to sell now - right now because the sound fundamental law of supply and demand tells us to.

For a FREE Evaluation of what your vacation beach home, investment condo or even vacant land At The Beach in South Walton County Florida is worth in today's marketplace simply call John Moran at 850-654-3325 or send me an email at john@themoranteam.com

Beach Real Estate Then and Now

Real Estate In Grove By The Sea Florida

The old saying that nothing goes up forever is certainly true and by the same logic you can argue that nothing will stay down forever either. This point has been hammered home in South Walton County's Grove By The Sea neighborhood located in Seagrove Beach, Fl. Take a look at real estate sales for two sets of homes:

• A 1,914 sq.ft. home on Cullman Ave. with 3 bedrooms and 2-1/2 baths and sold in 2005 for $910,000! As of December 16, 2008 a very similar home on Cullman Ave. with 1,976 sq.ft., 3 bedrooms and 2-1/2 baths is currently listed for only $499,000! A significant drop from $910,000.
• To show that this isn't a one time fluke take a look at the home on Andalusia that sold in 2005 for $750,000 - it had 1,560 sq.ft., 3 bedrooms and 3 baths. Now there is a home just down the street with 1,576 sq.ft., 3 bedrooms and 2 baths listed for sale at $475,000. Also a significant drop from the $750,000 sales price in 2005.

These examples tell me that there are tremendous deals for real estate at the beach right now. That combined with very low interest rates makes for a dream come true for buyers looking for second homes at the beach, vacation condos or even land to build a place down the road. The trick for buyers is not to get too greedy like many sellers did when it was their time because before you know it the tide will change and sellers will rule the day.

For more information about great deals for real estate at the beach or to see all the foreclosures and short sales in South Walton County go to the At The Beach website.

Any Foreclosures In Grayton Beach?

So it seems like foreclosures and short sales are taking over the world and that prices for real estate At The Beach are tanking to levels never seen before ahhhhhhh!



Boy, there sure is a lot of bad news out there for people considering selling real estate At The Beach. As a realtor I study prices every day and I agree that prices are correcting and the trend seems to be that they will continue to drop for the next 12 to 18 months but in Grayton Beach Florida, as of December 11, there is only 1 property listed on the MLS as a foreclosure or short sale (it is shown in the picture). Click here to see the property. So if you are looking at foreclosures or short sales to get a deal on a beach house, a condo or a plot of land at Grayton Beach you are going to have to wait and see if more come on the market.

For those of you who are curious about the foreclosures and short sales of condos, houses and land sites in certain communities At The Beach in South Walton County simply click on the community of your choice: Sandestin Florida , Grayton Beach Florida, Santa Rosa Beach Florida, Watercolor Beach Florida, Seaside Florida, Watersound Beach Florida, Seacrest Beach Florida, and Rosemary Beach Florida.

$16,000,000 House For Sale

Ever wonder what the most expensive house is At The Beach in South Walton County Florida? Well, I can tell you that as of December 11, 2008 it is the estate located at 422 Harstvedt Rd. in Santa Rosa Plantation and it is listed for sale at a cool $16,000,000! The waterfront house built in 1997 is 5,000 sq.ft. and has 7 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms and is located on a private 30 acre setting. Click here to read more about this property.

How About Prices In Specific Communities?

For those of you who are curious about the most expensive condos, houses and land sites for sale in South Walton County simply click Most and Least Expensive Property For Sale At The Beach FL. Click on each community At The Beach to see the most and least expensive homes in the community: Sandestin Florida , Grayton Beach Florida, Santa Rosa Beach Florida, Watercolor Beach Florida, Seaside Florida, Watersound Beach Florida, Seacrest Beach Florida, and Rosemary Beach Florida.

The Other Water At The Beach

Coastal Dune Lakes
View more coastal lake pictures



When people think of water at the beach in South Walton County Florida the Gulf of Mexico generally is what comes to mind, or maybe Choctawahatachee Bay may pop up once in a while but here on scenic highway 30A coastal dune lakes provide scenery that often rivals the Gulf for pristine beauty.

