A coastal Florida town is quickly becoming a hotbed for wealthy movers drawn to its sandy shores and laid-back atmosphere.
Located on the western edge of the panhandle, Pensacola boasts the ‘world’s whitest beaches’ and has seen a rapid boom in multi-million dollar homes.
It may not attract the same celebrity roster as Miami, home to the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Matt Damon and Ivanka Trump, but it’s quickly becoming a hotspot for wealthy sun-seekers looking for a beach house in a no-income-tax state.
The number of homes sold for more than $1 million in Pensacola has increased 220 percent since 2019, according to Gordon Miles, president of local brokerage Levin Rinke Realty.
Miles told The Wall Street Journal the pandemic housing boom sparked the beginning of a new luxury market for the western gateway to the Sunshine State.
Located on the western edge of the Panhandle, Pensacola boasts the ‘world’s whitest beaches’
The most expensive home sold in the Pensacola area last year was snapped up for $4.7 million, according to Levin Rinke Realty
This five-bedroom, six-bathroom home sold for more than $4.2 million in November 2023
Its purchase made it the fourth highest sale in Escambia County in 2023
Despite rising mortgage rates, sales of premium properties are increasing at price points previously unheard of for Pensacola.
Last year, 250 homes sold for more than $1 million, compared to just 78 in 2019, in the city, home to nearly 55,000 people.
Sales of single-family homes have also surged in the city, which currently has a median sales price of $315,000 — or 58 percent more than the January 2019 median of $199,575.
“I have several friends who just a few years ago bought houses for about $300,000 that they can now sell for almost $700,000,” Pensacola native and local. photographer Dustin Williams told DailyMail.com.
Williams said the downtown area has “grown quite significantly” in recent years. “Overall, I would say it’s good for the community,” he said.
“For many years, the beach was the highlight of coming to our town, and while it’s still one of the main reasons people visit, they have a more expansive downtown with the baseball stadium, a few performing theaters, lots of restaurants, coffee shops, breweries , weekend markets, monthly downtown events, etc., is good for the community,” he added.
However, he said rents were now comparable to Manhattan and growth in critical infrastructure has not kept pace with the metro boom.
“If you were to get an apartment where I live — and I’m about 35 minutes north of the beach — you’d be paying at least $1,500 a month for a nice, safe apartment, and that’s not even including utilities,” he said.
‘The traffic in Pensacola has become absolutely terrible because with all the growth it brings more and more people to the city, but there is nowhere to put them.
‘Certain roads during rush hour are just gridlocked because it’s a two-lane or four-lane road and there’s way too much traffic for the infrastructure and the roads.
‘I think a better job needs to be done of building the environment to handle the influx of new people.’
Realtor president Gordon Miles said the pandemic housing boom sparked the beginning of a new luxury market for the western gateway to the Sunshine State
Located on the western edge of the Panhandle, Pensacola is becoming a hotspot for wealthy sun seekers looking for a beach house in a state with no income tax
Last year, 250 homes sold for more than $1 million, compared to just 78 in 2019 in the city, home to nearly 55,000 people
The number of homes sold for more than $1 million in Pensacola has increased 220 percent since 2019
Sales of single-family homes have also surged in the city, which currently has a median sales price of $315,000 — well above $267,000 from January
Within Pensacola, the most expensive neighborhood, on average, is the Seville Historic District, with average home sales around $625,000, according to Redfin.
The city has a rich history stemming from its status as America’s first settlement, as the first place to be inhabited for more than a year by Europeans.
The Spanish, French, British, Confederate and American flags have all flown over the city and its history is widely celebrated in various venues, festivals and parades.
As the birthplace of the first US Naval Air Station and the base of the Blue Angels flight demonstration team, it is also known as the home of the US Navy.
But the city’s real estate transformation began about two decades ago, when local businessman Quint Studer invested millions in plans to build a waterfront baseball stadium.
Studer moved to the city with his wife Rishy from Chicago in 1996. He launched a consulting firm in Gulf Breeze and the couple bought a baseball team called the Pensacola Pelicans.
In 2004, he moved downtown and discussed the possibility of building a baseball stadium there with city officials.
The project evolved into a $70 million 20-acre Community Maritime Park that included the stadium, and was bolstered by both private and public funding.
When the park was approved and built over eight years, a busy shopping center emerged on the main road, called Palafox Street.
The most expensive home sold in the Pensacola area last year was snapped up for $4.7 million, according to Levin Rinke Realty.
Lcal businessman Quint Studer invested millions in plans to build a waterfront baseball stadium to transform Pensacola
The 9,390 mansion on Whaley Avenue in East Hill boasts six bedrooms and eight bathrooms, and it comes complete with an infinity pool and a miniature golf course in the garden.
In second place at $4.4 million was a brilliant white five-bed five-bath beachfront property on Ariola Drive.
The all-white exterior is punctuated by bold black accents that frame the windows and porches, while the interior comes complete with an elevator and stunning views of the Gulf of Mexico.
The third and fourth most expensive properties sold in Pensacola last year are on the same bayfront street at $4.35 million and $4.2 million, respectively.