The real estate market along the Emerald Coast is showing signs of resilience.  Throughout the Destin and 30A submarkets, prices are flat to increasing despite lower to flat sales volume (the large increase in sales volume in 30A East is due to the closings in a completed Alys Beach condominium building.)  The combination of stable to growing sales price and lower sales volume is unusual and points to two external forces and one internal force (that is starting to self correct.)  

The two external forces are the return of mortgage rates to normal levels after an extended period of historically low rates and the normal behavior of buyers during presidential election years.  Both of these factors have buyers sitting on the sidelines, one waiting for rates to come down and one waiting for the outcome of the election.  Once buyers realize the days of sub 4% mortgages are not returning, those buyers should return.  As it relates to the elections, most buyers state that the election being completed and the removal of uncertainty is more important than the outcome.  These buyers should return to the market as well.  Both of these forces impact volume of sales rather than pricing.

The internal market force impacting sales volume is current listing prices.  From 2014 to 2019, the difference between the median list price and median sales prices was relatively consistent.  However, post COVID, list prices grew at a much higher rate than sales prices.  Essentially, a portion of the market is overpriced.  As a result, both inventory and days on market grew. Again, this is paired with stable to growing sales prices.  This means the market fundamentals remain sound but there exists some overpriced inventory in the market.  The good news is that average list prices are reducing to levels normal for the market compared to sales prices.  As this happens, more transactions should occur.  A common view is that price reductions in current listings are a signal of a weak market.  That is not the case on the Emerald Coast. In this case, it is a signal that aggressive sellers are coming back in line with the market.  
Appropriately priced listings typically sell in less than 90-180 days. Aggressively priced listings take longer to sell.  All of these market dynamics emphasize the importance of having a real estate agent who knows and can help navigate the market whether you are buying or selling.  Agents at The Premier Property Group are well equipped to help you and look forward to doing so!