Buying a Second Home on 30A

How much does a second home on 30A cost to own?

Budget roughly $2,850 a month in carrying costs on a $1.2 million 30A home — about $34,300 a year — before any mortgage payment. That covers property taxes, wind insurance, flood insurance, HOA dues, and coastal upkeep. The number runs higher than buyers expect for one reason: a second home gets no Homestead Exemption and no Save Our Homes cap, so you pay full freight on the assessed value every year.

Most people price a 30A second home by the purchase price and the mortgage payment.

Then they get the first tax bill.

A second home in Walton County doesn't get the Homestead Exemption. It doesn't get the Save Our Homes cap either. Those two protections are what keep a Florida primary residence affordable year over year, and neither one applies to a house you don't live in full time.

That single fact moves the math more than the interest rate does.

Here's the complete picture — what you'll pay to own it, what it can earn if you rent it, and what you'll owe when you sell.

The Homestead Exemption doesn't apply, and that changes everything

If this were your primary residence, two things would happen.

You'd knock up to $50,000 off your assessed value. And you'd get the Save Our Homes cap, which limits how fast your assessed value can rise — 3% a year or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.

On a second home, neither applies. Your assessment resets to full market value, and it can climb with the market every single year with no cap on top of it.

There's a second piece most buyers miss. When you buy, the property gets reassessed at market value. If the seller held it a long time under the Save Our Homes cap, their tax bill has almost nothing to do with yours. We walked through that reset in detail in the truth about Florida property taxes.

Never budget from the seller's tax bill. Budget from the price you're paying.

Walton County runs roughly 0.42% to 0.45% of assessed value. On a $1.2 million home, that's about $5,400 a year, or $450 a month.

What it actually costs to own

Here's a full carrying-cost model on a $1.2 million home in Santa Rosa Beach — a few blocks back from the Gulf, not Gulf-front, held as a second home.

A few notes on where those come from.

Maintenance is 1% of value, and on the coast that's a floor, not a cushion. Salt air is hard on HVAC systems, roofs, exterior paint, and anything metal. Budget it as a real line, because it shows up as a real bill.

HOA dues swing widely. A modest 30A neighborhood might run $1,500 a year. Resort communities with beach access, pools, and gate staff run several times that. Get the actual figure and the assessment history before you're past your inspection period.

Gulf-front changes all of it. Insurance alone can run $10,000 to $20,000 or more, and flood in a VE zone runs $5,000 to $15,000+. We compared what that premium buys you in Gulf-front vs. Gulf-view.

Ready to see what's available on the Emerald Coast? Our team knows every active listing from Destin to 30A. Reach out and we'll build a custom search for you.

Insurance is two policies, not one

This is the most common gap in a second-home budget.

Your homeowners policy covers wind — roof, windows, and structure during a hurricane. Your flood policy covers water that rises from the ground, including storm surge. They're separate bills from separate carriers, and you need both.

Two things worth knowing before you write an offer:

The federal flood program caps at $250,000 on the building. On a $1.2 million home, that's coverage for a fraction of a rebuild. Private flood carriers write up to $10 million and are usually the right answer at this price. The full zone-by-zone breakdown is in what flood insurance really costs.

If you're buying a condo, the financing rules changed this year. Fannie Mae eliminated Limited Review in August 2026, and reserve requirements rise in January 2027. Buildings that fail on reserves or structural reports can't get conventional financing at all. We covered the failure modes in why Destin condo loans are getting denied in 2026.

If you plan to rent it, verify eligibility before you make an offer

This is the most expensive mistake available on 30A: buying an investment property that can't legally be rented the way you planned.

Rules stack in three layers, and each one can override your plan on its own.

1. State — you need a Florida DBPR vacation rental license and a Department of Revenue sales tax number.
2. County — Walton County requires a short-term rental certificate, currently $300 a year, plus a business tax receipt. Total licensing lands around $350 to $400 annually.
3. HOA or community — this is the layer that catches people. Community covenants can be stricter than the county, and some prohibit short-term rentals outright regardless of what the county allows.

Check all three, in writing, before your inspection period ends. The full breakdown is in can you rent your Emerald Coast home short-term.

What the rental income actually nets

Gross rental numbers get quoted a lot on 30A. Net numbers get quoted almost never.

Say the home grosses $80,000 in a year. Here's the honest path from there to your pocket:

• Transient taxes: 11%. Florida sales tax at 6% plus Walton County's Tourist Development Tax at 5% in the 30A ZIP codes. Guests pay it, but you collect and send it — get this wrong and it's your problem, not theirs.
• Management: 20% to 30% of gross. Full-service 30A management sits at the higher end. At 25%, that's $20,000.
• Licensing: roughly $350 to $400 a year.

