If you own property in Crystal Beach or you’re considering buying on the Bolivar Peninsula, there’s one big question right now:
Are we still in a real estate market correction, or are we finally beginning to stabilize?
After looking back at several years of our Bolivar Peninsula market reports, I think the answer is becoming more interesting.
The correction clearly happened. Prices came down from the peak. Inventory climbed. Homes took longer to sell.
But now, some of those numbers are beginning to change direction.
And that may be telling us something.
Watch: Correction or Stabilization?
I break down the numbers and explain what I’m seeing in my latest Bolivar Peninsula real estate market update.
Watch Correction or Stabilization?
If you would rather read the numbers, keep going. There are several trends worth watching.
First, What Does a Real Estate Correction Look Like?
A real estate correction doesn’t necessarily mean a crash.
Usually, we begin seeing several things happen together:
- More homes come onto the market.
- Months of inventory increases.
- Homes take longer to sell.
- Buyers become more selective.
- Sellers begin making concessions.
- Pricing starts to soften.
That’s essentially the story we’ve watched unfold on the Bolivar Peninsula.
The market experienced extraordinary growth during the pandemic-era buying boom. Eventually, supply caught up, demand changed and the market began correcting.
Now the question is whether that correction is starting to run its course.
Look at What Happened to Prices
One of the clearest ways to understand the correction is to look at the longer-term price trend.
Our historical market reporting shows average sales prices of approximately:
2020 — $347,654
2021 — $467,113
2022 — $618,975
2023 — $517,217
2024 — $496,972
July 2025 YTD — $474,092
That tells quite a story.
Prices climbed rapidly through 2022. Then the market began giving back some of those gains.
That’s a correction.
You can see the historical numbers in our 2025 Mid-Year Bolivar Peninsula Market Report.
Price Per Square Foot Is Getting Interesting
Average price alone doesn’t tell us everything, especially in a market as diverse as the Bolivar Peninsula.
A small second-row beach house and a large luxury beachfront property are obviously not comparable simply because they’re both located in Crystal Beach.
That’s why I also watch sold price per square foot.
We’ve watched price per square foot come down significantly from the market’s highs.
But today, the average sold price is running at approximately $327 per square foot.
That’s important because we’re no longer seeing the same straight downward trajectory we saw during the correction.
Does $327 mean prices are suddenly going back up?
No.
But it gives us another reason to ask whether pricing may be beginning to find a floor.
Inventory Is Still High — But That’s Not the Whole Story
For quite some time, inventory has been one of the biggest challenges facing Bolivar Peninsula sellers.
At one point in 2025, we had more than 500 homes on the market. Our July 2025 report showed 513 active homes.
That’s a lot of competition.
But here’s what I’m watching now:
Inventory has come down from its peak.
We’re still in a high-inventory market, so I wouldn’t call inventory “normal.”
What matters is the direction.
If inventory continues declining while sales activity improves, that’s exactly the type of movement we’d expect to see as a market begins working toward better balance.
Sales Activity Is Beginning to Improve
This is another piece of the puzzle.
Buyers didn’t disappear from Crystal Beach.
They became more selective.
When buyers have hundreds of properties to choose from, they don’t have to settle. They can compare location, condition, age, view, rental history, furnishings and price.
That’s why today’s market rewards properties that are positioned correctly.
We’re now seeing indications that sales activity is slowly improving.
That doesn’t mean we’re heading back to the frenzy of 2021.
Frankly, that’s not what I’m looking for.
A healthy market doesn’t need a frenzy.
It needs buyers and sellers gradually moving back toward equilibrium.
Days on Market Are Moving in the Right Direction
Days on market rose dramatically during the correction.
For example, our February 2026 market report showed an average of 281 days on market. It also showed approximately 23.7 months of inventory and an average sold price of $491,240.
Those aren’t numbers I’d associate with a seller’s market.
But more recently, we’ve begun seeing days on market move lower.
Again, it’s the direction I’m interested in.
One improving statistic doesn’t establish stabilization.
Several improving statistics at the same time get my attention.
So, Is the Bolivar Peninsula Market Stabilizing?
Here’s where I land today:
The correction happened. Stabilization may be beginning.
I’m not ready to call this a recovery.
There’s a difference.
Inventory remains elevated. Buyers still have substantial leverage. Some properties remain on the market for a long time, and pricing correctly is extremely important.
But we’re beginning to see several encouraging signals:
- Inventory is below its peak.
- Sales activity is improving.
- Days on market are trending down.
- Current sold price per square foot is around $327.
When several indicators begin changing direction together, it’s worth paying attention.
What This Means if You’re Selling in Crystal Beach
This is not the market to price a house based on what your neighbor received in 2021 or 2022.
Buyers have too many alternatives.
However, I also don’t believe every seller should automatically keep reducing their price.
The question should be:
How does your property compare with what buyers can purchase today?
That’s where the analysis gets more specific.
- Location matters.
- Beachfront versus second row matters.
- Beach access matters.
- Age and condition matter.
- Views matter.
- Rental performance can matter.
- Construction quality matters.
- And the amount of competing inventory in your particular price range matters enormously.
- A peninsula-wide average can’t tell you exactly what your house is worth.
That’s where local market knowledge becomes important.
What This Means if You’re Buying
Buyers still have something they didn’t have during the height of the market:
- Choices.
- You can compare properties.
- You can study the numbers.
- You may have negotiating leverage.
- And you generally have more opportunity to be selective.
- But there’s another side to that equation.
If we’re actually beginning to see stabilization, buyers may eventually have to stop asking:
“How much farther will the market fall?”
and start asking:
“Did I miss the bottom?”
I don’t think we have enough evidence to answer that yet.
But we’re getting closer to a point where it’s a legitimate question.
We’ve Been Tracking This Market for Years
One reason I wanted to make this video was to look beyond a single month’s numbers.
We’ve been publishing Bolivar Peninsula market reports throughout this correction.
If you’d like to see how the market evolved, here are several reports worth reading:
2026
Our February 2026 Bolivar Peninsula Market Update provides a useful snapshot from earlier this year.
2025
The 2025 Year-End Bolivar Peninsula Market Report looks at where the market finished the year.
Our 2025 Mid-Year Market Report is particularly helpful because it includes historical sales-price information going back to 2020.
You can also compare the June 2025 Crystal Beach Market Report and the April 2025 Bolivar Peninsula Report to see how inventory, pricing and sales changed during the year.
And one of my favorites to revisit is our March 2025 discussion:
Have We Hit the Bottom? — March 2025 Market Discussion
That question becomes even more interesting when you compare it with what we’re seeing today.
Local Numbers Matter More Than National Headlines
National real estate headlines can be useful, but they can’t tell you what’s happening with a beachfront home in Crystal Beach.
Real estate is local.
And on the Bolivar Peninsula, it can be very local.
Two houses a few blocks apart can perform very differently depending on their location, view, neighborhood, condition, rental potential and price.
That’s why I spend so much time studying our local numbers instead of simply repeating national housing headlines.
Thinking About Buying or Selling on the Bolivar Peninsula?
This is exactly what we do.
At Crystal Beach One10 Realty Group, brokered by eXp Realty, we work with buyers, sellers and investors throughout Crystal Beach and the Bolivar Peninsula.
If you’re selling, we can look at your property against today’s actual competition and recent sales.
If you’re buying, we can help you identify where value may exist in this changing market.
And if you’re simply wondering whether now is the right time to make a move, that’s a conversation worth having too.
The market doesn’t have to be perfect.
The decision has to make sense for you.