"Slices of 30A"

Maybe you’ve just purchased your 30A dream home or maybe you’re still looking for that perfect South Walton place to call your own! Does the yard around it need help or perhaps a total “make-over” but you’re not sure where to start? This week we met with one of our favorite local landscape experts; Jen Jones, owner of Nature of the Beach who maintains a beautiful butterfly garden on the Davis Properties of Northwest Florida office grounds. Jen shared some of her advice and insight on how to approach a plan for gardening and best landscape choices here along our Northwest Florida Beaches. 

Jen Jones – Nature of the Beach, LLC

“When it comes to choosing what plants, shrubs or trees to select for use around your South Walton beach home, the best

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Generations of families have created memories, traditions and fun along the beaches of Scenic 30A but it hasn’t always been the ultra-vibrant, buzzing area that most know today. In the early 80’s the coastline was sparsely developed. Shops and restaurants who catered to visitors during busy spring and summer vacation months would “shutter” their businesses and close from Labor Day until the beginning of March. There weren’t enough visitors who knew about or were coming to South Walton to support employment and a year round economy during that time. 

Neighborhood town centers infuse small town energy at the beach

In 1982 Seaside Florida founder, Robert Davis broke ground on what would become a model for development projects locally, nationally and

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As we meet with or talk to buyers and sellers here at the beach, the question that usually kicks off the conversation is almost always: “how’s the market doing??" Well, the quick, simple answer is; "it’s great – we’re staying busy, homes are selling and buyers are buying". And that is the truth of what the 30A real estate market is definitely experiencing right now. But let's drill down on the specific market numbers and put "it’s great" into proper context. Providing a visual report with specific market numbers allows both sellers and buyers to judge for themselves what’s trends are happening.   

The stats I’ve pulled together include both South Walton homes and condos, and covers the most active areas of our 30A/South Walton real estate market right

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The beach communities of South Walton are definitely a growing, vibrant, flourishing place to live, work and play. From March to September, the area is teeming with families returning for a traditional beach pilgrimage and visitors who are experiencing our corner of paradise for the very first time. For those of us lucky to live on the 30A coastline for any period of time, we’ve seen this place morph into an area that’s overflowing with exciting places to eat and talented artisans who thrive and are inspired by the local environs. Maybe it’s the atmosphere or maybe there’s something in our beautiful Gulf waters but the entrepreneurial spirit is bursting at the seams all along 30A.

Live

This year we’ve seen the opening of 30 Avenue in Inlet Beach.

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So maybe you’ve discovered the incredibly beautiful beaches of 30A! You’ve fallen in love with the area, the art, music and food scenes. You find that people are incredibly friendly and most every direction you look, the views and sunsets are out of this world. You might even find yourself thinking: "We need to figure out how to make this place home!"

This scenario happens daily along the beaches of South Walton. While many have taken the leap of faith; moved to the beach and are living the good life; others, may opt for a longer term transition to owning a home at the beach. An ideal alternative for many is to begin with buying a property that’s used as a vacation rental. If you choose this route, there are some things to consider when looking at

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Have you been to the beach lately and noticed a single bright colored flag flapping in the breeze? Maybe you thought to yourself, "hmmm, I wonder what that’s all about?" Along the Beaches of South Walton, we have a stellar South Walton Fire Department Life Guard program with seven stations posted along the beaches of 30A.

As part of the effort to keep everyone aware of surf conditions, a Flag Warning System is in place at all of the public beach access points. Depending on the weather and the day you go to the beach you’ll see any number of different colored flags flying.

The flags are changed depending on what is happening with the weather, surf and tides. Each color represents a specific surf advisory currently in effect:

GREEN: Low Hazard,

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"We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” ~ Winston Churchill

If you’re lucky enough to live, work or play along the beaches of South Walton, it won’t take you long to also discover the incredible giving spirit found in our beach communities. Business and individuals alike are always ready to “step up to the plate” at any given time when there’s a call out for someone in need. Additionally so many fun and wonderfully creative events take place every year with many local non-profits reaping the benefit of the community’s giving spirit.

Walk Her Way happening this evening in Rosemary is the perfect example of what we’re talking about!

Whether you’re a full time homeowner, second home owner, or frequent visitor interested

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3 simple strategies to capture buyers’ attention and stand out from the competition.

Currently there are nearly 600 homes on the market along the scenic 30A coastline. With so many South Walton homes available right now, it’s more important than ever, to make your home stand out from the competition. While there are always things you have no control over, here are three smart, simple strategies you can do ahead of time. Armed with a little planning and preparation you’ll be ready to “put your best foot forward” and grab the attention of prospective buyers and change your “ FOR SALE” in to ”SOLD”!

You never get a second chance to make a first impression!

Take a step back and really look at your home through the eyes of a buyer, then be ready

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At first it would seem like a simple question with the most obvious answer being the quartz, sugar fine, white sandy beaches. If you’ve been to Northwest Florida you know that you can find these beautiful beaches all along the coast. So, lets dig a little deeper and really look at what sets the Beaches of 30A apart from neighboring beach communities. Ready – set – go! 

Referred to as “30A” by locals and a growing number of visitors, Scenic Highway 30A is an 18-mile, meandering coastal two lane highway in Southern Walton County Florida. It winds its way through some pretty amazing and unique areas and beach neighborhoods and communities. 

High Rise Dunes and Low Rise Buildings

For starters, 30A is home to some of the highest dune

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There are SO many reasons to love 30A and South Walton, Florida; including pristine sandy white beaches, beautiful state parks, open preservation areas and world-class beach towns! One of the things that makes this stretch of the Northwest Gulf Coast extra special and extremely unique is the presence of Coastal Dune Lakes. 

These special lakes are only found in five place world-wide: Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, Oregon and here on the Gulf Coast in Walton County. Scattered along Scenic Highway 30A from Watersound Beach to Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, you’ll find eleven of the area’s 15 lakes, giving South Walton the distinction of having the largest concentration of Dune Lakes in the world.

A Rare Ecosystem on the South Walton

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