Twelve Months · 13,271 Sales · 22 Markets
Market Intelligence
What every market on this coast actually did — how long homes took, what they sold for per square foot, and how far below asking they closed.
One Finding Above All Others
Nobody gets their asking price. Nobody.
We measured every closed sale in twenty-two markets over the last twelve months — 13,271 of them — and compared the final price against the original asking price, not the reduced one.
Every single market landed between 88.6% and 96.1%. The average is 92.7%. From a $6.6 million Alys Beach house to a $241,000 place in DeFuniak Springs, on the beach and an hour inland, in fast markets and slow ones — the answer barely moves.
Sellers on this coast start around 7–8% high, everywhere. That is not an opinion about your house. It is what thirteen thousand transactions say.
as a share of the
original asking price
from listing
to closing
per square foot
across the coast
Every Market, Side by Side
The last twelve months
| Market | For sale | Sold | Average sale | Per sq ft | Days | % of ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scenic 30A | ||||||
| Alys Beach | 35 | 59 | $6,615,826 | $2,035 | 221 | 95.0% |
| Rosemary Beach | 23 | 39 | $3,955,859 | $1,609 | 165 | 93.9% |
| Seaside | 8 | 13 | $3,139,958 | $1,534 | 181 | 88.9% |
| WaterColor | 26 | 95 | $3,177,759 | $1,031 | 156 | 92.6% |
| WaterSound | 206 | 557 | $1,276,632 | $475 | 150 | 95.8% |
| Seagrove Beach | 80 | 105 | $2,149,041 | $800 | 170 | 91.0% |
| Seacrest Beach | 42 | 72 | $1,877,103 | $684 | 151 | 90.6% |
| Grayton Beach | 33 | 28 | $2,033,072 | $755 | 104 | 93.3% |
| Blue Mountain Beach | 31 | 46 | $2,277,227 | $723 | 113 | 93.8% |
| Dune Allen | 30 | 22 | $1,913,614 | $587 | 202 | 88.6% |
| Inlet Beach | 349 | 545 | $2,361,540 | $826 | 153 | 92.8% |
| Santa Rosa Beach | 1,115 | 1,354 | $1,528,987 | $581 | 146 | 92.2% |
| Destin Area | ||||||
| Sandestin | 322 | 291 | $1,156,546 | $521 | 143 | 90.7% |
| Miramar Beach | 390 | 423 | $945,777 | $518 | 314 | 92.5% |
| Destin | 668 | 828 | $900,589 | $441 | 155 | 90.9% |
| Bay County | ||||||
| Panama City Beach | 1,854 | 2,959 | $532,430 | $433 | 144 | 91.5% |
| Panama City | 1,505 | 2,540 | $366,096 | $211 | 128 | 93.6% |
| Lynn Haven | 172 | 300 | $399,414 | $198 | 110 | 93.8% |
| Year-round communities | ||||||
| Freeport | 560 | 766 | $456,224 | $213 | 132 | 94.8% |
| Niceville | 195 | 650 | $544,256 | $248 | 110 | 96.0% |
| Crestview | 479 | 1,242 | $317,678 | $172 | 121 | 96.1% |
| DeFuniak Springs | 403 | 337 | $241,578 | $164 | 125 | 91.9% |
Emerald Coast MLS and CPAR, sales closed in the twelve months to August 2026. “% of ask” compares the closing price to the original list price, not a reduced one. Outliers excluded — a handful of records carry data-entry errors in the original price that would otherwise distort the figures badly. “For sale” counts are live and change daily.
What Jumps Out
Three things worth knowing
1. Time on market varies three-fold, and price per foot does not explain it. Miramar Beach takes 314 days; Sandestin, inside the same zip code and at effectively the same price per square foot, takes 143. Grayton Beach, Niceville and Lynn Haven all clear in about 110. If you are selling, where you are matters more to your timeline than what you are asking.
2. The extremes hold price best; the middle is softest. Crestview (96.1%), Niceville (96.0%), WaterSound (95.8%) and Alys Beach (95.0%) top the table — the cheapest inland markets and the most exclusive beach ones. The softest are Dune Allen (88.6%) and Seaside (88.9%). Scarcity works at both ends.
3. There is a twelve-fold spread in price per square foot on one coastline. $2,035 in Alys Beach, $164 in DeFuniak Springs, ninety minutes apart. Anyone telling you “the market” is doing something is not describing a market you can buy in.
If You Are Selling
Price it for the market you are actually in
The number that matters is not what your neighbor listed at — it is what comparable homes closed at, and how long they took. We will pull that for your specific street and property type before you set a price. It is the difference between a sale and a listing that goes stale and gets cut twice. Ask for the real numbers →
Going Deeper
Where to read next
Every market above with a link has its own write-up — what is for sale now, what separates it, and what to watch for. Start with the communities overview if you are still narrowing down.
Buying a condo is a different exercise again, and the association’s finances matter more than the unit. What we check before anyone writes an offer covers structural reports, reserve rules and why financing a condotel is its own problem. Or browse every building we track.
Questions the Data Answers
What people ask about this market
How long does it take to sell a house on 30A?
It depends heavily on where. Across 22 markets on the Emerald Coast the average is 154 days from listing to closing, but the range runs from 104 days in Grayton Beach to 314 in Miramar Beach outside the Sandestin gate. Niceville and Lynn Haven both average about 110 days.
How much below asking price do homes sell for here?
Across 13,271 sales in the last twelve months, homes closed at an average of 92.7% of their original asking price. Every one of the 22 markets we measured landed between 88.6% and 96.1%. In practice sellers on this coast start about 7 to 8% high, almost everywhere.
What is the price per square foot on the Emerald Coast?
There is a twelve-fold spread. Alys Beach averaged ,035 per square foot over the last year; DeFuniak Springs, ninety minutes inland, averaged 4. Panama City Beach sits at 3, Destin at 1 and Freeport at 3.
Where is the cheapest place to buy near 30A?
Inland. Freeport is about 25 minutes from the beach at 3 per square foot against roughly 5 on the coast, and has 105 waterfront listings on the bay and bayous. Crestview and DeFuniak Springs are cheaper again. The trade is that almost none of them permit short-term rental.
Which market sells the fastest?
Grayton Beach at about 104 days, then Niceville and Lynn Haven at 110. The slowest by a wide margin is Miramar Beach outside the Sandestin gate at 314 days, despite trading at nearly the same price per square foot as Sandestin, which clears in 143.
Team Turner at Counts Real Estate
These are averages. Yours is a specific house.
A table tells you what a market did. It cannot tell you what your street did, or what a buyer will pay for a corner lot with a new roof in February. That takes someone who has sold here. Ask us and we will show you the comparables that actually apply.