The Florida Panhandle and Coastal Alabama housing markets entered the 2026 spring selling season moving in opposite directions, according to a new cross-state market analysis released today by The Talley Group at Keller Williams Realty Gulf Coast. In Pensacola, Florida, the median sale price climbed 3.0% year-over-year to $339,900 in March, with homes selling in a median of 63 days — 35 days faster than the same month a year earlier. Just across the state line in Orange Beach, Alabama, the median price slipped 3.7% to $650,000 and homes spent 25 days longer on the market than they did in March 2025.
Pensacola posted the strongest combination of price appreciation and sales velocity among the eight Gulf Coast markets reviewed. Closed sales rose 29% year-over-year, with the average home selling at 96.7% of list price. The Pensacola, Florida market now scores 42 on Redfin's Compete Score — back in "somewhat competitive" territory after softening through much of 2024 and 2025.
By contrast, the Orange Beach resort market shifted decisively toward buyers. Median days on market expanded from 100 to 125, and median price-per-square-foot rose only 3.2% even as headline price softened. Sales volume nonetheless grew 18.1% year-over-year, indicating that buyers are present and transacting — just on materially better terms. Baldwin REALTORS Multiple Listing Service data confirms the trend: the broader Alabama resort area (Orange Beach, Fort Morgan, and southern Gulf Shores) closed 174 residential sales in March 2026, up 14.5% from a year ago, even as average sale price fell 4.6%.
"What we are seeing in March 2026 is a Gulf Coast that has split into two distinct markets," said Travis Talley, founder of The Talley Group. "Pensacola has tightened — homes are moving 35 days faster than they were a year ago, and we are back to multiple offers on well-priced properties. Meanwhile, Orange Beach buyers have meaningful leverage for the first time since 2019. Buyers willing to look across the state line are finding real opportunities right now."
The luxury bright spot of the report is Santa Rosa Beach along Scenic Highway 30A, where the median sale price reached $1.08 million in March — a 24.6% year-over-year gain — on 144 closed transactions. Destin, Florida also stabilized, with median price up 3.8% to $617,500 and median days on market 18 days shorter than a year ago. In Alabama, Gulf Shores largely held the line, with median price down just 0.3% to $457,500 and a 30-day improvement in days on market.
Migration data from Redfin's Q4 2025 search dataset shows a single dominant pattern across every anchor market in the report. Atlanta households were the largest source of net inbound homebuyer interest in Pensacola, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and Destin, followed by Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Los Angeles.
"More than half of net inbound buyer interest in our coastal markets in late 2025 came from just five metros — and Atlanta led every single one," Talley said. "That tells us the Gulf Coast is not just a Florida story or an Alabama story anymore. It is a Southeast story, and out-of-market buyers are increasingly comparing both states before they commit."
The regional split arrives against a softening national backdrop. The National Association of REALTORS reported the U.S. existing-home sales annual rate fell to 3.98 million in March 2026 — a nine-month low — with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate sitting at 6.41% in mid-April. Florida's continued insurance-market pressure, where average homeowner premiums now run three to four times the national average, has weighed especially heavily on older condo stock statewide. The Talley Group's analysis suggests the western Panhandle and Alabama Gulf Coast have so far been more insulated from those statewide condo headwinds than South Florida markets.
About The Talley Group
The Talley Group at Keller Williams Realty Gulf Coast is a residential real estate team serving buyers, sellers, and investors across the Florida Panhandle and Coastal Alabama. Founded by Travis Talley and headquartered in Gulf Breeze, Florida, the team specializes in beach homes, condominiums, vacation-rental investment properties, and primary residences from Pensacola through Perdido Key, Gulf Shores, and Orange Beach, with active coverage of Destin, 30A, and Miramar Beach. The Talley Group is one of the few teams licensed and actively listing in both Florida and Alabama Gulf Coast markets. More information is available at propertyonthegulfcoast.com.
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Media Contact
The Talley Group at Keller Williams Realty Gulf Coast
913 Gulf Breeze Pkwy., Suite 44, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561
Email: [email protected]
Web: propertyonthegulfcoast.com
Methodology
This report synthesizes March 2026 month-end data from three independent sources. Florida market figures are drawn from Redfin's MLS-derived city-level reports. Coastal Alabama detail comes from the Baldwin REALTORS Multiple Listing Service via Gulf Coast Media (April 2026). National context is from the National Association of REALTORS Existing-Home Sales report. Migration data uses Redfin's Q4 2025 (October–December) homebuyer search dataset, sampled across approximately two million Redfin.com users. All percentage changes are year-over-year unless otherwise noted.