There are 15 coastal dune lakes between Blue Mountain Beach and Rosemary Beach insuring that scenic highway 30A lives up to it's name as you wind along the coast through hamlets such as Blue Mountain Beach, Grayton Beach, Watercolor Beach, Seaside, Santa Rosa Beach, Seagrove Beach, Watersound Beach, Alys Beach, Seacrest Beach and finally right on through Rosemary Beach.

The 15 named Coastal Dune Lakes in South Walton County (listed below) are rare, natural systems . Similar ecosystems can only be found in the Florida Panhandle, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand and the Northwest Pacific Coast of the United States.

WALTON COUNTY CURRENTLY RECOGNIZES 15 COASTAL DUNE LAKES:• Fuller• Morris• Campbell• Stallworth• Allen• Oyster• Draper• Big Red Fish• Little Red Fish• Alligator• Western (Grayton)• Eastern• Deer• Camp Creek• Powell


If you would like to explore the many great real estate opportunities for property near or next to these wonderful coastal lakes or Florida state forest or simply got to www.atthebeachfl.com

Be sure to check out the foreclosures and short sale properties as well at www.atthebeachfl.com

Soaring Along In Grayton Beach Florida

Gryaton Beach Florida is a magical place and if you would like to see more pictures check out the At The Beach Florida Photo Gallery



I was wondering what Grayton Beach Florida is like in December. Would there be any people around? What would the beach look like? Well, I had the chance to stop by Sunday afternoon at sunset and I can tell you - it's a very pretty, very relaxing place that is great for friends to hang out, families to enjoytime together and fisherman to consider one last cast of the line before the sun droped into the Gulf of Mexico.

If you would like to explore the many great real estate opportunities in Grayton Beach Florida such as foreclosures and short sales, or simply see what the most or least expensive properties are in Grayton Beach go to the At The Beach Florida web site.

Half Price Sale On Beach Real Estate

It's amazing what has happened to the value of property At The Beach here in South Walton County, Florida. Prices are off across the board and on some condos they have dropped more than 50% from their peak in 2005.

For example, the average sell price of a one bedroom condo at Majestic Sun in 2005 was $523,356. Fast forward to 2008 and the recent sales prices for one bedroom condos in the building have dropped to $200,000!





This is definately bad news for people looking to sell, but it is great news for those who were priced out of the market a couple of years ago. To see the many great deals to be had on real estate at the beach including short sales and foreclosures, go to the At The Beach Florida web site.


The Moran Team
Keller Williams Realty Emerald Coast
http://www.atthebeachfl.com/

Ice Skating At The Beach In Florida

There are all kinds of things to do at the beach but ice skating? View more pictures of Ice Skating at the Beach

Who knew? At Sandestin Resort in Destin Florida there is a small ice rink set up and for $10.00 you get a pair of skates and all the fun you can handle. For a guy that grew up in skating outside in North Dakota, it was a real treat to be able to show my kids, who have never even seen snow, how to skate. Now this "arena" is not going to host the Olympics but for fun and a chance to ice skate outdoors At The Beach in sunny Florida you can't beat it.


The Moran Team
Keller Williams Realty Emerald Coast
http://www.atthebeachfl.com/

New Aiport Will Have An Economic Advantage

The new Bay County airport will have an economic advantage over other airports when it is built, according to economists.

The article at the Northwest Florida Daily news provides some great insights to questions currently being asked about the Bay County Aiport.

View the article at: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/jenkins_11999___article.html/airport_international.html

For more information on South Walton County Beaches, and area information, go to the At The Beach Florida South Walton County website.

Seeing Red Wine Festival At The Beach

There are more things to do At The Beach then play in the surf and get a tan at any one of the great beaches in South Walton County Florida. There are also great festivals that are fun for the whole family and festivals intended for the grown up kids as well. The recent Seeing Red Wine festival is a great example. It was a great event, showcasing hundreds of wines from around the country.

The event was part of the branding of The Beach, an effort to build awareness of Northwest Florida, both nationally and internationally.

Check out the video:



For more South Walton County Beach events and festivals, go to At The Beach Florida.