St. Simons Real Estate (Savannah, Brunswick: middle-class, sales, real estate market)

[deee]

Does anyone have a feel for what is going on there? I was there just recently and they still seem to be building up a storm. But, I read on a realtor blog that home sales were extremely slow earlier this year. Is it a good time to buy or are prices dropping?

[Peelo]

I think the home market there is much like the rest of the country.
However, there is alot of commercial development going on, with the gamble being that St. Simons will take away alot of the tourism that Tybee has...and I think they will. Alot of folks are tired of Tybee and what it has become.

[momof2kids]

We have been watching the market down there for @ 2 years. I have several friends there and have been vacationing there for over 10 years. The market has slowed and house prices seem to be going down. I have been watching 2 houses and the price on both of them has been dropped.

The commercial development is still going strong and that is one thing holding us back from moving there. It is a lot more crowded and busy than I ever thought it would be.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by Peelo

However, there is alot of commercial development going on, with the gamble being that St. Simons will take away alot of the tourism that Tybee has...and I think they will. Alot of folks are tired of Tybee and what it has become.

Sorry, but there is not and never has been any comparison of St Simons and Tybee...they are two very different entities and attract two different types of tourists. Tybee is more for the Margaritaville crowd and families on a budget, St Simons is for the 'see you on the links, the wife is hitting the boutiques' crowd...more upscale than Tybee, especially when you throw the Sea Island folks into the mix. Yes, there has been some cooling off of the SSI real estate market, but don't expect a big dropoff in prices, especially in the 'own to rent' market, which is still pretty strong...these folks can afford to wait it out. SSI is still a great long term investment...it's a unique place and always will be.

[Peelo]

I wasnt comparing them...reread the post. I fill in between the lines.

Tybee, in recent years, has attempted to bring in more wealthy crowd...and, to some extent, they have succeeded....and in doing so, whether you believe it or not, has taken away a good bit of the "St Simons" crowd. Savannah has targeted that market in its history, River Street, etc. and along with that has focused more on the quieter places on Tybee. But, lets face it...Tybee is the "Redneck Riviera" and thats not gonna change much. I believe that St Simons will actually begin to focus more on middle income families.....there is alot of money in that area of the market that could be capitalized on...I personally prefer the smaller towns of Florida, because I DETEST Brunswick and Savannah.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by Peelo

I wasnt comparing them...reread the post. I fill in between the lines.

Tybee, in recent years, has attempted to bring in more wealthy crowd...and, to some extent, they have succeeded....and in doing so, whether you believe it or not, has taken away a good bit of the "St Simons" crowd. Savannah has targeted that market in its history, River Street, etc. and along with that has focused more on the quieter places on Tybee. But, lets face it...Tybee is the "Redneck Riviera" and thats not gonna change much. I believe that St Simons will actually begin to focus more on middle income families.....there is alot of money in that area of the market that could be capitalized on...I personally prefer the smaller towns of Florida, because I DETEST Brunswick and Savannah.

I disagree with much of what you say here; if Tybee has taken away a good bit of "the St Simons crowd" (which I doubt), SSI certainly isn't feeling it. My rental property is already booked for the season, and everyone I know down there tells me the same (as you may know, cottage and condo rentals are the main source of lodging over hotels on SSI). The fact is, Tybee has a beach but little else to offer in terms of recreation and no golf courses...SSI and Sea Island have five. That is the main difference IMO as far as tourism...the golfers are going to flock to SSI, Hilton Head, Amelia, but not Tybee...and where there's golf there's money.
If TPTB on SSI are trying to attract a more 'middle-class' tourist, I see no evidence of it here...the conventional wisdom down there is that's what Jekyll Island is for. There's no such thing as a cheap vacation on SSI (except piggybacking on someone that has secured a summer rental), and IMO their efforts there seem to indicate that they're going in the other direction if anything.
And as far as detesting Brunswick, I suppose there are things that one could find detestable...but Brunswick isn't troubling SSI'ers too much; you can spend weeks on the island and never even know that Brunswick exists.