Greetings from the beach.
Our summers have been consistent for many, many years. Each year we expect our sugar white beaches to be bustling, full of smiling vacationers and locals alike. The initial months of this year brought us the unexpected and unprecedented COVID-19 global pandemic. In March, we all shared in an abrupt shift to our normal lives and routines.
This came as we had great momentum nearing the end of an exceptional first quarter of strong home sales. In looking at where the real estate market is and where we anticipate it is headed, we look back on recent trends, both to determine what is coming in the next few months and to find out where we are today.
In looking at the national home market, more homes sold in January and February of this year than in any January and February over the past decade. Our local 30A home market was consistent, with impressive and record-high, first-quarter sales. Notably, March home sales along the 30A corridor exceeded $166 million, nearly $42 million higher (+34%) than March 2019 homes sales. With so much uncertainty and many diverse opinions, we hope these solid statistics are helpful and encouraging.
Many national real estate analysts anticipate that a short-term pause of activity will move into strong sales performance with pent-up demand flowing when conditions return to normal — albeit a new normal.
As of this writing, we, like you and so many others around the globe, are slowly moving into the new normal here at the beach. With provisions for restrictions, the beaches have opened back up, businesses are beginning to re-open with required measures, and the vacation rentals are again in use. Foremost, our desire is to embark responsibly into this new territory and hope that those responsible efforts will prove successful in maintaining healthy communities.
We wish much health and happiness to you and yours and aim to continue to be a source of credible local market knowledge. It is comforting to know that, as so much has changed in our lives, the sheer beauty of our beaches remains just as stunning as it has always been!
Warmly from the beach,
Erin
Erin Oden is the principal broker and owner of Coastal Luxury, a
real estate firm that maintains a strong emphasis on intimate market knowledge and expertise in the luxury and Gulf-front market. Erin can be reached at 850.502.1220 or erin@coastalluxury.com.