July saw a continued slowdown in the 30A Beaches real estate market, with 77 homes and condos sold and 80 new contracts signed. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beach Properties of Florida led the market, closing 28 transactions and generating nearly $43 million in sales volume. The brokerage’s total sales volume across Walton and Okaloosa counties surpassed $52 million for the month. The highest-priced sale was a seven-bedroom, Gulf-front home in Paradise by the Sea, which sold for $28.5 million. The top-priced condo was a three-bedroom residence in Bella Vita, Blue Mountain Beach, selling for $2.2 million. Check out more details on single-family home sales in North Santa Rosa Beach and Point Washington below. To read the full report, click here. For more info and updates, visit 30A Real Estate.    https://30a.com/30a-real-estate-july-2024-real-estate-market-overview/ Read More

Some people travel the world in search of culture, whether it’s artwork hanging on the walls of museums or symphonies bellowing from great orchestras. If you enjoy vacationing on sandy beaches and in seaside towns, you can have the best of both worlds by planning your travel to coincide with world-class sand sculpting events. From coast to coast, sand sculpture artists have elevated the beach pastime of sandcastling into an art form. There are fewer than 400 professional sand sculptors worldwide, along with many semi-professional sand artists who compete in sandsculpture contests around the USA. For the American Institute of Architects Sandcastle Competition in Galveston, Texas, competitors take planning seriously. “Teams begin months in advance generating ideas, developing designs, and assigning duties,” said Ashley Heitmeier Hesser, 2024 AIA Sandcastle Co-Chair. “Many designs are so intricate and complicated that some teams use large framework systems, mechanized tampers, and water pumping systems.” What emerges from the sand during these events are fabulous outdoor art galleries. “Unlike other sculpting mediums, sand is transient, making the creations temporary and adding an extra layer of challenge and beauty to the competition,” said Eliza Aguilar, events director of the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce and host of the American Sand Sculpting Championship. Many of these events are a tourism and economic boon to their host cities. Several sand sculpture events were canceled in the past few years due to weather, natural disasters, and the pandemic. One event, in particular, the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest, was... Read More