March 2012 RSS Feed

The newest of the beautiful Gulf Coast beach communities that comprise the Beaches of South Walton, Alys Beach, Florida is an oasis of quiet luxury nestled along the Gulf Coast’s scenic Highway 30-A. Recently named America’s Top Spot for Design-Savvy Home Buyers by Forbes magazine, Alys Beach provides a tranquil retreat that will soothe your soul and nourish your spirit.

The crisp architectural lines, bright white color palette, and beautifully-landscaped central courtyards and delightful terraces give this New Urban community an enticing Mediterranean sensibility. In keeping with the community spirit of New Urbanism, all of the community’s delightful amenities are located within easy walking distance of every home. The magnificent Caliza Pool at the…

With the economy still recovering, many Destin, Florida home sellers  and home buyers think they’ll save money by selling or buying a home themselves. The truth is that few people save money when they take a do-it-yourself approach to selling or purchasing a home on Florida’s scenic Gulf Coast and many people actually wind up losing money. In most cases, sale-by-owner homes sit on the market longer, receive less buyer traffic and sell for less than homes sold by Realtors. A Realtor provides South Walton home sellers  with instant access to multiple listing services and professional connections that will drive maximum buyer traffic to the home. Intimately familiar with local markets, a Destin Realtor can provide valuable advice on pricing and preparing your…

The three communities that border Grayton Beach State Park –Grayton Beach, Seaside and WaterColor -- illustrate the delightful diversity of the charming communities that comprise the Beaches of South Walton. Strung along Florida’s Emerald Coast like a strand of glimmering pearls, South Walton’s seaside communities run the gamut from iconic Florida beach towns to luxurious resorts and beautiful planned communities. Each of the small towns that hug the Gulf Coast between Destin and Panama City Beach has its own unique character; but all offer the gracious, relaxing lifestyle that has made the Beaches of South Walton one of the Gulf Coast’s most desirable places to live.

Grayton Beach is the iconic Florida beach town. Nestled among tall pines and oaks,…

Most Destin home buyers schedule a home inspection after they make an offer on a home, typically making their purchase contingent on the seller’s repair of any defects found. Home inspections are geared to protect home buyers from unknown and potentially expensive repair issues down the road. But Destin home sellers  can also profit from scheduling a home inspection before they put their home on the market. A licensed home inspector can conduct a thorough inspection of your Destin home and point out problem areas so they can be addressed before potential buyers walk through the door, removing possible impediments to the sale of your Destin home.

An experienced Destin Realtor will be able to recommend reliable local home inspectors. Unlike many states,…

Niche aging was one of Time magazine’s 10 Ideas for the Next 10 Years: A thinker’s guide to the most important trends of the new decade . Aimed at the 78 million baby boomers that are beginning to reach retirement age, niche aging refers to the new building trend of creating retirement communities that appeal to people who share a specific passion. Time mentions a country music community being built in Tennessee that will include recording studios and a feng shui-designed Asian culture community in California that will offer daily tai chi classes. The growing number of such specialized communities may be diverse in their focus, but they share the common goal of bringing together people that share similar interests to create active lifestyle communities –…

One of the many delights of living in Destin, Florida is the opportunity to visit the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge  on a regular basis. Located on Okaloosa Island in neighboring Ft. Walton Beach refuge staff and volunteers have nursed stranded dolphins, injured pelicans and orphaned opossums back to health, returning them to the wild whenever possible. Animals that are not able to return to their native habitats become refuge ambassadors and part of the wildlife center’s extensive education program. Most recently, an exhausted masked booby blown off course by Tropical Storm Lee was rehabilitated and, with the help of local pilots, returned to its home turf in the Florida Keys.

A visit to the wildlife refuge is a favorite spring break outing for many…

All home sellers dream of being caught in a bidding war. Two or more determined buyers that keep raising their purchase offers in an effort to outbid other interested parties and become the proud new owner of your home place Destin home sellers  in an enviable position. What South Walton home seller wouldn’t love to find a buyer willing to pay top dollar for their home?

While not as common today as it was before the housing bubble burst and the recession descended, some Destin, South Walton and Panama City Beach home sellers do find themselves in the enviable position of entertaining multiple offers from prospective home buyers. Negotiating a home sale with multiple bidders is more than a matter of simply accepting the highest offer. There are a number…

 

First impressions are critical when selling your Destin home. Your home usually has only one chance to capture a buyer’s interest. To earn a spot on a Destin home buyer’s short list, your home must captivate the buyer the first time he sees it. Professional home stagers are in the business of creating dynamite first impressions designed to sell your home quickly. 

According to StagedHomes.com, 94% of homes staged by an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP) sell in 29 days or less compared to 145 days for non-staged homes. Expert Destin Realtors [http://www.gulfcoastrealestatesales.com/selling.php] frequently recommend professional home staging to ensure both a faster sale and a higher selling price. Destin home sellers…

Destin’s beaches are known the world over for their beautiful soft white sand. Extremely fine-grained, the sand found on the 24-mile string of beautiful, pristine beaches that line Florida’s Emerald Coast pampers your feet and soothes the senses. Even on the hottest summer days, Emerald Coast beach sand is cool enough to the touch that you can walk across Destin’s beaches without resorting to the comical running hop that most people adopt when trying to dash across sand that has reached sizzling hot temperatures. But why is the sand on the Florida Panhandle’s Gulf Coast so different than the sand on other Florida beaches? What makes our sand so special that Destin’s beaches are consistently recognized as among the world’s best?

As Destin Realtors say,…

 

In the middle of the Florida Panhandle, nestled between the South Walton communities of Grayton Beach [http://www.destinrealestatesales.com/grayton-beach.php ] and Seaside [http://www.gulfcoastrealestatesales.com/seaside-real-estate.php], lies Grayton Beach State Park [http://www.floridastateparks.org/graytonbeach/], one of the Emerald Coast’s most beautiful and pristine beach environments. Tall, rolling dunes of brilliant white sugar-soft sand gradually flatten into a wide beautiful beach that stretches down to some of the greenest, clearest water on the Gulf. Nothing less than idyllic, the beach at Grayton Beach State Park is renowned as one of the most beautiful natural beaches in the United States and attracts flocks of sun worshippers year…