Analytics built by: Location, Inc.
Raw data sources: American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Methodology: NeighborhoodScout uses over 600 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile… Read more about Scout's Real Estate Data
With a population of 15,736, 7,026 total housing units (homes and apartments), and a median house value of $423,580, Gulf Shores real estate is some of the most expensive in Alabama, although Gulf Shores home values aren't among America's most expensive.
Large apartment complexes or high rise apartments are the single most common housing type in Gulf Shores, accounting for 50.09% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Gulf Shores include single-family detached homes ( 40.95%), duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 5.85%), and a few row houses and other attached homes ( 1.83%). This particular housing mix is relatively uncommon and characteristic of cities that are compact and walkable, and which often have a lively downtown.
People in Gulf Shores primarily live in small (one, two or no bedroom) units, chiefly found in large apartment complexes or high rise apartments. Gulf Shores has a mixture of owner-occupied and renter-occupied housing.
There is a lot of housing in Gulf Shores built from 1970 to 1999 so parts of town may have that "Brady Bunch" look of homes popular in the '70s and early '80s, although some of these houses were built up through the early '90s as well. There is also a lot of housing in Gulf Shores built between 2000 and later ( 41.80%). A lesser amount of the housing stock also hails from between 1940-1969 ( 6.73%).
Vacant housing appears to be an issue in Gulf Shores. Fully 51.22% of the housing stock is classified as vacant. Left unchecked, vacant Gulf Shores homes and apartments can be a drag on the real estate market, holding Gulf Shores real estate prices below levels they could achieve if vacant housing was absorbed into the market and became occupied. Housing vacancy rates are a useful measure to consider, along with other things, if you are a home buyer or a real estate investor.
In the last 10 years, Gulf Shores has experienced some of the highest home appreciation rates of any community in the nation. Gulf Shores real estate appreciated 130.87% over the last ten years, which is an average annual home appreciation rate of 8.73%, putting Gulf Shores in the top 20% nationally for real estate appreciation. If you are a home buyer or real estate investor, Gulf Shores definitely has a track record of being one of the best long term real estate investments in America through the last ten years.
Over the last year, Gulf Shores appreciation rates have trailed the rest of the nation. In the last twelve months, Gulf Shores's appreciation rate has been 9.68%, which is lower than appreciation rates in most communities in America. In the latest quarter, NeighborhoodScout's data show that house appreciation rates in Gulf Shores were at 0.62%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of 2.52%.
Relative to Alabama, our data show that Gulf Shores's latest annual appreciation rate is lower than 70% of the other cities and towns in Alabama.
$423,580
for Alabama
for nation
7,026
$2,151 / per month