As you may remember, on October 10th, 2018, Hurricane Michael made landfall near Mexico Beach as a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 160 miles per hour, and a massive storm surge. Michael was among the three most intense storms ever to make landfall in Florida. Founded in 1946, Mexico Beach comprises 2,681 properties abutting three miles of beautiful white sandy public beach on the Gulf of Mexico. When Michael struck, Mexico Beach had 1,692 buildings; 1,584 of these were damaged, and of these, 809 were destroyed. Mexico Beach has experienced an amazing recovery since Michael. Today, the world knows our name, and this is heralded by the tremendous continuing interest in Mexico Beach real estate.
Since the storm, thirty percent (29%) of all the properties have sold: 385 houses and townhomes worth $138 million, and 398 residential lots worth $94 million – some of these, more than once! This is a massive amount of activity for a city of less than one-thousand people in a relatively sparsely populated section of Florida’s Gulf Coast. With our critical infrastructure restored and enhanced, interest in MB has continued unabated since the storm.
Key Mexico Beach Residential Sales Insights
- During the four years (16 quarters) since Hurricane Michael, MB has had 385 residential sales totaling $137.9 million.
- With the exception of Q1’21, average listing amounts increased each quarter during the past four years; average selling prices tracked similarly.
- It took about a year after the storm for average selling prices to climb (uninterrupted) during each of the subsequent 12 quarters.
- During the past three years of rapid appreciation, sales prices as a percentage of listing prices averaged between 93% and 98% each quarter.
- Of the 385 residential sales, 91 or 24% were at (70) or above (21) listing amounts; the average premium for those selling above listing amount was 2.5%.
- For the fourth quarter of each of 2019, 2020, and 2021, average selling prices increased from the previous fourth quarter 61%, 49%, and 33%, respectively.
- Since Q1’19, average selling prices doubled as of Q3’21 (101% in 30 months).
- During the 12 months ending with Q3 for 2020, 2021, and 2022, there were 100, 117, and 95, residential closings, respectively.
- Today, MB has approximately 31 residential properties listed for sale; 14 of these listings were made more than ninety days ago.
Key Mexico Beach Residential Lot Sales Insights
- During the four years (16 quarters) since Hurricane Michael, MB has had 398 residential sales totaling $94.3 million.
- During six of the previous sixteen quarters, average listing amounts increased; Since Q1’19, average selling prices increased in only the most recent six quarters (April ’21 through September ’22).
- It took more than two years after the storm for average selling prices to climb consistently during each of the most recent six quarters.
- Since July 2021 (Q3’21) there has been rapid and significant appreciation as evidenced by the quarterly average selling prices.
- Since Q1’19, sales prices as a percentage of listing prices averaged between 92% and 101% each quarter.
- Of the 398 residential sales, 103 or 26% were at (80) or above (23) listing amounts; the average premium for those selling above listing amount was 17.6%.
- During Q3’21, average selling prices began a more than year-long trend of significant appreciation, which continues to this day.
- Since the storm, residential lot prices have increased substantially, but the growth in appreciation was uneven until approximately Q3’21.
- During the 12 months ending with Q3 for 2020, 2021, and 2022, there were 80, 139, and 92, residential lot closings, respectively.
- Today, MB has approximately 37 residential lots listed for sale; 21 of these listings were made more than ninety days ago.
What about the future?
Is MB a good place to live, play and invest?
The coming months and quarters will be interesting to watch. The world has discovered MB, but the city has worked hard to maintain its original small-town charm and character. There are no high-rises in MB! In fact, we have a 46’ construction height limit which mitigates interest from giant developers and national chain lodging operators. Come to the beach, come to fish, or just come to enjoy the serenity found in an original older-style Florida Gulf community. As our “Welcome” sign states:
“Come Share The Beauty We Enjoy Every Day”.
Contact MB resident, REALTOR® and CPA Michael Perullo for additional insights into the special nature of our incredible Gulf lifestyle community. Highway 98 runs through our beautiful city, and coincidentally, we have 98 streets here in town. Maybe you would like to live on or invest in property on one of our streets…
