[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by nep321

Well, I'm talking about value, not price. I don't even think such data exists by county or city. Median value per square foot? I've never seen that data available anywhere.

Also, I disagree with your statement because of the many other factors that affect a home's value. Lot size, schools, scenery, climate, crime, age of home, noise level, style, condition, etc.

So the only way to get a true representation of cost is to literally compare the exact same property in one location vs another location.

When you buy a house, you're not only paying for its square footage. You're also paying for the condition, updates, overall aesthetic and much more.

In a balanced market, value and sale price are usually about the same. If you take the average price per square foot in Miami vs Walton, you’ll see a huge difference.

I’ve also not seen any links provided, here.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

In a balanced market, value and sale price are usually about the same. If you take the average price per square foot in Miami vs Walton, you’ll see a huge difference.

I’ve also not seen any links provided, here.

What's interesting is that Zillow mentions about publishing data on home value per square foot here: https://www.zillow.com/research/data/

But I don't see anywhere to download or access the data. They may have stopped producing it...I'm not sure. But I'm sure the typical house in Walton is much bigger square footage than Miami-Dade, which has tons of very small houses. So, I see your point. But still...it doesn't change the fact that houses are more highly valued in Walton than any other county in Southeast FL. When you go to buy a house, you don't buy 10 sq ft or 100 sq ft. You have to buy the whole house and that house has a value/price.

[slduvall]

Originally Posted by MOforthewin

You explained it right there. Aka defense industry contractors.


It seems anywhere that has a large military presence, mainly the Air Force and Navy and Space tend to have a lot of wealth.


The military budget grows yearly.


A lot of career military men retire once they get to 20 years and then go work in the defense industry making bank.


If you're young and intelligent it almost seems you should go in the military, go for officer, and retire and go work for the defense industry.


Correct about the rentals too. here in Southwest FL we have a lot of rentals. However, many of them are more seasonal, longer term rentals geared towards the older population. Up there in the summer you have a big rental market with families who many cases drive south for a vacation.

That's what we did! 30 years, and now 10 years as a contractor!

Out of curisousity I did some googling

Found a $12M sort of beachfront house in Seaside rather on the large side for that area 5335 sq ft (over three very narrow storys, zero lot line) So that is about $2250 a sq foot.

A smaller house $4.5m going for $1168 a sq foot.

The lowest price per sq foot in Seaside was $671.

Outside of seaside and not in any major development areas -

Way off the beach but still south of Hwy 98 they are going for about $516 a sq foot.

Right on the beach upwards of $4000K a sq foot.

A crappy condo for $750K @800 sq ft that makes it about $900K a sq ft!

That right there will mess up any data points of comparison.

Anyone that is comparing it to a major area like Miami, with a huge population of full-time residents and residential homes, where tourists are more prone to stay in a hotel to an area with zero hotels and a small full-time population needs to look very closely at the data. It's all about the rental income. And the sellers and builders know this.

[frankiecd]

How is the homeless situation there now; any?

[slduvall]

Originally Posted by frankiecd

How is the homeless situation there now; any?

In Walton county, I'm sure there are some beach bum types who are homeless in South Walton, not sure about the more rural Northern parts of the county. But to be honest I've never seen any. It is not an area that is hospitable to the homeless, there are no shelters in the area that I'm aware of, nor services in the immediate area. That being said, there are lots of forested areas in the southern part of the county that might have campsites etc. Okaloosa County has plenty of homeless. But they aren't everywhere or intrusive.

[jghorton]

It depends a lot on where you look in Walton County. The beach areas including Seaside, Watercolor, Seagrove and several other 'designer communities' are very expensive (many in the $5M+ range). However, as you move North away from the beach and beyond the Bay, the home price (average?) is considerably lower.

There is also a great deal of national forest land in Walton County between Hwy 98 and the beach ... which leaves less beach property for development.