That leaves about $60,000. Subtract the $34,300 in carrying costs and you're at roughly $25,700 a year before your mortgage payment.

Two honest caveats. That $80,000 gross is an assumption to test against real comparable properties, not a promise — occupancy on 30A runs roughly 57% to 66%, below Destin's 68% to 74%. And rental income makes the property investment property in the eyes of the tax code, which affects how it's treated when you sell.

If you're underwriting seriously, the detailed model is in luxury vacation rental ROI on 30A and Destin.

What you'll owe when you sell

Two costs to plan for now, not later.

Documentary Stamp Tax runs $0.70 per $100 of sale price — 0.70%, typically paid by the seller. On a $1.2 million sale that's $8,400. On a $2.75 million sale it's $19,250.

Capital gains. The primary-residence exclusion that shelters up to $250,000 of gain for a single filer, or $500,000 for a couple, does not apply to a second home. A 1031 exchange can defer the tax, but it requires genuine investment intent — personal use complicates it fast. This is CPA territory, and the questions to bring them are in capital gains when you sell a Florida beach house.

Choosing where on 30A

The corridor is not one market. Prices vary by multiples between communities a few miles apart.

Rosemary Beach carried a median list price near $2.74 million in August 2026, at roughly $1,500 per square foot.

Alys Beach sits at the top of the corridor, with reported medians well above Rosemary and the highest price per square foot on 30A. Published figures vary by source and vintage, so treat any single number as a starting point and re-verify at the address level.

WaterSound, WaterColor, Grayton Beach, Blue Mountain Beach, and Dune Allen cover a wide middle, and Santa Rosa Beach broadly is where most of the corridor's accessible inventory sits.

Three questions sort it faster than any price chart:

1. Will you rent it? If yes, community rental rules narrow your list immediately — before price does.
2. How often will you actually use it? Owners who visit six weeks a year underwrite differently than owners who come monthly.
3. Gulf-front, or a few blocks back? The premium is real and so are the carrying costs. A home a short walk from the beach in Zone X can cost a fraction of the Gulf-front carry for a very similar experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a second home on 30A qualify for the Homestead Exemption?

No. The Homestead Exemption and the Save Our Homes 3% assessment cap apply only to a primary residence in Florida. A second home is assessed at full market value every year with no cap on increases. This is the single largest cost surprise for 30A second-home buyers.

How much are property taxes on a 30A second home?

Walton County runs roughly 0.42% to 0.45% of assessed value. On a $1.2 million home that's about $5,400 a year, or $450 a month. Because there's no Homestead Exemption, budget from your purchase price — not from the seller's current tax bill, which may reflect years of capped assessments.

Can I rent out a second home on 30A?

In many places yes, but you must clear three layers: a Florida DBPR vacation rental license, a Walton County short-term rental certificate at $300 a year plus a business tax receipt, and your community's own covenants. Some 30A communities prohibit short-term rentals outright. Verify all three in writing before your inspection period ends.

What taxes do I pay on 30A rental income?

Guests pay 11% in transient taxes in the 30A ZIP codes — 6% Florida sales tax plus 5% Walton County Tourist Development Tax — but you are responsible for collecting and sending it. That's separate from federal income tax on your net rental profit, which is a question for your CPA.

What does it cost to sell a 30A second home?

Plan on Documentary Stamp Tax at 0.70% of the sale price, typically paid by the seller — $8,400 on a $1.2 million sale. Add commission, title company fees, the owner's title policy, prorated taxes, and any HOA estoppel fee. Capital gains also apply, since the primary-residence exclusion doesn't cover a second home.

A 30A second home is a good asset and an expensive one, and the gap between those two facts is where buyers get hurt. Price the carry before you price the mortgage, verify rental eligibility before you write the offer, and get real quotes on the real address rather than the neighborhood.

Ready to see what's available on the Emerald Coast? Our team knows every active listing from Destin to 30A. Reach out and we'll build a custom search for you. Call us at (850) 851-0089 or start your search at onlyhomesemeraldcoast.com.

Harrison Lilly Emerald Coast is a real estate team with Harrison Lilly Realty, serving buyers and sellers across Okaloosa County, Walton County, and Santa Rosa County — including Destin, Santa Rosa Beach and the 30A corridor, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Crestview, Shalimar, and Milton. We work in beach condos, Gulf-front and waterfront property, vacation rental investments, new construction, and single-family homes. Costs, tax rules, and rental regulations change — confirm current figures for your specific address with a licensed Florida insurance agent, the Walton County Property Appraiser, and your CPA.