

Stephens and his wife, Alys Stephens, started vacationing on the Panhandle about 70 years ago, what is now Alys Beach was vacant land. He and his wife live primarily in New Orleans and spend about 170 days a year in Alys Beach. Weill, 59, an organ-transplant specialist and author. “Most of the families that we’ve met here, 20 to 25 families, have bought in the last three years,” said Dr. More: Walk Right Into the Pool From the Living Room at This Florida Mansion In the first quarter of 2023, the average sale price in Alys Beach was $5.74 million, up about 25% from $4.59 million during the same period of last year, he said. The look has proven popular with home buyers: Over the past several years, demand for homes there has increased and prices have ballooned, according to local real-estate agent Jonathan Spears with Compass. White walls and roofs are among the requirements that create the unusual aesthetic of Alys Beach, a 158-acre community on the Gulf of Mexico off Scenic Highway 30A. By December, they had moved full-time from California to Alys Beach with their two daughters.

The Watsons were so besotted with the community that they made an offer on a five-bedroom home during the visit. With its all-white, stucco homes and cobblestone streets, Alys Beach reminded them of the Greek Islands. So instead of heading to the Mediterranean, the Watsons ended up visiting the Weills at their new home in Alys Beach, a coastal planned community on the Florida Panhandle.īut the Watsons quickly discovered that Alys Beach had more in common with their intended destination than they thought. When Covid hit in 2020, Iain and Ronni Watson were planning a cruise in Greece with their friends David and Jackie Weill.