If you are looking for lower overall housing prices in the area, check-out Ft. Walton Beach. Ironically, Ft. Walton BEACH is not really on the BEACH! It is adjacent to the 'sound', which is north of Okaloosa Island which is the area's beach.

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by slduvall

I live near Destin and just spent a week on Siesta Key, the color is the same..but the softness of the sand in Destin and surrounding areas is better...IMO. It was just so hard, great for walking and riding on, but I really prefer softer sand. I did like the public access Siesta Key provides, it is getting out of hand in Walton and Okaloosa county,

On the topic of Walton County prices, I wouldn't be surprised if it is was some of the priciest realestate in the country, outside major metro areas and that is primarily for 2nd homes.

The county is divided into two parts and referred to it by - South Walton and Walton. South Walton is what drives the $$$. Think Hamptons type homes. Normal family homes are just not being built in the area along the beach (30a) There is some neighborhood type building going on in the North side of Hwy 98, (not including the St Joe properties) but if you are looking for averages, it will be skewed by the 30a properties.

St Joe does own what the Military doesn't, and they realized that the land is more valuable than the pine trees.

The North part of the county, Defuniak, Freeport etc, is growing but still lacks the amenities that many require.

We ditched Walton County due to the lack of beach parking, & restrooms. They have thousands of beach access points, but very few places to legally park, and very few restrooms. Siesta in comparison has a massive parking lot and ample restrooms....and free parking for now at least.

The beachfront property owners started posting "no trespassing" signs to stop people from going to the beach behind their properties, & that is turning into a legal bonanza for the local lawyers there. I wanted no part of all of that.

Walton is a nice place to visit, but I decided not to try to live there. We feel like we made the right decision by choosing Southern Sarasota County instead, where home prices were ~$182/ppsqft when we bought 3 years ago vs. ~$400+ for Walton. Plus we got cinderblock w/ a flat cement tile roof rated at 160 mph, which we couldnt find in Walton.

[1insider]

Originally Posted by slduvall

That's what we did! 30 years, and now 10 years as a contractor!

Out of curisousity I did some googling

Found a $12M sort of beachfront house in Seaside rather on the large side for that area 5335 sq ft (over three very narrow storys, zero lot line) So that is about $2250 a sq foot.

A smaller house $4.5m going for $1168 a sq foot.

The lowest price per sq foot in Seaside was $671.

Outside of seaside and not in any major development areas -

Way off the beach but still south of Hwy 98 they are going for about $516 a sq foot.

Right on the beach upwards of $4000K a sq foot.

A crappy condo for $750K @800 sq ft that makes it about $900K a sq ft!

That right there will mess up any data points of comparison.

Anyone that is comparing it to a major area like Miami, with a huge population of full-time residents and residential homes, where tourists are more prone to stay in a hotel to an area with zero hotels and a small full-time population needs to look very closely at the data. It's all about the rental income. And the sellers and builders know this.

And to think I sold my house at the west end of Santa Rosa Beach two blocks from the beach and the start of the paper company beach for $38,000. That was early 80s. The only pavement between the house and the beach was C30A.

[slduvall]

Originally Posted by 1insider

And to think I sold my house at the west end of Santa Rosa Beach two blocks from the beach and the start of the paper company beach for $38,000. That was early 80s. The only pavement between the house and the beach was C30A.

Ouch! I grew up here and in the 60's we would rent a cinderblock house on the beach in Blue Mountain Beach for a month. It was sooooo far away! Friends would rent the house next store. In the early 70's the owners reached out to my dad, as we were consistent renters, to see if we wanted to buy the houses...for $12000 each. Dad said no, as we were buying a sailboat. That sailboat is long gone, but that land is still there!

[m1a1mg]

St Joe is also planning a huge development similar to the Lakes. They open a good chunk of the developable land. The reason prices drift high is everything along 30A where all the big money is. Houses beach front can go for $10M+.

You'll consistently hear people talking about has none of this is sustainable, but they've been in a huge growth mode since 2013.