Michael Perullo, Realtor at Anchor Realty Florida

01/09/2026

Sunset in the yard today.

05/27/2025

04/02/2024

What is going on with real estate inventory along the Forgotten Coast?

Our MLS has 1,306 listings right now; there are ~42,999 parcels in our MLS which stretches from Mexico Beach to Alligator Point, and covers about 200 miles of shoreline. 1,306? Hmm, that’s up ‘500 listings’ from two years ago.

Everyone knows that prices are up not only due to demand but also due to inflation. Here are some good tidbits on availability without focusing on price. The following five areas comprise 526 listings or ~40% of our MLS inventory.

1. In Mexico Beach, there are 117 listings, up 22 from March 1, and up 54 from a year ago; we have 22 Detached Single-Family Homes and 45 lots for sale (up 14 from a month ago). 39 of our listings are more than 90 days old, which at 33% of the total is about 11% below a month ago.
2. In Port St. Joe, there are 96 listings (up four since last month) of which 44 are DSFH; 40 are over 90 days old, and this is a 5% drop from a month ago.
3. On Cape San Blas, there are 149(!) listings which is up 23 from a month ago; 54 of these listings are over 90 days old, which is unchanged from the recent past.
4. On St. George Island, the Plantation has 56 listings, up two. 34 of these are DSFH. The quantity over 90 days old is about the same as with recent history. Remember that The Plantation is a private community with 854 parcels with only 22 lots for sale.
5. Also on SGI, the areas of Gulf Beaches and the East End have 66 homes for sale, which is up two; 35 listings are older than 90 days, which is down slightly from this winter. GB and EE have 26 more homes listed today than a year ago.
6. GB and EE also have 42 lots listed, down one from a month ago, and five more than a year ago. 23 lot listings are aged past 90 days, which is about 10% lower than a month ago.

02/17/2024

Consider a "Portfolio of Lots" in Mexico Beach.

Older stock market investors remember the 'dogs of the Dow' strategy. Some people seek property in up and coming areas. Others will buy the worst property in a neighborhood hoping to gain from renovation. But what about the idea of building an active portfolio of lots?

You might say, I would like to buy the ten 'cheapest lots' in Mexico Beach, and see what happens appreciation-wise. You could always keep your portfolio at 'ten' selling lots when opportune, and buying the next least expensive lot. My city of Mexico Beach has 2,644 parcels or which about 750 are vacant lots which could be built upon (usually with a single family home). These lots are like currency for some people. Some vacant lots haven't sold in forty years; others sell repeatedly over the years as investments. What is amazing is that 55% of these currently vacant lots have sold at least once during the past five years (and have not been built upon, yet). So what is going on here? It looks like vacant lots might be a good investment, a form of 'currency' that is appreciating.

Today, MB has 37 vacant lots for sale which are priced between $150k and $3m. Two years ago, many lots could be had for $$65-95k; not any more. Now, how much would the ten cheapest lots cost simply at listing price with no haggling? $1,868,700. What is interesting is the turnover "at the bottom". On March 1, 2023, the ten cheapest lots would have required an investment of $1,449,500. So, in nine months, the ten cheapest single family home buildable lots has increased in cost by 29%. Interestingly, only one for sale on December 1 was also for sale on March 1, which means that everything available on March 1 is gone for the purposes of investment or imminent building.

This stair-stepping of cost has been increasing for the five years since Hurricane Michael. Interestingly, there's never more than a few dozen lots for sale at any one point in time. Your portfolio of ten lots would likely cause an immediate ten more to 'crack-off' the unbuilt pile, and become listed. Over time, the value of your ten would rise, not only ratably with inflation and general increasing value, but in lumps when someone desired the exact lot you possess to be near a relative, on a key street, or because it faces the right way.

With between 750 and 800 such lots, this stair-stepping could continue for quite some time until MB becomes much more dense like some of the more built up communities west of Panama City. How about a portfolio of lots?! Could be a good idea if you have the right time horizon and a CPA for a Realtor like me. Please call me at 850-899-0824 to discuss. Opportunities like this were available in Destin, Fort Walton, and Gulf Breeze long ago. Today, there are a few families doing this right now in MB, and as time goes by, they look like real estate scholars.

02/17/2024

If you know about Mexico Beach and/or own property here, then you know that MB has been ‘discovered’. This intensifying ongoing ‘discovery’ began about twenty years ago with the rise of everyday internet usage and extensive word of mouth. Mexico Beach’s development began in 1946, and by 1966, it was incorporated as a city. In the early 1970s, Gulf-front lots were about $6,500, and you could buy a waterfront three-bedroom, two-bath air conditioned and furnished brick home for $21,000. In the early 1970s, renting a beachfront property was $70 to $125 per week! By the 1990s, buyers pined for the 1970s, and just before 9/11, people didn’t realize then what was about to happen here between 2002 and 2006 (swiftly rising values), and then 2007 through 2012 (abruptly falling values). Generally, property values in Mexico Beach have doubled since 2018. In fact, Mexico Beach has recently crossed one billion dollars in total property value for the first time; it is now a ‘Billion-Dollar Beach’ on the Gulf.