Both sides having to negotiate. That almost never happens at the beach.
I’ve been selling real estate here for more than 20 years, and I can count on one hand the number of times this market has actually been balanced. For most of my career, one side or the other has controlled the table — sellers demanding top dollar and getting bidding wars, or after the Great Recession, buyers picking through foreclosures while prices fell. Very little room to negotiate, ever, no matter which side was winning.
That’s not what’s happening right now.
Today, on 30A, buyers and sellers are actually having to negotiate to put deals together — and keep them together. At least with the houses where the market is starting to even out after years of seller’s control. But because the demand-to-supply ratio here almost always favors sellers eventually, I don’t expect this trend to last long. We’re already seeing the 30A market leverage jump back toward sellers in a big way.
What happens as we move through summer and into fall will depend a lot on the Iran conflict and how long the mortgage “lock-in effect” keeps sellers from listing. Let’s look at both the condo and home markets, and how to navigate each one whether you’re an owner, buyer, or seller.
30A Condo Market
What a difference a year makes, last year deals were hard to find (transactions were down 12.7% from 2024 to 2025) and prices were giving way (down 15.7%). This year – not so much. Even though higher mortgage rates and SIRS requirements have raised the real cost of owning a condo at the beach it hasn’t slowed the 30A condo market at all.
Demand Closed Sales YTD: Up 68.7% — 83 closed sales in 2025 versus 140 so far this year. June was the were up 145.5%. That is a market on fire.
Sales Price Median Sales Price YTD: Up 42.4% — from $695,000 last year to $990,000 this year. This is interesting, price trends have been a bit of a roller coaster ride with postive YoY number coming every other month.
Supply New Listings YTD: Down 15.3%, meaning buyer options are shrinking. Additionally, Median List Price are up year over year 22.6%: $799,000 then, $979,950 now.
If You Own a Condo and Plan to Keep It
The condo market can be pretty finicky so I recommend that you avoid passive ownership — it’s always a good time for proactive defense of your asset.
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- Audit your HOA immediately. SIRS deadlines are already affecting values. Sit down with your HOA and review the building’s reserve funding strategy in detail.
- Weigh your cash flow against rising costs. With the ban on reserve waivers now in full effect, HOA dues and master insurance are climbing and squeezing your rental ROI. Compare your rental income to your rising non-debt carrying costs.
- Know which tier you’re in. A building with solid, fully funded reserves that’s cleared its engineering milestones holds its value. A building under 30% reserve funding should be preparing financially for a special assessment or a real jump in monthly fees.
- But 30A is 30A and demand – over time – will always be strong.
If You’re Buying a Condo
You have leverage this summer — 140 transactions closed, but the prices are jumping so don’t drag your feet if you’re truely intersted in owning a condo on 30A.
- SIRS compliance is your leverage. Before you fall for a view or a pool, ask your agent: “Can I see this building’s completed SIRS report and current reserve balances?”
- Use days-on-market as leverage. Longer DOM usually means room to write value-driven offers. Look for sellers facing upcoming assessment deadlines.
- Treat non-compliant or underfunded buildings as cash-only, high-risk plays — financing will be difficult. Favor well-managed, fully compliant buildings, even at a smaller discount. You’ll sleep better without a surprise assessment next year.
If You’re Selling a Condo
If you listen to macro news, you’d think real estate has ground to a halt. But the actual MLS data for 30A condos tells the exact opposite story. We are seeing a classic supply-and-demand mismatch that is heavily favoring sellers and pushing equity higher.
- The Squeeze is On: Buyers are scooping up inventory faster than sellers are listing it. This is a highly competitive landscape for buyers, who are facing a 22.6% increase in median asking prices ($979,950) just to get into the game.
- The Spring Surge Was Historic: Look at February and April 2026. Closed transactions jumped triple digits compared to last year, with April seeing a staggering 352% increase in total dollar volume closed ($48.4M vs $10.7M).
- The Bottom Line: If you own a 30A condo, your equity position has likely dramatically improved over the last 12 months.
Is Your Condo an A, B or C Property?
What category does your building fall into? Click below to check your property’s position before the fall slowdown.
30A Homes Market
If anyone tells you the luxury market is cooling off, show them these numbers. What is happening along Scenic Highway 30A right now is a massive. High-end buyers aren’t waiting for mortgage rates to hit the 5s—they are aggressively moving their wealth into premium properties at the beach.
Demand Closed Sales YTD: Up 38.9% — 460 closings last year versus 639 so far this year. That’s a lot.
Sales Price Median Sales Price YTD: Up 5.4% — from $1,565,000 last year to $1,650,000 this year.
Supply New Listings YTD: Down 6.2% — 1,196 new listings so far this year versus 1,2756 last year.
List Price Median List Price YTD: Flat 0.0% — sitting at $1,950,000,
If You Own a Home
You’re sitting on a genuine wealth event — your home’s value is up almost 26% over the past year, and unlike condo owners, you’re not staring down a special assessment.
That doesn’t mean the only move is to sit still. A 26% run-up is exactly the kind of moment worth pausing on: not because anything is at risk, but because you’re near a peak, and peaks are worth knowing the exact number on. If you love the home and you’re on a low fixed-rate mortgage, staying put is a perfectly good decision — just make it an informed one instead of a passive one.
If You’re Buying a Home
Do not be afraid to write serious but calculated offers below asking price on properties that have sat past the 60-to-90-day mark. Sellers are coming to the table with high expectations, but the data proves they are giving up massive ground (an average of 7.5% off their original asking prices) to get deals done. Let their days on market work to your advantage.
If You’re Selling a Home
If you price your home at a speculative, peak-boom number, it will get heavily penalized by today’s buyers. It will sit, stagnate, and eventually become a “stale” listing. Analyse your SaleAbility and price it accurately though, and you will capture a great prices from the current wave of buyers in under 90 days.
Find Out Where You Actually Stand
Every section above comes back to the same question: is your specific property in the “A” tier capturing this market, or the “B/C” tier that needs a strategy to compete? A CMA can’t really answer that — ask three realtors and you’ll get three different opinions, because a CMA isn’t a measurement, it’s a guess shaped by who’s doing it and how badly they want the listing.
The SaleAbility Score is built on consistent data instead — rental performance, booking history, location, views, building health, seasonality — the same inputs, the same result, every time. It’s free, takes about two minutes, and most owners are surprised by what they find.
Whether you’re holding, buying, or selling — condo or home — this is where to start.
A Property We Came Across in Our Search for Good Deals
Jackson is underwriting a property that caught our attention for how rare it is — a large home priced at a steep discount to comparable listings, sitting just south of 30A, where it belongs on the map but not on the price tag.
We’re tracking the market for our clients, and this one stood out immediately. Our rental manager has already run the numbers and believes it could be a genuine rental powerhouse — the kind of income that helps renters pay your mortgage for you.
A find like this, in this location, at this price, isn’t likely to last. We’re not sharing the address or listing details here — but if you want them, just ask.
Want the details or want us to set up a showing? Just reply: “Send me Jackson’s 30A deal.”
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re buying, selling, or holding, our job is to help you see your real position clearly — not guess at it. That’s especially true right now, in a market where the old safety nets (predictable pricing, predictable demand) have thinned out on both sides.
Get your SaleAbility Score above, or reach our team directly at 850-654-3325 to talk through where you stand.
Committed to your success,
John Moran – CEO
The Smart Beach Investor | Keller Williams Realty At The Beach Team