Premium Buyers Market Near

Premium buyers real estate markets only last one year on average if that, according to Real Estate Analyst Mark Grazioli. "You’re almost there in Destin. That’s when I’ll be buying," he said.

The Destin real estate market was slowed down following Hurricane Dennis this past July triggering a decrease in sales. The hurricane’s after effects in the Destin and South Walton area coupled with 15 interest rates hikes sent the market into the slower cycle.

Sales have now been averaging less than half of last year’s record pace monthly, but Grazioli says not to be too cautious when it comes to buying resort real estate. "The Destin market is rare in the big picture of things," he said. "There are baby-boomers that will come out of the wood work to buy second homes and bolster that segment of the real estate market like you won’t believe.

"There’s just too much demand for second homes and condos for it to stop or have a meltdown like other typical residential real estate markets."

Real estate markets are local in nature and typically run in 7 to10 year cycles. The most difficult aspect of any real estate market is determining just where the market is during transitional periods.

Grazioli says the Destin market has just about finished it’s transition and will soon boom a new in "a premium buyers market."

However, that does not mean prices will appreciate for sometime. "That means the owners who really want to sell for a reasonable price and really sell their places will settle for less and get out of their places, especially investor types."

Still others will wait too long to sell and be foreclosed, says Grazioli, causing even lower prices at the closing table. "The real bargains are going to be picked-up from the end seller who wants to sell not forclosures though," he said.

Grazioli declined to forecast how much the Destin market will depreciate, but noted many sales that have been completed over the past two months have been for substantially less than what sales prices were before Hurricane Dennis struck the area.

Things always seem to get worse before they get better. But Grazioli says he’ll be buying very soon.