As housing inventory reaches a record low in much of the country, a few regional housing markets offer additional listings with relative affordability and a reprieve from heated bidding wars. With the spring market just around the corner, lingering housing availability may not last long, but some metros are still clinging to what’s left of a picked-over for sale supply.
Panama City is home to booming community development following the devastation of Hurricane Michael in 2018, but despite a growing housing supply, the median list price of $446,000 is quickly rising. Just next door in Daphne, Alabama, home builders are successfully meeting heightened demand with constant new development and a median list price of $387,400.
After experiencing massive damage from Hurricane Michael in 2018, homebuilders rebuilt devastated neighborhoods and added new developments in this Florida Panhandle city. Big builders like D.R. Horton have invested here, while a local builder recently announced a planned community of 1,600 homes in Panama City Beach.
At the same time, as home prices increase, buyers who scooped up beachfront properties in the past couple of years are starting to see dollar signs, says Sean Casilli, a Realtor® with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate in Panama City Beach.
“People that bought even a year ago are seeing sometimes 30% to 50% appreciation on a unit they bought in a condo [building] and they’re like, ‘well, I don’t know if the market’s going to stay like this so I’ll take my short-term capital gains and run,’” Casilli says.