re: I 65 is a hot mess, Yankees on spring break

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No, take if from someone who lives very near there and whose wife works with them; Tennessee sends their fair share to 30A but that area got too en vogue and chic for their own good. Especially during Covid, Californians and Texans moved into their “second homes” and took over the damn place. And Atlantans just flood the place every weekend they get off. The wife has a real estate broker friend on 30A and he told her he’s getting 30-40 calls a day looking for beach homes to buy...in the $4-5 million range and there’s just no inventory to sell them. Everybody with money wants a house in Rosemary or Seaside or Alys Beach and there’s none to be had and they are totally booked for the summer. The pandemic increased travel to the Gulf Coast beaches exponentially.

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I’ve heard that too. Probably from the same guy because it was almost verbatim. 30A used to be the escape from everything and it was mostly just a Southeast destination. Now it’s just as bad as anywhere else and it’s only getting worse.

Tennesseans are the ones that clog up I-65 though.

Everywhere on the coast is blowing up. Just 10 years ago Fairhope/Point Clear was a cool but sleepy corner of Lower Alabama. Now it’s arguably the fastest growing area of the state. New subdivisions are popping up every day because people are moving in from all parts of the country.

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Everywhere on the coast is blowing up.

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I wonder if Mexico Beach will.

After Hurricane Michael devastated the town in 2018 I talked to the mayor a couple of months later about what the plans were to rebuild. I owned a beach condo in PCB, which was getting too busy even then, and was hoping to find something in Mexico Beach because it always seemed the quiet and quintessential beach town of days gone by. He informed me straight away that the residents and owners loved their little town the way it was and had no interest in selling out to large developers.

I haven't checked the last year or so to know how it's going. I do know the PCB condo I sold in late 2018 is worth about $75,000 more now than when I sold it. I bought one at Treasure Island, on Thomas Drive (at least a little quieter than Front Beach and Destin) February of last year and they are also selling for $75,000 to $100,000 more just in the last year. I thought the real estate market would depreciate with Covid. Wrong answer.

ETA that I just checked realtor.com and it appears the same condo buildings have been repaired and renovated and I don't see any new. There are new beach front houses and cottages but still relatively few for sale and much more expensive than 3 years ago.

mexico beach waterfront