Comparing Home Sales in Rosemary Beach, WaterColor and WaterSound
by Murray Balkcom, GRI, Realtor (The Premier Property Group)
dreamBIGproperties.comLast week, I wrote a detailed summary on home sales in the beach community of Rosemary Beach, located at the beaches of South Walton. This week, I’ll share home sales from WaterSound and WaterColor, comparing those annual sales with Rosemary Beach. Though two of these communities, WaterColor and WaterSound, were developed by St Joe, each of these developments is unique and distinct from the other.
For 2010, WaterColor came in with the most home sales, totaling 55, though according to the historical data, that has been the typical case each year except during 2004. Rosemary Beach came in with 38 reported sales and WaterSound with only 16 home sales. In 2010, Rosemary Beach really took a giant leap over 2009 sales with 100% growth, while WaterSound and WaterColor home sales decreased compared to 2009.
Comparing the 
2010 annual sold dollar volume between these coastal communities, we see similar results. WaterColor saw more dollar volume than Rosemary Beach or WaterSound. However, the total sold dollar volume decreased from 2009 for both WaterColor and WaterSound, while Rosemary Beach saw an increase of more than 100% compared to 2009.
Rosemary Beach takes the lead in 2010 for the annual average sales price of homes, compared to WaterColor and WaterSound. Even more interesting is something we haven’t seen since the peak of the real estate market — In 2010, we saw the average annual sales price of homes INCREASE in Rosemary Beach and WaterColor! WaterSound was down slightly. The increases are only moderate, but they are increases which everyone has been waiting for. Does this mean every seller should go out and raise their asking price? Not if the property is already over-priced. It will still take some time to develop legs in this market, so I don’t think anyone is predicting a crazy growth spurt in selling prices.
WaterColor may be behind in the race for 2010, but it is important to note that from July through December, sales quantity and sold dollar volume were on the rise and peaked in December during that period.
Looking at only the annual numbers, it is easy to forget that sales in South Walton were almost non-existent for two summer months due to concerns from the Deep Horizon spill. If it weren’t for that interruption, I cannot help but wonder what sales would have been for 2010.
If you, or someone you know, are interested in buying or selling property in South Walton, please contact Murray Balkcom, GRI, Realtor with The Premier Property Group, or go to dreamBIGproperties.com and search for properties on your own to get an overview of the market and currently listed properties.
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All sales data referenced above is provided by Emerald Coast Association of Realtors and is thought to be accurate but not guaranteed.
Murray Balkcom is a licensed Realtor with The Premier Property Group, serving South Walton, including the beach communities of Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach, Seacrest, WaterSound, Seagrove, Seaside, WaterColor, Grayton Beach, Blue Mountain Beach, Santa Rosa Beach, Dune Allen, and Point Washington.
