The real estate market has been far from friendly for the past two years with the real estate market being flooded with short sales and foreclosures. Speculators are all but a distant memory and are a prime candidate for the endangered species list. One thing is for sure, second homes, whether in the mountains or at the beach, have long had a strong family appeal. In recent years, savvy developers have been building communities aimed at families in the same way they once built for avid golfers, skiers or tennis players. Many of the second homes are being bought because of family-friendly amenities and are used as a place for family gatherings, especially during holidays.
Scenic 30A has many great family-friendly communities such as: Seaside, WaterColor, WaterSound, Alys Beach and Rosemary Beach. Every year families are coming more often, with the off-season holidays growing significantly in popularity. Six years ago it was a ghost town during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. Now, these are very popular holidays and offer a fantastic family-friendly atmosphere for some quality family time. Communities such as Seaside and Rosemary Beach have a calender full of fun family friendly events and activities all year and have become the central gathering points of families visiting our area. The majority of our buyers seeking second homes for their family request to be in or around Rosemary Beach, WaterColor and Seaside.
“Family-friendly definitely sells now,” says Steve Adelson, a partner in Discovery Land Co., which develops luxury second-home communities with a family focus. “In today’s market, the speculators are gone, and our buyers are real users. For people to be able to afford these kinds of homes, they usually have worked hard, spent a lot of time in the office, and on vacation they really want quality time with their families.”
This past Labor Day weekend Rosemary Beach hosted a "Random Acts of Rosemary" event for the kids. We were lucky enough to be driving by and were able to take advantage of the impromptu giant slip-n-slide on the eastern green of Rosemary Beach. It was a great time!
