Found 228 blog entries tagged as Gulf county.

2026 Florida Scallop Music & Arts Festival Moves to Beacon Hill

Mark your calendar for one of Gulf County’s favorite Labor Day weekend traditions! The 2026 Florida Scallop Music & Arts Festival is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, September 5–6, 2026, at a beautiful new waterfront location—Gulf County Veterans Memorial Park at Beacon Hill in Port St. Joe, Florida.

With live entertainment, local art, food and coastal fun overlooking the Gulf, this two-day festival is the perfect opportunity to gather your family and friends, support the community and enjoy a memorable weekend along Florida’s Forgotten Coast.

2026 Florida Scallop Festival Details

Dates: September 5–6, 2026
Location: Gulf County Veterans Memorial Park at Beacon Hill
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What does Florida's new builder warranty actually cover if I buy new construction on the Forgotten Coast?

Since July 1, 2025, Florida law requires builders to provide a one-year warranty on every newly built single-family home, covering construction defects that create a material violation of the Florida Building Code. It doesn't cover normal wear, settling, storm damage, or appliances under their own manufacturer warranty, and it runs from the date you take title or move in, whichever comes first. Combined with a solid final walkthrough and your own agent at the table, it gives buyers on Cape San Blas, in Ovation, at WindMark Beach, and across the rest of the Forgotten Coast real protection they didn't automatically have before.

By Billy…

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Wooded 2.2-Acre Parcels for Sale in Indian Pass, Florida

Private Gulf County acreage near Indian Lagoon, the Indian Pass Public Boat Launch, Port St. Joe, and Apalachicola

Buyers searching for acreage near the coast without the congestion of a traditional beach community should take a closer look at these approximately 2.2-acre wooded parcels on County Road 30-A in Indian Pass, Florida.

Carved from a larger wooded tract, each parcel offers privacy, natural surroundings, and the flexibility to create a homesite that fits your vision. Keep the mature pine and oak trees for added seclusion, selectively clear an area for a future residence, or preserve much of the land in its current, largely undisturbed condition.

Additional adjoining acreage…

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254 Water Plant Rd: Move-In-Ready Commercial Building For Sale in Port St Joe, FL

There's a particular kind of relief that comes from finding a commercial building that's already done. No permitting marathon, no guessing what the last contractor buried in the walls, no wondering if the roof will hold up through the next season on the Forgotten Coast. 254 Water Plant Rd in Port St Joe is that building, and it's on the market now at $699,000.

The Location

The property sits near the Hwy 98 corridor, in that stretch of road between Port St Joe and Mexico Beach where a lot of contractors, service businesses, and storage operations have quietly set up shop over the last few years. You're close enough to both towns to serve either one without…

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What does the St. Joseph Peninsula beach nourishment and breakwater project mean for buyers?

It's great news. A roughly $34.5 million investment just placed about 830,000 cubic yards of sand along 1.1 miles of southern Cape San Blas shoreline near the Stumphole revetment and added eight submerged breakwaters built to hold that sand in place. For buyers, that means a wider protective beach, a rebuilt dune, and a shoreline engineered to erode more slowly in the project area. It's a real vote of confidence in the peninsula. Smart buyers still confirm a parcel's flood zone, CBRA status, and insurance separately, and that's easy to do. Because the benefit is strongest in the southern project limits, where a parcel sits is worth checking, and that's…

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In coastal Sunset Village, opportunities like this do not come along often.

This two-lot package includes 205 S Brooks Ave and 207 S Brooks Ave in Port St. Joe, Florida, totaling approximately 0.67 acres in an X Flood Zone near the Hwy 98 coastal corridor, St. Joseph Bay, and WindMark Beach. For buyers, builders, and developers looking for land near the Gulf of America and St. Joseph Bay, this is the kind of site that deserves a closer look.

The package includes 205 S Brooks Ave at approximately 0.31 acres and 207 S Brooks Ave at approximately 0.36 acres. Together, these contiguous homesites create added room for future planning, thoughtful site design, outdoor living, garage space, or a custom coastal residence. Buy both for a larger…

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How do you finance a second home on Florida's Forgotten Coast?

A second home on this coast is more within reach than most buyers expect. For a place you'll use yourself, you can start with as little as 10 percent down, and 30-year fixed rates have eased back into the high 6 percent range as of mid-June 2026, just a touch above a primary residence. Larger homes above the 2026 conforming limit of $832,750 in Gulf County open the jumbo path, and if you'd like to rent the place when you're not there, the investment-property route is a flexible option too. Rates move daily, so the best first step is a quick, live quote on your own scenario. Let's get you started.

By Billy Joe Smiley

Most of the buyers I work with on this coast aren't buying a…

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2026 4th of July Events on Florida’s Forgotten Coast

America is turning 250, and there is no better place to celebrate than along Florida’s Forgotten Coast. From waterfront fireworks and golf cart parades to live music, local shopping, farmers markets, family fun, and beach-town traditions, the 2026 Fourth of July weekend is packed with patriotic events across Gulf County and Franklin County.

Whether you are staying in Port St. Joe, Mexico Beach, WindMark Beach, Wewahitchka, Apalachicola, Carrabelle, Eastpoint, or St. George Island, here is your timeline of local 4th of July celebrations.

Wednesday, July 1 — Eastpoint Freedom Festival

Kick off the holiday week bayside at the Eastpoint Freedom Festival. The celebration begins at the …

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What will a buyer actually pay in closing costs on Florida's Forgotten Coast?

When you finance a home here, you can plan on buyer closing costs of roughly 2 to 5 percent of the purchase price, and every piece of that is easy to budget for once you know it. It covers Florida's documentary stamp tax on your mortgage note at $0.35 per $100 financed, the intangible tax at $2.00 per $1,000 financed, your lender's fees and lender's title policy, recording and inspection costs, and prepaids. The biggest line item on this coast is usually your insurance, since wind, flood, and homeowners are often paid a full year up front at closing, which is a normal part of owning a coastal home. A cash buyer skips the note stamps, intangible tax, and lender fees,…

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Is now a good time to buy on Florida's Forgotten Coast?

Yes, mid-2026 favors buyers on the Forgotten Coast. Inventory on Cape San Blas and the Highway 30A corridor has grown several weeks running, homes are sitting longer, and sellers are negotiating on price, concessions, and rate buydowns more than at any point since before the pandemic. With 30-year rates near 6.4 percent, your real advantage right now is leverage on terms. The smart move is a well-structured offer with full contingencies, not the highest number you can stretch to.

By Billy Joe Smiley | June 11, 2026

I get this question almost every week right now, usually from someone who has been watching listings for a few months and senses the market has shifted. They're right. After…

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