In a testament to the red-hot real estate market along Florida’s Panhandle, a waterfront property in Seacrest Beach has hit the market with an eye-watering price tag of $18.5 million — nearly 83% above its last sale price in December 2020.
Entrepreneurs Don and Vita Felin, who acquired the property for $10.11 million that year, are now ready to part ways with their luxurious abode, complete with 54 feet of beach frontage.
Made up of a five-bedroom main house, it also boasts a guesthouse and a swimming pool.
Listing agent Jonathan Spears of Compass told the Wall Street Journal that the property, originally a newly built spec home, has seen significant upgrades since the Felins took ownership.
The approximately 6,900-square-foot main house spans four levels, offering breathtaking views of both Destin and Panama City from its fourth-floor balcony.
The adjacent one-bedroom guesthouse spans around 800 square feet.
The Felins, founders of the Alabama-based manufacturing company Royal Switchgear, stumbled upon this home while it was still under construction in early 2020.
Upon completion, they wasted no time closing the deal, adding a generator capable of powering the entire residence and a garage with a car lift.
Vita mentioned that the sale includes approximately $1 million worth of meticulously chosen furniture.
Having spent 40 years vacationing in northern Florida, the Felins, upon retirement in 2020, decided to make the area their full-time home.
Since then, they’ve dipped their toes into real estate development, building homes in the region, including a 6,600-square-foot property in Seagrove Beach that fetched $13.25 million earlier this year.
The decision to sell the Seacrest Beach property, their primary residence for the past three years, was bittersweet, Vita admitted.
The couple has moved on to a new chapter, purchasing a home in the master-planned community Kaiya Beach Resort, opting for a more modest abode.
According to Spears, communities along state road 30A have long attracted wealthy homeowners from neighboring Georgia and Alabama, but the pandemic-driven demand from out-of-state buyers has accelerated growth.
In 2019, there were no home sales along 30A for over $10 million; however, in 2021, more than 40 such sales took place.
While this year has seen a slight decline in sales volume, with 13 transactions exceeding $10 million, Spears notes that a scarcity of inventory has kept prices steady.
In March, he successfully closed the sale of a 7,400-square-foot home in Seagrove Beach for a staggering $19 million.
The median sale price on the east end of 30A, mirroring the location of the Felin home, has surged to around $3.3 million, a notable increase from $1.5 million in 2019, according to Spears.
With seven homes in the area currently priced over $18 million, the Felins’ listing aligns with the evolving market dynamics.
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