"Slices of 30A"

I've worked with Davis Properties over eight years and have lived in Seagrove for nearly eighteen years; during that time I've seen a lot of changes and growth take place along the Beaches of South Walton. One of Seagrove Beach's neighborhoods, in particular, remains one of my favorites because it was so well planned from the beginning and offers an inviting, welcoming sense of place.

As very early homeowners in Grove by the Sea, my husband and I ran Arbor Homes, a successful residential construction business. We built many of the homes in this highly popular Seagrove Beach development and we loved being a part of a unique and special neighborhood. I know many of the Grove by the Sea owners and continue to stay on top of what happens here on a…

Believe it or not – there’s a lot more to 30A than our gorgeous beaches! Scenic 30A and Southern Walton County is home to five award-winning Florida State Parks. You’ll find pristine beach front areas, elevated board walks over fragile dune areas, an abundance of hiking and biking trails within the park areas and it is a perfect place to enjoy the beach too! Many of the area’s parks feature our unique and rare Coastal Dune Lakes. Two of 30A’s State Parks: Topsail Hill Preserve and Grayton Beach State Park also have cabins for rent and camping facilities. 

Camp Helen State Park:

The park is located on the border of the Walton and Bay Counties in Inlet Beach; Camp Helen was once a summer retreat for employees of Avondale Mills in Alabama. The state…

Summer 2015 came and went quickly and it’s hard to believe that it's nearly a memory. Fall is just around the corner and a “primo” time to be at the beach! We have gorgeous sunsets over the gulf, milder temps, lower humidity and a slower pace to the day. It just doesn’t get much better than that!

The South Walton real estate market has been and continues to be very strong. So far this year market numbers are indicating spring and summer was a very active selling season for real estate in South Walton and Scenic 30A! Davis Properties' year-to-date sales are rapidly approaching $70 million and counting—not too shabby for a small, but dedicated, nine-member sales team! Property values along Scenic 30A and the general area have been consistently…

Sometimes buyers choose to rent first, allowing them the option to get to know the area better before buying a permanent home. Long-term rentals in the 30A area of South Walton County are in high demand, difficult to find and usually don’t stay on the market very long. You or someone you know may be looking for a property to rent in South Walton, and if you’ve spent any time at all in your search, you know it can be a bit of a challenge.

While the Davis Properties team focuses their efforts on home, condo and lot sales, we also want to make sure we can help with anyone’s local 30A real estate needs in whatever capacity we can. Because we frequently receive inquiries about rental properties; we decided to put together a resource list to assist in…

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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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,…